Vintage Products

Re: Aquired Beomaster 6000 system - any advice appreciated!

ophillips — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:54:47 GMT

Lets try these pictures again (resized so you can see them properly)...

BM6000 (Note lack of illumination on the sliding scales. I've now replaced these bulbs and all is working fine):

The Brick remote. (Mine calls itself a "control module, rather than the grander "commander"):

BG6000:

Cartridge:

The 3400 turntable. (No LED - but it does say it's 4 channel...?):

BV5700 speakers (this one with missing dustcap):

BVS22 speakers:

Re: Aquired Beomaster 6000 system - any advice appreciated!

ophillips — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:58:49 GMT

Hmm. I tried to post some images on here last night and it seems to have held my post for moderation... still hasn't appeared.

I gave the BM a bit of testing last night, but unfortunately was a little tight for time so I've not managed to do a great deal. I was just using the headphone sockets to test, as my speaker wire hadn't yet arrived. It's here now, together with DIN connectors, new bulbs and the battery for the brick... so there'll be a more comprehensive test tonight.

On a more negative note, through the headphone sockets at least, one of the front channels doesn't appear to be working. If i switch it into stereo I get good sound through both rear channels however. I suppose I could keep it as-is and use it as a stereo set up using just the rear channels. Seems a shame though. I don't suppose anyone could give an indication as to what might have gone, or what I could test to try and narrow down what might be wrong with it.

Good news is the BG6000 is functioning perfectly, aside from the muddy sound of shagged vinyl and/or stylus...

Re: Aquired Beomaster 6000 system - any advice appreciated!

richtoy — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 04:57:04 GMT

I have recapped/repaired 4 of these beasts and they are indeed very fiddly. If it is cosmetically good then it is worth doing but you will need to find someone local as I would not like to put one through the postal system...

Re: Aquired Beomaster 6000 system - any advice appreciated!

ophillips — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:26:47 GMT

Hmm. Okay, knowing that I might now carefully attack the speaker with the hoover and try and get all the little bits that might have dropped inside.

[Edited this post to remove huge images - i've stuck some smaller ones in below....]

Can anyone put me in touch with Tim? It'd be great to see what it's possible to, or is worth, sorting out...

Thanks chaps...

Re: Aquired Beomaster 6000 system - any advice appreciated!

j0hnbarker — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:04:12 GMT

Owen

Some time has passed now, so the scars may have healed from Tim's point of view. You should try and contact him. If he doesn't want to take a look, then there are other people we could point you in the direction of, though from what I gathered when I had my 6000 fixed, no one is particularly eager to take a look at one of these units. The prize is worth it though:

Apologies for re-hashing this shot, but this is my 6000 Quad with my Beogram 4002. CDX2 is hidden in the sideboard. Speakers (out of shot) are the very impressive MC120.2s :)

Re: Aquired Beomaster 6000 system - any advice appreciated!

BenSA — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:11:14 GMT

Owen, mine were cracked and sticky as well. Its nothing to worry about as they are only dust caps and has nothing to do with the speakers actually. One point to note is that you should not use the speakers until you have replaced the dust caps as when the dust caps start to break apart, small pieces can fall into the speaker it self (sorry I don't know the exact technical terminology) which can lead to problems. It is not an expensive repair. Dillen is your best bet! He is a pro with everything B&O. If you need any instructions, let me know!

Re: Aquired Beomaster 6000 system - any advice appreciated!

ophillips — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:26:29 GMT

Brilliant, thanks - so I take it if the 4 channel amp doesn't work and I wanted to wire the BG into a stereo amp I'd need to solder up an adapter using pins it pins 2,4 and 5 - just taking the front channels?

Thanks for the offer of the records too, that's fantastic - though I'm dubious as to whether Perry Como can be improved by hearing him in quad... (wasn't he the origin of the word "comatose"?) And the cartridge too, wow! Very generous offer! I'll have to have a look what it's got fitted and let you know If and when I get the thing up and running. Meanwhile I will send you my address!

And John, thanks for the welcome! Certainly seems like I've joined an accommodating club, with people willing to share so much information to help me get set up. And it's good to find devotees to this amp - I don't want to be flogging a dead horse. Although worrying if the renowned repairman doesn't want to see them anymore...

Re: Aquired Beomaster 6000 system - any advice appreciated!

j0hnbarker — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:19:49 GMT

Mine went to Tim too, and was apparently the last one he ever wanted to see!

My ears say something different to me, but each to their own I suppose. I'd like to lead the way in banging the drum for this wonderful piece if for no other reason than soon there'll be none left as: a) no one knows how to fix them; and b) for some reason they are not as sought after as either the Beomaster/Beolab 5000 or the Beomaster 8000, so without a loyal fanbase who will maintain interest in this wonderfully idiosyncratic product??

