BeoGram

Re: Beogram 3300 Platter Compatibilty

Relaximus — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 15:19:12 GMT

Jaff:

I certainly agree with your observations. It would seem that the 3300 was very much the "Red-Headed Step-Child" of the line of the time. The styling was somewhat polarizing and went against the grain of B&O's ideology of that time. It seems that it was, almost, a last-minute stylistic excercise to meet an unneeded goal. For me, the slanted dust-cover and thinned-front plinth are timeless. Mine has the B&O supplied DIN-toRCA adapter, although, I'd like to replace them with interconnects that are somewhat more up-to-date. Needless to say, I absolutely love this deck!

Dave

Re: Beogram 3300 Platter Compatibilty

burantek — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 14:47:37 GMT

Relaximus:
Regarding the 3300, does anyone know just how many of these were produced? I rarely see them for sale on ebay or elsewhere, at least here in the States. From what I can tell, it is virtually identical to the TX2 other than the cosmetics and the controls on the dustcover (which I love!). Is this thing as rare as it seems to be?

Well, that is an interesting observation.

They do seem to be a bit rarer than the TX2 and there are probably several reasons for that, IMHO -of course!

Not knowing production numbers, the 3300 was typically sold as a component in the BS3300 -a BS that had love it or hate it styling, though the BG was the most conventional of the components. In general, I don't think that this particular BS was hugely popular and may not have sold well. Also, at that time turntables were on the way out of favor for CD's. A lot of buyers may not have spec'd a BG when buying the BS3300.

The peer BG's available at the time were also matched to their respective BeoSystems (the stacks) and used Datalink. I am sure these greatly outsold the BS3300. The oddball might have been the BG9000 designed to pair up with a BC9x00 but it also used Datalink.

So, someone walking in off the street looking for just a table and no other kit would likely have gravitated to the TX2 and I believe it was marketed as just that. It did not have Datalink (though the product pages here suggest it did). It had RCA connectors in place of the typical DIN and could be plugged up to any off-brand amp without any adapters. Based on the numbers you see for sale today, they must have been a top seller... at the very least -in much greater numbers than the 3300.

Re: Beogram 3300 Platter Compatibilty

Relaximus — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:53:04 GMT

Steffen:

The RX2 was purchased from its original owner and I seriously doubt that he had the wherewithall to change the platter.

Regarding the 3300, does anyone know just how many of these were produced? I rarely see them for sale on ebay or elsewhere, at least here in the States. From what I can tell, it is virtually identical to the TX2 other than the cosmetics and the controls on the dustcover (which I love!). Is this thing as rare as it seems to be? I actually prefer the looks of it to the TX2.

Dave

Re: Beogram 3300 Platter Compatibilty

burantek — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 08:34:27 GMT

This is a bit confusing... as far as I am aware:

The RX only had the early "circular" style platter.

The RX2 had both the early "circular" AND the later "spoke" style platter.

Apparently, there was a running change during production. I have seen far more RX2's w/ the later platter.

Re: Beogram 3300 Platter Compatibilty

Steffen — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 19:17:52 GMT

Hmm -Interesting, Dave. Did You buy the RX2 from new - or second hand..? I've been looking through my B&O catalogues and I have never seen this version. (I've acually owned an RX2 some years ago -not with this platter, of course).
IF you have bought it second hand, the previous owner could have changed the platter...Or maybe B&O -at the end of the radial era -decided to change the platter so they only had to produce one type.

Re: Beogram 3300 Platter Compatibilty

Relaximus — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 17:29:33 GMT

Hmm ...

TX2

RX2

Dave

Re: Beogram 3300 Platter Compatibilty

Steffen — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:21:49 GMT

-AND the 9500...

But -I have never seen an RX with the same platter as the Tangential-models.

Re: Beogram 3300 Platter Compatibilty

Søren Hammer — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 14:35:47 GMT

Hehe, what about the 5005, 5500 and 8500?

-Søren

Re: Beogram 3300 Platter Compatibilty

Medogsfat — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 13:45:45 GMT

Other than the platters already mentioned, other Beograms which share the same profile & radial markings are :-

BG3000 (the 1980's tangential one) 3500, 4500, 6500, 7000 & 9000.

Any of these will match perfectly well but do differ slighly in the finish on the lacquer coating.

Chris.

Re: Beogram 3300 Platter Compatibilty

Relaximus — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 12:48:16 GMT

Thanks for that pic! And I agree, the RX2's platter looks as though it might actually match the 3300's top-plate better. Now, to find one!

Cheers!

Dave

Re: Beogram 3300 Platter Compatibilty

burantek — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 12:12:50 GMT

Dummy me just realized I have a pIePhone in my pocket!

The 3300 is on the LEFT / RX2 on the RIGHT. The differences are more apparent in person.

You may be able to tell that the smoother finish on the 3300 reflects much more light!

Re: Beogram 3300 Platter Compatibilty

Relaximus — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 08:56:49 GMT

Wow, thanks Jaff! Yes, some comparative pics would be very nice. Now, I just need to find an unmolested TX2/RX2 platter.

Re: Beogram 3300 Platter Compatibilty

burantek — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 08:49:41 GMT

OK... as [JBG] pointed out above...

1.) Physically: identical

2.) Cosmetically: RX2 has a duller (matte) finish -very "granular." 3300 has a brighter (plate) finish.

3.) Graphics: identical, but the 3300's banded sections of the striping is more pronounced.

Frankly, I like the RX2 platter better -seems to suit the surround and it appears to hold up much better than the 3300's more "delicate" finish.

Also, from your OP... The TX2 matches the RX2.

One other quick note -I found it interesting that apparently the early RX2's had (confirmed) a completely different platter... the "circular" style as can be seen in the product pages here.

If you'd like, I can snap some pics tonight.

Re: Beogram 3300 Platter Compatibilty

burantek — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 19:55:42 GMT

Sorry for delay... Wanted to get my eyes on them! Answer in the morning!

Re: Beogram 3300 Platter Compatibilty

burantek — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 07:43:16 GMT

Relaximus:
BTW: Where in the SE are you located?

Split time between SC/GA presently... I will have you an answer this evening on the platters!