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
Dear members,
I will get a pair of Pentas in their original boxes. However, telling by the pcitures I have a feeling that the seller put them upside down in these boxes. Can anybody give me advice on which end is where tha amplifier should go? Do you need to remove them bottom plate to put them in the box this way? I'm just worried about the amplifier getting snapped off since that's where most of the weight is.
Thanks!
Kai
What's the safest way to have them delivered when the box is available by the way? Greetings, Kai
I would still go and collect them if possible and if I couldn't collect them I wouldn't buy them.
Regards Graham
That mistake has already been made . Let's see how it goes and if they arrive totally damaged, I'll book that as lessons learned. I wanted the original boxes, though and these won't be unusable after all. The price was low enough that it was well worth the risk.
I still don't know the correct way of putting them in the box. Is this correct or upside down? :
http://kleinanzeigen.ebay.de/anzeigen/s-anzeige/zwei-bang-olufsen-penta-1-lautsprecher/182615108-172-9427?ref=search
Greetings,
I hope they arrive safely!
//Bo.A long list...
Photo 5 has the B&O diagram of how to pack them on the side of the box. From the pictures of the speakers inside the box they look to be correct.
I remember reading on this forum about Pentas shipped in their original boxes but arriving in multiple pieces or in one instance, snapped in half! I hope yours arrive safely.
Dave.
The problem with the original boxes is that they aren't really designed for shipping individual speakers. They are designed to keep the speakers intact when several boxes are piled on top of a pallet and moved around with a forklift. They provide very little protection if the said forklift decides to approach the side of the box and not the underside of the pallet.
Don't worry in advance, it doesn't do any good. Most probably they will arrive just fine.
--mika
They won't be shipped. They will just be carried by a freight forwarding business (if that's the correct word in English for it). I hope that goes well. However, I can still instruct the seller about what is the best way to ship them. As far as I've understood, they originally arrive with the bottom plates removed. Therefore, I've asked the seller to remove them. When looking at pictures two and three, my guess was that they are upside down. This is for two reasons: 1) Most of the weight is on the amplifier and therefore the link between amplifier and main body is a weak point that can easily snap. Therefore, I would assume that there should be as much area of support on the bottom part of the speakers as possible, which would only be the case if the amplifier was located on the styrofoam shown in picture 2. I don't think that the area of support shown in picture three provides enogh stability between amplifier and main body, does it? 2) Why should one want to remove the bottom plates if the shown orientation is correct? Removing the bottom plates only appears to make sense if they are upside down. You just can't reverse them without removing the bottom plates.
Any further thoughts on that? Does anybody know or remember the correct way of packaging the Beolab Pentas?
I have only ever seen Pentas once so never had to move them.
However I have moved BL1s and 8000s from several countries. I would remove the bottom plates and pack them seperatly just to spread the load and make it easier on the guys/gals who work in the shipping company.
Hope they arrive in perfect condition.
Manbearpig: That mistake has already been made . Let's see how it goes and if they arrive totally damaged, I'll book that as lessons learned. I wanted the original boxes, though and these won't be unusable after all. The price was low enough that it was well worth the risk. I still don't know the correct way of putting them in the box. Is this correct or upside down? : http://kleinanzeigen.ebay.de/anzeigen/s-anzeige/zwei-bang-olufsen-penta-1-lautsprecher/182615108-172-9427?ref=search Thanks! Greetings, Kai
Leaving aside the fact that I don't like Pentas anyway, I just took the time to read the advert. They are Penta 1's!!!!!!!!
You cannot give these things away in the UK.
Why are you even considering them???? You should not consider anything older than Penta 3
The mid range drivers WILL need refoaming, the amplifiers WILL need a major overhaul, NO powerlink sockets and to cap it all you are going to have them shipped in what are very flimsy boxes and packaging, especially when the weight and design of the speakers is considered. Crazy!!
I have bought, moved and sold a number of pairs of Pentas in my time and in my view it is a disaster waiting to happen.
You would get much more enjoyment and value from a couple of bottles of good brandy and a few Cuban cigars!
Dear Graham,
I like Beolab 5000s (like you) but really love Pentas as well. They are a really good speaker and their looks just fit my living room better than anything else. So I couldn't be any more satisfied than with my current pair.
