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
I did a tape transfer from my Tandberg reel-to-reel recorder to my Beocord 9000 using the AUX input instead of TAPE, as my configuration with the McIntosh MI-3 blocked the signal between these two recorders.
The AUX connection worked fine HOWEVER when recording in the proper Chrome Oxide mode and with the power level indicators indicating just barely spiking into the red LED’s produced a very very low volume recording.
I tried again and recorded in the full red LED zone and the recording came out perfect.
Normally I would have expected an over-driven tape with terrible sound reproduction made at this level, what gives?
And this time if Martin wants to chime in, Martin this is the Beocord 9000 you worked on about 6 years ago, so you might remember it.
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
I honestly thought I had the answer to why my Beocord 9000 displayed a higher reading than it actually recorded, in that I failed to use the GO feature and as I recall the 9000 was unique in that it tested the tape for type to give the best recording possible.
Well that sounded good to me until I thought further about it, since I forced the 9000 to operate “blind” wouldn’t the computer default to the worst possible tape setting, and if it did, then it would have recorded too loud not too soft?
If so, that didn’t happen here.
Of course IF the default is to assume a metal tape was used, then it makes sense.
I got a decent recording only by ignoring the maxed out RED LED’s during the recording process.
Your thoughts on this, if you please.
Did you calibrate the Beocord to the actual tape ?(Pressing GO doesn't calibrate).
Martin
Underneath the Beocord there is a selector for Line or DIN Jeff.
Also, when recording with a Beocord 9000, all you have to do is watch that the PPM doesn't go beyond +1, and the machine will adjust according to the tape's possibilities. On replay, you will get a real reading of +5 dB with a good metal tape for instance, even though it didn't go beyond +1 on REC mode.
If the tape is really knackered, what you have might happen too. But it wouldn't calibrate properly.
About your BM4400, did you notice the muting adjustment underneath?
Jacques
Hello Martin,
It is never advisable to try to answer a question before the morning’s first cup of coffee, but calibrate my 9000?
I do happen to have an Azimuth Calibration Tape; however the brief instructions that came with the tape are insufficient for the basic user.
“Insert the cassette and press >. Through this hole the screw is adjusted to the left or the right until maximum indication on the Peak Program Meter, L and R.”
That is the instructions in their entirety. I purchased the tape separately on eBay and when it arrived with those brief instructions, I shrugged thinking it was not worth my damaging the Beocord 9000 trying to accomplish something so poorly explained.
So as it happens I have not adjusted either the 9000 or the 8004.
OK, so now I know my Beocord 9000 needs calibration, since I have the tape, if you would be so very kind as to explain what am I looking for in turning that screw? How do I know I have the position right?
Many thanks, as always.
What Martin meant, I think Jeff, is, did you use the REC CAL button before recording on said tape?
chartz: Underneath the Beocord there is a selector for Line or DIN Jeff. Also, when recording with a Beocord 9000, all you have to do is watch that the PPM doesn't go beyond +1, and the machine will adjust according to the tape's possibilities. On replay, you will get a real reading of +5 dB with a good metal tape for instance, even though it didn't go beyond +1 on REC mode. If the tape is really knackered, what you have might happen too. But it wouldn't calibrate properly. About your BM4400, did you notice the muting adjustment underneath?
Hi Jacques,
There is a selector for Line or DIN on the BC 9000? This is not going well. I better have my morning coffee.
OK, which do I want, Line or DIN? My Beocord 9000 has RCA plugs not DIN connectors from the factory, if that makes a difference.
The tape in question was a factory sealed B&O cassette tape manufactured by BASF. Beautiful thing this tape, B&O was artistic in everything thing that they did….. including their cassette tapes.
Moving on to the Beomaster 4400, no I haven’t noticed the muting adjustment underneath. However it is easy enough to look, but first why do I want to look for a muting switch? What will this accomplish?
My question was in regard to the correct usage of the AFC switch, which I “think” I now understand.
Boy am I ever confused this morning.
If after the coffee hits and my answers to your and Martins questions appear truly stupid, please forgive me.
It's not about the connections Jeff, it's about levels. The old DIN norm will work with older B&O equipment, and the LINE setting will with newer gear. See p.14 of manual.
You HAVE to calibrate any tape you throw in. Even BASF. REC CAL before anything else.
