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
Guys, I am only half jesting in saying I believe I would be better served with another hobby. I worked on a 1937 25/30 Hooper-bodied Sports Salon with less trouble than this.
The time had come to stop talking about this amplifier situation and see if the initial problem with the Beomaster 4400 remained…. It does.
While the Beomaster 4400 does just fine with the S75 speakers, reconnected to the S120.2 speakers and the result is just God-awful! The lack of bass part of the equation seems to have subsided, but the nasty upper end and the problem with early clipping remain. I estimate the volume level is about 40% less than the Beomaster 4500 delivers before the overload lamp lights.
I accept that the S120.2 speakers were a poor choice for me and my “claimed” ear for music, but that said, there is something more going on here.
In reconnecting the Beomaster 4500 one of the speaker pins retracted into the housing, although I managed to “charm” the missing pin back out only to have a horrific hum coming from the Beogram 8200. I know it is a ground issue, but connecting the ground wire to my new pre-amp box merely inconsistently subdues the hum.
Once my frustration level subsides I will attempt to ground the Beogram 8002 to the Beomaster 4500 body.
I mean it all worked before…. all I did was put thing back exactly like they were.
The hum aside, the Beomaster 4400 seems happy as a clam mated with the S75 speakers and that is how I plan to leave things. However this apparent pleasant combination does not begin to explain why a more powerful and sophisticated amplifier produces such a decidedly unpleasant sound and at vastly less volume when compared to its clearly lesser stablemate.
The positive out of all of this is I finally got the temerity to swap amps if only to see if somehow I had imagined this peculiar saga. I had been more than reluctant to mess with things that were working, but I needed to know if the problem was real. I am disappointed that it turns out that it is more than real enough, but it is what it is. I am resigned to this situation.
The petty aggravations that ensued during the swap will soon be forgotten. Thanks for letting me let off steam.
All I have to do is think about my Beogram 4000 and the smile comes immediately back to my face.
Jeff
Beogram 4000, Beogram 4002, Beogram 4004, Beogram 8000, Beogram 8002, Beogram 1602. Beogram 4500 CD player, B&O CDX player, Beocord 4500, Beocord 5000 T4716, Beocord 5000 T4716, Beocord 5000 T4716, Beocord 8004, Beocord 9000, Beomaster 1000, Beomaster 1600, Beomaster 2400.2, Beomaster 2400.2, Beomaster 4400, Beomaster 4500, Beolab 5000, Beomaster 5000, BeoCenter 9000. BeoSound Century, S-45.2, S-45.2, S-75, S-75, M-75, M-100, MC 120.2 speakers; B&O Illuminated Sign (with crown & red logo). B&O grey & black Illuminated Sign, B&O black Plexiglas dealer sign, B&O ash tray, B&O (Orrefors) dealer award vase, B&O Beotime Clock. Navy blue B&O baseball cap, B&O T-shirt X2, B&O black ball point pen, B&O Retail Management Binder
Piaf:I mean it all worked before…. all I did was put thing back exactly like they were.
Its good to know that I'm not the only one, How many times have I had items working like a charm, unplugged, changing place, plugged in and then the problems, may be a small thing like a bad solder point or, as you a broken plug, but I think we have to live with it, we are handling electronics 20 to 40 years of age, so that something gives in or up, we just have to live with, for me thats part of the fun, find the failures and get it working.
Let of your steam, we all learn from it .
As for your BM 4400 and your 120s, something is just not right, it may be a good idea to check it out with another good working BM 4400, the problem is of course distance and transport, it may be a better idea to transport the speakers and not the BM, but according to your description, something is wrong.
Steam on.
Saludos Søren
Collecting Vintage B&O is not a hobby, its a lifestyle.
well put!
Hi Søren,
So true, so very true.
When I plugged in my much beloved Beomaster 4500, the red indicator illuminated, but that was it. No matter what button I pressed nothing happened.
I had this problem once before and I tried the remote control, which did the trick when this last happened, but not this time, so I unplugged the Beomaster 4500 and plugged it in again, and like magic, no problem. Ah the joys of antique electronics.
So you are certainly NOT the only one and I do feel better knowing that I am not alone. Thank you for that!
Part of the fun? Yes, I can identify with that as I love tinkering with old British cars. British cars “talk” to you, and if you don’t listen, they punish you…..but if you do pay attention to every “clang” or thump, the experience is very rewarding. With an American car I would go 6 months before checking the oil. With a British car I wouldn’t THINK of departing for more than a short trip without checking the oil, and that too is, as you said, part of the fun. Honestly!
