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
Hello all!
I've enjoyed this site for awhile and have now joined and have a question. I've been in the process of "restoring" my wife's B&O components: Two S45 speakers and a Beogram 1900 turntable. She loved the sound when she bought it 40 or so years ago and loves it still. She is an opera buff but enjoys rock and classical music as well. Me, I follow along and just enjoy. The question: when she bought the B&O components years ago she paired them with a Harman Kordan tuner. Unfortunately, something went wrong with it after one of our many moves and we no longer have it. But - she chose it as carefully as the speakers and turntable. So, what tuner can you recommend that is appropriate to the S45 speakers and Beogram 1900 turntable. I suppose it should include a CD player. What we're using now isn't worth mentioning.
Thanks for any suggestions. Bill
BeoNut since '75
I would get a Beocenter 9500 - good tuner - great amplifier that will work with the S45s and the 1900 will connect to it. The CD is fine and it is also remote control and possibly the best designed piece of B&O made - my wife loved it. Can be used to wake you up as has a timer.
Peter
Welcome Bill and Happy New Year!
I agree with elephant that the BeoSound 3000 is a very nice device with some true B&O magic in the sliding glass doors, but be aware you would also need an external amplifier to drive the Beovox speakers.
You could consider a BeoMaster 4500 + BeoGram CD 4500: very elegant and versatile as the BeoMaster has built in amplifiers for passive loudspeakers, but also has PowerLink sockets for active BeoLab speakers (not bad for people that get the BeoVirus). This also counts for the 6500/7000 range (called 'pizzaboxes' by some people).
Be aware that these are electronics from the nineties and they suffer from deterioration of some of the electronic components like the capacitors. They can be replaced but it will take a bit of time/money.
Regards, Johan
Peter: I would get a Beocenter 9500 - good tuner - great amplifier that will work with the S45s and the 1900 will connect to it. The CD is fine and it is also remote control and possibly the best designed piece of B&O made - my wife loved it. Can be used to wake you up as has a timer.
and the magic in the sliding doors for the tapes and the CDs!
Thanks for the recommendation; the 9500 looks interesting. I looked on the specs page but didn't find the dimensions. Any help with that? Also, is it safe to ship an amp/ tuner is properly packaged?
I have a couple of Beocenter 9500 and 9300 units. They do look great and perform well. I would caution buying them used on Ebay though. The true condition is not always perfect. A common problem is the top and bottom touch panels have almost always come loose by now (deteriorated mounting tape). Those can be fixed but you have to really be careful handling the unit until the panels are secured properly again.
Two B&O receivers from the period of your Beogram are the Beomaster 1900 and 2400. They are just a receiver and don't have a CD player (wasn't invented yet when those receivers were made). The inputs on those allow for a B&O turntable and a tape deck. The tape input can be used for an external CD player. Like the Beocenter units the Beomaster components would likely need restoration at this point in their life.
The BeoCenter 9500 dimensions are found here: https://www.beoworld.org/prod_details.asp?pid=412. 76cm wide x 34 deep and 11 high.
Kansas:Also, is it safe to ship an amp/ tuner is properly packaged?
Shipping a 9000/9300/9500 is a nightmare. It's heavy, it's big, and it's fragile (not to mention decomposing tape, see above). But I think they are great, and would buy one local pick-up if you can!
If you must ship it, you (1) kitchen plastic-wrap (or pallet-wrap) around the top and bottom glass to the unit, 3 turns each; (2) insert matchbooks (empty of matches) between the door edges and the center panel; (3) SCREW THE TWO CD-SLED HOLD-DOWN BOLTS INTO THE BOTTOM PANEL HOLES; (4) wrap it in sheet foam (or plastic bag it and spray-foam (low expansion, don't crush) it), into a close-fitting box (cut the box down custom +2" each dimension if you have to); (5) tape the inner box tightly down onto the foam; (6) get an outer box with double-wall D-flute corrugated and some old-fashioned packing peanuts, about 6" larger in all 3 dimensions, and STUFF the packing peanuts in around all sides of the inner box. (7) Mark it "Fragile" on all sides, and "This Side Up" on top, for all the good it will do... (If you have a shipper you trust, you can mark it "Non-Conveyable" to keep it off the belts and pay the surcharge.) (8) Buy the insurance for whatever amount was paid, and take photos while packing, to prove your valor to the obnoxious shipping agents who will try to not pay the insurance after they toss it across the floor. This custom labor and brand-new boxes make it expensive to ship. I have the shipping box that my 9500 originally came in, and frankly I wouldn't trust it.
