One point I would make is that my first 'modern' piece of B&O was a 5000 stacking system - which is the only system I have let go from my collection. Much as I liked it and the way it looked and sounded, it was probably the least 'special' system that I had and when we moved house I didn't have the space for it any more...

For what it's worth, there's no way would my Beomaster 8000, 6000 Quad, 2000 or Beolab 5000 have been let go. I get more satisfaction from using these items than I did from the 5000 stacking system.

Burantek - the meandering nature of the thread is a joy to behold. I publish a range of soccer coaching books and newsletters and I'm constantly trying to get people to visit our forums to post and to do so regularly. They never do. Why? Well the threads never develop into conversations. What we have here is a written conversation and that's why this forum works and you all keep coming back (and why I've signed up).

This thread is turning into the adventures of a B&O virgin with some knowledgeable contributions from all of you. And, as such, I think will come in very useful for others like me that stumble across this forum.

Indeed, one of my friends has been caught by my enthusiasm on this little adventure and my reports on this forum that he has started to investigate B&O equipment.

John, You're in the enviable position of having a collection. I can assure you that whatever I get it will be very special for me for quite some time.

j0hnbarker wrote:

One point I would make is that my first 'modern' piece of B&O was a 5000 stacking system - which is the only system I have let go from my collection. Much as I liked it and the way it looked and sounded, it was probably the least 'special' system that I had and when we moved house I didn't have the space for it any more...

For what it's worth, there's no way would my Beomaster 8000, 6000 Quad, 2000 or Beolab 5000 have been let go. I get more satisfaction from using these items than I did from the 5000 stacking system.

 

kb1981 wrote:

Burantek - the meandering nature of the thread is a joy to behold.

That it is!

And the way B&o will get to you... I hope you enjoy deciding what you want to do -it has always been half the fun for me!

oh, and as for Ipod leads - mentioned in the topics of conversation. Not for me. I have only bought one mp3. It holds no attraction for me. I don't own an ipod.

I can't imagine buying an album and not being able to read the liner notes and see which artists have contributed. This and the artwork and simple fact that I have something tangible (and which requires something more mechanical than a hard drive) adds to my appreciation of music.

As for your last post. The excitiment is always in the anticipation!

Has anyone had any experience buying from these guys?

I am sure that would be fine - I would consider the 6500 instead though - Powerlink sockets are big plus. Ian is a reputable dealer so you won't have a problem.

Hi Peter,

I have no idea what Powerlink sockets are and why they might be a plus. Can you advise?

They allow you to attach Beolab speakers. The 5500 only has passive speaker outputs and the software is not always going to work with some systems. I like 5500 systems because they have both DIN and RCA connections - great for attaching computers. However the lack of Powerlink is a big problem.

Personally I wouldn't say the lack of Powerlink is a big problem. As I said before you can still attach some active Beolab speakers like Pentas and the 3000/5000 range using the Speakerlink system, and although the 6500 is more versatile there is a significant price increase over the 5500 which IMO probably isn't worth it for what the OP is looking for from a system at the moment. With the 5500 he'll be able to afford all the components he wants (turntable, cd, speakers) whilst saving towards a better system if he thinks he needs it.

You'll obviously get a warranty with that one from MorethanAV and it should be good quality, but bear in mind you'll be paying a premium for it and you wouldn't get that amount back if you ever wanted to re-sell it. You should get a fully working one on Ebay for £350-400 that you won't loose money on, and that'll levae you plenty of cash left over for a decent set of speakers.