We've established from a recent thread that I'm a skinflint with an eye for a bargain. What got me looking at B&O kit to start with was that I wanted a record deck, and the tangential ones made me act like an excited schoolboy. So, now I've bought a Beocentre and speakers, but I can see scooping a tangential table for cheapness won't be easy. I've bought a Beogram 1202 which comes with two cartridges and hopefully only needs a belt, but I can tell that if I'm patient enough, I'll find a tangential I can afford. Trouble is, it'll most likely come without a cartridge, and if it has one, well, that'll wear out. What are my options, really? All I can find is buying a used one on eBay, which will most likely not be cheap, and certainly be risky, or a Soundsmith cartridge for, frankly, more than the total I'll have spent on all the rest of my kit. I read a reference to a German company whose name I'll essay at with.....no I won't, I'm just going to get it wrong, but it's apparently run by someone called Axel. I couldn't find their site; does anyone know what they charge for a retip? And are there other options I'm missing? If there's basically no option much cheaper than £200, then I might be smart to stick with the 1202, with it's replaceable stylus.....
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Poor men and tangential turntables - is it sustainable?
Got lots of those Beograms tangential players and MMC's.
PM me if you're interested? Where you from?
His name is Axel Schürholz, and his workmanship is very good. He has restorated six of my B&O cartridges with great success. His cheapest option is at €99.-, which is a very good MMC4-spec cantilever/diamond. A step up the latter, there is the €159.- which is with a contact line diamond, very much like the MMC2 (my favourite) does have a more delicate sound to it, I love it.
The next is the Shibata at €179.- which I also like for a much more delicate bass reproduction and mid-response, but I don't like the low treble response which is inherent in the Shibata shape.
His webpage is
Sam it is a bit of a myth to think that spending more on the cart than your gear is wrong. It is the sole reason B&O decks are soooo cheap IMO. If it were such that you could fit any cart I think they would command much higher prices! Go for the Axel option, you will not be disappointed :)
Well, if 100 euro for a rebuild exists, then I'm in. It was the Soundsmith prices that put me off. I'm in Southampton, UK.
Sam it is a bit of a myth to think that spending more on the cart than your gear is wrong. It is the sole reason B&O decks are soooo cheap IMO. If it were such that you could fit any cart I think they would command much higher prices! Go for the Axel option, you will not be disappointed :)
I suppose the important point here is not that I think it's wrong to pay more for the cart, it's about what I can afford to spend (or at least, am prepared to spend) full stop, and the fact that the cart is a consumable that I'm going to have to pay for more than once. If the total package price is £300, then if the performance was the same, I'd rather have a £200 unit with a £100 consumable, rather than a £50 unit with a £250 consumable, because that consumable price is going to repeat on me. I'm not really an audiophile; I love music and I have a lot of it, but I started this journey just wanting to put together a system that gave me decent listening, not to reach nirvana. What drew me to B&O was my love of nice design, (and it's that about the tangentials; what a great idea, you know?), and also the appeal of being able to own something which I could never have afforded new. The bottom line is that I'm never going to spend £1000 on a piece of audio, and that £200 for a record deck is *really* pushing the envelope. I've bought the 1202 for £26, and if all it needs is a belt, then there's part of me that says I should just forget about a tangential deck, but they *are* nice......
My advice, for what it's worth, is if you don't want to pay for a decent tangential and a rebuilt stylus/cartridge then don't bother. You will undoubtedly buy a pup.
I buy and sell tangentials professionally and I have bought enough pups to enter them in an ugly dogs show!
Radial decks don't come much prettier than the 1202 so get a belt from Dillen, give the deck drop of sewing machine oil in the correct places and see how it sounds. If necessary, get the stylus refurbed by Axel and sit back and appreciate the music.
Deck for £26, belt for £20 or so, refurb from Axel for £90, job done!
So, I weighed up all these things, and picked up at Beogram 3000 for £77, which includes a cart that needs a retip. Apparently it runs both speeds, the arm tracks raises and lowers correctly, so hopefully it's ONLY that which needs doing! I think I'm going to hang on to the 1202 as well; it just looks too cool not to. Perhaps in time I'll hunt out a Beocentre 1200, and set up an alternative vinyl listening station in another room.
You could always hope for a spot of good luck. I managed to get a Beogram 8002 W/MMC3 for $20. Guy did not know what he was getting rid of. Spend a couple of hours and maybe $80 on it. (Caps/Belt) It in great but not perfect shape but it sounds almost perfect and will after the cap swap.
I'm looking forward to see what turns up. There's no way I can pick up the 3000, so I'm relying on the seller doing a good packing job 😮
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