The 4400 has a muting adjustment underneath. Well, mine has.
Rather than bothering you, I need to download the manual and read it.
There is also a MPX In and Out, with In selected, and I have no idea what this is, but I will.
Jeff Rec cab is for the auto calibration system and that is why the 9000 is a recording monster.
What you do is the following:
1: Put in the tape and locate where you want the recording to be.
2: Open the lid and push RECORD OPEN button..
3: Start the music
4: Push the REC cab button/ auto cab for 3 seconds. The 9000 will calibrate the tape, and set the time
5: Set the levels max + 1. and NR of choice. Normally levels on a 9000 is about 4 left and right
6: Start the music again from where you want to record from and push RECORDbutton. The 9000 will now record.
7: Push STOP button and wait 4 seconds as the 9000 puts in a pause before it stops. If its end of tape do not worry it will stop automatically. You will get a warning in the last minutes saying when the tape is running out.
MPX should be out.
The function GO makes it play and set time from where the tape is currently at. 0+ GO gives the same but from the beginning of the tape.
So adjust the head to the optimal tone with the tape provided then follow the above procedure and download the manual.
Adjusting a head for me came back in the late '80s with computergames on a standard cassette player.
What you do is adjust the screw to the highest tone in the sound on the tape you have put in for playback only.
Put the tape in and push PLAY button. Adjust just the 1 screw until you have the highest tones coming out. That is all.
So that TDK-R is the optimal head adjustment tool that you should use for this once and then leave it. With a 9000 you should not spend your time adjusting heads at all.
It works, thank you!!
Part of me feels damn silly for not having got out the Owner’s Manual prior to asking this question, but in all fairness I have not made a recorded cassette in nearly a decade. Sure, I play old tapes regularly, but who records tapes anymore?
Anyway I operated my Beocord 9000 from the memory of how to use a Beocord 8004, which is similar sans the calibration. I was then taken totally by surprise by how far off the recorded tape was from my extra careful recording session.
I had no idea what was wrong and did not remotely connect that I missed an essential step, so I asked for help.
So thanks Jacques, Martin, and especially Friedmett for the highly detailed instructions. The help is greatly appreciated.
Now allow me to let you guys in on why this was so very important to me.
For a good portion of my life I worked in a family business and was, among a host of other things, responsible for all advertising production. I kept a good sampling of some of my television spots, which are in my library. However the collection of radio spots has been lost (Misplaced) for 30 years.
The original reel-to-reel tape is in poor condition and I am sure I would have used a better tape had I known at the time it would eventually serve as an archive for a lifetime of work.
The spots are a terrific sampling of my later work, but there was a surprise kicker in the tape, the memory of which is what motivated my search in the first place.
Now the head of the company, my father was a NO non-sense kind of guy, serious in the extreme, with little or no sense of humor. During production the on-camera talent got bored and did a gag spot for their own amusement. (Let’s just say that it was rude and crude, but HYSTERICAL!)
I laughed my head off during the production recording session, but I never, but NEVER thought our advertising agency would include the gag spot in their formal presentation. They did. My dad resisted for a few second, but ended up with his head on the conference room table, laughing uncontrollably with tears coming out his eyes. (Really, no kidding!)
Boy were those ad guys lucky they somehow hit my dad’s impossible to find funny bone….. or they would have been out a client by the end of that meeting.
But there is more. As a teenager our local pop station, WLCY-FM signed off every Sunday night for maintenance. At midnight they had their standard sign-off followed by the US National Anthem. Only WLCY had a “Mrs. Miller” type singer who literally destroyed the National Anthem. Word of this atrocity quickly spread throughout my high school and I assume many other Bay Area schools….. and a good number of us sneaked to stay up to midnight just to hear the sign-off.
It starts with a loud burp and ends with a slamming door...... and in the middle this voice like someone trying to strangle a Diesel. Remember this was the innocent sixties, so this sort of irregular public sign-off was both outlandish and outrageous.
Eventually someone reported this appalling violation of good taste and the FCC yanked the sign-off from the air.
Ten years later I mentioned with fondness this awful sign-off to a staff member of the radio station, who said, “You really like it that much, it’s yours,” and handed me the original tape they used on the air.
This tape is in far better shape than my radio spots, but as a back-up, I wanted to transfer it to my brand new B&O brand cassette tape along with my radio spots.
