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
chartz: Hi, My advice is to fix that 4400 of yours. Mine has been on retirement since I got the Beolab 5000, but I can assure you it is very, very good, especially on linear mode. I fought hard to repair it, because a transistor on one channel was so-so, not kaput nor completely alive either, the preamp PSU transistor behaved the same way... It is not back-breaking as the 8000 is, but it still is a very heavy receiver!
Hi,
My advice is to fix that 4400 of yours.
Mine has been on retirement since I got the Beolab 5000, but I can assure you it is very, very good, especially on linear mode. I fought hard to repair it, because a transistor on one channel was so-so, not kaput nor completely alive either, the preamp PSU transistor behaved the same way...
It is not back-breaking as the 8000 is, but it still is a very heavy receiver!
Hello Jacques,
First off I wish you a comfortable and prosperous New Year….. All the Very Best!
As to my repair sequence you are not alone and in very good company as well. Virtually everyone whose opinion I value, like yours, our fellow BeoWorld members, and my B&O maven/friend in California say the same thing: fix the damn 4400.
I am paying attention and understand your point……. big pause there, but these are my amplifiers and it is my responsibility to make the best decision I can in their regard.
Without question the 4400 is the most valuable of the group and although I have rather high confidence in this new shop, what if my trust is misplaced and the shop not all that good? Better to send a highly replaceable 4500 than risk a 4400.
Please note I really DO believe in the integrity of this new shop as well as their technical know how, but caution is and should always be regarded as a virtue.
The 4500 has been packed ready to go for over a year and it does not work so it headed to the USA tomorrow.
We will see how things progress from there.
Truth is I just want the 4500 repaired, but what I REALLY am intrigued by in the extreme is the Beomaster 2400. How this amp functions after so many near-death experiences is the stuff they make movies about.
Since I am on a movie analogy the other repair contender is Stephen King’s Christine (AKA Beomaster 4400). Jacques how I suffered personally and intensely with this amplifier. The radical mood swings, no bass, massive bass, cheesy treble, ghost-like volume changes, and all that BURNING odor, weeks of burning components. I went so far as to buy a new fire extinguisher because of that damn monster and was literally afraid to press the power button out of fear what would happen next.
However lousy experience that it was it is also now ancient history. “Christine” settled down over a year ago, no more burning, no more volume or tone changes and as such I am no more concerned about this beast as I would be any other electrical device in the house.
I will have the 4400 rebuilt because I genuinely would like to hear what it really is capable of as opposed to what it has settled down to in a compromised state, plus full volume, something it is unable to produce.
Should be interesting to see what is found inside the 4400.
Jeff
Beogram 4000, Beogram 4002, Beogram 4004, Beogram 8000, Beogram 8002, Beogram 1602. Beogram 4500 CD player, B&O CDX player, Beocord 4500, Beocord 5000 T4716, Beocord 5000 T4716, Beocord 5000 T4716, Beocord 8004, Beocord 9000, Beomaster 1000, Beomaster 1600, Beomaster 2400.2, Beomaster 2400.2, Beomaster 4400, Beomaster 4500, Beolab 5000, Beomaster 5000, BeoCenter 9000. BeoSound Century, S-45.2, S-45.2, S-75, S-75, M-75, M-100, MC 120.2 speakers; B&O Illuminated Sign (with crown & red logo). B&O grey & black Illuminated Sign, B&O black Plexiglas dealer sign, B&O ash tray, B&O (Orrefors) dealer award vase, B&O Beotime Clock. Navy blue B&O baseball cap, B&O T-shirt X2, B&O black ball point pen, B&O Retail Management Binder
Hi Jeff
So I understand you will get the BM4400 fixed in good time, in the meantime this activity is more about sorting out curiosity as to whats wrong with the other two amps :)
If you dont fix the BM4400 soon, you may have to send it to me in Australia as a late xmas present :)
BM4400 and BM4000's are quite rare in Australia, I'd love to find one of those or a BM6000 for my setup to add a little more spice than my BM1900 currently offers.
Be sure to let us know what the outcome is from the repair shop. In the meantime, I have my S75's recapped and am loving them, I do note that the BM1900 does seem a little underpowered to drive these, it will run them okay without distortion but the sound seems 'closed in' which initially led me to an evaluation that they weren't a really good sounding speaker.
When I put the S75 on my Marantz SR7002 AMP (rated at 150w per channel into 4ohm - and yes i never overdrive them) they really seemed to benefit from the extra power - this seems to open the sound up as in better mids and bass.
Drew
Andrew: Hi Jeff So I understand you will get the BM4400 fixed in good time, in the meantime this activity is more about sorting out curiosity as to whats wrong with the other two amps :) If you dont fix the BM4400 soon, you may have to send it to me in Australia as a late xmas present :) BM4400 and BM4000's are quite rare in Australia, I'd love to find one of those or a BM6000 for my setup to add a little more spice than my BM1900 currently offers. Be sure to let us know what the outcome is from the repair shop. In the meantime, I have my S75's recapped and am loving them, I do note that the BM1900 does seem a little underpowered to drive these, it will run them okay without distortion but the sound seems 'closed in' which initially led me to an evaluation that they weren't a really good sounding speaker. When I put the S75 on my Marantz SR7002 AMP (rated at 150w per channel into 4ohm - and yes i never overdrive them) they really seemed to benefit from the extra power - this seems to open the sound up as in better mids and bass. Drew
Hi Drew,
Yes, this post is largely about my much delayed repairs of several Beomasters.
Shipping to Denmark has become impossibly expensive, with customs duty the round trip is about $1,000, whereas I can ship to the USA round trip for $84.
The Beomaster 4500 had been my favourite amplifier until it failed, so it is all packed up, label on the box, ready to be shipped tomorrow.
Once I get the 4500 back I am sending my Beomaster 2400 which has suffered several near-death experiences, super over-heating while giving off the telltale aroma of burning capacitors, yet still hanging in there. I am told the 2400 is a far better amp than the 4500….. and I look forward to seeing this.
As for the Beomaster 4400, I can’t wait to see what this amp is really capable of. Right now it operates acceptably at what I believe is a much reduced volume and with WAY too much bass. (I don’t particularly mind the extra bass, truth be known.)
We’ll see.
As for your belated Christmas gift….. let me work on that one.
Happy New Year!