The Workbench

Re: Beocenter 2500 Radial Pickup

solderon29 — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 05:54:46 GMT

I think the original deck was a bit fussy playing some discs due to the clamper?Praps due to the vertical mounting also.The cd pro tangential deck was/is a complete integrated assembly including decoder,so the signal processing is different.The laser pickup can't make much difference to the sound quality,but the signal processing circuits certainly can.As Graham says,compare the CD50 to the CD5500.The CD50 used Yamaha/Sony technology,the CD5500 Philips/B&O.

I think the upgrade kit included a new clamper also.

The debate over what affects sound quality,and by how much,is wide open to the loony fringe of course,just look at the enduring(and lucrative!)pottiness of the cable enthusiasts!

B&O have always kept a dignified distance from these debates.

I think this cd upgrade is worthwile,but it's only my opinion of course!

Regards,

Nick

Re: Beocenter 2500 Radial Pickup

joeyboygolf — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:55:12 GMT

I can't comment on the "fussy" question as I only ever play original cd's

Once I get past the warmer sound of the CD50 then I think they are all much of a muchness. I can't hear any differences in the sound from radial to linear so as far as I am concerned no such differences exist!

Re: Beocenter 2500 Radial Pickup

auric — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:59:17 GMT

Graham, Nick:

Thank you for your input!

Nick, your observations on the CD PRO transport upgrade is interesting to me.

1) Its digital, how is it possible that changing the pickup make the sound better? Were the DAC's upgraded as well in the process?

2) It is interesting that you say the radial deck is a bit "fussy." I have a Beocenter 9500 with the CDM-4 radial transport; it has played everything that I have put into it including CDRWs which it was never specified for. I'm wondering if its orientation in the 2500 (vertical) maybe introducing undue stress and compromising performance?

Thanks again for sharing,

Derek

Re: Beocenter 2500 Radial Pickup

solderon29 — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:30:52 GMT

No major probs with this unit,and bit's n pieces still seem to be available.The original radial deck was a bit fussy about the discs it would play,so the upgrade to cd pro overcame this,and sounded better too!

Otherwise they seem to have aged quite well.Oddly,the System2500 with attached speakers is quite rare,I suppose people seperate them to make more money when selling?

It was dubbed the "designer Brixton Briefcase",or was that the Century ?

Nick

Re: Beocenter 2500 Radial Pickup

joeyboygolf — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 02:58:56 GMT

Derek,

At the time I thought the laser was dead so replaced the mech.

It is the only knackered one I have seen so it can't be that common. However, s**t happens as they say!

2500's are not worth a lot, especially with the cd not working. Don't pay more than £50 and you have reasonable value. Remember, whoever is selling it will know the likely repair costs!!

Re: Beocenter 2500 Radial Pickup

auric — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 00:54:36 GMT

Graham:

Can you share with me why you did the conversion? Were you after increased performance or was the CDM4 simply dead?

I'm assuming someone with your technical know-how would have repaired the transport at the component level had this been possible?

Do you have any idea how prevalent the transports in the 2500 are to failure? I'm trying to weigh the risk that I can get this unit working without having to invest in the 140 pound upgrade which would be rather costly with the plumetting USD.

Derek

Re: Beocenter 2500 Radial Pickup

joeyboygolf — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:17:08 GMT

I have done this conversion in the past and I recall a cost of around £140 for the kit. However, I cannot find the paperwork so cannot give you the part number. It may be on site?

Yes it is on site, thought I'd seen it somewhere on here! Looks like the kit part number is 3210017 or that might be the publication number for the instructions!!

It describes the replacement of CDM4 mechanism with CDPro2

Re: Beocenter 2500 Radial Pickup

auric — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:07:04 GMT

Hi Nick:

Thank you for this additional piece of information. Do you remember how much this kit costs?

I've always liked the Philips radial pickups over the linear ones. The see better built. And the arc looks "cooler."

On another subject, I'm considering making the purchase of this 2500 system. Were there any serious shortcomings to this model? I wanted one good example of the sliding door design and the 2500 is the authentic example even though I would never use the cassette function.

Any thoughts?

Derek

Re: Beocenter 2500 Radial Pickup

solderon29 — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:59:16 GMT

I'm not sure if it's still available,but I've fitted an upgrade kit in the past,that replaces the radial mech with the later tangential version,that has a better overall spec.

Regards

Nick

Re: Beocenter 2500 Radial Pickup

auric — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:12:34 GMT

Hi Graham:

Thanks for the reply. Is this a common fault with aging 2500 systems?

If its the capacitor, it is an easy fix for me. If it isn't, what is the likelihood of a faulty laser or something more serious? I understand that the pickups are no longer available.

Were these CDM 4s?

Derek

Re: Beocenter 2500 Radial Pickup

joeyboygolf — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 08:13:00 GMT

Could be similar capacitor fault. The service manual contains a test procedure which may indicate where the fault lies.

The laser power supply smoothing capacitor is 47 microfarads and is C100 (at least it is in early Ouvertures which I assume is the same as the 2500)

Beocenter 2500 Radial Pickup

auric — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:16:34 GMT

Hi:

There is Beocenter 2500 with (1st generation with the radial laser pickup) that I'm considering repairing.

The fault is described as follows:

The CD component will initially spin via remote or button on the unit, but slows then eventually stops w/o playing.

Is this something relatively easy to fix? Could it be the electrolytic capacitor that has dried up much like the 9000/9500 systems?

Thanks,

Derek