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
I am delighted that the 8000 system is giving you pleasure. At present my favourite is my Beolab 5000 system - whether the sound is the best is of course debatable. I am afraid I just don't listen to the 4401 enough - I am listening to my 5500 with CX100s as I type this - King of Pain playing loudly!
My most disappointing system is my main one - as it works in the bathroom - I have Beovox 1s which just are not that good - although they have more bass than the CX50s they replaced, they are not as sweet sounding.
I agree about BC5000s completely - gorgeous but I am not risking any more tapes in mine!!
Peter
What's playing now? King of Pain! LOL Good ear, Rich. I have to keep it quiet, in the library with my Forms, but will go home and listen in a couple hours
Beo4 'til I die!
This, surely?
Jacques
Congratulations Jacques, beautiful
Collecting Vintage B&O is not a hobby, its a lifestyle.
I would put a Beogram 3000 with that lovely combo :) Might not be the proper choice but a good performer in my opinion and a good visual match :)
Olly
Thanks! It doesn't look too bad, and doesn't sound half bad! They will be shipped to Frede when funds allow...
You mean the Thorens one? Or worse, the Acoustical?
Unless you mean that one!
chartz: Thanks! It doesn't look too bad, and doesn't sound half bad! They will be shipped to Frede when funds allow... You mean the Thorens one? Or worse, the Acoustical? Unless you mean that one!
Funnily enough I did mean the later deck! I think they are rather good performers tbh - quite lively! I prefer the looks of the 1200 but I doubt the performance is much to talk about... Of course the Thorens would be the ultimate find but I thought suggesting this might be pie in the sky :-P
Well, when I was a young student, TD124s were as cheap as pie (nobody wanted them, much like old Garrards in England), and boy do I regret not having bought one or two! Instead, I was stupid enough to buy a new TD160, a bad deck retrospectively. I just got bored.
The Beogram 3000 is the deck of the Beocenter 3500 and it is a fair performer with an SP12.
The 3000 is really not bad at all. What you notice with the Thorens compared to all Beograms is the bass which is much more extended.
Seems odd that the 5000 system has more and better options for connectivity than the others, since it was the first.
If you are going to stay with the correct speakers, then you end up with either the 8000 or 7000, since the 5000 speakers are not really up to it in terms of sound quality.
Like the others, I tend to switch between systems, and am fortunate enough to be able to do it.At a push maybe the 8000, but tomorrow I might say something else.
the BM6000 quadro. Amazing design and sound for those years. especially with P beovox wall speakers and beogram..
There are many more than I like such as a BM3400
Evan:Why go through all the work of beating up a mirrored panel when it is just going to get painted anyway? Seems like a lot of senseless effort.
Have a set of 3500 (grey panels) which I will paint white.
Will vote for Beoset 6000 (quad) and 4500 with mirror panels..
Brengen & Ophalen
Tough choise, but I'll choose the 8000 as I absolutely love the clean headroom of that amplifier!
Vinyl records, cassettes, open reel, valve amplifiers and film photography.
70's Beomaster 2000 playing through S45's is the most used and favoured system in my household. Using a Pinnacle/Roku Soundbridge for Internet radio connected to the tape input. The BM 2000 was effectively rebuilt for me by Martin (Dillen).
The speakers and amp seem perfectly matched, and stations with high quality streaming like Radioparadise.com are absolutely crystal clear (and rather superior to the alternative of using the FM stations.)
The downside to using the Soundbridge is that it seems to re-set itself rather too often, requiring you to re-enter your router password, and also defaulting to the manufacturers original pre-sets, losing any that you configured yourself.
Beolab 5000 remains something I aspire to.
Graham
Having the polled systems and using the keyword: desirable... There is only one vote: BL5000!
casdave: Seems odd that the 5000 system has more and better options for connectivity than the others, since it was the first.
It's not that odd, if you look at the B&O history. Often the early models have been the best - and then some 'bean counters' came and said 'how can we reduce costs?'. Then they 'downgrade'... remove the phono sockets etc. -or use cheaper components. An example is the Beocenter 9000 range.The 9500 was an upgrade of the 9000 -then came the 'downgrade' with the 9300: Cheaper CD-mech - cheaper (and lower quality) tape section. Ending up with an even worse tape mechanism in the last models.
In case of the 5000 system (if you are referring to the 80's models) there was another reason for removing the phono sockets: They added Powerlink sockets on the 5500 -so there was simply no space for phono sockets anymore.
