Lee wrote:

It will be absolutely fine on the BG1500, and that way when you decide to upgrade your deck you'll be able to just swap the cartridge over to the new one.

So, it has been a fairly difficult few days.. The seller became much less communicative once payment was in.  Unfortunately he also didn't heed my request to not spare money on packaging and shipping.  The box, which arrived today after 4 days of transit, looked like something out of a comic.  I fear my new Deck has been through hell and back this week.   😠

Anyway.  Although it has been through a lot, the Beogram 4002 seems to have survived. I plugged it into the NAD PP2 Phono Preamp I bought on ebay for 50€, which I then plugged into my dear 3200.

Everything seems to work, but I suspect I'll be investing a fair amount of time to restore this baby as well as I can...  

To functionality.. All buttons seem to work.. However:

1. when i press on the cartridge touches down a little too far into the record, so definitely not before the beginning of the song.

2. When the arms drive back to neutral position, it gives off a nice little whine.. probably needs to be greased..

3. the turntable wobbles a tiny bit, which produces slight acceleration and deceleration in the playback.

4. with each revolution there is a clicking noise coming from somewhere inside.. have yet to identify the source..

5. So far sound only comes out on one of my beolab 3 speakers... haven't had time to isolate if it is the preamp or the player.. or is there something I'm missing here??? (the DIN cord from the player is plugged into the RCA converting cable from sounds heavenly, plugged into the Preamp, plugged into a 4x RCA switch box, plugged into the 3200. Any tipps on how to start troubleshooting this?

Aesthetically:

1. the Lid comes down flush on the right front corner.. the left front corner is up about 2-3mm.

2. as you can see in the pictures its pretty dirty.. I'm a big fan of alcohol-free wipes - should be fine for everything but maybe the wood, right???

I'll throw in a few pics of the player in its current condition.. If anyone wants to see any particular part, please let me know! :)

thanks again for all the help so far!

heres a link to a google drive folder with all the pics I have taken so far...:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1PgswF_6Ib5UHNoQlJFWmMtZ28

sonavor wrote:

It will be fine as long as you are referring to a BG 1500 Type 57xx (1978-1980) and not the BG 1500 Type 52xx (1967-1973). -sonavor

Oh its not all bad.. Just amazed how bad the packaging was.. especially in germany, where packaging things as neatly as possible is pretty much a national past time ;)

Superficially took the Deck apart and cleaned away most of the grime, and then put it back together.. Already an improvement in symmetry, clicking noise almost inaudible. 

Still haven't gotten to the bottom of the mono/stereo thing.. Just bought a brand new record, so its not that I was playing a mono record.. Tapped the inputs on the DIN/RCA converter, that obviously wasn't the problem either.. Not sure how to test if the problem is in the cartridge, internally in the Deck, or in the original DIN cable.... 

Overall the sound quality is O.K., but far from great..

I guess a new cartridge would be the next step, but that is something I'll have to try to get a deal on, because spending 400 on something pristine is out of the question, at this point. 

Anyone out there that has a compatible cartridge with a few miles on it that wants to get rid of it for a reasonable price? Does not have to be perfect, but at least non-record-damaging and able to produce adequate noise....

Overall fairly happy with the purchase, she cleaned up well!

Eliminate the pre-amp - try the Beogram directly into the 3200 - it will sound very quiet and tinny but see if you have both channels. If only one, it is either the cartridge or the DIN plug (check inside the plug), if stereo, you need to look at the wiring of the pre-amp.

very smart - but I already tried that yesterday, just forgot to mention it ;) - 

It remained mono... So it isn't the pre-amp :( .....

Just handed off my MMC4000 to a local Cartridge specialist in munich (the last remaining one), who will refurbish with an ellipsoid Diamond for 200€...

Pretty excited to hear how much of a difference that makes, and whether that solves the mono/stereo riddle..

thanks for the tipp though, sorry that I forgot to mention it!

Ufff.  I was apparently a little too fixated on supporting local businesses today.. Knew in the back of my mind that it wasn't ultimately the cheapest price, but unfortunately wasn't aware that I was paying double (even though you were nice enough to mention it above).. 😮 Oh well, maybe I can try to get the cartridge back, but I doubt it.... my bad, need to focus ;)

In other news (on which I'll blame my cartridge fail (an emoticon smashing its head into a brick wall would be most suited here, right now), 2 used Beolab 3's in pretty darn good condition arrived today.  Let me verify, for anyone out there considering doing the same: 4 Beolab 3's sound profoundly more powerful than 2. I can now listen at much lower volume and get comparable sound, and when I crank it up beyond 46 the walls really begin to shake.. pretty impressive..

actually, I feel the need to elaborate a bit. I've been on the brink of upgrading to 4 Beolab 3 for a few years now, and it wasn't till last week that I found 2 additional ones at a price point I could justify.  It is pretty nuts.  I'm guessing that anyone who has the BL3's is also a little enamoured and impressed with the sound they produce at midrange volume levels.. Once you go just a bit too loud though, the limited size and weight of the speaker begins to become apparent, as it begins to sound ever so slightly distressed and over-worked. (though, IMHO, still very respectable for anything the size of a BL3)...

now, with 4, one in each corner facing the middle of the room, they fill the entire (15m2 bedroom) bedroom with ample sound at a volume of 20 on the BS3200.. in the 30's it starts to get loud but effortless. past 40 walls and furniture start getting doses of vibrations.  anything past 46 is very very loud, bassy, and visceral. (but the speakers still aren't struggling.. first signs of distortion appear around 56-60)  Maybe I am just a sucker for these speakers, but I'm a little in awe...

So, for anyone considering it.. 2+2>4