Vintage Products

Re: Beovox s45-2 restoration( With bonus "Paen" to Beogram 4002)

yachadm — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 15:37:25 GMT

Hi Jim

A great project, and worth it.

I have restored both the S45's and S55's. Your's are the later S45-2's, with aluminium trim at the front AND the rear of the cabinet.

In this thread, is my S55 project. The S45 project is also somewhere lurking in the archives....

http://forum.beoworld.org/forums/p/28504/224203.aspx

Of particular interest to you should be 2 items - the Solen Polypropylene capacitors (from Canada), and a replacement woofer.

When you replace the capacitors, I highly recommend film capacitors, over the original electrolytic type. The sound is much more detailed, and less fatiguing. Yes, I have done comparison tests! And the film caps need at least 100 hours to break in, before they sound sweet.

Secondly, the Monacor (Germany) SPH-200KE woofer is a superb replacement for that doubtful woofer of yours, which I see in the photos, if it is not a Peerless/SEAS original. The sound of many of these fine speakers has been destroyed by sloppy technicians who replaced the original driver with a cheap garbage unit, instead of repairing the original's foam surrounds.

Keep us updated!

Regards

Menahem Yachad

Re: Beovox s45-2 restoration( With bonus "Paen" to Beogram 4002)

Claus — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 16:52:26 GMT

Hi Jim,

These small Beovox S45-2 are truly great speakers - and a really nice present. Defenitly worth restoring to their original condition (woofer, cabinet, capacitors).

Dillens kits works fine.

I 've made a few more modifications to my S45-2's look at http://forum.beoworld.org/forums/p/32520/264013.aspx#264013

Good luck with your project!

Re: Beovox s45-2 restoration( With bonus "Paen" to Beogram 4002)

sartana — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 06:48:00 GMT

Okay, I forgot to include photos of the S45-2's with grills attached:

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/3559/morebeovox015.jpg

and here's what some of what will hopefully being played out of them:

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/3083/moremoer013.jpg

Re: Beovox s45-2 restoration( With bonus "Paen" to Beogram 4002)

sartana — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 04:26:39 GMT

I appreciate the quick response Martin.

I took the speakers to an experienced local technician and he was happy to do the work, but with Christmas Season upon us he probably couldn't get to it until after New Year. He first advised not to be hasty about changing out caps unless the old ones had gone bad and were noticeably degrading sound, and further cautioned me against listening too much to online advice. I responded that many who were knowledgeable about B&O gear reccomended the change if it hadn't been done, and anyway I'd be happier knowing that the internals wouldn't need to be worried about for the foreseeable future- he nodded approval and said he would perform whatever work I wished done. He looked at the ding on the corner and said it wasn't big enough to worry about and would only be a factor if I was concerned about the cosmetics. I merely nodded but immediately thought of your comments about the whistling on low beats and I think what you're saying makes more sense. If the Beovox are sealed pressure chambers than I wouldn't be comfortable leaving that ding untreated- I'm sure resin would do the trick and I could do that myself. I've removed both drivers and they are identical except for the cone and the foam surround on the one and they both seem to be in excellent condition with the same serial #770617. The technician said it would definitely be necessary to change the cone to factory original and also that either he or I could order the correct kit as I wished.

Here's a few photos I've taken of the S45-2's:

http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/205/beovoxs4526.jpg

http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/3144/beovoxs4521.jpg

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/3029/beovoxs4525.jpg

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/5149/beovoxs4528.jpg

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/8527/beovoxs4523.jpg

I hope these link to the photos without problem. I'll definitely send you a message about the capacitor kit, as I'd like to have everything ready by the time I can have them worked on- I haven't given thought to the condition of the tweeter and midrange, but they look fine on the outside at least.

The tech referred me to a colleague of his regarding my Beomaster 8000 and the 6000 I was also thinking of buying, and we had an interestng converstation- but that is the subject of another post entirely. I'll be in contact and once again, thanks Martin, for the quick response and your sound advice.

Cheeers!

Re: Beovox s45-2 restoration( With bonus "Paen" to Beogram 4002)

Dillen — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:11:18 GMT

Jim, welcome to Beoworld !

4, How big is that thing, exactly ?

1, No. They are long out of production but I have a little stock of good
used original speaker drivers and I'm sure, I can supply one.
If the other one is fine, no need to replace it but I suggest you add a bit of 2-comp.
epoxy glue around the magnet as described elsewhere. That's a weak point and could be
the reason one woofer was replaced.

2, You may be able to source suitable capacitors locally. They are not particularly
fancy or exotic but still some owners find them difficult to source.
I suggest fitting 100V components.
The kits are quite popular and you can buy one from me. It contains suitable 100V components.
Or wait for other members to come forward with ideas.
The final decision is yours.

3, If there is a hole through to the innards, it will need to be closed. The bass response
will probably not suffer a lot from a tiny hole but you will risk hearing a most
annoying whistling sound from the hole at every beat.
What finish are they ? (Palisander/Teak/Oak/White) ?

