I love my turntables but I do not think that it would make sense for B&O to make a new one. The set up costs would be high and remember that there are a lot of bespoke parts and that B&O no longer have the same manufacturing capacity as in the 70s and 80s. The market is small for vinyl and the share for a B&O deck is even smaller. Very few would be bought outside the B&O ranks as even in their heyday, not many people bought Beograms as a seperate. Datalink no longer exists as the modern systems use RCA plugs so remote control will be problematic and turntable technicians will have all retired or moved on.

Luckily I have quite a few turntables myself!! 😂

Hi there,

First, I don't think you're mad....🙂

Like many of the B&O enthousiasts I still have vinyl records to play once in a while ( and I love it..)
I sold my B&O turntable back in the mid-eighties, but continued to play records on my thrusty Technics and Lenco decks, till last year when I just could not resist temptation and bought a beogram 5500 of ebay. Looks good, sounds good, really happy with it.

Indeed the prices of secondhand B&O turntables seem fairly high, but imo the value is made by the hard to find replacement mmc cartridges.
There are a couple of turntables for sale locally here (non of which have cartridges) starting at 20$ for a decent looking TX2 up to 80$ for a 4002.

Vinyl is on the increase, but will remain a niche market at best in the rest of it's lifetime, so personally I don't think B&O should invest in producing a new turntable., not even if it's the best turntable ever made and... not even at the price you set. 

I fully agree with B&O going the digital road and should concentrate looking forward instead of back.
 

Peter wrote:

I love my turntables but I do not think that it would make sense for B&O to make a new one. The set up costs would be high and remember that there are a lot of bespoke parts and that B&O no longer have the same manufacturing capacity as in the 70s and 80s. The market is small for vinyl and the share for a B&O deck is even smaller. Very few would be bought outside the B&O ranks as even in their heyday, not many people bought Beograms as a seperate. Datalink no longer exists as the modern systems use RCA plugs so remote control will be problematic and turntable technicians will have all retired or moved on.

Luckily I have quite a few turntables myself!! 😂

Well I can agree with the crux of that, but lots of the designs/plans/theory/etc already exists. Sending a plan for an assembly to a Chinese/etc  factory saying "make those" wouldn't cost much... remote control shouldn't be very difficult to implement if it is being designed-in (and isn't essential).  Technicians are trained for new equipment, so why not for a new turntable? 

Perhaps I should also ask: If B&O did make a new Beogram that was something like I've described (good quality, not insane price) would you buy it? 🙂

cooldude wrote:

Hi there,

First, I don't think you're mad....🙂

That in itself is reassuring 🙂

cooldude wrote:

Vinyl is on the increase, but will remain a niche market at best in the rest of it's lifetime, so personally I don't think B&O should invest in producing a new turntable., not even if it's the best turntable ever made and... not even at the price you set. 

I didn't think it was a bad price....  I'm by no means rich, but compared to other B&O, other manufacturers turntables.. it seemed reasonable.

cooldude wrote:

I fully agree with B&O going the digital road and should concentrate looking forward instead of back.

So there's no way a new Beogram would tempt you to upgrade your 5500?

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZM8iNTZruY]

Well, it better not be as silly as this one. The growth in the sales of record players has been substantial, but I think that B&O should work with high-resolution, multi-channel playback, rather than record players. Vinyl's a fashion accessory for most, more than a practical playback option, unless you spend an absolute fortune on the players, and even then you end up using your harddisk-playback more ...

soundproof wrote:

Well, it better not be as silly as this one. The growth in the sales of record players has been substantial, but I think that B&O should work with high-resolution, multi-channel playback, rather than record players. Vinyl's a fashion accessory for most, more than a practical playback option, unless you spend an absolute fortune on the players, and even then you end up using your harddisk-playback more ...

It would be difficult to be that silly.  The Cleartone Statement.  Their statement -  we can charge people a fortune for something as ergonomic as a pile of broken bricks.

Turntables like this drive me mad, because underneath all that silliness it's probably not that good. 

And some say B&O has a small customer base? Only a certain kind of loon buys something like that....

I still think the production cost of a new turntable would be small compared to some products, and if it was good it would sell to non-B&O customers... but I agree it is hardly a cash cow.

rayfenwick wrote:

cooldude wrote:

Hi there,

First, I don't think you're mad....🙂

That in itself is reassuring 🙂

cooldude wrote:

Vinyl is on the increase, but will remain a niche market at best in the rest of it's lifetime, so personally I don't think B&O should invest in producing a new turntable., not even if it's the best turntable ever made and... not even at the price you set. 

I didn't think it was a bad price....  I'm by no means rich, but compared to other B&O, other manufacturers turntables.. it seemed reasonable.

cooldude wrote:

I fully agree with B&O going the digital road and should concentrate looking forward instead of back.

So there's no way a new Beogram would tempt you to upgrade your 5500?

 

 

Nope, not really tempted as I don't use it enough (a couple of records on the weekend) to merit an upgrade. I did buy the 5500 more out of a design point-of-view as it integrates with the rest of my system and is just about as good as my technics deck that was on its way out.

pro : Just love the clean design, the integration with my system and the ability to use the remote with it .

contra : sounds about as good as my old technics one  but B&O cartridges are about as expensive as their weight in gold.....

@soundproof ..... LMAO 3.5 min to change records , that must be a new .....record. 😂

Is exactly what I would hate it to be.

It's not silly but does it fit in with the current products?

Is there a marked that can pay the price?

I can't say that I would buy one if they made one today. Would love to see it be done.

I play records fairly often and do not keep music on a hardrive format for listning and enjoying the music.

Records takes good care but its a habit using them. Cd's are easy, Ipods even more but its a lifestyle and a bit of how much you are into playing music. Music on a harddisk format does not work for me. The thought of just a Beosound 9000 is strange to me.  

As long as my 2 Beograms can be serviced they will last a long time and that includes the catridges I have.

I couldn't say goodbye to my records.  Some of them have been there my whole life, some were my fathers, and I will pass them on to my children, who will probably hate them, but that will be their choice.

Others are just getting into it.  Teenagers are buying vinyl, and for them it is first time around...

People may think it is silly to talk of a new turntable.  But go back 10 years and you'd have the said the same about valve amps...  yet people are spending (and making!) a fortune.

Fad? Fashion?  Sure. But, some people out there will be buying A N Other's turntable to go with their new B&O system, and that's a pity, no matter how you look at it...