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Hi, I'm expecting delivery of my Beomaster 1400 soon. Just purchased it off ebay.
I'm sorting some bits and bobs.
Questions
1) Anyone got the faintest idea where I might get hold of an instruction book? I pretty much know how it all works, but nice to have for reference.
2) Does this sound feasible. I can buy a 5 pin din plug and 3.5mm stereo jack off ebay. Can I connect my mp3 player from it's headphone jack to the tape recorder or record player input sockets? I know it would be a dodle if I just had a line out signal, but the headphone socket will be amplified a bit, and I don't want to blow anything. If this is OK, which input would be best?
Thanks for any help.
Nick
Attach it to the tape input. If it is capable, you can get docks which will send line signal. I use one with my 1960s Beomaster 5000.
Peter
I would suggest upgrading to silver or gold membership to obtain the manual, but it appears that there is not a user manual for either Beomaster 1400 models on site!
Did you win the model that finished last night out of interest?
Ben
Thanks for the input guys.
Yes, I won the model that finished last night. He was also selling a pair of Beovox 2200 which I assumed were used with the Beomaster 1400 and I got those as well.
I was watching both of those. Well done for getting them!
Let me know what the 2200s sound like, I fancy a pair of those at some point.
Hi, thanks for that. Can you recommend a dock? They seem to be all singing, all dancing, but all I want is something that I can plug-in my mp3 player via USB, and then have a line out, presumable 3.5mm stereo jack.
cheers
NickNike: Hi, thanks for that. Can you recommend a dock? They seem to be all singing, all dancing, but all I want is something that I can plug-in my mp3 player via USB, and then have a line out, presumable 3.5mm stereo jack. cheers Nick
I have a basic dock for my 160Gb iPod Classic - takes the output from the 30 pin connector and delivers line level via a mini jack.
A bit like this one except even simpler!
Thanks for the reply. I don't have an iPod. I have a SanDisk mp3 player, whose connections are an earphone socket and a mini USB socket.
Is it possible to send the signal via the USB cable to a device which will have a line out jack plug socket?
Oh - finally a person who has seen, that there's other things in life than i-devices " />
If I understand you correctly, you have a mini-Jack for headphones on your mp3 player.
You don't have to use some docking station (unless you want to charge the mp3 player while playing)You only need a mini-Jack to 5 pin DIN cable to connect your mp3 player to your Beomaster. I have tried this with both smartphone, tablet and mp3 player (none of them from the A-cult) to my Beomasters - and Beocenters. (Yes- I have several of both) it works fine. Even if i turn the volume to max on the phone/tablet, there's no chance of overload to the Tape/aux socket.
Today i prefer using wi-fi from my phone/tablet to my audio-systems through a WD-TV Live box. (but that's another story)
Hi, you understand me completely. I have a lead on order for the grand sum of £1.75, so it sounds like 'job done'. I have a pair of Beovox 2200 coming with the 1400. I guess they will do nicely. There are 2 more speaker connections. Is there an advantage to having 2 pairs, and can you recommend a model type for the second pair? The output from the 1400 is 15Watts per channel, and the 2200 are 10 Watts. I hope you don't mind me asking you, but with several systems, you must be an expert.
In my opinion, there's no advantage in having 2 sets of speakers, as the music is only 2 channels. To put it simple, the amplifier must Work harder to feed 4 speakers instead of 2. Unless we're talking Sourround sound, I would not recommend more than 2 speakers. But it's a matter of taste. Some people think that it "fills the room" better with 4 speakers. (at least it fills the space) " />
Well. An Expert can be many things... I'm not an Expert when it comes to the Electronics -repairing things and so. We do have quite a few people here on Beoworld who can be considered experts in that area. But I do have some knowledge in various B&O "hardware" over the years. Besides the various B&O music systems I have for daily use, I have a little private "museum" with older stuff from the 70's and 80's.
B&Os idea with 2 sets of speakers was to place the second set in another room, all of the manuals mention this, and as Steffen mention it is 2 channel stereo and 1 set of speaker is sufficient for each room. Only the BMs that supports quadraphonie will need 4 speakers in the same room.
Collecting Vintage B&O is not a hobby, its a lifestyle.
Again, thanks for the replies.
Are the Beovox 2200 speakers well suited? Can anybody recommend a possible better pair?
cheers,
I have never heard the 2200 speakers. They are quite rare (they were only on the market for 2 years ('69 - '70). That alone should be a reason to keep them.However, I think that you'll get better sound with a set of the newer speakers from the 70's - like S30, S45 or bigger ones like S60 etc. Or maybe some of those from the 80's. Like S45, S55 or S80 (the 80's models have frets split in two) Small speakers, like the CX 100 will be fine, if you don't like big boxes.
Many thanks, and interesting you should mention CX100. These are 100 Watt speakers. Is the 15 Watts from the amps enough to drive these high powered speakers efficiently enough to get reasonable volume?. I'm thinking some power may be lost in just getting them 'started'. Would say 20 Watt speakers give better volume as they are more matched to the output power?
The max effect of the speakers doesn't matter. What matters is the sensitivity, or efficiency of the speakers.
