beomster 6500 vs 5500

HI all

I'm new to this forum and B and O in general. My father has an RX2 that I am getting repaired for him and started looking at B and O and fell in love with it. I got a Beomaster 6500 on Ebay a while back and I'm absolutely blown away at how good it sounds. I've been bitten by the bug and would like to get a Beogram turntable (and retire my Dual).

  I found a whole Beo 5500 for sale nearby. Beomaster 5500, beogram 5500, beocord 5500 , CD 5500 and 5500 master remote. THey would sell components of I make an offer. Here is my quandary- I have the beomster 6500 which i believe doesn't have a preamp. I beleive the beogram 5500 requires a preamp which is built into the beomaster 5500. THe seller says the cartridge is in great shape.

  Is the 6500 noticeably different/better than the 5500? They want $625 for the whole thing. IDeally, I would like the turntable and cassette deck. SHould I buy the whole system and sell my Beomaster 6500 or purchase the turntable and get a preamp? Any advice would be appreciated

Go for the whole set 5500, if everything is working its worth the money, but check it, bring a record and a tape and test it all, also the remote control.

If you buy only the BG, and connect it with a preamp, you will always think about it as 2 different systems and maybe be sorry you did not buy it all.

Keep the 6500 and later on go hunting for the rest of the system, then you have 2 complete systems, both top line vintage.

Which speakers do you have

Echodog:

Is the 6500 noticeably different/better than the 5500?

Not at all.  The 5500 has a phono preamp and is brushed aluminum and the 6500 doesn't and is mirrored aluminum.  Arguably, the best receiver among the four stacked systems was the BM 5000 (search the archived forum for additional info).  Which cartridge is included?  If it's an MMC-2 or 1 it's an incredible bargain.

I'll add that the 6500 has Powerlink outputs (a definite plus if you ever plan to get B&O active speakers) and one more usable input than the 5500 (tape2 is separate from aux).

For me, the deciding factor would probably be the finish. I couldn't stand watching both mirrored and brushed front panels mixed in the same setup.

Buy it!  You'll love it!!!!

Thanks for all the reply's! I'm not sure which cartridge it is but I'm not getting my hopes up. Ill be happy w a working cartridge. Currently, I have a pair of Tannoy monitors that sound great w the 6500 but I just got a pair of Beovox 3000's that I'm looking forward to setting up. Up until now I had been using a 20 year old Pioneer receiver that I spent around $600 for back then. With my dual turntable , I didn't have any complaints but if the 5500 makes the difference I think it will , I'm going to be really really happy.funny to think that this entire system costs what my recover did 20 years ago...

Echodog:

Thanks for all the reply's! I'm not sure which cartridge it is but I'm not getting my hopes up. Ill be happy w a working cartridge. Currently, I have a pair of Tannoy monitors that sound great w the 6500 but I just got a pair of Beovox 3000's that I'm looking forward to setting up. Up until now I had been using a 20 year old Pioneer receiver that I spent around $600 for back then. With my dual turntable , I didn't have any complaints but if the 5500 makes the difference I think it will , I'm going to be really really happy.funny to think that this entire system costs what my recover did 20 years ago...

I can't imagine having such a nice B&O component system of that vintage without Powerlink so I myself have a 7000. But I agree that the price for the system is very very good and it's nice to have everything "all at once". Other than the PL, I am probably in the minority that really loves the mirrored polish finish of the 6500 and 7000. Of course in my case there is one other little rub, and that is that the 6500 and 7000 have 2-way IR for my Beolink 7000, so the 5000 and 5500 were never really an option for me.

All of these in my opinion are underappreciated. My 7000 gets more use than any other piece of B&O gear I own because it fits so nicely in my A/V shelf. Yeah the 9500 is awesome... I have no place to put it. The BM8000 is awesome too, but I don't know that I'd want it on 24/7 like the BM7000 is. It's a little trooper and I just spent 200.00 on a BM6500 *JUST* for the mirror finished panel off the 6500 to replace to the scratched and dented one on my trooper 7000. I love it that much.

I have 2 complete 5500 systems, a 3300 system, 4000 system and a 6500 system.  I have 5500s in the dining room and drawing room, 3300 in the study and the 6500 in the main bedroom. The 5500 I absolutely love and although I have 5500 turntable, I use a 1202 as a spare for this set and the sound is amazing.  Unfortunately, I had a problem with radio reception on the 6500 in the main back bedroom and despite using Rabbit ears and flexible aerial, ended up having to purchase an FM aerial for Digital and DAB reception, now works absolutely super.  I have contacted my brilliant supplier in the UK for a 6500 turntable to complete the full set.  Cleve was right I was badly smitten with the B&O virus.  Keep your 5500 and hold on to the 6500 and built it up is my advise.

 

Best wishes

Professor David A Flynn JP:

Cleve was right I was badly smitten with the B&O virus. Keep your 5500 and hold on to the 6500 and built it up is my advise.

Best wishes

Professor David A Flynn JP LM

Well David, it seems you have really been smitten - even more so than I originally thought!

Like Mika, I'm not sure I would want to mix the brushed aluminium of the 5000/5500 series with the 6500/7000. I have a 6500 system with the eventual intention of getting a pair of Beolab 8000s to match but have often thought about seeking out a 5000 system with the radial-armed Beogram/Beomaster/Beocord but with the 5500 CD player. This is arguably the best performing overall manifestation of the stacking system.

If pushed to make a choice I guess ultimately it would depend on whether I was planning to use Powerlink equipped active speakers.

Cleve