Beogram Turntables – which have preamp

[CharlieWednesday]

I have tried to find a list somewhere but cannot. Which Beogram turntables have a preamp built in?  Does anyone have a list?

[Guy]

The BeoGram 3500, BeoGram 4500, BeoGram 6500 and BeoGram 7000 all had RIAAs fitted as standard.

And although not fitted as standard, RIAA may have been retro-fitted into the following:

BeoGram 3000, BeoGram 3300, BeoGram 5005, BeoGram 5500, BeoGram 8500, BeoGram 9000, BeoGram 9500, BeoGram TX

EDIT:  And further research shows that a RIAA Pre-Amp module could also be fitted to BeoGram 1000, 1200 and 1800 (BeoParts sell kit replicas of the original modules)

EDIT 2:  I also just noticed that OneRemote sell an RIAA pre-amp that passes the datalink through, useful for datalink era non-RIAA Beograms such as BG9500: https://shop.oneremote.dk/shop/69068-riaa-amplifier/

[Madskp]

There are also kits available for mounting in several models here (Danish homepage) https://claudius-elektronik.dk/designs-og-l-sninger.html

[CharlieWednesday]

That Oneremote preamp has given me an idea but I’d be surprised if it works.  The Beosound 4 has one disappointing feature – it only has standard RCA aux input, so no Beolink/Audio Aux Link.

I do have a 1614 converter going spare though.  Do you think if connected my BG3000 to the Oneremote device, then to the 1614 converter via A.Aux link cable, then to the BS4 via Masterlink, then I would be able to control my BG3000 via remote control?

Probably too much to hope for!

[Multicare]

I’m a little bit late on this one, I have copied the info regarding BeoGrams and pre-amps from the old articles section.
There is still a lot of work to be completed with the articles and some thinking on how to lay it all out.

https://beoworld.org/beogram-riaa-pre-amplifiers/

 

 

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Repairs and refurbishment to both old and new.
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[Guy]

CharlieWednesday wrote:

That Oneremote preamp has given me an idea but I’d be surprised if it works.  The Beosound 4 has one disappointing feature – it only has standard RCA aux input, so no Beolink/Audio Aux Link. I do have a 1614 converter going spare though.  Do you think if connected my BG3000 to the Oneremote device, then to the 1614 converter via A.Aux link cable, then to the BS4 via Masterlink, then I would be able to control my BG3000 via remote control?

No I am pretty sure that this wouldn’t work – the problem being that the BL1614 (or 1611) uses Audio Aux Link rather than the datalink that is needed to control the Beogram.

There may be a (messy) solution using an MCL2AV – something like this but with your BS4 instead of Beoport:  https://beoworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Beolik-Converter-Usecases-5.pdf

The diagram is madskp’s work – hopefully he can comment further!

[CharlieWednesday]

Ypou’re rifght – it doenslt work. I donlt yet have the adadter to connect my BG3000, but I didn connect the BG3000 to the 1614 via A.Aux link plug, then to my BS4 via Masterlink, just to test if there was any Datalink compatibility.  There was not – if I pressed Phono on the Beo4 the BS4 came on (but in N.Radio, of course), but the turntable did not activate.

As for th alternarive possible MCL2AV solution you give – I did have an MCL2AV only recently but had to return it to the seller as it failed after a short while.  Madskp’s diagram does have a note bottom-right though saying this solution would not work if a Beosound was used as the audio master, soi I assume Madskp means that my Beosound 4 is not an alternative to a Beoport in this case.

[Guy]

CharlieWednesday wrote:

Ypou’re rifght – it doenslt work. I donlt yet have the adadter to connect my BG3000, but I didn connect the BG3000 to the 1614 via A.Aux link plug, then to my BS4 via Masterlink, just to test if there was any Datalink compatibility.  There was not – if I pressed Phono on the Beo4 the BS4 came on (but in N.Radio, of course), but the turntable did not activate.

There is a further complication with datalink, but I don’t think it affected your experiment in this case:  Tape and CD use pin 7, whereas Phono uses pin 6, unless RIAA is built in (to the Beogram) in which case it uses pin 7 also.  (As an aside, the OneRemote RIAA must therefore swap datalink from pin 6 to 7).  So your BG3000 probably expects datalink on pin 6, which corresponds to the AAL ‘data’ also on pin 6, albeit not able to control you Beogram in your test.

Out of interest, when you tested this did you try putting the BeoSound in A.OPT 2 and then pressing DVD on the Beo4 – at the very least you should then get Beogram sound, but try controlling the Beogram also.  Also, with the Beogram and Beosound running, try a long press on the Beo4 power button to see if it turns both BeoSound and Beogram off – if it does so then at least some data messages are getting through.

CharlieWednesday wrote:

As for th alternarive possible MCL2AV solution you give – I did have an MCL2AV only recently but had to return it to the seller as it failed after a short while.  Madskp’s diagram does have a note bottom-right though saying this solution would not work if a Beosound was used as the audio master, soi I assume Madskp means that my Beosound 4 is not an alternative to a Beoport in this case.

I think that a Beosound cannot directly replace the Beoport because in his example the BL1611 is acting as the audiomaster (only a BL1611 can do this, not a BL1614), and effectively the Beoport is a link product.  There may be a work around but I will have to defer to madskp’s greater experience of such setups!

[CharlieWednesday]

Yes I tried that suggestion you made, but it’s the same, the Beogram does not respond.  I don’t think there is a way to do this then.  It’s no big deal, I just enjoy trying to figure out what’s possible!

