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
Hi,
This is my first post here. I am looking into buying a beosound 9000. I have a few questions which I hope you kind people could help me with:
1. Obviously I'd like to keep the cost down as much as possible. Mk3s seems to be around £300-400 more than Mk2s. Is there any good reason why I would pay the premium for the 3 as opposed to the 2? Are the 3s much more reliable than the 2s?
2. Since I will be buying used, are there any tell-tale signs I should look for to assess whether it's a 'good one' I'm looking at or not? e.g. some have had lasers replaced - is this a bad or good thing?
3. I see a lot of B9000s being sold with doors with scratches etc. I have seen doors for under £100 on ebay but are they easy to fit? Will I find someone who can fit them in London.
4. I will be connecting them to my rotel amp and then to B&W CM8 speakers. Am I correct in thinking that this is what I need: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3m-Sounds-Heavenly-2x-Gold-Phono-RCA-Cinch-to-B-O-Bang-Olufsen-OFC-Audio-Cable-/121380489118?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Compact_Shelf_Stereos&hash=item1c42d7479e
Sorry for all the questions but I don't want to buy in ignorance!
Thanks very much for your help.
It has been said here that while everyone *else* is paying more for the Mk. 3 because it is the newest, the best 9000s to buy from a mechanical standpoint are actually the Mk 2 units because the replacement lasers for Mk 2 are abundantly available. However this *only* holds true if a Mk. 2 has *not* had the laser replaced by an authorized B&O shop because as I recall, Mk 2s taken in for repair are brought up to Mk 3 spec when they are repaired at an authorized B&O facility.
In other words, they will all likely need laser replacement at some point and time, as they were never terribly reliable (I've owned all Marks). An unmodified Mk 2 will have available lasers out there for the foreseeable future with*out* needing to obtain it from B&O.
If you *do* get a Mk 3 unit, then you will want one that is the newest you can find, or with the latest available laser replacement to ensure a good long life from it. With the Mk3, the available source of lasers was stockpiled by B&O themselves, and it is believed finding an outside source is not easy should they ever dry up. Perhaps B&O sourced enough of them to last for years yet? I don't know.
Make sure when checking one over that the sledge moves to ALL positions quickly (with the door closed, it will move more slowly with the door open for safety reasons) and that ALL the CDs pickup and play with no dragging or scraping noises as the slledge moves. It should function this way in ALL orientations because there is an orientation selector on the underside of the unit. Make sure there are no "popping" noises when changing CDs or inputs as this indicates a needed repair.
The doors are easier to fit if the mounting pieces are already on them (the part that slots into the 9000 itself), otherwise you have to glue the mounting points from one glass to the other.
Yes, the cable you are looking at should work for what you want to do.
Hope that helps.
that's really helpful, thank you for such an informative and in-depth reply. Sorry, what do you mean by 'popping' noises? The same kind of noise as you hear when unplugging and plugging in a jack?
zarniwoop4: that's really helpful, thank you for such an informative and in-depth reply. Sorry, what do you mean by 'popping' noises? The same kind of noise as you hear when unplugging and plugging in a jack?
Yep! That's a great way to describe it. In the case of one of my Mk 2 units, (I think it was a Mk 2), it was a VERY loud pop, and loud enough that I was worried about damaging the speakers (BeoLab 1s at the time).