That said I genuinely am disappointed in this Beomaster 4400….. its performance is not charming, like an old British car, it is just vastly less then expected.
I mean coupled with the S75 speakers in my dining room, the Beomaster 4400 sounds exceptionally good, BUT not the slightest bit, not a micron better than the BeoCenter 9000 playing the same record with S75 speakers. It doesn’t help that my BeoCenter 9000 was literally thrown in the trash heap at a government recycling plant and only rescued by a friend who works there thinking this stereo was too good to dump.
Thank you for the words of encouragement….. they mean a lot!
Saludos,
Sounds like you have a dud. Mine was fully tested by Frede before he gave it to me and has a full set of test figures. It exceeds the manufacturers specification in almost all parameters. I must confess, I would be very tempted to send it to Martin and see if he can find the problem. I have used S120s with another 4400 and they were superb.
On the humming Beogram 8002, are you using the correct lead? The 8000 series Beograms have a specific Phono cable rather than a standard 7 pin DIN as the casing of the DIN plugs are connected by a shield. The cable normally has a PH sticker somewhere on it.
I can relate to the British car analogy! It is when everything is working perfectly that I worry!
Peter
I insist that my MC120, driven by the 4400 sounds very sweet and delicate, being on the warm side even.
Jacques
Jeff,
Your problems seem almost to be illogical.
A quick summation, from the three threads that have covered your saga - the BM4400 sounds OK with the S75s; the S120s sound fine with the BM4500; The BM4400 and the S120s sound dreadful.
Like Jacques and Peter, I have regularly used the 120s and the BM 4400 together. In fact my 4400 was a gift from Peter so may actually be the one he refers to in his recent post as the 'earlier one'. Like them, my experiences have been nothing but positive.
So, logic would suggest this is not the actual pieces themselves or their compatibility. Assuming we are not taling about an intermittent fault that only seems to occur when certain pieces are connected to other certain pieces, are there any other factors such as using different speaker cables or the use of different speaker sockets in the 4400? One of my more imaginative flights of fancy was that you had the 120s connected to the second set of speaker sockets on the 4400 with the ambio facility cut in - but that is perhaps going too far.
Have you tried the S45.2s with the Bm4400 and what was the result? I have used these with a BM2400, a BC9500 and the BM4400 and I could detect a very subtle diference with the BM4400 (although that was a few years ago before the hearing really started to go ) Did this show the BM4400 in abetter light?
As for British cars of a certain vintage, don't start me on that one!
Cleve
What Cleve said.Or speaker placement ?
Martin
Hello Peter,
First, the easy part. Yes I am connecting the back ground wire to the ground connection on the pre-amp box. It is exactly the same with my owned since new Beogram 8000 both have a terrible hum without the ground wire connected to a proper ground.
Somehow the ground is “not enough” as it changes with any movement and is best when I firmly touch the box. I have in the past unscrewed one of the screws on the bottom of the Beomaster 4500 and used the body as a ground. I believe I will try that again.
Second, I am questioning the condition of my brand new DIN speaker cables as that prong (post if you prefer) should not have retracted like it did. Something is amiss with these new cables; however whatever the problem is the Beomaster 4400 can not handle it, but the lesser relation, the Beomaster 4500 can. This makes no sense to me.
I have a crummy set of DIN cables laying around here somewhere in need of repair, but it might be well worth my while to see if the old cable does better than the new one.
You say I have a dud, well I believe you. With the right source and at moderate volume, the Beomaster 4400 does indeed produce a complicated and delightful sound with the S75 speakers. What it can not do is produce volume at a high level as the sound shows obvious strain and the overload lamp begins to flicker.
It is not that I want to blast out my household and my neighbors day and night like a teenager, what bothers me is this Beomaster 4400 is UNABLE to do so.
In a most unscientific comparison mentioned above I estimated that in the same physical position the Beomaster 4400 produced, at best, 40% less volume than the Beomaster 4500. That is like a high school member of your local school swim team beating out an Olympic metal holder AT the Olympics!
Cleve, the speaker connections are correct and the ambio function has not been selected, but a good thought, however!
I am assuming that I have more than one problem going on at the same time. Something is likely wrong with my new speaker cables, but what I didn’t understand is if that is true, why the Beomaster 4500 can handle the problem whereas the Beomaster 4400 can not. Further I figure that there is also something wrong with my totally rebuilt amplifier. This really galls me as the shop that did the work is excellent.
