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
Today I experienced considerable skipping of tracks, pops, distortions, screeches, etc. from my Beogram 4500 CD player. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that these annoyances were volume related, so I experimented.
I have a less than perfect stereo arrangement in that I have three stereos in my living room. It was different when I had a living room AND a family room, but with everything crammed together there are compromises.
My Beomaster 4500 and Beogram 4500 CD player sit on my McIntosh stereo cabinet with a S120.2 sitting directly behind the Beogram 4500. Various solutions failed to make a difference, but removing the Beogram 4500 from the stereo cabinet entirely solved the problem.
So is it normal for a Beomaster 4500 CD player to be so sensitive to vibrations? I mean our car CD players play while driving around and I have a Sony boom box that can play a CD while being carried about.
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
The suspension system in my BGCD50 is very simple, 4 rubber buffers, it may be the same in your 4500, the BGCD50 has a steel housing, and in the top cover some aluminum as an electronic shield, Maybe your 4500 is a lot of plastic and more prone to electric interference. See the steel wire hook in the front, it makes the connection from bottom to top cover, to eliminate static electricity, a sign that the constructors knew of the interference problem. If you have some power supplies or no breaks near the 4500 this may also cost problems.
Collecting Vintage B&O is not a hobby, its a lifestyle.
Silly question - but you have removed the transit plugs?
Peter
Peter: Silly question - but you have removed the transit plugs?
Hmm funny you mention that Peter, before I've cleaned well the laser my BG CD4500 seem skip less with transport plugs in, now it's all sorted and smooth (even on very scratched CD's I buy from charities), and yes Jeff because of the simple suspension they're rather sensitive to vibrations (in my experience), saying that my 4500 lives almost directly underneath speaker on ear level (very low) and seem not to mind, even on full blast
bob
Søren Mexico: Peter: Silly question - but you have removed the transit plugs?
Don't worry - be Happy
Why not try the squash ball approach: two squash balls halved and used as feet - worked for me to reduce hum from my 3000.
Love it ingenious and simpuls ;)
Peter: Why not try the squash ball approach: two squash balls halved and used as feet - worked for me to reduce hum from my 3000.
Hi Peter, Bob & Søren,
No, it was not a silly question at all; and in truth I thought about it BEFORE I posted my question, but then it isn’t possible that I could forget something as basic as that. Me, Mr. Detail.
Then I vaguely remembered that I had help in setting up my systems over two years ago when we moved, so I just checked and SURPRISE the transport screws were in place all this time.
So how is it possible that I didn’t notice this omission for two years, you ask? Pretty good question, that one and all I can say is I never had occasion to play the Beogram 4500 at high volume until recently. If I wanted to shake the house I would choose the McIntosh 2255/Beogram CDX combination.
However now that I wanted to put the Beomaster 4500 under a stress load the Beogram 4500 got called into service and it was a disaster…. now I know why.
This right on top of my Check Engine light coming on because I knocked off a vacuum hose while detailing the engine….. I think senility has finally set in.
Gosh, am I ever embarrassed, however THANK YOU all for the help. Silly as it was, you DID solve my problem.
I always seem to generate yet another question, so here it is.
Will my operating my Beogram 4500 CD player with the transport screws in place for two years have damaged this unit?
It should have caused no problems - it just locks the suspension.
Purely as a matter of interest, which DAC is in the CD4500? I think it is normally a TDA1541 but some have the TDA1541A which is the same but has closer tolerances. The A model was always used in the top of the range CD players and is very well thought of as being particularly musical - most of the very high range CD players of the time used it and there was great debate about which was the best - there are one and two crown models and even a TDA1541P which was supposed to be the very best. The 5500 is supposed to have the P but from what I have observed, B&O seemed to fit whichever they had at the time! This can lead to the 'better' chips being found in the 'lower' models! I can happily say I cannot detect any difference at all between them so this is completely academic!!
