chartz wrote:

You can't be serious? Among many decks, I've had several Naks - I've kept a CR-4 - and never found them to be better than a Beocord 9000 (or a 5000 for that matter).

Jacques

chartz wrote:

You can't be serious?

April 1st... naaaahhh  😂

Martin

Back in 1983 I bought a Nakamich Dragon cassette deck. I still have it and had it professionally serviced a couple of years ago. It is a great cassette deck and is highly regarded.  At the same time I was looked at, and considered, a Beocord 9000. It had similar performance specs and also got good reviews. They cost about the same back then ($1200 to $1500 USD).
In the end my choice for the Nakamichi was based on how I was wanting to integrate it into my system at the time. The Nakamichi provided more of a hands on, reel to reel editing type of experience. The Beocord 9000 was a more modern looking, automated system. Both have some really good features. To me they are so different in features (other than recording and playing cassettes) that I see them as an apples to oranges type comparison.

Now, many years later, I have been able to pick up some Beocord 9000 decks (as well as some Beocord 8004 decks). After restoring them I can report that they perform really well. Excellent in fact. They record and play cassette tapes as well as any quality cassette deck. But...they all need restoration work by now. Electronics don't do well in storage. They need use. With a restored Beosystem 8000 I have grown to appreciate what B&O had designed with the Beocord 9000 and it has become one of my favorites. 

Now having both the Nakamichi Dragon and the Beocord 9000 fully restored I can say I would be happy with either...but I enjoy have the luxury of having both :-).

I am not entirely sure why Beocord units sell so low but I have some ideas. 

For one, there are not a lot of places that will service them. You often see sellers advertising that they work but only need new belts. That is far from the truth. The transport mechanism will require servicing and includes new belts and rubber wheels from Martin (Dillen here on the Forum).
These cassette decks have also reached the point where they will likely need some capacitors replaced. A big factor in determining how much restoration work is needed depends on how and where they have been stored all of these years.

Another thing that I think plays against the Beocord decks is that their design is different from all of the Japanese cassette decks (except the

Thanks for the comprehensive insight! Last time I tried doing basic repairs on a tape deck I broke the poor thing even further... but on the contrary, I live right in Copenhagen so buying belts from Martin would almost be too easy to resist. Wonder if he does servicing as well...

Thanks for the comprehensive insight! Last time I tried doing basic repairs on a tape deck I broke the poor thing even further... but on the contrary, I live right in Copenhagen so buying belts from Martin would almost be too easy to resist. Wonder if he does servicing as well...

Thanks for the comprehensive insight! Last time I tried doing basic repairs on a tape deck I broke the poor thing even further... but on the contrary, I live right in Copenhagen so buying belts from Martin would almost be too easy to resist. Wonder if he does servicing as well...

Thanks for the comprehensive insight! Last time I tried doing basic repairs on a tape deck I broke the poor thing even further... but on the contrary, I live right in Copenhagen so buying belts from Martin would almost be too easy to resist. Wonder if he does servicing as well...

Thanks for the comprehensive insight! Last time I tried doing basic repairs on a tape deck I broke the poor thing even further... but on the contrary, I live right in Copenhagen so buying belts from Martin would almost be too easy to resist. Wonder if he does servicing as well...

Hi sonavor, thank you for sharing your opinion. I have become more curious after reading yours. Can you give a sound rating, low 1-10 high, for these BeoCord's?:

BeoCord 5000 from the late 1970's:

BeoCord 8004:

Beocord 9000:

Nakamichi Dragon:

Chickene wrote:

Thanks for the comprehensive insight! Last time I tried doing basic repairs on a tape deck I broke the poor thing even further... but on the contrary, I live right in Copenhagen so buying belts from Martin would almost be too easy to resist. Wonder if he does servicing as well...

He does - as time allows.

Martin