Serviced Beogram 4002 vs a new Rega P3

Hi Everyone, 

I've recently gone down a very deep rabbit hole of searching for vintage B&O gear.  I have the opportunity to buy a beogram 4002 for around 1000 euros. It's been serviced by B&O and it's had the belt and belt pulley replaced. Cartridge in good condition and aesthetically 98% perfect. Seems to be close to a1 condition. 

My dilemma - It's roughly the same price as buying a brand new rega P3 and there seem to be lot's of very decent new turntables for well under that budget. Which will sound better? vintage vs new? Is there really something special about a vintage beogram like this? and is an expensive 4002 really necessary to get that special sound? (i see a begoram 1600 online in decent working order for 100 euros - will that get 90% of the way there?)

The beogram is likely to go through a pre-amp (any ideas on something that would work well with a beogram 4002?) and into an active speaker.

i should mention my setup at the moment is undetermined. i'm likely to build as I go. Record player first. I currently have a beoplay m5 which i have very mixed feelings about, and i recently accidentally bought a pair of beovox s45-2s in good condition (I don't have an amp for them yet and my partner HATES the look of them so they are probably not a permanent option). My mum has given me her old system (4 x beolab 4000, 2 x beolab 3500, beosound 3200, 3 x passive amps). She had all four 4000s setup in her living room and I loved the sound of those. I just can't get past the look of them. I think hanging them on a wall is not likely get partner approval and they don't look great on a shelf either. I'm likely to sell all of them and I like the idea of an A9 or even an Edge. Any advice on how an old beogram would sound with modern active b&o speaker would be welcome. 

 

Thanks!!!

 

 

There are multiple streaming services offering streaming with higher sound quality that vinyl.

*runs away with empty fuel canister”

hahaha. please, don't use logic and reasoning on me! My head might implode. Perhaps i should be more honest with myself about this project. I'm not an audiophile. I just want a record player because it looks cool...

Buy the one that looks coolest to you.

I have tried having both record players and CD players because I keep feeling myself that it will give me more feel about the music.

I bullsh*t myself a lot

The Beogram by a fairly healthy margin!

I have a 4002 and a Linn Sondek - both look good and sound about the same, but the Beogram wins hands down in ease of use and cool looks. Much depends on the cartridge and B&O cartridges are decent quality but not cheap and no longer available form B&O - The linn could probably be much better than the 4002 with a much better cartridge.

Whenever I use the Linn it's totally manual and I go back to the 4002. If you need a good preamp, I use an Ifi Zen Phono - the Beogram cartridges are quite low output and the IfI Zen provides good output if you set it to the first MC setting. Or look for amplification with a built in Phono Preamp.

The only hesitation I would have would be in terms of reliability - if you get the Beogram you might be lucky and not have any problems. Other 4002s in the past have had problems, but there are people out there who can fix them for you.

I've had active speakers on the past (BL8000 and BL4000) but I much prefer passive speakers, currently have M100-2 and amplification is a Quad 33/303 combo. It's just a matter of deciding which you like the sound and look of. The M100-2, Quad 33/FM3 ( in a wooden sleeve) and BG4002 look fantastic together and sound amazing.