And thanks to you guys and your help, the radio spots sound great and the sign off, even better than the original. The radio station recorder had a different format from the standard model offered to the public, so there is a considerable bleed with a National Airlines commercial “Fly Pamela,” but being entirely on one channel, I converted the good channel to two, and now have a clear sign-off.
Thanks again guys, you made my whole week!
Piaf:not having got out the Owner’s Manual prior to asking this question
Don't we all?
Congrats!
//Bo.A long list...
Very good to hear Jeff!
You are lucky to have that calibration tape. Not all 9000 have them anymore. My first one did not and my second one neither but a user manual at least. I just hope that the head is where it should be at and I do not want to adjust it. It came from Martin's carefull hands and it works of course like new after his treatment. I even recorded a tape yesterday with the second symphony by Beethoven after having written the instructions for you.
Are those calibration tapes factory generated tapes that can be used for any Beocord 9000?
They were factory made and were supplied for every Beocord 9000 produced.
I am not sure about the tapes to be special for one 9000 only.
But yes B&O in Struer Denmark did get cassette tapes in for whatever reason.
Some years ago I discovered the TDK MA-XG tape and I had never had one or seen one or even bought one. So I got a 90 minutes one from Ebay and paid the high price tag. I did some recording on my first 9000 and that sounded amazing. I've used the 9000 for playback and that TDK tape started my love for the 9000. Naturally my wish was a lot more TDK MA-XG tapes but not at those prices.
I did a google search and I found a Danish ad with a Yamaha tapedeck but also some TDK MA-XG tapes. The seller agreed to sell 1 big box with 50 NOS tapes though they were 60 minutes but I got them really cheap. I went to Struer to get them in person and guess where they came from?
B&O Factory 4 Struer
These were the green ones abut 1990 or so. Seller told me that he had 3 of those big boxes 150 tapes in total. I told him the real value otf the 2 boxes he now had left.
My Beocord 9000 came with neither the owner’s manual or the calibration tape. The manual I downloaded from BeoWorld and the calibration tape I purchased separately on eBay.
I have read the brief instructions a dozen times and “think” I get it, but have once again decided not to mess with something that works. (So this tape will continue to collect dust until I find out for sure what I am supposed to be attempting to accomplish.
Yes it appears simple enough, turn the screw to the point where the sound is the loudest.
And what is the MPX and why should it be out? (I did switch it to out, as I was told, but would like to know why I did this?)
Thanks again everyone for your help and kind words!
Friedmett: They were factory made and were supplied for every Beocord 9000 produced. I am not sure about the tapes to be special for one 9000 only. But yes B&O in Struer Denmark did get cassette tapes in for whatever reason.
Thanks for the information. I will need to start searching for one of those calibration tapes...unless anyone has a spare they are willing to part with :)
-sonavor
If you try keywords 'azimuth tape' on the 'bay you'll get this. I've got one but I'm with Jeff - If it ain't broken, don't tinker with it.
Page 14 in the Danish userguide says that the MPX should normally be set in out.
The In setting is for recording of stereo FM radio programs. Beomasters have filters etc so there is no need for the In setting with a Beomaster.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bang-Olufsen-Beocord-9000-Azimuth-Calibration-Alignment-Tape-/191073565978?pt=US_Home_Audio_Cassette_Decks&hash=item2c7cdf3d1a
That was the last one I saw.
Notice 12,5 khz FE 120 tone!
The MPX switch is for the stereo 19kHz guarding tone (or pilot tone) filter. This pilot tone might interfere with the music you want to record giving ugly interference sounds.
The pilot tone is a sign for the stereo decoder in the tuner that there's a stereo transmission that should be decoded.
As Friedmett stated before B&O tuners / receivers have a built in filter so this is not necessary . It's just an additional feature of the BeoCord 9000.
Ralph-Marcus
Thanks all for explaining the MPX feature. In truth I had not noticed the button on the bottom of the 9000.
Plus I can not imagine recording off of FM today for any reason. So my switch is now permanently set to out.
Thanks!
Friedmett: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bang-Olufsen-Beocord-9000-Azimuth-Calibration-Alignment-Tape-/191073565978?pt=US_Home_Audio_Cassette_Decks&hash=item2c7cdf3d1a That was the last one I saw. Notice 12,5 khz FE 120 tone!
