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
Hi Vintage Fans,
some time ago I found this pic of this very rare B&O vintage Radio/Receiver. I am collecting them but I haven't saw this model jet. Obvious it is a Grand Prix but what is his full name?
According to my collection and the the B&O nomenclature from this period it could be Grand Prix Present 608/609/610 (Present because of speakers) but it has a very strange wooden case with plastic or glas front and covers on the speakers (different as a Grand Prix Present I know with wooden case over the speakers)
Did anybody know or own this model?
(Martin: maybe you can find it in your catalogs from the early 60's...)
Thx in advance
Vintage Bang & Olufsen
Grand Prix Present 610.
this one is in my collection (thanks to Rudy/Belgium) and seesms to have a darker colour, it looks original..
to me one of the most beautifull radios they mafe :)
apparently the version without speakers is more common.
Hi Paul,
thanks!
Yes, it is a very nice radio and obviously very rare to. You must be lucky to have it, nice collection.
So it seems to be that at least the Grand Prix Present 608 and 610 are not the same looking. I know, this number means the year of production (608=1962, 609=1963, 610=1964) but with the other models, such a Grand Prix Moderne 608 / 609 or Mini de Luxe 609K / 610K there is no difference, only the number is other.
And the version without speakers than has to be called Grand Prix Moderne 610?. Am I right (please see attached picture)?
And may I ask what is the second one below? Mini Present 607 or Jet Present 607? :-)
Regards from Vienna
the_o_master: Hi Vintage Fans, some time ago I found this pic of this very rare B&O vintage Radio/Receiver. I am collecting them but I haven't saw this model jet. Obvious it is a Grand Prix but what is his full name? Did anybody know or own this model?
The pic is of my Grand Prix. The pic is from my friend's vintage audio shop's webpage and I bought the very same unit seen there. The instruction manual on the top of the set is available as PDF on the Beoworld manual section (for silver/gold members).
The model is Grand Prix Present 610K.
I have the set stored at work currently. I have being doing some small repairs on the set and it's basically working. There is a small crackle on one channel - I haven't got around repairing that yet.
And our productguide for Grand Prix Present 610K shows a Mini Deluxe...
Room for improvement, I feel. Hmm...
Martin
You are right Martin and nobody noticed it till now :-)
Maybe this pic from lausvi could be use instead (if he would agree), it is a really very nice exemplar. And the darker version of paul too.
@paul and lausvi
How it does sound? Has it 2 or 4 speakers (as the Grand Prix Present 608 has)?
@Martin
Any repair expiriance with this radio Martin? Other pictures?
BR,
Theomaster
The Moderne version has no speakers.The Present version has four speakers, two facing forward and two sideways ofslightly different types, all of Videbaek production.
Being top of the 1964 product lineup and at the same time the ultimate peak ofwhat B&O did with valves (and more or less the peak of what was actually possible to do to home Hifi with valves),the Grand Prix was a superb performer.A lot was reused from the previous 608 and 609 models but the 610 models had the new DIN socketsrather than the earlier large round bakelit types.With 2x 7 Watts (effective!) push-pull, the sound is both very powerful and detailed, leaving the(still pretty good sounding) built in speakers as the weakest link.There's a good chance that I could be a bit biased towards the sound of valves, though. Everytime I have a valvething on the bench I find myself leaning back and just enjoying the warm and pleasant sound.You list the 608 amplifier in your signature, so you will recognize the sound from the amplifiers.
The 610 models are not too common, there are considerably more 608s and 609s around but I have repaired oneor two in my time and I have a couple more of them in my collection awaiting their turn.Tim Jarman did one a couple of years ago: http://beocentral.com/grandprixmoderne610
ipaul: Grand Prix Present 610. this one is in my collection (thanks to Rudy/Belgium) and seesms to have a darker colour, it looks original.. to me one of the most beautifull radios they mafe :) apparently the version without speakers is more common.
Is the reception better when it's mounted upside Down..?
or is the picture taken after few beers?
It's an export version for the markets on the other side of the globe.Quite a rare find in our quarters and not easy to accomodate.
the_o_master: Steffen: Is the reception better when it's mounted upside Down..? or is the picture taken after few beers?
Steffen: Is the reception better when it's mounted upside Down..?
Australian variant ?
BeoNut since '75
Upside down is better for the old caps and speaker suspension, because of gravity ...:)
No: this pictutre was taken and uploaded through an ipad and showed fine on the forum at first, but all of a sudden it showed upside down on a pc and also it is cropped spontainiously by this forum (which is why it only shows 75%), apparently BW has it's way of scaling...?
(or windows...it still shows fine on ipad).
Quote Martin: Everytime I have a valve thing on the bench I find myself leaning back and just enjoying the warm and pleasant sound.
I couldn't agree more: of course it's not high end but if you play it, it is just pleasant to listen to.
Similar experience i have with the BM900 and 70's Beolits (all with Germanium powerstage), somehow this gives them a nice ''character''...
But yeah, maybe ''looks'' also helps: as said: i think this model, and even more, the Dirigent, is probably the most beautifull radio designed by B&O imho.:)
Dillen: You list the 608 amplifier in your signature, so you will recognize the sound from the amplifiers.
You list the 608 amplifier in your signature, so you will recognize the sound from the amplifiers.
Yes, I am also the big fan of tube amplifiers though my Beolab 608 is mint and technically in original condition so I do not use him every day (try to keep him in this condition for a long time).
But I do have another tube Radio, the Mini de Luxe 610, it is in my living room and is used everyday. I would say it is a pretty simple radio, with two speakers but mono, also with a nice sound.
Do you know (or you guys) is there any technical difference between 608 (blue one) and 610 (export black one version) amplifier?
Obviously is the amp 610 the 1964's version but was it also updated technically or is the only difference the color of the front?
ipaul: No: this pictutre was taken and uploaded through an ipad and showed fine on the forum at first, but all of a sudden it showed upside down on a pc and also it is cropped spontainiously by this forum (which is why it only shows 75%), apparently BW has it's way of scaling...? (or windows...it still shows fine on ipad).
I've seen earlier that other members have had the same problem (with Pictures upside Down), when uploaded through an iPad.Wonder if someone can come up with an explanation for that..?
Steffen:I've seen earlier that other members have had the same problem (with Pictures upside Down), when uploaded through an iPad.Wonder if someone can come up with an explanation for that..?
Yes. That actually is an upside down image (according to the basic JPEG file format definition). However, it contains EXIF info about the display orientation, and many viewers (perhaps even browsers) will then know to rotate it for display, but the forum software doesn't.
Strip the EXIF info and it will be upside down on the i* as well, or perhaps keep the i* the right way up when snapping the original picture, I dunno
--mika