Hi Peter,
I wasn’t ignoring your idea of shipping this sad Beomaster 4400 to Martin, as we know Martin does amazing work.
It is just that I purchased this item fully restored and it “exceeded” specifications when it left the shop from a well known B&O specialist. Please know that I do NOT question the validity of this claim, but the Beomaster 4400 certainly wasn’t in spec when it arrived.
I’ve got over US$800 in this Beomaster and shipping to Denmark is horribly costly.
The way it stands now the Beomaster 4400 will remain banished to my dining room where it does perfectly well in the capacity of providing background music for a dinner party.
On a more positive note, I found the source of that awful hum coming from my Beogram 8002, it was my new preamplifier. Simply replacing the unit fixed the problem and the company is being more than responsive as to the problem.
The Beomaster 4500 is doing a most credible job in powering the S120.2 speakers and with fairly mild tone adjustments, I am quite pleased with the setup. The S120.2 speakers are still not my favourite speakers, but are now quite acceptable.
As for British cars, the true love of my life, when they don’t leak, you know they are out. And we can never properly pay the debt we owe to Lord Lucas, the Prince of Darkness.
One red hot tip, should you ever be so inclined to own a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud series of automobile with an automatic gear box, be advised that the ever so bright engineers at Rolls-Royce took a perfectly marvelous GM designed Hydromantic transmission and produced their own version, under license, sans the rear seal. Should you ever park this particular motorcar with its rear end on a steep decline, you will find it totally without ATF and unable to proceed.
All the best.
Decided to just keep my GT6 - it leaks oil happily and keeps me busy dealing with its little foibles! Oiling the trunnions is a pleasant if slightly risible affair! And the only sound system is the exhaust!
Piaf:It is just that I purchased this item fully restored
Why not bring it back with your speakers to the guy who restored it ? for that sort of money I would be back to him asap.
Like you I live on an island, so shipping is always an issue.
The speakers came from a gentleman in Vancouver and I purchased them years ago, so returning them is not an option.
The Beomaster is a different matter. I have thought about returning it for the service that it so clearly needs, but that requires international shipping, duties both ways, etc.
Plus I have a relationship with the shop owner and knowing him as I do, there is NO way that he will not take this personally….. as an insult to his workmanship.
800 or so dollars is a lot of money for me to lose, but I value the relationship even more. As such I am rather stuck with the “boat anchor.”
Peter,
The GT6 is a fine automobile as well as being a genuine classic,
I have lusted for a Herald for years, and if practicality was not a priority, a Daimler Dart, just because it looks so darn odd, someone has to love it and give it a home.
I have a normal 7-15 job as everybody else but hobby is important for me, just as much as keeping good friends is.If I serviced - or serviced and sold - a Beomaster of this caliber, I would move heaven and earth to pleasethe owner, regardless of it being a personal friend or a complete stranger and I'm sure, if the sellerof the actual Beomaster is doing this for the pleasure of doing it, he will feel the same andhe wouldn't mind checking the Beomaster against the factory specs if you tell him, you have afeeling that something is amiss.I'm sure, he strives for a perfect result and a pleased owner with every unit serviced.If the seller is indeed the person, I think it is, I know he does. The Beomaster 4400 has issues with broken solder joints in certain areas and, even if a unit ofthis type, sold at the price mentioned, should be expected to work flawlessly, thingscan happen in transport, vibrations etc. He will also know this.
If the Beomaster indeed has audible problems, they will be very easy to measure sinceproblems of this type usually cause stray results on the instruments before sounding wrongand an expert in B&O will easily be able to tell if the poor thing sounds and behaves normally or not, maybeby merely playing and listening.He may even have a similar Beomaster to use for reference if in doubt.
The selling price is not the thing, you should be focusing on, really.Focus on getting the problem solved, be that a repair or a return. If he is a good friend of yours,he will also want to keep it that way and he won't let money get between you.
Dillen:Focus on getting the problem solved, be that a repair or a return. If he is a good friend of yours,he will also want to keep it that way and he won't let money get between you.
Agree with Martin, what we want is our vintage working perfectly, and I'm sure a Beo dealer who goes into a vintage item, wants the same, no way he do this for winnings, but for the joy and pride of getting a vintage item up and running again, If there are failures he wants to know and find out why, and so do we
Hi Søren and Martin,
Thank you for your interest and suggestions.
I agree my focus should be to get this matter resolved and it can be.