Martin

Beovox s45-2 restoration( With bonus "Paen" to Beogram 4002)

sartana — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 07:55:59 GMT

I'm in need of some advice on restoring a pair of Beovox s45-2's, but before I ask my questions, I'd like to say how much I've enjoyed reading through this site and following the conversations of people who admire the B&O line of products as I've begun to in the last couple of months.

My acquaintance with the brand began a few months ago while researching a turntable which offered ease of use and light tracking force to minimize wear on vinyl- and of course, good sound and aesthetics. (It's much better to look good than to feel good). I was reading through a thread on Audiogon where a commenter mentioned B&O tangentials and some others chimed in with praise for the line. I immediately set myself to the task of some serious hard-nosed googling, whence I came upon a photo of a Beogram 4002 with corresponding description- and I was smitten! Just a few short weeks later I was in possesion of a Bang und Olufsen Beogram 4002 in "as new" condition fitted with an MC20EN cartridge. I wasn't able to hook it up right away as I came up in the digital age and I'm just getting into vinyl and HIFI in general and hadn't yet aquired the necessary components. But I still spent many long moments gazing in wonder at the ergonomic perfection of the piece- often feeling compelled to stop as I walked past the table where it was prominently displayed to admire the perfect lines, the mellow tones and the square simplicity of it's design- the unexpected softness of the brushed metal as I gently ran my fingers across the top plate, the sheer weight of it as I lifted it with two hands gently to admire the solid build. At times, I had to remind myself that the 4002 wasn't plugged in as I was sure I could hear faint strains of heavenly music issueing from it. I began to get possesive of the 4002, even as I seemed to come more under it's spell. At times, I would start it up, without a record, and just ask it questions- as if I could somehow discern my fate in the stroboscopic spinnings of the platter as it spun effortlessly at speed. And yes, I began to refer to "it" as a "she". Just the other night I returned home slightly tipsy from an evening spent out on the town among friends with bottles of cheap red wine passed back and forth and I was feeling courageous and I approached the 4002 and laid before it a box of fine chocolates and a single red rose. I bowed low, and backed away slowly then blew a kiss at the 4002 and made a private oath as I waved it goodbye promising we'd meet again when we could be sure my intentions were true...

Okay, I think I've veered a bit too far off topic so I'll try to get to my original point- which was not at all about the Beogram 4002 but the Beovox s45-2.

I just came into possesion of a pair in decent condition, and am wondering what kind of odyssey awaits if I set about restoring it to top condition. By decent condition, I mean to say that they don't seem to have been abused; then again, neither do they seem to have been cared for meticulously. Cosmetically, I'd say it's 7 out of 10- with a few minor scratches along the bottom where they look to have been shifted back and forth on a bookshelf- not infrequently and without much care. The grills are intact with no broken pegs and no sag in the cloth, but a few small snags on the corners- also noticeable is a slight disoloring of the cloth with age. What concerns most is the small ding on one of the rear top corners where the metal border is very slightly crushed into the wood veneer- as if it had been dropped on its head from not very high. The ding is small enough not to be noticable at a quick glance, but big enough to stand out when given a long look under strong light. The damaged area looks to be a quarter inch square and about an eigth of an inch deep. Mostly I would be worried that this might be a factor involving bass resonance, but I don't know if it's big enough to really affect performance- it doesn't seem to have caused an actual opening, or breakage from the top through to the insides. The veneer is still in nice shape with no chips, and still nice color that can be made to look new with some wood finish and polishing cloths.

As to the drivers, they look to be in good shape and all original but for one of the woofers. It's fitted with a foam surround, not the butyl rubber surround, and it has a larger center hub than the other woofer which has what I know is the factory original from the many Google Images I've seen of the s45-2's. A few questions now:

1) Is it still possible to find NOS Peerless woofers to go with these- and if so, should I replace both rather than just the one?

2) Is it best to order the capacitor set from Dillen in Europe, or could I find the necessary parts locally here in Los Angeles- which might make for faster service as I'd be using a local B&O authorized technician.

3) Is that small corner ding going to degrade sound by affecting the pressurized box? Maybe a hard resin could plug it sufficiently it it's gone deep enough.

4) Would you eat the Moon if it were made of ribs and you could wash it down with a nice Heffeweizen?

I think it's best if we could get an answer to that last question first.

About the 4002. Axel Schurholz is now in possesion of my MC20EN for retipping with the 265 Euro option of Nude Shibata and Aluminum cantilever. It will go on the 4002 which will be used with the near perfect Beomaster 8000 that I just bought, which will power KEF 102's. The Beovox, if I have the restoration done, will be for a cousin who is now moving into his first apartment. I plan on buying a Beomaster 6000 locally which would also need some work, and restoring them both to top condition and then making a gift of these, including also a Beogram 2000(1980's model). Will I have enough money for the Heffeweizen by the time I'm finished paying for all this? Of course I plan on visiting my cousin often. What did you think? I am the ultimate master of giving gifts to other people that I really want but wouldn't otherwise buy for myself.

I think I've gone on too long, so I'll finish with saying again how much I appreciate this site and the efforts people here make to keep this brand alive and encourage others to enjoy it also.

Cheers all, Jim.