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
I just picked up a beogram 9000 for a steal. But when I got it the transportation screws weren’t fastened. I secured them for the drive home but perhaps they have had at least one trip without them. Everything works but the sound is horribly distorted. Everything is very dirty and the records I have here are quite dusty too, but my question is if it can get this bad from only dust? Is the cartridge damaged or is it potentially a shipping damage on the turntable? I don't know much about record players so I thought of asking here first before shelling out €200 for a replacement cartridge.
If you can, find a known good cartridge (any of the MMC1-5's) and try it, that will tell you if it's the MMC4 that you have is the problem. Was it shipped with the cartridge on the tonearm? If it was, and the lock down screws weren't fastened, it's quite likely that the cartridge has been damaged. It may need retipping only - can you examine it under a magnifier? Alternatively, the suspension on the MMC4 may have failed - a known issue but it can be rebuilt here:
https://www.schallplattennadeln.de/REPARATUR-RETIPPING/B-O-MMC-SYSTEM-Reparatur/Reparatur-MMC-1-2-3-4-5-mit-elliptischer-Diamant-N.html
Any replacement cartridge you may buy for example via eBay or wherever is prone to the same failure.
Dave.
Thanks guys!
I tried with another dirty record and it’s even worse with the needle skipping both left and right and sound is distorted to almost pure noise. I’m afraid I don’t have either a spare cartridge, a microscope or a stylus brush so I'm feeling a bit lost.
What kind of mechanical damage can happen from transporting it without the screws except for the easily replaceable cartridge? Yes the cartridge were on the tonearm, the guy just came carrying the unit loose in his arms. :) But apart from the distortion it it seems to work just fine mechanically, as far as I can tell.
Schallplattennadeln was the first place I looked at for a replacement but I would very much like to know for sure that it would fix the problem as they cost quite a lot.
I buy lots of B&O turntables and experience is that whatever the seller says, there is a 90% chance that the stylus is u/s. I get them all refurbished to as near as possible to their original spec by Schallplattennadeln.
If the stylus weight is set to 1.2 grams or thereabout and it still sounds rubbish then post it off to Germany
Regards Graham
I got got a microscope - the cantilever is not centered and the needle looks like it's been living on the ocean floor, so it's now on its way to Germany. :)
As I would like to clean and lubricate the insides I got another problem. The diagram on the bottom says to remove the two screws and just lift the top up when the tone-arm is all the way to the left. But when I try to lift it up the turntable comes along with the top part while the tone arm stays secured to the bottom, resulting in the tone-arm hitting the turntable.
What am I doing wrong? :)
.
Thanks again Dave, so simple! :)
Double post, again. :/