I have a very good friend in California, a fellow B&O collector who when he heard of what has transpired and knowing the restorer personally INSISTED that I tell him of the problems I had with the Beomaster 4400.
I did this, but the reaction was defensive insisting that the amp “exceeded all specs when it left his bench.” [This I do not doubt for a minute.] My restorer felt that it must be something that I have done incorrectly to cause this series of issues.
So tomorrow I will open up the Beomaster 4400 and inspect it, looking for anything that is obviously amiss. If I find something that is within my limited ability to repair, I will take care of it myself. Should I find something that is clearly wrong that I can not fix then I will contact my restorer and expect a much more willing reception to make things right.
This shop is one that does superb work and great pride goes into each repair. My Beocord 8004 was repaired there and it is flawless as is the Beogram 8002 I purchased from them.
This whole matter has been one of frustration from the beginning. It reminds me of the problem I was having with my McIntosh 2255. I tried a local shop which managed to make things worse. I then took the ferry to Vancouver to deliver the amp to the McIntosh dealer, $160 round trip….. but the first attempt was a failure requiring a second trip. The second repair only made the problem intermittent and I decided to ship the amp to the McIntosh factory.
The folks at McIntosh were amazing telling me the damage to the amp was so extensive that it didn’t warrant repair and they offered me a new McIntosh amp at their cost. It was MORE than a generous offer, but I declined as this was my amp from new and I was responsible for damaging it and I wanted it repaired. The repair cost estimate was over 1K, but worth it to me.
The amp arrived with a new shipping box 100% rebuilt with a personal note from the president saying there was no invoice because in his opinion the amplifier should not have failed.
I was delighted until I connected the amp to my system and it performed badly. Talk about frustration making my current situation seem trivial. With close inspection I noticed that the amp was set for 4 ohms while I was running 8 ohm speakers. A flip of the switch and the amp performed flawlessly….. as it does to this day.
If only my Beogram 4400 issue could be that simple.
We’ll see what transpires tomorrow.
I opened up the Beomaster 4400 and found a few dust bunnies and a couple of hairs, but all in all, everything looked good.
I kept looking and found two solder points that looked suspect so I soldered them.
I turned on the Beomaster after soldering the two points and it worked fine, but with my family home, it warm outside with the windows all open and waning to show consideration for my neighbors I didn’t dare test it out to see if the soldering made any difference.
I have no idea what I soldered, but the points were right at the front on the right side if you are looking at the 4400 from the front end.
We’ll see what difference, if any, my soldering made tomorrow.
Well, from one Jeff to another...
I think you need to never deal with whoever restored your B&O again. You should never be in a position where you are afraid to tell someone their work may be substandard, and that there is a problem. Never. If they get their nose out of joint you know not to deal with them again.
Personally, in my experience, the only time I've seen a repair place I trust do that was back when I worked in audio, and it was with a customer with a long history of abusing equipment came back with another issue with an amp we had repaired numerous times under warranty. A Harman Kardon Citation 16 full of garbage and dead roaches, with tin foil wrapped around the fuses and burned output transformers/boards.
If I had repaired it, my first reaction would not be to turn my nose up and blame you without any attempt to ask what the issue was. I've had similar experiences, once I sent an Armstrong amp back to the manufacturer in the UK. It came back supposedly with extensive repairs that I paid for, and had the exact same issues as when it left (hum, noise, intermittent issues). I was livid, and never did get it resolved correctly.
Of course, to a certain extent there's the feeling that if you didn't repair it right the first time, why would I think you could the second? But there is always the chance something was missed or damaged in transit, but your description sure doesn't sound like it's working correctly.
I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus.
Piaf:I opened up the Beomaster 4400 and found a few dust bunnies and a couple of hairs, but all in all, everything looked good.
I have here a BM 901, BM 2404, BM 4000, BM 5000 and 3 BG. When I get a used item, first thing I do is open them and look for failures, then clean them, make a list of needed spares, close them again and wait for spares, if they are useable I use them, when spares arrive and I have time, I open them again and do the works, between cleaning and opening 2nd time, there may go 6 month or more, I have NEVER found dust bunnies in my equipment after the first cleaning, I have found very little dust, mostly nothing, and my house is Mexican build, that means, doors and windows not properly fitted, with gaps to the walls, doors not closing properly, no gaskets what so ever in any window or door, so its a dusty place. If you find dust or dust bunnies in a newly overhauled 4400, someone didn't do his job, or your house is a lot worse than mine.
Hi Jeff,
This is a public forum so I have to choose my words with care, however there is no getting around the communication issue, I should have NO hesitation in communicating problems I have experienced, but that is not the case here.
