Ok so I took the plunge and tried with the rl 35`s and the rl 60`s. It seems ok, but I still have concerns that I may be driving the amp with mismatched speakers. Can anybody advise me on this? If the 3500 will cope with this then I will re cap the 35`s, if not then I will wait for a second pair of 60`s

Also the question of a record deck to suit, I am still very confused as to which decks will work with the 3500.

Andy

pithelmet wrote:

Firstly it comes with RL 35 speakers which are the babies of my 60`s and 140`s. Frankly I was really surprised at how warm and bassy they are, but I  opened them up as they definately sound less lively than the 140`s `and 60`s. Could this be an issue with the capacitors as with the other speakers.

I believe the biggest issue with the RL35s is that they simply aren't that great speakers. They would probably benefit from a recap, but don't expect them to perform as well as the much bigger RL models. But if you like them, by all means try the recap before deciding. The crossovers are quite simple so it won't be expensive.

pithelmet wrote:

Will the Beomaster 3500 drive these and if so, will it be a bad thing to drive Rl 35`s and RL 60`s as 1st and second speakers?

It won't care if the speaker pairs are identical or not, but it is not a very powerful amp. The protection circuits may turn down the volume if you try to run it loud with two passive speaker pairs connected. You might well be happier with just a single pair of better speakers connected.

pithelmet wrote:

Thirdly (last one) Which record decks can I look at for the 3500? Is it really that critical? I know the 4500 will plug straight in but they all seem very pricey. I know there is an issue with preamps, but how big an issue is it?

Big enough that you cannot get around it. There needs to be one (and exactly one) RIAA preamp in your system. As the Beomaster doesn't, you'll need to have it in the Beogram or add one externally.

Thanks Mika

That pretty much answers every thing concisely. The link is greatly appreciated!

The 3500 was at the right price and was bought as a misses / front room friendly stereo. We are building a new room and the 3500 is more than adequate for use up there..with the added bonus that she thinks it looks "quite nice" on the wall. She won`t let me run it loud so fingers crossed protection circuits won`t kick in.

Having said that I tend to agree about the 35`s..I`ve had a fair time this weekend to listen to them compared to the 60`s. Perhaps I will look for some active ones.

One question regarding the use of a preamp. Will it still allow the use of the remote control function if it is available on the deck etc? Been looking at them on..a well known auction site..

Once again thanks for the reply.

Andy

pithelmet wrote:

One question regarding the use of a preamp. Will it still allow the use of the remote control function if it is available on the deck etc? Been looking at them on..a well known auction site..

With the proper cabling, yes. The remote control signals have nothing to do with the audio lines, so they will need to be routed past the preamp. If you want to make it easy for yourself, buy one ready made from Sounds Heavenly for example.