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
Thought some might like a description on how to install Beolab 18 Wooden Grills (Frets) onto Beolab 8000 speakers. It can be done, as you'll see below, though it requires some special tools and comfort in grinding and drilling.
Our new kittens decided the Beolab 8000 Speaker Grills would make a great toy. Hence, my desire to find an attractive alternate. The wooden grills on the Beolab 18s look great, but they're not made to fit the older 8000 speakers. I found a set of Maple Beolab 18 Grills on eBay for very cheap, and was willing to alter these to see if I could get them to fit the 8000s.
I want to say up front that I tested the 8000s both with and without the wooden grills. To my ear, I couldn't hear any difference at all, including high-frequency notes. I know that in prior discussions of this retrofit, there's been concern expressed that the wooden grills would interfere or dampen the sound. I didn't notice this at all, but your hearing may be different than mine, of course.
Also, you need to click each picture, below, to see the full frame. (The IMG code here seems to crop to a specific size, not sure how to fix that...)
So, here you go.
Here's a few views of the stock 18 Grills.
The problem is the plastic tabs that prevent the wooden grills from sliding over the 8000 speakers. The other challenge is finding a way to mount the side "slats" on the speaker without the magnets, since we'll be removing those as part of this retrofit. I choose to screw the side-slats to the main frets.
Now - this is important - you want to drill and locate the side slats before you grind away the tabs, removing the mounting magnets in the process. First, drill a pilot hole through the side slats. You drill this hole centered for each plastic part, just to the outside of the metal mounting tab in the slat. This is easier to see in the pictures, below. I used 3 screws on each side.
Put the slide slats back on the grill and carefully locate them in the correct position, using the magnets to hold them. Now, drill through the pilot hole in each slate into the plastic mount on the main grill. Be careful you don't drill too-deep, you'll drill through the next wooden slat if you go too far. To be safe, use a piece of tape around the drill bit to set depth. The diameter of your drill should match the threads of the screws you're using.
Finish this for all 6 locations (3 on each side) of the grill. Here's the hole that remains after drilling, and a picture of the screws I'm using. I've enlarged the holes in the side slats to allow clearance for these screws.
I now screwed both side slats onto the main grill to check and confirm the fit.
Ok, now for the fun part: grinding off the tabs. This isn't a beginners project, obviously. You'll need to be very comfortable using a bench grinder. I'm going to grind down each tab to make it level with the rest of the plastic mount. Here's a bunch of pics to show you how much I removed, etc. Note that there's a metal piece on each plastic frame, and you really do need a grinder for this job. It's not practical to saw these off, unfortunately.
You need to do this for each tab, a total of 10 on each Grill.
FInally, the wooden slats on one end are too-long to fit over the speaker. These too need to be ground off. Be VERYcareful here. grind at 90 degrees to the wood, or you risk cracking the slats. Here's a before and after picture to show you how much I removed. Take your time for this step.
And after...
Yeah! The hard part is over. Now it's just a matter of screwing the side slats back on and slipping these over the 8000 speakers. Here you go:
These modified grills slip over the 8000 speakers pretty well. I loosened a few of the screws to help, and retightened them once they were fully installed. The Grills are very firmly held on the speakers. They don't rattle or make any noise, even with heavy bass music at high volumes.
Finally, the grills are shorter than the full length of the 8000 speaker. There's a roughly 2.5" gap at the bottom that's uncovered. You can choose to leave this uncovered, or you could fabricate a small wood plate to cover this. I cut some 1/64" Birch Plywood (from my local hobby shop) to create the panels, below. It's stuck with doubled sided tape to the side, and the front panel is glued on.
And here's the finished result:
That's it! Let me know if you have any other questions.
Amazing job! Looks great! Too bad my DIY skills are that of a neanderthal!
Thanks for posting!
Also meant to say, forgive this as my first post here. Been lurking for ages, and used this forum to research this project prior to purchasing the grills. FIgured I owed something back for all the help provided here.
They look amazing. Are they mounted on BeoLab 18 or 8000 wall brackets?
Those are 8000 wall mounts.
updated with pics of wooden cover panels.
Wow it’s amazing what you did, do you have any pictures of the top? I’m curious how it fits , like how does the grill not slide down
The fit is quite firm, no chance of sliding. They've been solid for many months now, no problems at all. I'll try to get a picture from the top for you when I'm back at my house.
Hello I have just purchased some 8000s and I would love to have the look you have done would you be willing to make thiese again and sell them because I would be very interested in purchasing them they look amazing all the best
sanjay1970@gmail.com
07956545473
Very nice modification. Now there speakers look ethereal and chick.
Would you think about mod in case of normal price of maple covers?
Stumbled upon this... gotta say, they look damned good. I very much prefer the solid cone over the tapered one of the 18's.
Might just be me being nit-picky, but I prefer the look with the bottom 2.5" exposed. Either way though, quite an accomplishment!
Sanjay, you can get these shipped from eBay for around $330/pair. They list for $450 and I offered $330. I got it is Oak wood with Walnut finish. It looks great on my BL 8000s. The custom ones go all the way to the bottom. It took me 10 days from ordering them on eBay to getting them in DC. If you send me a message I can tell you who I got them from and pictures of how they look. For some reason the forum isn’t allowing me to post pictures. 🤷♂️
B&O in my life 😊:
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0-D9ZTxR9oQX0GqUbam8h6BCg#Home
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0xKTXrO9mK-vYsEj9y3uB7oRg#Home
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0FW3YQ96EyvYdebjZXjHFMazA#Home
Hello yes very interested Sanjay1970@gmail.com
thank you
Beautiful installation, the wall mounted speakers and BS9000 with no wires showing, truly represents "peak" B&O to me. And I think the wooden slats look much better on the 8000 than on the 18 with that tacked on tweeter on top. Well done!
Jeff
I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus.
Looks beautiful, yo're lucky to get a real set of 18's frets ;)
I saw online that you can buy aftermarket sets for Beolab 8000, based on the Beolab 18's look, but they seem rather expensive (for what it is), I was thinking to create a set myself, as it looks to only be like some 3D printed parts and some wooden parts ... I'll give it a try soon ...
Hi Jaffrey, I read you post and got rather excited. I was wondering where you got a set of custom covers for around 330 US a pair. I'm looking at upgrading my BL8000s to wooden frets. Looking forward to hearing from you.
With kind regards, Bas
I got it off eBay. Offered the seller $330. The workmanship was impeccable. I believe it was made in Ukraine. Worth it!
I seem to have found the seller. Thanks so much!
https://www.ebay.com/usr/philipsservice1
Looks like I was one of his first customers!
Hello,
I am very interested in this wooden cover. Could you send me some pictures (the former ones are no longer available) of the finish and details before ordering?
Also, how is the attachment system designed?
Thank you in advance for your help