ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
What B&O gear would you recommend for CD playback? In particular, the most reliable?
I’m the mostly-happy owner of a BC9500 for several years. The CD player, however, is intermittently flaky, and repair has eluded the very-pricey repair skills of the two repair shops to which I’ve sent it. (The *only* two, within ~ 600 miles.)
I suspect that one day soon it will just…stop. What would you recommend to replace it? Of course, I’ll have to turn to the used marketplace. My priority, therefore, for any replacement gear is:
1. Reliability
2. Sound & style
3. Reliability
Your thoughts? Replace the 9500 with…? Or supplement with a stand-alone CD player, such as…? Or other?
CD4500
I’ve found the Beogram CD 7000 an excellent choice in terms of reliability and quality. The pizza box CD players have a good rep amongst the audiophile community (not sure I’m in that gang) because of the well regarded Phillips CDM4 swing arm transport and the equally coveted TDA1541A DA converter it uses. I’m no expert on the internals of the machine but it sounds good and is going strong after many years of enjoyment. The loading mechanism is pleasingly chunky too 👍
Both good recommendations. The 4500 is a stylistic match; the 7000 would fit under my BG 3000 (space is at premium). Good to know that both are considered reliable. Sadly, neither are commonly for sale in the U.S., though I see that Catawiki and other sites across the pond carry (the 240v versions) of both. Patience, I suppose.
One more related question: if I had to cannibalize another unit, is the CD player in the BS4000 compatible? I have a BS4000/Ouverture, also in need of repair, thought the CD player works.
Thank you for your suggestions above.
Hi,
you can also look for a Beogram CD 6500 which is the same as the Beogram CD 7000, may be a bit cheaper if you are lucky.
All the mentioned B&O CD Players use a Philips CDM4 drive, the one with the laser moving in an arc. The Ouverture used the same drive in the beginning. Later on it was replaced by the Philips CDM 12 where the laser moves linear up and down.
Ralph-Marcus
The best CD player B&O ever made was the Beogram CD 5500: this is identical to the later CD 6500 and CD 7000, but the 5500 uniquely employs a more sophisticated (and expensive) brushless spindle motor. As for the most reliable: that's hard to say, as I haven't tested all the different models.
Sounds about right. Just to say the Phillips CDM-4 swing arm transport has a reputation for reliability beyond the later linear tracking variants. My comments on the loading mechanism perhaps don’t do it justice - to copy from the HiFi advice review
” Unlike the CD-X, the CD-7000 is a full B&O development, using only a version of the Philips CDM-4 transport and the TDA-1541A DAC. The rest is pure B&O – and importantly, this includes the loader mechanism and drawer, which has to be one of the smoothest operators I have seen. It is literally a match for the drawer in my Levinson 390S CD player: a 4mm solid piece of aluminum, swiftly and silently gliding over chrome plated brass rail tubes with high precision. The loader mechanism is a beauty in execution: so simple yet so indestructible. The CDM-4 itself is also pretty indestructible – I have yet to find one that doesn’t work.”
I can’t comment on the reliability of motors but I think these are all pretty reliable decks.
.
Present: BL90, Core, BL6000, CD7000, Beogram 7000, Essence Remote.
Past: BL1, BL2, BL8000, BS9000, BL5, BC2, BS5, BV5, BV4-50, Beosystem 3, BL3, DVD1, Beoremote 4, Moment.
The OP states he has a BC9500 and therefore has a compatible master to control the BG CD7000 via a remote. When connected via the datalink connector it could be activated with “CD2” on a BEO4, or “shift + CD” with a BeoLink 1000 👍
controling problem could be solved if the external CD player is connected to the A.Tape2 connector and selecting A.Tape2 (or Shift A.Tape on Beolink 1000).
BeoFrederic owns a BeoSound 9500 which has this connector.
Whereas the PHONO connector is supplied with an internal RIAA Amplifier with a high amplification of the input signal resulting in a very, very loud signal which is also freqeuncy wise 'distorted'.
Edit: there was someone a bit faster
9 LEE: CD4500
I’d agree with 9 LEE.
And that would fit well with the BC9500 designwise
(By far not as expensive as a CD7000).
MM
There is a tv - and there is a BV
Aesthetically the 4500 may be a better match, but there isn’t really a difference in price - I’d expect to pay £250 for either model in decent condition on eBay? My Beogram cd 7000 cost me a princely £50 on eBay (admittedly about 10 years ago) so if you shop about you can find a bargain…
Would it be out of the question to send it via courier to someone who can service the whole 9500 unit and replace the laser so that the whole machine is good for years to come?
My fear of eBay is that you buy something and it breaks down costing you more money - all of these CD players are quite old now and if they're to be used daily then I'm not sure they will stand upto it, plastic goes brittle, rubber starts to disintegrate, capacitors leak, joints go dry etc. etc.
The Beocentre is a beautiful machine and if its in good condition must be worth restoring - even if you have to buy a cheap CD player to tide you over.
RaMaBo:Hi,controling problem could be solved if the external CD player is connected to the A.Tape2 connector and selecting A.Tape2 (or Shift A.Tape on Beolink 1000).BeoFrederic owns a BeoSound 9500 which has this connector.