HELP! How can i connect a 6500 receiver & RX2 turntable or Control Panel 5500? CD player advice too.

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Adam Posted: Fri, Mar 24 2017 1:56 PM

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Hello!

I've had a RX2 turntable since high school and finally dusting it off and getting back into my vinyl, so i decided to see build a little system around it. Love the B&O design aesthetic, but kinda new to how they work. I picked up a Beomaster 6500 and Beocorder 6500 from someone locally, and I also see someone locally selling a Master Control Panel 5500. So.. i have a few questions hopefully someone might be able to help out with:

1-  Is there anyway i can hook up my RX2 turntable to the Beomaster 6500? They have different connectors.

2-  Will the Master Control Panel 5500 work with the 6500 stuff?

3- Can the 6500 receiver work w/out a control panel - i cant figure out how to even control the  volume.

4- I want to get a cd player as well, would you recommend the 6500 cd player? Is that the only one that would work w/my receiver? Is there one i should really focus on finding thats better than the others?

Thank you all in advance!

-Adam

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Peter replied on Sat, Mar 25 2017 8:30 AM

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abank:

 

1-  Is there anyway i can hook up my RX2 turntable to the Beomaster 6500? They have different connectors.

You will need a RIAA anyway - Steve and Sounds Heavenly can provide you with a suitable device which will plug into the 6500 - the RX2 is not remote control.

2-  Will the Master Control Panel 5500 work with the 6500 stuff?

Yes

3- Can the 6500 receiver work w/out a control panel - i cant figure out how to even control the  volume.

You need a remote - the MCP5500 will do everything but a Beolink 1000 or a Beo4 will do the main tasks - just not the programming.

4- I want to get a cd player as well, would you recommend the 6500 cd player? Is that the only one that would work w/my receiver? Is there one i should really focus on finding thats better than the others?

Any of the B&O CD players or indeed any make of CD will work - B&O is easier because of the DIN plugs and they will mainly be remote control. The Beogram CD5500, 6500 or 7000 would match the best , the latter two have the same finish available. The CD50 will also work but I would not recommend it. The 4500 will also work fine but looks very different. The original CD5500 is actually the best as it has the best motor and also usually has the best DAC - they all use the TDA1541 but there are special ones and although they appear all over the place, the 5500 seems to get them more often!! Having said that, this is pretty esoteric stuff and any of the B&O CD players will be fine. Don't get the CDX if you want it remote control and plug and play - same connections as your RX2!

Thank you all in advance!

-Adam

Where do you live? If close, you can try one of my CD players and have some remotes to try. I don't have a Beolink 7000 anymore which is the ultimate remote for your system though.

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Adam replied on Sun, Mar 26 2017 10:09 PM

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Peter - thank you so much for you reply, most awesome!!  I picked up the master control 5500 and it connected right away. I will look into the RIAA and I'll also need to look into getting the correct adapter/connector for my speakers... I'm using Polk's with standard speaker wire, so i'll have to figure that one out too.

I wish i was closer but I live in New York, and i'm guessing you're in Europe...?

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GregKo replied on Mon, Mar 27 2017 1:38 AM

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Adam - The Beomaster 6500 has a built in RIAA preamp so if you want to use your RX2, all you need to do is get the right cables.  Otherwise you could put it back in storage and get yourself a matching Beogram for your newer 6500 system and enjoy full integration.

I have the BM6500 and really like it a lot - In my case I'm running a couple pairs of powered speakers w/ DIN cables, but adapter cables for your speakers are really easy to come by.

Good choice on a good system.

Greg

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MediaBobNY replied on Mon, Mar 27 2017 6:42 AM

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GregKo:

The Beomaster 6500 has a built in RIAA preamp so if you want to use your RX2, all you need to do is get the right cables.

To echo what Peter said, it does not have a built-in RIAA preamp.  You'd need to purchase this and there are plenty of recommendations on this forum.  www.phonopreamps.com is a good source.

The ideal turntable choice would be a Beogram 6500 or 7000:

-Matches your other 6500 components perfectly

-RIAA Preamp built in

-No cable adapter required

-Would allow remote control operation

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GregKo replied on Mon, Mar 27 2017 1:30 PM

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Strange then as the specs here are misleading and actually suggest that the RIAA is built into the BM6500

https://www.beoworld.org/prod_details.asp?pid=359

"RIAA amplifier built-in (8001245) "

Guess it was an add on and not standard in all of the units then?

Greg

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Peter replied on Mon, Mar 27 2017 9:29 PM

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It was an optional extra - that is the part number. It was very confusing as the 5500, which was very similar, had the RIAA. The 5500 was an excellent device - not quite as good sounding as the 5000 which preceded it but lots of connections which these days can be very useful. The 6500 and 7000 lose the RCA connectors which make life simpler for most but in this case, a BM5500 would have been the amplifier of choice. I still use mine every day as it provides sound for my computer!

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Adam replied on Mon, Mar 27 2017 10:47 PM

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I love this forum!

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Adam replied on Tue, Mar 28 2017 5:21 AM

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I'm wondering if u guys have any recommendations where to buy used gear, other than eBay, the forum here doesn't seem to have posts newer than 202 

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Adam replied on Tue, Mar 28 2017 5:21 AM

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I'm wondering if u guys have any recommendations where to buy used gear, other than eBay, the forum here doesn't seem to have posts newer than 202 

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Adam replied on Tue, Mar 28 2017 5:21 AM

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I'm wondering if u guys have any recommendations where to buy used gear, other than eBay, the forum here doesn't seem to have posts newer than 202 

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toptip replied on Thu, Apr 11 2019 5:19 AM

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I have a related question...although I should probably just try and see what happens.

I have BM6500 (without RIAA) and a (white) BG5500. Now I know if I connect one to the other there will not be enough gain or proper RIAA equalization, that I know.

But will the BM still be able to control the BG? I am asking because looking at the schematic (which I tried to attach unsuccessfully) a BM6500 w/o RIAA sends remote control commands to both pins 6 and 7 of the phono plug but if RIAA is installed, you are supposed to snip the pin 7 connection off. I know from experience that when mysterious things like that are said on a B&O schematic, there is always something “deeper” going on. 

I suspect it should be OK. The extra 7 connector presumably tells a BG with RIAA to turn on its RIAA on or something so that if the BM also had RIAA, you do not end up with them in series. Also I guess a BG with RIAA can then be used with any other amp because it will behave as if it did not have RIAA without that signal. 

Makes sense?

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Steve at Sounds Heavenly replied on Fri, Apr 12 2019 4:27 PM

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Hi toptip,

If you connect an early (non-RIAA) Beogram to a newer Beosystem via a separate pre-amp then you won't usually have remote control of the Beogram.  However, it is possible to build a wiring loom to retain the remote control functionality - please feel free to get in touch via my sponsor link at the foot of the page if you would like more details of this option.

Kind regards, Steve.

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toptip replied on Fri, Apr 12 2019 9:30 PM

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Thank you. I did some experimenting myself. I am only planning to use the Beomaster 6500 as a control center and not really have any audio signals going through it. To that extent I think a loom like the one I drew below should work. I do not yet know if the ground for the control signal is the DIN plug jacket or pin 2 (I drew both below, with question marks). But I should be able to figure that out with a bit of further experimenting: