At the risk of taking this thread further away from the original question, I'm a bit confused about a Beolab/Beomaster 5000 from Frede as well! 

Can I just turn up on his doorstep, give him 1500 GBP in Kroner and he'll give me a shiny amp and tuner?  If so, that's not a bad price for what is essentially a hand-made piece.  In fact, given the number of hours he spends on restoring these things, it sounds a bargain. 

Cleve

£600 was for the Beolab 5000 amplifier I think. That was an initial quote - I cannot remember what I paid as I had the Beolab, Beomaster, Beovox 2500 and Beogram 3000 Thorens all restored. Unfortunately my equipment had been poorly stored by a friend and most was in Frede's view not worth restoring, despite it being in very good condition when I had had it. Frede replaced the items except for the Beogram hich was complately refurbished and a 12" arm board made and fitted. He also sourced a bespoke cartridge for the arm.

I think each project is treated on its merits - I certainly think I have a bargain - I have a as new system with incredible performance which is practically unique. I was also able to choose the finish and was kept informed all the way through. Meeting Frede and enjoying his hospitality was the icing on the cake. I do realise that spending this sort of money on a 40 year old Hi-Fi which if by any other company would be regarded only as skip fodder seems odd, but I suspect owners of these Frede restored systems are all very satisfied. There are a good number of us now and I have not heard a single dissenting voice.

Hi Peter,

I really think this is a case of 'perceived value', much like the general forum threads about B&O modern equipments value...

I for one know I have spent much in excess of what many others would for my 25 + year old system.... my original 6000 w 80.2 I spent around S$1750 (870 GBP) buying and shipping the system here... about another S$300 (150GBP) getting caps and having them installed (even though the unit had been serviced and some had already been done)... Most recently I spent close to S$1200 (600GBP) buying, shipping and having Martin devote time and care in servicing my BG8002... 

Did I spend too much, probably, am I happy, most definitely... I really didn't see I had much choice in this case, with no local sources and no electronic skills to mend ebay gambles ... I just made the decision to spend what was necessary to ensure that I got a unit that will be able to give me years of enjoyment ...

If I had more electronics knowledge I might try the gamble with unknown or malfunctioning equipment .... but maybe in the future, who knows, our fellow members certainly inspire me to! 🙂 

I think a fully serviced unit by Frede at 1500GBP while expensive, is very good value given the time, and skill required to achieve a full restoration... I think you have to consider this in the realm of other restored collectables which increase in value as they age (think antique furniture, art and the like)....

I guess its all relative really.

Laurence.

Laurence - you're spot on when you say everything is relative, but it's what everything is relative to that's important here. For a great many people £1500 is a month's net wages, and in today's economic climate I think we have to be mindful of the fact that not everyone has that kind of cash floating about. Sure, if we were talking about new products then £8000 for a new TV might be considered reasonable relative to the competition, but in terms of vintage products (and the OP was specifically asking about entry level vintage B&O) the Beolab 5000 system is sought after anyway. Frede's restoration is painstaking, and perhaps really represents the high-end of vintage, which not everyone can afford. One of the things that first got me into older B&O gear was the fact that I could pick up pieces from eBay and build a collection, but if everything attracted a premium I seriously wouldn't have bothered...

Hi John,

I hear you and totally agree .. we all adjust our perceptions constantly of what constitutes value to us, this is guided, as you say by our current incomes, the economic climate, and our wishes and desires of what is important.... 5 years ago I wouldn't have spent the money I have on my vintage system, couldn't have justified it to myself, but now I thought it would be something nice for me to have and enjoy  .... and made the necessary adjustments, which felt right for me.

I must say, to be very honest that I often feel extremely jealous of the ability in UK / Europe / USA to pick up older B&O gems for next to nothing (comparatively of course), you are all very fortunate, would love to be able to do that ... ha ha... would probably have a very bad case of the beovirus then! 😎

Yes, I think you are very right that we have diverged from the original intent of the thread .... apologies.

Laurence.

I do agree that this thread has meandered slightly! 😁 I also completely agree with John that £1500 is one heck of a lot of money, especially when one can get a very good system for next to nothing - and sometimes nothing! I have had a Beogram 3000, Beomaster 3000-2 and a suitable pair of speakers for less than £50 and these are items that will give the Beolab 5000 system a reasonable bit of competition. I reckon you could put a good 4400 based system together for less than £200 with it all working and in good condition. And that would be as good as anything in my view. Hence my original recommendation!

However I do think this is an interesting thread and I am sure John and beaker's 5000 systems sound superb and they certainly look good. My unrestored version in the one pictured on Beocentral and that was preety good as well.

The OP is back! And now I'm golden.

I'll give you some more background.

At present I am playing my CDs on my X-box with the beautiful sound of my LCD's built in speakers. "This has to stop", I finally say and resolve to get a stereo.

Then, I get a massive urge to build a vinyl collection. I'm at a stage financially where I can afford to put a collection together. So I better get a turntable...

If I'm doing that I want to get something good so I start looking around and I see a picture of a B&O stack and think I like it. But is it any good? And what's it's price/worth (and I'm aware that price and worth are different things)?

Now, my original plan had been to spend about £500. Then I see Peter's 7000 and think hmm, I love that. But £1,500??? So I then decide to join the forum and ask everyone's opinion.

And now I think I'm in the dangerous position of having a little bit of knowledge so I'm going to go back to before and be nice and ignorant, and, perhaps, phrase my question more accurately.

"If you had £500-£750 to spend and you were starting from scratch, but with the knowledge you have now, what would you buy?"

Add to that "Would it be safe to buy it on ebay?"

Perhaps the question should be "should I just post in the wanted forum 'I have £500-£750 to spend. I want to play CDs and records and I have no equipment at all at present. What do you have that you might want to sell that fits the bill? And can I reach you easily from Surrey to collect it?'?"

(not sure about the grammar of my quote inside a quote so please forgive me if I've got it wrong)

... and I took so long writing that, that 3 or so more replies have arrived to the thread in the meantime.

kb1981 wrote:

...

If I'm doing that I want to get something good so I start looking around and I see a picture of a B&O stack and think I like it. But is it any good? And what's it's price/worth (and I'm aware that price and worth are different things)?

"If you had £500-£750 to spend and you were starting from scratch, but with the knowledge you have now, what would you buy?"

Add to that "Would it be safe to buy it on ebay?"

Perhaps the question should be "should I just post in the wanted forum 'I have £500-£750 to spend. I want to play CDs and records and I have no equipment at all at present. What do you have that you might want to sell that fits the bill? And can I reach you easily from Surrey to collect it?'?"

...

a Beosystem 5500/6500/7000 should be your choice then

get it on ebay or anywhere else - local pick-up will give you the better price and a chance to see the system before paying

you can always sell the system if you don't like it (which won't be the case ;-)) without loosing (too much) money on ebay.

Ralf

It might help kb1981 if you expressed a preference for one particular system...though going from what you have already posted I think you might be after a 5000/5500/6500/7000 stack system. You can probably forget the full 6500 or 7000 stack on your budget as the turntables for these later models are hard to come by as not every one sold included one as they were contemporaneous with the steady demise of the LP.

You could pick up a 5000 system quite easily in that price range. I should know as I sold one last year and got something like £550ish for the component parts. There are pros and cons to the 5000 vs. the 5500, in that the earlier model has less connectivity with newer B&O products/speakers/remotes, but does have a better amp. I'd try for a 5500 if I were you, but be warned that as with all old B&O, there are no guarantees how much longer the units will function (if indeed they function at all).

For your budget, I would get passive speakers regardless of the system I chose. Beovox MC120.2s are relatively cheap, are small enough to fit into an interior, and have a great sound for the price a pair will cost. Drawbacks are that they are usually in rosewood, which is not always the most forgiving choice in a modern setting, and that they are popular = hard to come by!

If you really persevere, you could get the above speakers plus a Beomaster 6000 or 8000 + a Beogram 8000 or 8002 for your budget, but there will be no quick wins if you go down this route as the bits are not guaranteed to be in the same county (or even country) on eBay, and may not work meaning you will have to befriend one of the handful of restorers who can fix the bits up for you.

Happy hunting.