The 5500 never had powerlink and to make matters worse the lineout was redirected and sourced from the output amplifier and attenuated as opposed to the 5000 that was sourced from the pre-out stage. Not sure why they made this move as it would have been better to drive the newly released penta via line level rather than speaker level. I suspect the real reason would be that the line level would have sounded better than speakerlink which they needed for data and links... I don't know can't see it being a technical reason tbh!
There are a number of very desirable B&O Vintage units that I would enjoy having. Until I got a Beogram 3000, I was using a Bg4000 with my Beolab 5000 amplifier. Stunning good looks all around, and excellent sound. I must have managed to tweak my Bg4000 to near perfection, as the sound was such a delight from it.
I do have a Beosystem 6500, now in my bedroom, but the Beolab/Beomaster 5000 together with the Beogram 3000 have become an addiction. I've now made an arrangement with Frede to have a second Beolab 5000 refurbished, to be able to run them as monobloque amplifiers (using the center channel, Frede informed me, and one of the Beolab 5000s serving as preamplifier).
I will connect the LINE OUT from the 2nd Beolab 5000 to separate active subwoofers, one for each channel. Should be something to look forward to.
This is my favorite room in the house.
Not a poor man's room either... Superb system! We easily recognize the Technics King reel-to-reel of course, but the speakers?
chartz:but the speakers?
Gradient Helsinki
Funky speakers, and not even horribly expensive for what they are capable of!
--mika
Step1: The 5500 never had powerlink and to make matters worse the lineout was redirected and sourced from the output amplifier and attenuated as opposed to the 5000 that was sourced from the pre-out stage. Not sure why they made this move as it would have been better to drive the newly released penta via line level rather than speaker level. I suspect the real reason would be that the line level would have sounded better than speakerlink which they needed for data and links... I don't know can't see it being a technical reason tbh!
Sorry about the 5500 - I only have a 5000 and a 6500 system -so I assumed that the 5500 had powerlink too
tournedos: chartz:but the speakers? Gradient Helsinki Funky speakers, and not even horribly expensive for what they are capable of!
-and who said the BL5's are ugly..? Compared to these, the BL5 are beautiful (wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more!) (-where's the whistling smiley?)
Are those drivers not out of phase... Can't believe I am asking that before asking how they produce the low notes!!!
Steffen: Step1: The 5500 never had powerlink and to make matters worse the lineout was redirected and sourced from the output amplifier and attenuated as opposed to the 5000 that was sourced from the pre-out stage. Not sure why they made this move as it would have been better to drive the newly released penta via line level rather than speaker level. I suspect the real reason would be that the line level would have sounded better than speakerlink which they needed for data and links... I don't know can't see it being a technical reason tbh! Sorry about the 5500 - I only have a 5000 and a 6500 system -so I assumed that the 5500 had powerlink too
It was only when I tried plugging a powerlink plug in that I realised lol!
tournedos: Gradient Helsinki Funky speakers, and not even horribly expensive for what they are capable of!
Well, we certainly have different views about price tags!
$7,000 is certainly an awful lot of money for me, about 3 months' income... also the price of a small new car!
soundproof: do have a Beosystem 6500, now in my bedroom, but the Beolab/Beomaster 5000 together with the Beogram 3000 have become an addiction. I've now made an arrangement with Frede to have a second Beolab 5000 refurbished, to be able to run them as monobloque amplifiers (using the center channel, Frede informed me, and one of the Beolab 5000s serving as preamplifier).
Stein,
Love the idea of the 5000 as monoblocs - one of the reasons I like the BM 8000 so much. Having recently seen Frede's restoration of a BL/BM 5000 and BG 3000 (Thorens) combination 'in the flesh' so to speak, I can understand fully the enthusiasm you and others have for his work.
What happened to the BG4000, by the way?
Cleve
chartz: Well, we certainly have different views about price tags! $7,000 is certainly an awful lot of money for me, about 3 months' income... also the price of a small new car!
Move to Finland and that will be solved - $7,000 will be far from getting you any kind of a new car
These are high end speakers. In that context they aren't too expensive.
Cleviebaby: What happened to the BG4000, by the way? Cleve
I had two. A good friend is now in possession of one, and enjoying it immensely, and I've kept the other one.
I know a guy that will sell a BeoMaster 5000 FM Tuner, BeoLab 5000, Beovox 5000 and 2500 Beovox Cube Loudspeakers. The entire system is restored. The price is 12000 SEK = 1356 euros. I'll try to find money to buy it.