Beolab 5000 advice needed

Hi all,

New member here so go easy on me :)

I have inherited a B&O Beolab 5000 amplifier and a few cables, alongside a vintage SONY tapedeck from my father-in-law. He says he purchased it sometime in the 'early 70s' and has had it in storage since then. He reliably tells me that it works a treat and is very powerful.

"Back in the day it was the top of the range" etc... you get my drift. :)

Anyhow, how stumbled upon this forum looking for a place I can glean some advice regarding whether I should hang on to it, or indeed if it's worth anything, perhaps a future sale?

I really don't have a clue as to what these things are worth, other than the one currently on eBay for £300 with no bids (lol) - so I'm not using that as a benchmark.

The only real keywords I keep coming across relating to this product is 'Sacred System' and 'True Classic' and the odd 'Legendary' here and there. :)

Keith from this site kindly advised I should head over here and see if I can pick a few people's brains about it. I'll be honest, I don't even know what I should be asking, but here is the spec as I see it:

Teak wooden panel. Powers up fine when switched on. No buttons stick. Silent. Very heavy unit - solid build. No dents. A bit dusty so could probably do with a clean. Service history - none that I know of other than my father-in-law is very careful with his electrical equipment, it will have been looked after. No Box or paperwork. One short chunky grey 5-pin DIN(?) connector cable. BL 5000 Type 5303. No. 47286.

Some pictures for you - hope I'm not breaking any rules. Apologies If I have. EDIT: The photos seem to have been cropped I guess because they are too wide. You can see the full version in the MEDIA GALLERY on this site - Keith very kindly added them there earlier.

Hello and Welcome.

The Beolab 5000 is a brilliant amplifier. One of B&O's best ever and I would personally recommend keeping hold of it.

In terms of value, difficult to say really. There have been a few on eBay recently but I am not convinced they have all sold. Either way, my recommendation is to keep hold of it, especially if it works.

Frede can perform a full restoration as well and further details on this can be found on his website (classic audio).

Nice pictures too!

Ben

Thanks for the response Ben - appreciated.

Thing is I'm not sure what I can use it for, as I have no tapes to hand. I have a couple of old Dynatron speakers that came with it, with no cables though. Looking at all the connections on the back of the 5000 kinda turns my brain to mush. :)

I guess they'll go up in value though yes?

Here is what I did to mine, and I had to do it

Wow - I've only perused the first page of that thread and I can see I am a year too late!

Makes me appreciate how well kept my unit is. Thanks for the link to your thread - I'm keen to read through it and see how you managed with the restoration.

Hi Mik!

As Søren and Ben say, a definite keeper that is entirely worth restoring, either professionally (the Classic path) or by yourself.

You will find it's the best integrated amplifier you have heard (seriously mate) and you will probably ditch all else.

And then of course - you will need the tuner