New owner of 5500 components with questions.

9 replies

I was given a complete system, all four 5500 components several years ago by a original owner who did not use it much. Volume was stuck due to MCP not working.. CD50 works intermittently but door does not close properly. Turntable is great & Cassette deck plays nicely. I put it all in storage because of the volume issue - it was stuck on a very high setting! Thanks to this forum I became aware of the Beolink1000 & just now picked one up on e bay. Shazam!! It is fully functional & sounds great. First question; I have my only set of speakers connected - my S45-2 with stands. Is this a safe (for the speakers) set up? They are a decade older than the Beomaster 5500 which has a lot of power. Thanks!

Location: USA

Richard Rose

So with all components now connected I observe the following; Phono & tape both function nicely and can be "selected", or turned on with either the MCP or the Beolink1000. Neither however begins to "play" by use of either remote. They both play manually by selecting "play" on respective front panels. CD50 when plugged in acts like it is trying to load a cd but will not fully close, just keeps sort of grinding away. I remember that this was not the case 10 or so years ago when it was put into storage.  It played ok at that time - just very loudly!

Location: USA

Richard Rose

Hi Richard.

I had a Beomaster 5500, Beocord 5500, and Beogram 5005 all hooked up to Beovox S45-2's earlier this year, and they do work together fairly well. Also, the Beomaster's amp has built in overload protection (I think), so you should not be afraid of driving them too hard, unless you are hearing distortion, then it's too loud.

As for the Beomaster and why it was so loud: the battery that saves it's memory function has died. If you unplug the unit for a few minuets it will loose all saved radio presets, and also it's volume, treble, bass and loudness presets.

It's very strange that your other items don't start playing right away when selected, sadly I do not have any advice on that topic, but I hope others can chime in with some tips.

The volume control on the MCP is a very touchy thing. There is a switch inside that sometimes needs to be cleaned... Or there is also a photocell sensor that sometimes goes out, and needs to be replaced... Or in my case, batteries have leaked, and caused a bad trace on the PC board inside, and that needs to be corrected... It's kind of a puzzle, but I did get mine to work before I sold it.

If you'd like, here is a thread on my MCP and all the things I had to do to it.

 

Location: Minnesota, USA

My B&O Icons:

BeoCenter-9500.png BeoCenter-9500.png
Beoplay-H95.png Beoplay-H95.png
Beomaster.png Beomaster.png

Thanks for the reply. I figured it out! I had removed the bottom two pins on the 7 pin DIN plugs to attach turntable & tape player to my Beocenter 3500. I put them back on & MCP seems 100% functional except for the volume control. It is like Christmas Morning for me here.

Location: USA

Richard Rose

Thanks for the reply. I figured it out! I had removed the bottom two pins on the 7 pin DIN plugs to attach turntable & tape player to my Beocenter 3500. I put them back on & MCP seems 100% functional except for the volume control. It is like Christmas Morning for me here.

Location: USA

Richard Rose

The volume on the MCP is controlled by an optical sensor.

The sensor could be defective, dirty or the moving scale has become detached from the wheel.

You will need to dismantle and clean in the first instance. You will be surprised just how much dirt is on and around the sensor.

I have tried those things but I suspect a bad switch as absolutely nothing happens when turning the wheel - no lights.

Wondering now about different volume from radio / Phono / tape all at same setting?

Location: USA

Richard Rose

Richard, try this and see what happens. Press the status button and begin to turn the volume wheel, and keep turning it. If your screen begins to blink, you have the same issue I had. If everything clears, then it's something else.

Location: Minnesota, USA

My B&O Icons:

BeoCenter-9500.png BeoCenter-9500.png
Beoplay-H95.png Beoplay-H95.png
Beomaster.png Beomaster.png

Absolutely nothing - no screen activity. That is why I think the switch is bad? No worries though as everything else on the MCP woks and I can control volume and other functions with the Beolink 1000. Currently enjoying fully functional receiver, turntable & cassette deck. Any idea where I can purchase a new belt for my CD50? I have taken it apart and it is pretty cool. Belt is disintegrated though.

Location: USA

Richard Rose
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