I use mine most days because I love it :)

Re: Aquired Beomaster 6000 system - any advice appreciated!

Peter — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:03:55 GMT

BG6000 output - FR = Front Right - RR = Rear Right etc. Pin 2 is ground. My findings on the 6000 are in conjunction with Tim Jarman who serviced the 6000 first. We both felt that the 6000 is not as good as the later directly coupled amplifiers. Had a number to compare. Don't get me wrong, I like the 6000 - I have a rather good one myself, but I don't use it out of choice.

Re: Aquired Beomaster 6000 system - any advice appreciated!

j0hnbarker — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:47:14 GMT

Owen

Keep the Beomaster 6000 at all costs! Truly it is an amazing looking amplifier, and given what Peter has said about its reliability, will only become more sought after as increasing numbers get trashed when they stop working. I waited for two years looking for a good unit, before giving up and buying a duff one, then spending some serious money getting it fixed up and working like new. I don't agree that it is a poor relation in terms of B&O amps, as I own several well regarded amps (8000 and 2000), and have recently parted company with some of B&O's better others (5000 and 6000 80s version). I guess mine could sound so good because it was recently overhauled, so should be as good as new. Certainly nothing looks-wise can compare!

Welcome to the 6000 Quad club :)

Re: Aquired Beomaster 6000 system - any advice appreciated!

ophillips — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:36:56 GMT

Aaahhh... So the RIAA is effectively the phono preamp then? (I just followed the link in your first post - should have looked at that before!)

So am I right in thinking that the output signal from the BG6000 will already be line-level, and will go into any aux channel on any amp without requiring a specific phono channel or preamp box?

If that's the case i could do with working out a pinout from its DIN connector (5 pin) so I can make up an adapter to stick it into another amp, should the BM not work properly...

Ta,

Owen

Re: Aquired Beomaster 6000 system - any advice appreciated!

Peter — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:28:53 GMT

Ho ho! I have a few, but mainly classical which I would prefer to keep. I will however send you two - one SQ and one CD4 so you can compare. The SQ one is Chicago VIII and I am afraid the CD4 one is Perry Como - Just Out Of Reach. (I did not buy these - they came with my 6000 system!) They both look in nice condition - the Perry Como still has the plastic over the sleeve! PM me your address. I don't want them back! I would suggest you get the BM6000 working first though - I can probably lend you a cartridge to try if you don't have one though I would want that back!

Re: Aquired Beomaster 6000 system - any advice appreciated!

Peter — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:16:43 GMT

Put a screw driver in the FM aerial socket and you should get a signal. If the BG6000 is working as it sounds as if it is, you have a real bargain. That alone is probably worth £300 because of the RIAA being built in and the design.

I'll have a look at the recordings I have - I think prog rock could be a bit optimistic!

Re: Aquired Beomaster 6000 system - any advice appreciated!

ophillips — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:10:57 GMT

I took some headphones into the shop and had a quick try... one channel did seem noticably quieter than the other, although I only had a short time to check it , and the lights that illuminate the balance control readout had gone, so it could have been trimmed a way over to one side. Or there could have been a poor connection in the headphone socket.

Plus I didn't have a record with me, so could only check the FM channel - but as I had no aeriel plugged in and I couldn't actually recieve anything. Not the best test conditions, eh!

Having got the lot home, I've stuck an LP on the BG6000 and the tonearm, speed contols etc all seem function correctly. I've not actually checked I get a signal out of it yet though, and I've yet to try the amp again.

The deal is that the shop had a price on the whole lot of £150 (!). The guys who run it know me, and so offered it to me for £100 (!!!). Plus they said if I can't get it working, they'll take it back. I thought for that, i couln't refuse... which it why I've not been so urgent to check it all over yet - I'm not out of pocket.

I'll have a look at the 3400 when I get home from work. Can't remember whether it has a dot or an LED. Cheers for the cartridge advice - I really know nothing in that area.

Thanks also for the offer of the quad record! I am indeed in the UK (hence the £). I assume quad recording was the realm of 70s Prog?!

Cheers,

Owen.

Re: Aquired Beomaster 6000 system - any advice appreciated!

Peter — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:41:31 GMT

Does it work? Try with some headphones - there are two sockets as they did produce quad headphones (not B&O!)

The Beogram 3400 is a nice deck too but is usually just a stereo one. If you look at the top plate, just blow where the cartridge would be when parked is either a blackk plastic dot or a red LED. If the latter, it too has the optional CD4 decoder fitted. These are actually quite rare. If it has that, the deck is worth a bit more.

If it were me, I would get your cartridge retipped with the Shibata stylus and use it as a stereo deck. I would however get at least one quad record just to see what it was like - I have a few around - if you are in the UK you can have one. They are mostly rubbish and quad is a daft idea as you don't normally listen to music which surrounds you!