I also made light of the dust bunnies and the few hairs I found on the circuit boards, but it really isn’t trivial as a thorough restoration would not have left any such items. This was not like a simple repair where I dropped the amp off in the morning and picked it up in the afternoon, no this was a restoration where things got missed.
Hey but we are all human and mistakes happen, however this was an international transaction with heavy shipping costs and duties to be paid.
In my opinion what should have happened when I first reported the problems to the shop, they should have said, “I am so sorry that you are having problems with your amp and we want you to ship it back to us immediately so that we can find out what went wrong and make things right.” Instead the shop suggested that it must be something I did wrong, like connecting the speakers to SP2 instead of SP1.
Now that I soldered those two solder points that didn’t look right to me the volume level “appears” to have increased from 7 to 7.5 before the overload lamp comes on. I say “appears” as I didn’t think it necessary when all this saga began to take notes, so the 7 maximum level is from memory, and no doubt would vary depending on the record.
In any case there is now plenty of bass, but the treble is still not quite right and amplified by the S120.2 speakers.
What this tells me is I may have improved things a bit with the two solder points but clearly there are other issues which exceed my abilities for repair.
That is quite a collection you have there. “Not a hobby, but a lifestyle,” sums it up extremely well.
In my reply to “the other Jeff” I mentioned that things were missed that shouldn’t have been. My guess is that during the repair process the US experienced several massive heat waves and it is difficult to work in over 100°F. I suspect that’s how so many things got missed in an ordinarily meticulous shop. However that is a reason NOT an excuse.
The dust bunnies did not come from here as I have only had this amp for about a month.
Perhaps a recap is in order.
When the Beomaster 4400 arrived the first thing I noticed that the plastic guard over the radio pre-sets was yellowed after much was made of the NOS part that was replacing the aged one that came with this amplifier. I assumed that the NOS part yellowed over time in its box.
Originally there was absolutely no bass, a shrill, annoying high end, and the overload lamp lighting at a remarkably and unexpectedly low volume.
The two Beomasters 4400 and 4500 were then swapped and I was surprised how “well” the Beomaster 4400 performed with the S75 speakers. So much so that I changed amplifiers again, but the Beomaster 4400 badly disappointed with its shrill upper end, although remarkably the bass remained.
I then noticed that several of the switches stuck and going from Tape to Phono, both would remain engaged.
At this point I contacted the restorer of my Beomaster 4400 mentioning the original lack of bass, the shrill highs, and the sticky switches. I was admonished for complaining about the switches, “You should see what I get in here, switches so loose that they are almost useless.” The other complains were reduced to something I had done in error, like plugging the speaker’s cables into Speaker 2 instead of Speaker 1, or having the Ambio function engaged. (Neither was correct.)
Once inside the Beomaster 4400 I found a few dust bunnies and several hairs that had no business being there after a thorough restoration. I also found two solder points that looked suspicious and re-soldered them.
The result of the re-soldering is an “apparent” increase in volume capability. I say apparent because I didn’t anticipate this would be such a long process and did not take notes on the variations in performance. I can say that 6.5 to 7 was the absolute limit with this Beomaster, but after the soldering the Beomaster achieved a full 8 playing Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.
There is still something amiss in the upper range with is exacerbated with the use of the extremely bright S120.2 speakers. It sounds like a tweeter that is being driven beyond its limits.
The conclusion I reach is this Beomaster has been compromised by multiple issues: intermittent component failures resulting in inconsistent bass performance, a shrill treble, less than expected volume, and a lack of attention to details like sticky switches, dust bunnies, etc.
The bright side is that with use, and the re-soldering this crippled Beomaster is doing better.
Piaf:The bright side is that with use, and the re-soldering this crippled Beomaster is doing better.
Conclusion: Your restorer did a bad job, and you have more problems to come, something is not right when getting load on it, and it will get worse with time.
Sorry Jeff, hard words, but true.
Not hard words at all, but very much true ones. This is only going to get worse with time.
I am forgiving and patient to a fault….. plus I detest confrontation. I kept hoping that there was another explanation for the problems I was experiencing, but eventually there was no way to sugar coat it.
One of the things I have noticed, as mentioned in my re-cap, this Beomaster 4400 is doing better with use. Loving antique electronic as I do I know this is merely a cover-up for failing parts… like with my newly acquired BeoCenter 9000, it has a failing capacitor on the CD board and when I first got this BeoCenter it barely played any CD’s. Now it plays nearly all CD’s, but it doesn’t mean the capacitor is getting any better, the usage is just buying me time.
