Beolab 6000 v Beolab 3000/4500

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Opinions sought:

I have BL6000 as my rear speakers in a 5 speaker surround set-up. However I’d love to find some BL3000 or 4500 to hang from the wall. I have Penta Mk2 as main speakers so also thought the displays of BL3000 would look really cool with them.

The main question is, does anyone have experience of both types of speaker and would I notice any significant gains or losses with either one?

Julian

[Die_Bogener]

The amplifier and all electronics of BL3000/4500 are quite the same. The 4500 is just bigger… and more loudspeakers.

Sometimes bigger is better… it depends just on the size of your house.

But…: there are only a few survivors of the 3000/4500. They are prone to fail with bad solder connections, broken wires, defect boards and bad caps. Also the displays are hard to find in working condition, they are identical to early Pentas. Without a specialist checking these old hardware it’s very frustrating… 90% are simply dead ore unusable.

But if its done and they are working: NICE! 🙂

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Die_Bogener wrote:

The amplifier and all electronics of BL3000/4500 are quite the same. The 4500 is just bigger… and more loudspeakers.

I think you mean the BL5000 as being the bigger speakers. BL4500 appear to be just like BL3000 but with green displays, like the last build of Pentas. I wonder if they sound any different to the BL3000s?

Without a specialist checking these old hardware it’s very frustrating… 90% are simply dead ore unusable. But if its done and they are working: NICE!

Thank you for your comments – I remain ever hopeful of finding a good pair of these BL3000 wall-hangers. They’re so cool!

Julian

[david656]

I have both BL6000 and BL3000 and Penta 2s. Whilst I have’t listened to my BL3000s for a long time now I can tell you in my opinion they sound MUCH warmer and fuller in sound. If you’re lucky good sets are still around but the display units can go weird, I need to service mine at some point.

Best or luck 🙂

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Hi @David656,

I appreciate your comments. I think I’m going to double my efforts to find a pair of BL 3000s. I am a little nervous about what to expect regardig the displays – but there’s a very clever chap I know in Kent who’s a dab hand at 80s/90s B&O repairs so if I find the right set I’m certain he can breath a little magic over them.

Julian

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