Beogram 5500 turntable - 2nd arm

4 replies
HE
Offline
herrit
Bronze
Posted April 7, 2023 at 03:24 GMT
#1642152
First post, so please be gentle...

I have inherited my fathers Beosystem 5500 & am giving it a refresh.

Some / many / most tangental arm Beograms have the non-cartridge arm on the left hand side, but on the Beogram 5500 the non-cartridge arm is on the right hand side. Why is this, and how does it work?

Also, is there a idiots guide to how the B&O tangental arms work in general?

Many thanks, herrit, UK
Mark-sf
Offline
Mark-sf
Bronze
Posted April 7, 2023 at 18:28 GMT
#1655428
B&O made the switch of sides in all of their turntables  in the mid 1980’s. They still perform the same record detection function. They became wider to display the speed while the cartridge carrier became narrower to support the smaller cartridges. The older service manuals for the 400x series provide the most detail on the tracking system.
DI
Offline
Dillen
BronzeModeratorFounder
Posted April 8, 2023 at 07:25 GMT
Edited April 8, 2023 at 07:32 GMT
#1655434
Mark-sf wrote:
B&O made the switch of sides in all of their turntables  in the mid 1980’s. They still perform the same record detection function. They became wider to display the speed while the cartridge carrier became narrower to support the smaller cartridges. The older service manuals for the 400x series provide the most detail on the tracking system.

---

That's not quite right;

Earlier Beogram tangentials use the second arm for record detection, and the arm contains an optical sensor system (light, lens etc.).
In order to do this the sensor arm needed to be "in front" of (to the left of) the tonearm.

Beogram 5500 and all other type 59xx decks have the extra arm to the right of the tonearm.
This second arm has no sensor and performs no function apart from carrying the speed indicator lights at its outer end.  In these decks records are detected by weight.

Martin
HE
Offline
herrit
Bronze
Posted April 8, 2023 at 15:22 GMT
#1655438
Thanks both - very interesting. I never realised that the second arm on the Beogram 5500 was there almost just "for show" !
or
BeoWorld Gold Membership card
Join BeoWorld

Register to access the forums, reference material, and exclusive member benefits — including our monthly prize draw.

Become a Member

December 2026 Prize Draw

Gold Members Only

As a Gold member you're automatically entered into our exclusive prize draw — your chance to win iconic Bang & Olufsen products. A unique benefit of BeoWorld Gold membership, every draw brings a new opportunity to win something special.

View Prize Go For Gold