Cartridge for Beogram 1203

Hello all. I am new here because i have just been given a Beogram 1203 and it is rather beautiful. My friend had it in his attic, and didn't know whether it worked. I've plugged it in and the platter turns and the arm goes across, seemingly well.

BUT, the stylus doesn't exist. The cartridge appears in good condition (SP14). I've looked on eBay for a new cart, and was only able to find them for well over £100.

 

Question: Am I looking in the wrong place? Can anyone point me to somewhere that i can buy much cheaper. At this stage I don't know whether the deck works and produces good sound, and I'm a bit reluctant to spend out in case it doesn't.

If it does, I think I'd like to use it instead of my Thorens 125 deck because it looks so nice.

Many thanks for any advice.

Hello and welcome to Beoworld.

I recognise your dilemma and understand fully how you may have fallen for the looks and ease of use of the Beogram. An original version of the deck, the Beogram 1200 was part of a stunning looking 1200 system that won a number of design awards and which still has a place in the New York Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection.

Beogram 1203, whilst a very attractive, competent enough deck, was somewhat less well engineered than the similar looking Beogram 1202 or the Beogram 3000, a 1202 with a better sounding platter and a hinged cover. The SP14 cartridge had a spherical stylus and wasn’t as good a performer as the elliptical stylus in the SP12. As you say, buying a refurbished SP series cartridge, even the SP14 isn’t a cheap option and the purchase of used SP cartridges on auction sites is a risk.

You are concerned as to whether the deck produces ‘good sound’. The 1200/3000 series are very capable B&O turntables but you may find they suffer in comparison to your Thorens TD 125. In its day, the Thorens was a fine performer, very well engineered and, with a good, contemporaneous arm such as the SME3009 and an appropriate cartridge, would almost certainly sound ‘better’ than a 1200 series Beogram. It was a handsome beast, too, although not as elegant as the Beogram.

Cleve

Thank you very much for your excellent advice Cleve. It is pretty much as I had suspected: the B&O wins over the Thorens for looks, but probably not for sound. But I also rather like the push-button Automatic mechanism of the B&O.

One last question please... if I did manage to find a cartridge and it was a SP12, and was what I could afford, can it be used instead of a SP14? Many thanks for your time.

Neil

neilwatson:

One last question please... if I did manage to find a cartridge and it was a SP12, and was what I could afford, can it be used instead of a SP14? Many thanks for your time.

Neil

Hi Neil,

Yes, any of the SP series cartridges will work in the arm of the 2003. There are a couple of specialists who can provide refurbished cartridges with even more sophisticated cantilevers and styli than the originals but we are talking serious money then - we’ll over £200. Good luck in finding a good used one via auction sites if that’s the route you decide to take.

Cleve