In the case of the Beomaster I just KNOW that there is more than one component that is failing and the collection will simply snowball with time.
One of our BeoWorld members offered me their Beomaster 4400 at a price significantly less than what I paid for mine, but I felt honor bound to buy the one I did as I had been in negotiations with the owner for some time and to me a man’s word is his bond.
Good God I wish I had purchased THAT Beomaster and simply apologized to my restorer.
Hi Jeff!
I didn't quite get it clearly: was the receiver entirely re-capped, new trimmers fitted, etc?
The connector you show appears to be very clean, shiny new even, so it's obvious that it was meticulously cleaned.
As a matter of comparison, maybe not valid, my Beolab 5000 is running on its original components, not having ever been opened (messed up with?) and it sounds fantastic!
So clearly this puzzles us all.😲
The Beolab 5000 uses very different capacitors to the 4400 and seem to give less bother. The infamous red capacitors of the 70s were superb new but leak and go crusty and out of spec when aging. They should be replaced when the receiver is restored. This problem plagued many of this era of receiver up to and including the Beomaster 8000 - I still have the packet of capacitors that came out of my old 8000 - and a big packet it was too! Do us a picture of the 4400 with the lid off - I am sure we will see exactly what has been replaced,
Yes, post photos at last Jeff!
I have also binned hundreds of those red, orange, grey ROE caps... I also wonder why the trimmers used by B&O were so cheap!
Hi Jacques,
The shop never specified in any real detail what was being repaired or replaced. However I do not believe that it was entirely recapped, rather parts were replaced where required. No mention of trimmer replacement was made.
I can take a photo as Peter suggested and post it over the weekend.
Looking forward to that then!
In my B&O and Revox efforts - among others - I always replace those caps and oxydized trimmers. They just mean trouble. My 4400 has not one of its original caps left for instance.
I tried to send the colelction of photos all greatly reduced in size, however I can only send one at a time, what am I doing wrong?
I'm going to try something different.
Piaf: I tried to send the colelction of photos all greatly reduced in size, however I can only send one at a time, what am I doing wrong? Jeff
Upload your re sized photos to phtobucket, write your text in a reply or new thread , place your curser where you want your photo, click the film strip, click URL, go to photobucket, click the direct link under the photo, go back to thread, paste link to URL, click insert, same for the next pic you want to insert.
<a href="http://s1169.photobucket.com/albums/r501/piafjeff/?action=view&current=98f0ddb2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r501/piafjeff/98f0ddb2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
I hope this works, here is the link to photobucket, let me know if this works.
It appears the link works, Yea! Here is one more photo.
Hi Jeff! Look at mine inside.
Well inside yours it is nigh on impossible to say what they did!
It has all its original components that's for sure...
Clearly not a lot of labour went in there!
I cannot access Photobucket from work, it seems to have a safety issue preventing it from going through our firewall.But from the photos here at Beoworld, I must agree,It looks fairly clean inside but, apart from maybe an output stage transistor, I canspot no new components or signs of work anywhere.I would have expected to see new radial caps replacing the red Roederstein capacitorsand new idle current trimmers as a minimum.
I think, it's safe to say, based on the photos and the fact that those red capacitors are still in place, that this Beomaster doesNOT meet factory specs.
Ask the seller if he can tell you what was done to it prior to selling.
I agree. It looks like very little was done to it. It looks absolutely standard to me.
Regards Graham
Hi Jacques, Martin, and Graham,
Thank you for your collective if damning inputs.
From day one this Beomaster 4400 performed like a very old amplifier: moody, inconsistent, and erratic. I also noticed that it played better with more usage, another clear sign of aging components.
I tend to be a trusting optimist so when the Beomaster 4400 had a “good day” I managed to convince myself that I must have been overly harsh in my previous critical assessments. The “good days” were quickly and dependably followed by bad ones and disappointment set in. As such ownership of this particular Beomaster has been quite an emotional rollercoaster ride.
The one thing I just could not get past the fact that this completely refurbished Beomaster 4400 could not successfully power the S120.2 speakers when the much less powerful Beomaster 4500 did so without the slightest problem. Now I fully understand why.
Sorry about that...
I insist that my 4400 sounds great, day in, day out, no matter what speakers it will drive. It is an amazing receiver, period.
BTW, any McIntosh amp should sound good, anyway those I came across did, I was very impressed, valve or transistor alike.