$65 + $38 shipping...wow, I hope the shipping cost included a nice box :).There is a guy on ebay that sells a set of reference tapes for Nakamichi decks but those don't include the 12.5khz, eq 120uS tone. They use 15khz for the azimuth alignment.
sonavor: Friedmett: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bang-Olufsen-Beocord-9000-Azimuth-Calibration-Alignment-Tape-/191073565978?pt=US_Home_Audio_Cassette_Decks&hash=item2c7cdf3d1a That was the last one I saw. Notice 12,5 khz FE 120 tone! $65 + $38 shipping...wow, I hope the shipping cost included a nice box :).There is a guy on ebay that sells a set of reference tapes for Nakamichi decks but those don't include the 12.5khz, eq 120uS tone. They use 15khz for the azimuth alignment.
Wow! $103 with shipping. OMG I think I paid $15 plus $5 shipping. And yes it came with a nice box. All hobbies are expensive!
It's very easy get confused when it comes to calibration on the Beocord 9000, mainly because of the fact that it has several kinds of calibration possibilities for the "normal" user.
1. Real-time counter calibration: that's what the GO button does, it calibrates the real-time counter display.
2. Record calibration: that's the REC CALL button, this optimizes the recording settings (such as recording bias) for a particular tape. As all tape recorders the BC9000 has recording settings presets for the usual tape types (type I (normal), type II (chrome type) and type IV (metal tape)). These are presets for the ideal close-to-spec tapes. In real life, most tapes' magnetic characteristics differ from the ideal tape. That's why hi-end recorders give you the possibility to manually fine-tune bias to match your tape (for example if the bias level is to low you'll get too much treble and also distortion). The REC CAL function of the BC9000 does this automatically for you. Great!
3. Azimuth calibration: this has to do with the angle between the tape and the playback head. Ideally, the gap of the head are 90° to the tape. In real life, it's not always that easy to get the gap-to-tape angle to exactly 90°, but the most important thing here is that the angle is the same when you play the tape as it was when the tape was recorded. Otherwise you will lose treble level (and also overall level, but the treble drop is the most obvious effect). In a two-head deck (where the recording head and the playback head is actually the same head) this normally is not a problem, as long as you play tapes that were recorded on the same tape recorder (and unless the head doesn't change its angle :). In a three-head recorder, however, it's important to make sure that the recording head and the playback head have the same angle. Otherwise you will not get the best out of your recordings. The azimuth adjustment screw lets you adjust the azimuth angle of the playback head, and the easiest way to make sure that both heads are identically aligned is to record white noise (for example between-stations radio static!), and afterwards during playback slowly adjust to azimuth to the point where the white noise sounds the brightest (and the peak meters indicates the highest level). Another good use for the azimuth adjustment: get the best out of tapes that were recorded on other recorders.
Hi Henrik,
Absolutely fantastic explanation of the Beocord 9000’s calibrations. Clear, concise, and so readily understandable.
I can’t thank you enough.
The 9000 surely is an engineering marvel - and it seems like I'm late on this thread
Do yourself a favor and buy the late 1980's TDK MA-X if you can't or won't throw outrageous sums after MA-XG cassettes. The tape itself is the same and the shells from that era are rigid and stable.
The tapes I enjoy the most with the 9000 is a BASF Chrome Maxima. Better noise floor than MA-X, lower modulation noise and thanks to lower recording levels; lower print-through.
The same tape stock was sold in some versions of the Chrome Extra and commercially as the Chrome Plus where it's closest contestant price-wise was the TDK SA-X...
Vinyl records, cassettes, open reel, valve amplifiers and film photography.
Hi Søren,
You’re not late to this thread as there is ALWAYS room for one more. (Besides your contributions are always quite remarkable.)
I purchased the Beocord 9000 because I relish owning “the best” and have not been disappointed. I love some of the clever features like viewing the tape type with the cover closed. Not to mention the tape calibration, I only recently began to understand fully.
That said I really can’t say that I can “hear” a real difference between the engineering marvel Beocord 9000 and my lesser model, the Beocord 8004.
And with tapes, I have an assortment of tapes of varying quality, all heavily used and now old. While I like the Chrome tapes just fine I seem to prefer the metal tapes which if nothing else seem to be more durable.