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
Hey guys,
I hope you're all well, i have purchased myself a Beogram 4004 as i was in the market for a nice turntable and heard it was a decent machine and looks beautiful. It has a 5 pin din output on it, am i right in assuming i put this into a pre-amp of some sort and then plug speakers into that? I was looking at the below item:
https://soundsheavenly.com/beogram-record-players/12-2196-pre-amp-bundle-for-bo-beogram-and-all-turntables.html
I am also thinking about getting some second hand BEO speakers with built in amps so i don't have to have a standalone one if anyone has any recommendations!
Thanks guys!
Hi,
The Beogram 4004 is a really nice turntable. Be aware though that it is over 40 years old. They are built like tanks so they often continue to work even if the internal components start getting out of tolerance. If the unit you bought has never been serviced then you won't be experiencing its full capability. That is equally true for the phono cartridge which is also true for any turntable. Don't skimp on the phono cartridge.The Beogram 4004 phono cable came with a 5 pin DIN plug that had screw-in mounts for two more pins (6 & 7). That was so it could be operated by remote control from a Beomaster 2400 receiver. Note that this remote control was early and is not the same as B&O's later Datalink remote control.
All of the B&O receivers from that era used the DIN plug for connecting components like turntables and tape decks. For non-B&O amplifiers there was a DIN-to-RCA adapter.
The kit you found at Sounds Heavenly would definitely do the trick in connecting the Beogram 4004 up to a modern amplifier.
-sonavor
Hey Sonavor,
Really appreciate the detailed response! Thanks for the warning, luckily it has just been serviced so i should be good for a while, any tips on how often o should be servicing it? im only a casual listener. Ahh i see now, i doubt ill be getting that receiver so no problem there.
Do i need an amplifier? or will a preamp to active speakers setup work? Something im definitely not clued up on is amplifiers and really wouldn't know what to choose!
Cheers mate!
Great if you know it is restored back to full working order. In normal operating conditions (not left in some damp basement or hot attic) the turntable should not require anything more that being kept clean and dust free. As I said before they are built like tanks. Depending on how clean your vinyl collection is you will want to occasionally clean the stylus tip. I use a small piece of Magic Eraser, place it under the cartridge (when the turntable is off), then gently push the tonearm (with cartridge) straight down onto the piece of Magic Eraser. Then release the tonearm so it goes back up. That will keep the stylus tip clean of debris it picked up in the record grooves.
Any phonograph requires an RIAA preamp to play. All amplifiers back in the day of turntables included the RIAA phono preamp. A small number of turntables included a built-in RIAA preamp. The Beogram 4004 was not one of those. Modern amplifiers typically only support CD/DVD line level source inputs and have no phono preamp support. There are a number of standalone RIAA phono preamps available now from solid state to tubes (in all different price ranges) that will decode the RIAA signal coming from the phono cartridge and prepare the audio signal for the modern amplifier source inputs. I am strictly a vintage audio person so I can't really advise you on powered speakers. However those devices handle inputs from CD/DVD devices is how you would connect your phono preamp output to the powered speakers. There are plenty of others here on the Beoworld Forum that can advise you on that...including Steve at Sounds Heavenly. That should be right up his alley.