A friend of mine tried to buy one and now has three broken ones to go with the good one. His previous try, about 10 years ago, was one for two. If you want an amplifier that's easy to ship, buy a Carver M-400 cube!
Kansas: Also, is it safe to ship an amp/ tuner is properly packaged?
Also, is it safe to ship an amp/ tuner is properly packaged?
That depends upon the shipping skills of the seller. It's a difficult item to ship due to its dimensions and weight (14 kg/30 lbs). Finding a suitable box would be difficult and might require combining 2 boxes into 1. LOTS of bubble wrap / styrofoam peanuts would be required. And the packer would have to be careful that the aforementioned glass panels don't fall off and smash on the floor during packing. Mark the package 'FRAGILE' or 'GLASS' and insure it.
Aside from that, the 9500 would be a good choice - quality sound and beautiful to look at/operate. Finding one fully operational and in nice condition might be difficult as well.
Shame you are not in the UK - this is a steal. Pick up only but that us sensible and you get to see it working.
That IS a steal. Here's one. The seller is a Beo-Fan and can be relied upon for his description accuracy and shipping skills. Tho I'm not sure why he used the phrase "glass mirror" when AFAIK it's polished aluminum.
MediaBobNY: That IS a steal. Here's one. The seller is a Beo-Fan and can be relied upon for his description accuracy and shipping skills. Tho I'm not sure why he used the phrase "glass mirror" when AFAIK it's polished aluminum.
I have bought B&O items from that seller and have always had good results.
I got my Beocenter 8500 shipped from Netherlands to Croatia and it made it in one piece, but mostly - as others did indicate already - because the seller (in my case our ex-Forum member and great B&O enthusiast Leslie) was so kind to pack it with all possible precaution measures.
Now to your original question, these Beocenters would be perfect to run your S45s, they look impressive, sculptural and iconic so if you find one in a good shape you won’t regret it.
In my experience, for pairing the Beocenter with Beovox 'passive' speakers; the 9500 amplifier sounds much better than the 9300. The 9300 reacts quicker though by remote control, and would be my choice for use with Beolab active speakers.
Looking through the many Beomaster models I find the Beomaster 3000-2 to be the right size and a great design. Any thoughts on how it would pair with the 1900 record deck and the S45 speakers?
It would work fine. It will be difficult to find a Beomaster of that type already restored in good working order though. Most being sold are in need of restoration. If you go the B&O system route though I would still consider the Beomaster 1900 or 2400. For the tape input you can either insert a CD player or you can use a bluetooth device that allows you to use a phone or ipod type player. Any of those Beomaster units will drive the S45s without any trouble.
Thanks. What I like about the 3000-2 is the ability to stack the record deck on top, and that it is in the MOMA! I would appreciate any leads.
Just located a NEW Beomaster 4000 for sale for $250. Sounds like a good deal to me and it's square/ front controls like the 3000-2. Thoughts?
It's on the SF bay area Craigslist.
Beomaster 4000 receivers are nice. They have a black front plate instead of silver which looks cool. My preference from that series of B&O receivers is the Beomaster 4400 though. As I mentioned before, on any of those expect to do a restoration if you really want a working receiver that performs like B&O intended. If the receiver is still original then it is way overdue in terms of things starting to fail (from old electrolytic capacitors). On one of my Beomaster 4400 units I intentionally left it original to see how much life it had in it. It sounded great. I didn't use it as my main stereo system but used it often enough. It went for about two years then finally a channel went out. It is on my to do list for restoration now. I have a working, restored Beomaster 4000 that works pretty well. There are things about the BM4400 that I like better though. One thing to be aware of with the BM4000 is that the transformer inside is a special design to fit in the low profile cabinet. In their old age many of the transformers develop a hum/vibration. There is no way I know of to fix it. Beolover solved that problem on one of his BM4000 restorations by having a new custom toroid transformer built as a replacement. The custom transformer isn't cheap though.
I am not trying to scare you from getting a classic B&O receiver but I just want to set realistic expectations. Whether it is B&O or another brand, thirty to forty year old audio equipment needs restoration to perform to the levels that it should. I can tell you from personal experience that these audio components can be restored and sound wonderful if given the care that is needed.