The 4500 I had in the past had an A.
Hello Peter,
Here I go again showing off my ignorance, but what is a DAC and where is it so that I can look for the number?
Digital to Analogue converter - I don't have the schematics of the 4500 available so cannot tell you where to find it but it is usually very obvious with a collection of capacitors to either side and has a Philips mark on it with TDA1541 written underneath! It is the brains of the CD player and is what gives the CD player its sound. The first B&O CD player was the CDX (the CD50 was not available till later even if it was launched first!) and this was a Philips machine using a TDA1540 chip which was a 14bit 4x oversampling unit. The CD format was really based on 16bit architecture though and later models used 16bit chips - the 1541 being the chip of choice. These were gradually replaced but a lot of people feel that the later bit stream models never achieved the sweetness of those models with the TDA1541. To be fair, some like the 1540 which has a very warm character compared to the competing 16 bit chips employed particularly by the Japanese manufacturers.
Peter,
I will take a look, but it might take me awhile as I have a few important things that just came up today….. like landing an open-ended paid consulting position.
Then back to what is really important (maybe a touch of sarcasm) I need to get into my Beogram 4002 which is making unsettling noises, particularly at the end of play. I hope it just need lubrication. Please God!
Best of luck! With both!
Piaf: Peter, I will take a look, but it might take me awhile as I have a few important things that just came up today….. like landing an open-ended paid consulting position. Then back to what is really important (maybe a touch of sarcasm) I need to get into my Beogram 4002 which is making unsettling noises, particularly at the end of play. I hope it just need lubrication. Please God! Jeff
Best of luck
b
Well I didn’t get to do anything with any of my Bang & Olufsen projects, but I did land the job. Actually I am quite excited about this as I always wanted to be a teacher and now, at long last, I will be. I start next week.
Congratulations! My wife teaches having originally been an advertising executive. She loves it!
Congratulation
I used to teach / instruct as Truck Driving Instructor - it was lots of fun...
Piaf: Well I didn’t get to do anything with any of my Bang & Olufsen projects, but I did land the job. Actually I am quite excited about this as I always wanted to be a teacher and now, at long last, I will be. I start next week. Jeff
Why thank you Bob.
This is a unique opportunity for me which I find both exciting and terrifying.
I have been hired to do sales training seminars twice a week for the largest lighting store in British Columbia.
The exciting part is the teaching, which I love. The scary part is the total carte blanche they have given me as to what to teach. I would much prefer a training template that I can fill in and make my own.
I mean sure it is nice to be able to do your own thing, BUT if the corporate owners decide they don’t like my choices of material, this position ends and so does any chance of recommendations to other companies.
I’ve got a couple of days to work on my program, so we’ll see how it goes.
Piaf:I’ve got a couple of days to work on my program, so we’ll see how it goes.
You will have to start with an evaluation of your pupils knowledge, and where the owners want to go, and then go from there.
Teaching is our duty, to pass knowledge to younger generations is more important than anything else, and I love to teach.
Piaf: Why thank you Bob. This is a unique opportunity for me which I find both exciting and terrifying. I have been hired to do sales training seminars twice a week for the largest lighting store in British Columbia. The exciting part is the teaching, which I love. The scary part is the total carte blanche they have given me as to what to teach. I would much prefer a training template that I can fill in and make my own. I mean sure it is nice to be able to do your own thing, BUT if the corporate owners decide they don’t like my choices of material, this position ends and so does any chance of recommendations to other companies. I’ve got a couple of days to work on my program, so we’ll see how it goes. Jeff
You be great - that I'm sure off, I find myself when teaching re-writing the materials to adapt them day2day life situation and need, your position may look tricky at first, but many times is better start with clean sheet
Also I worked with kids as instructor of Hi-Fi and electronic - that was very challenging and rewarding at same time, great experience so useful in future when I've co-ordinated measuring and regulation electro projects around the world....
All the best