Concerning the Penta 1, 2, 3 argument: I've read that several times on here, but I beg to disagree from my own experience with Pentas that I meanwhile have (I've listened to and owned a couple of pairs). In the end, it's a matter of chance. Pentas, by their construction have many things that can go wrong (displays, amplifier, crossover, drivers). Age obviously is a factor but not the most important one. I believe that it's mainly a matter of treatment and usage by the previous owner. Many will have had a lot of use - probably also at high volumes - in the past. After all these have been some very expensive speakers. All Pentas have an age now (except for the last ones that apparently were of lower quality) that it mainly depends on the previous owner. I wouldn't consider buying a pair of Pentas from anything but the first owner. I want to know how they have been used. In fact, I've only made bad experiences with Pentas from the second or third owner. In particular, the amplifier blows due to usage, running hot etc., not (only) because of age. And here is what makes Penta 1s attractive. They will most probably have had much less use then many of the later examples simple becaus of the restricted connectivity. In many cases, Penta 3s will have been linked to a TV. And honestly, I don't watch TV, but from my experience buying TVs (and looking at service counters), the average household easily has 30 hours of weekly TV usage. 30 hours times 52 weeks times 15 years = 23400 hours and that is what the average pair of Penta 3s will have been in use when watching TV only. I highly doubt that Penta 1s in most cases will have had an equal run. You can now say that usage doesn't matter when it comes to buying speakers. Like I've said - my experience tells me something different.
Finally, foam rot and bad capacitors are a problem in all pairs of Pentas already today. Ok, it's probably worse with the older examples, but if you want your Pentas to sound the way they should, you should consider an overhaul anyway. It's a slow process of degeneration.
I still don't know how to put them in the boxes and whether the shown way is correct or - as I suspect - upside down.
I can only lead a horse to the water, I cannot make it drink!
Good Luck
I'll report back. I've made good and bad experiences. But in case of the Pentas, I know what I want. The only thing I'm really worried about is the transport.
I hope that anybody can still tell me about what is the correct way of putting them in the boxes.
I had Pentas shipped from Sweden about 7 years ago in their original boxes.
They arrived perfectly without a single mark on them, although interestingly they arrived on different days, despite being shipped at the same time!
Thanks very much! Can you still remember which way to put the in the box?
Is this correct or upside down:
Rgds,
Manbearpig: Thanks very much! Can you still remember which way to put the in the box? Is this correct or upside down: http://kleinanzeigen.ebay.de/anzeigen/s-anzeige/zwei-bang-olufsen-penta-1-lautsprecher/182615108-172-9427?ref=search Rgds, Kai
It was a long, long time ago, but that looks about right from memory. Slanted on their side like that with some thin foam to cover them up.
Someone like Lee would probably have seen the packaging more recently if he's viewing this and able to confirm?
I think that the boxes might even be symmetrical. Then my question would turn out to be quite ridiculous. I just don't know since I've never seen the original boxes. I have original boxes for almost all of my B&O items except for the Pentas. So filling that gap was one of the main reasons for my purchase. I think that it's always nice to have the original boxes.
The Pentas have meanwhile arrived safely and appear to be in superb condition. No foam rot visible through the flashlight test.
Manbearpig: No foam rot visible through the flashlight test.
No foam rot visible through the flashlight test.
Nice to read that they arrived in good condition!
I've got a set delivered last week for an overhaul in the original packages. The bottomplate was removed and packed separately inside the box.
BTW: the foamsurroundings often seems to be fine (specially the latest version even around 2000), but feels a bit sticky or "slow". In these cases when you touches the surrounds and pulls a little bit, you will/can make holes easily. So be carefull. They certainly don't feel fresh anymore.
Yes, that's what I've heard. However, given that they are Penta 1s, I'm already glad that there are not already any holes in there. And the stainless panels look perfect. Also in my case the bottom plate was removed and packed separately inside the box. I think the original boxes are ok for sending the Pentas. It's still a risk but much less than sending them without the boxes.
You know, most things can be repaired. But the panels are a different story. Even replacing them by another (self) made panels will not be the same. Even original replaced panels can be recognized . So, cherisch the panels and keep them nice. In the end, it doesn't make a difference what display you have if you would connect them with a BV10 or BV11. Even then the mk3's will not display any source....
Spend some time changing the surrounds and service the amps (as they will certainly have some cracked joints). It makes you feel comfortable with the idea and prevent that any outputstage suddenly will go up in smoke. And check you filters for burned resistors and coils.
If it's all fine, then you will enjoy them the most for years.
Hi Kai,
would you consider selling those boxes ?
if yes, how much ?
cheers
ALF