[Madskp]

Guy wrote:

CharlieWednesday wrote: As for th alternarive possible MCL2AV solution you give – I did have an MCL2AV only recently but had to return it to the seller as it failed after a short while.  Madskp’s diagram does have a note bottom-right though saying this solution would not work if a Beosound was used as the audio master, soi I assume Madskp means that my Beosound 4 is not an alternative to a Beoport in this case. I think that a Beosound cannot directly replace the Beoport because in his example the BL1611 is acting as the audiomaster (only a BL1611 can do this, not a BL1614), and effectively the Beoport is a link product.  There may be a work around but I will have to defer to madskp’s greater experience of such setups!

If this setup was to work the BS4 should be setup as a link room (option 5 or 6) and the 1611 would works as the Audiomaster (which is why the 1614 cannot be used).

I just tried with my Beocenter 2 in option 5 – 1611 converter – MCL2AV in option 2 – Beogram.

The commands would the be Link commands used for activating the Beogram in the “main room” (the MCL2AV).

However I can not get that to work, and I think I also have tried something similar when I made the different setup pages which might explain why I did not make one with a Beosound and the MCL2AV

I can not figure out why it is not working as it should be possible to have a Beosound setup as a link room and get sources from a main room

[CharlieWednesday]

You do like a good experiment don’t you @Madskp!  I have both a 1611 and a 1614, but my MCL2AV did break a little while ago.  I am looking out for another one.

[Madskp]

CharlieWednesday wrote:

You do like a good experiment don’t you @Madskp! I have both a 1611 and a 1614, but my MCL2AV did break a little while ago. I am looking out for another one.

Yep experimenting and testing is my thing 😉

I will probably look more into this setup type during the summer as I have 4 untested MCL2AV’s that I like to know if are working or not. So good to have some different test setups to try

[Madskp]

Madskp wrote:

CharlieWednesday wrote:

You do like a good experiment don’t you @Madskp! I have both a 1611 and a 1614, but my MCL2AV did break a little while ago. I am looking out for another one.

Yep experimenting and testing is my thing I will probably look more into this setup type during the summer as I have 4 untested MCL2AV’s that I like to know if are working or not. So good to have some different test setups to try

I did try to test this again with my Beocenter 2 int option 6, 1611, MCL2AV in option 2.5 and a Beogram CD4500 connected to the CD port of the MCL2AV. And it works. i can control the Beogram CD 4500 with the Link CD command.  I just had to be more patient to let the units handshake, and maybe there was a hickup on the link setup last I tried.

For some reason with a 1614 I can control the CD player, but get not sound through (tried with two 1614 units), so conclusion is that is not working.

[CharlieWednesday]

Interesting, I’ve bought another MCL2AV, sold as ‘untested’ on eBay but it was only £10 so worth a try.  It hasn’t arrived yet though.

Since the MCL2AV doesn’t have a Phono input I assume I would connect my Beogram to the Aux input, so I am not sure if controlling the Beogram via Beo4 remote would work that way.  Still, I’ll give it a go.

Just to double check how you had it all connected:

• BC2 to BL1611 connected via ML
• BL1611 to MCL2AV via datalink cable

Is that right?  I’m also wondering why it was necessary to have your BC2 on option 6 – would it not work on option 1?  Also, on the MC22AV, what the hell is option 2.5!?

I’m not very bothered if I cannot find a way to remote control my Beogram by remote when connected to my BS4, but it would be nice if I could find a way.

 

[Madskp]

CharlieWednesday wrote:

Since the MCL2AV doesn’t have a Phono input I assume I would connect my Beogram to the Aux input, so I am not sure if controlling the Beogram via Beo4 remote would work that way.  Still, I’ll give it a go.

No, it should be connected to the CD input as that use Datalink 80 codes, whereas the AUX port and the MCL system use Datalink 86 codes.

The Beogram Record player will react to the CD commands when connected to the CD port on the MCL2AV, but not Phono commands as they will be sent to the MCL connection.

CharlieWednesday wrote:

Just to double check how you had it all connected: BC2 to BL1611 connected via ML BL1611 to MCL2AV via datalink cable Is that right?

That is correct

CharlieWednesday wrote:

I’m also wondering why it was necessary to have your BC2 on option 6 – would it not work on option 1?  Also, on the MC22AV, what the hell is option 2.5!?

In this setup the 1611 acts as the “main room” and are serving it’s sources, the MCL2AV to the “link rooms” which in this case is the BC2. If the BC2 were setup in option 1 (or 2 for that matter) it would then be the “main room”, and could not get sources with the Link + commands.

Option settings on the MCL2AV is a little different than on newer products. You have to do the options settings two times in a row: Link + 2 + Store, Link + 5 + Store. I am not sure the 5 matters much in this setup though.

 

[Madskp]

Madskp wrote:

CharlieWednesday wrote: I’m also wondering why it was necessary to have your BC2 on option 6 – would it not work on option 1?  Also, on the MC22AV, what the hell is option 2.5!? In this setup the 1611 acts as the “main room” and are serving it’s sources, the MCL2AV to the “link rooms” which in this case is the BC2. If the BC2 were setup in option 1 (or 2 for that matter) it would then be the “main room”, and could not get sources with the Link + commands.

One extra note. Other “link rooms” like your Beolab 3500 will not be able to fetch the sources from the BS4 in this setup. Only the sources from the 1611/MCL2AV will be available, so you might miss some functionality if you choose to go this way

[CharlieWednesday]

Ah – in that case I won’t do it, as the BL3500 is now an essential part of that setup.  If the cheap MCL2AV works when it arrives, I will use it in place of my MCL2A, which is connected to my Beocenter 8500/Beogram 3500/Beoxox CX50 setup in a different room.

[Author]

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