has anybody used a pickup that is better than my MMC4 on a 5500 ??

I am just wondering if I should upgrade to something better than the MMC4

I have bought a load of 200g and 180g vinyl ( mostly classical )

http://www.themusic.com/search.cfm?classic_cat=55&sidebar=classic

and ideally I now want to get the best out of the BG5500 and BM5500 if I can

I am also wondering if I should partner the BG5500 with a BM5000, as the BM5000 is supposed to be a better amp, has anybody got real evidence of this being the case on Beoworld

The BM5000 is the better one - I have heard them back to back and the 5000 is simply clearer and lacks the little muddiness that the 5500 can suffer from. Having said that, I could only tell the difference back to back - I use a 5500 quite happily at home!

Dedatable about cartridges - I think the limiting factor here is the deck. I have a 7000 (same basic deck ) and have a MMC2 in it. Slightly less prone to sibilance but the MMC cartridges have a very typical B&O sound. I would get a SMMC4 from Soundsmith if you want to upgrade - excellent cartridge.

was the BM5500 you compared the BM5000 without the capacitors that Tim Jarman suggests should be removed ?

Beomaster 5500, 6500 and 7000  Article written  on 6th January 2009 by Tim

If you have owned a lot of B&O equipment then you will have probably noticed that thesse models give a slightly disappointing sound when used with passive loudspeakers when compared to some of the earlier designs. This is surprising as the power amplifier circuit is very similar to that of the Beomaster 2200, Beomaster 5000 and the Beocenter 7700 (amongst many others), all of which give very satisfactory performance.

The Beomaster 5500, 6500 and 7000 have a rather basic pre-amplifier circuit compared to that used in the original 5000 model but this is not the cause of the problems, the same arrangement is used in the Beocenter 9000 where it seems to work reasonably well. Therefore the power amplifier circuit was investigated to see what could be causing the trouble.

The only substantial difference between the Beomaster 5000 circuit and that used in the later models is the addition of four 220nF capacitors C215, C216, C415 and C416. They are not shown on all the Beomaster 5500 circuit diagrams but many sets have them. As these do not appear in any other versions of the circuit it seemed safe to remove them and see if the performance improved. With the capacitors in circuit the sound from one Beomaster 5500 was lifeless, bland and uninteresting, without them it was more similar to a 5000, engaging and lively with a full, rich tone.

It is not clear what the purpose of these capacitors is but performance definitely improves if they are disconnected. Before doing this make sure that the muting relay 3RL1 is in good condition (contact resistance less than 0.5R at rest) and that the output bias current for each channel is correctly set

Tim Jarman

Peter :

Debatable about cartridges - I think the limiting factor here is the deck. I have a 7000 (same basic deck ) and have a MMC2 in it. Slightly less prone to sibilance but the MMC cartridges have a very typical B&O sound. I would get a SMMC4 from Soundsmith if you want to upgrade - excellent cartridge.

I think you are right, an MMC1 would be overkill for the 5500, but maybe a MMC2, that I can then send on to Axel for refurb is a good way forward

NB I don't really like the look of the SMMC4 , even though I have had good things about them