Sensitivity is used to determine the amount of power nescessary to drive or operate a speaker.In effect, a less efficient speaker requires more wattage to play at the same volume as a more efficient speaker. And since relatively small differences in efficiency equal correspondingly large differences in power requirements, efficiency is actually a lot more important than most people think.
A 50 watt speaker can sometimes be harder to drive for the amplifier, than a 100 watt speaker. But - the small CX 100 speakers are less efficient, than many of their bigger brothers. In other Words - they require more "juice" from the amp. Actually the really big ones like Beovox MS 150 are easier to drive than the CX 100.
But your Beomaster can easily drive even the small CX'es. It all depends on how loud you want to play.
(Btw - your Beomaster is not 2x15 -but 2x20 watts)
Hi,
Interesting stuff.
So, is sensitivity/ efficiency given in the specification? And I therefore assume, from what you say, that CX100, and even CX50 are not the 'first choice'.
Sensitivity is referred to as "dB" in the specs.
A simple explanation:
Speaker sensitivity for home audio speakers can range from about 84 dB up to about 100 dB.
Therefore, 84 dB speakers are less efficient and require more power to get the same volume as more efficient 95 dB speakers.
- that's the explanation I know.However I can see here on Beoworld, that sensitivity in the specs of the older Beovoxes is written in Watts...I don't know if this got "lost in translation"... In the Danish specifications this is called "Driftseffekt". And not the same as sensitivity...In this case the lower is better (when talking about small amplifiers) - in other Words: Speakers with 2 w "sensitivity" (driftseffekt) can play louder than those with 6 w "sensitivity" (as the C 75) with the same amplifier.Confused?
- if you want more info, just Google "speaker sensitivity".
Not confused, very useful, thanks very much.
The speakers I have coming have a speaker din plug missing. I have purchased a pair of plugs. How do I determine which wire is positive from the speaker? Is it still the old trick of putting a 1.5V battery across the wires, and see which way the cone moves? If so, which way is positive, and which pin on the plug is positive, the round or the flat pin?
Lots of lovely questions, I hope you don't mind
The round is positive +.
Glad to help you
That's very kind of you. Did I get that right, about using a battery across the speaker cables? Is the positive lead found when the + terminal on the battery is connected to the cable moving the cone out wards?
cheers,Nick
You've got that right.
CheersSteffen
Hi Again,
I have Beovox 2200 speakers. I can only find the service manual for 2400 on-line, although they must be similar. How do I remove the front covers? In the manual it just says the front covers can be removed without tools, but not how.
Nick (now playing with his new toy as it arrived in the post today )
NickNike:I have Beovox 2200 speakers. I can only find the service manual for 2400 on-line, although they must be similar. How do I remove the front covers? In the manual it just says the front covers can be removed without tools, but not how.
You don't need tools if you have tool-like fingernails. Most mortals will need a flat, blunt tool to help
Just pry them off and and try not to damage the wood nor the covers. There are four spring loaded pegs that keep the covers on. There's nothing interesting under there, though.
--mika
Thanks.
I just wanted a quick look at the cones, but in particular I want to see the cone movement when applying a 1.5V battery to see which is the positive lead as one of the DIN plugs is missing.
NickNike:I just wanted a quick look at the cones, but in particular I want to see the cone movement when applying a 1.5V battery to see which is the positive lead as one of the DIN plugs is missing.
That makes sense. The drivers have rubber surroundings so there is most probably nothing wrong with them.
Nice little speakers, I'm sure you'll enjoy them! The cone tweeters make them very directional though, so for best performance they need to be aimed at your head
Hi, I have had to pull the tuning knob and spindle out of the unit. I have re-threaded the cord, but when I turn the tuning knob, the cord snarls-up on the tuning knob spindle/ cord seating. Any ideas? Instead of the cord around the tuning spindle remaining a neat 2 1/2 turns, it starts to ride over the next turn and snarls-up.
BTW, the plastic pinion that connects the spindle with the fly wheel has totally disintegrated. I suppose I am stuck with this situation.
Hi, answering my previous message, because the plastic pinion behind the tuning knob had disintegrated, the tuning spindle was in too far, and the spindle and the end cord wheels were out of alignment. A couple of washers have sorted that.
I had to remove the front plastic waveband printed scales and of course, one of the plastic clips that holds up the lower edge has broken.
Question. Is it possible to get spare parts? Could I get a couple of plastic clips from somewhere?
Also, the volume slider potentiometer is acoustically very 'scratchy'. Is it a question of cleaning the carbon tracks, or replacing the potentiometer? Where would I get another one?
Otherwise the unit works well and so do the speakers.
So, I guess it's this model you have?
First I thought it was the "newer" 1400 from the 70's you had bought.
Well anyway. There's no spare parts available anymore. You can only hope that som Beoworlders have some parts they want to sell. Otherwise you must look for a cheap nonfunctional Beomaster as "donor". But it can be hard to find.
You can try cleaning the potentiometer. You can try spraying with contact cleaner, but it will mostly be temporary. Some here on Beoworld have opened the potentiometers to clean them. But be careful - as you already have noticed, some plasticparts in these old devices are brittle.
Hi Steffen,
Yes, it is this 1400 type. I had one back in the 60s/ 70s so I'm on a nostalgia trip. As a retired engineer, I usually mange to sort out the problems. Thanks for your feedback.