Beocenter 2 buying considerations

[Madskp]

I am a little tempted to buy a Beocenter 2 (yeah I know the Beovirus), but but I have some considerations that I like to hear if others have experience with.

If I wan’t to go the cheap route most units on our local “Ebay” here in Denmark are sold as the head unit and the socket unit seperatly, and as of now I only find one socket unit for sale.

I noticed in one add for a head unit that the seller mentioned that he has the pin code. My consideration here is if the pin code is only for the head unit or if the socket unit is using the same pin code and therefore need to be with the head unit the pin code was set for?

Also could there be other dependencies between the head unit and the socket unit I will have to think of?

Quite a few of the adds for the head units mentions that reading CD/DVD’s might be problematic. Are there any known cure to this other than replacing the laser?

Any other things that I have not thought through?

Thanks in advance for all inputs

 

 

[B3OHACK3R]

As far as I know the pin code is stored in the socket unit.
I have two BC2 here. One with pin code enabled, the other came disabled. I remember connecting the “pin code” head unit to the other socket unit (several un-powered hours in-between). It then didn’t ask for the pin code, so…

Watch out for sticky soft touch paint on the head unit.
Also worth checking the display for signs of wear. The VFD technology used has a limited life-time. If people let it running 24/7 or enabled the standby clock some pixels will be worn out heavily and pretty dim while other will still be bright. While it still functions then it will just look bad.

The wing mechanism tends to stop working properly. Usually caused by a slowly failing rubber belt.

[Madskp]

Thanks for the info. very good points

B3OHACK3R wrote:

As far as I know the pin code is stored in the socket unit. I have two BC2 here. One with pin code enabled, the other came disabled. I remember connecting the “pin code” head unit to the other socket unit (several un-powered hours in-between). It then didn’t ask for the pin code, so…

Ok that is indeed worth to know. Funny enough the one seller who is selling a socket unit also sells a head unit separatly and tells that he has the pin code for that. But Of course if you don’t know it it would make more sense that the pin cpde was in the head unit.

B3OHACK3R wrote:

Watch out for sticky soft touch paint on the head unit.

Did not even think about that. But that is an issue with a lot of products from that era. I also have a sticky Beolab 7.1 and Beomaster 5.

B3OHACK3R wrote:

Also worth checking the display for signs of wear. The VFD technology used has a limited life-time. If people let it running 24/7 or enabled the standby clock some pixels will be worn out heavily and pretty dim while other will still be bright. While it still functions then it will just look bad.

Yes this might be a deal breaker. And for the sellers who only sells the head unit this will not be possible to check before buying.

B3OHACK3R wrote:

The wing mechanism tends to stop working properly. Usually caused by a slowly failing rubber belt.

This I was expecting as I can see that the Beoparts shop has the belts for it.

 

Anyone knows what to expect about laser durability?

[B3OHACK3R]

Madskp wrote:

Anyone knows what to expect about laser durability?

Can’t say much about that. Both of the units here are working. One of them has a pretty low serial number and is in a really bad cosmetic condition. It had the belt issue but the CD drive works well.
One thing to note is that it’s a DVD drive. I think that is also true for the non-video version of the BC2 – but not entirely sure. So not a standard music CD one. It always takes quite a time to spin up and some buffering is also going on I believe. It always feels a bit slow when switching on and when changing tracks. Was the same when they were new. So not a problem of age.

[Madskp]

I have now bought both the heat unit and the socket unit from the same seller. I ended up paying a resonable price for both including shipping.

The Head unit was advertised as having difficulties with playing CD’s.

I have yet to test this as the door mechanism as expected also has some issues which is certanly the rubber band giving issues.

Also the CD clamper might need some adjustments as well as the clamper mechanism which dos not seem to reach the bottom and has problems getting the CD to land on its spindle. This might also be related to a rubber band for this mechanism.

The display is not having issues, and the PIN code that was set is now disables so hopefully that might not give me issues.

The coating on both the head unit and the socket unit is still in ok condition, but it might be a matter of time. The CD tray was also coated in this and was very sticky, This I have now removed to preserve the discs I put int it.

To be continued

[Madskp]

Madskp wrote:

I have yet to test this as the door mechanism as expected also has some issues which is certanly the rubber band giving issues.

This was solved with a new belt from Beoparts shop. The doors are now moving smootly as they should.

Madskp wrote:

Also the CD clamper might need some adjustments as well as the clamper mechanism which dos not seem to reach the bottom and has problems getting the CD to land on its spindle. This might also be related to a rubber band for this mechanism.

I replaced the belt for the CD clamper mechanism with 25×1.5mm round belt and the tray now falls into place as it should.

Madskp wrote:

The Head unit was advertised as having difficulties with playing CD’s.

The BC2 now seems to play both CD’s and DVD’s just fine, so I guess that this issue was related to the CD clamper not securing the disc on the spindle.

Madskp wrote:

The coating on both the head unit and the socket unit is still in ok condition, but it might be a matter of time.

I think I will remove this just in case, and also the bottom of the head unit might be a little sticky.

But all in all a succes, and a quite easy fix 🙂

[Rolf2]

Hi Madskp,

congrats to your “new” BC 2! I acquired one last year, and after seeing it in flesh and touching it, it is one of the most tempting and beautiful B&O systems imho. The metal surface and the sliding wing mechanism are only two out of a lot of nice features. Sure, the connection possibilities are limited, but I find it really, really worthwhile. My nephew, beovirus infected ?, picked it up at the seller, and I gave it to him to extend his setup (together with the accompanying BL 4500 in blue).

Madskp wrote:

Madskp wrote:

The coating on both the head unit and the socket unit is still in ok condition, but it might be a matter of time.

I think I will remove this just in case, and also the bottom of the head unit might be a little sticky. But all in all a succes, and a quite easy fix ?

Could you explain, how you plan to approach this, please? Mine is in a very good technical condition, cosmetically the soft touch on both units is starting to get sticky.

Kind regards,

Rolf

P. S.: To my knowledge, the head unit is always capable of playing CDs and DVDs. The socket unit makes the difference, although it seems that not many of the “Audio only” units are available. If the Scart plug is provided (I guess Europe version only), your version is able of playing DVDs.

[Madskp]

Rolf2 wrote:

t is one of the most tempting and beautiful B&O systems imho. The metal surface and the sliding wing mechanism are only two out of a lot of nice features.

Yes it is a very nice system indeed, with some of the B&O magic 🙂

Rolf2 wrote:

Could you explain, how you plan to approach this, please? Mine is in a very good technical condition, cosmetically the soft touch on both units is starting to get sticky.

I am using Isapropyl alcohol and toilet paper. Had to rub the spot three times to get this result which I think is far better looking than the dusty, scratchy and sticky surface.

It takes some time and rubbing, but I think it is worth it.

You might wan’t to start on the back to see if you like the surface underneath.

If you know how to take of the wings it might be worth doing that to eliminate black spots on them when doing the edges.

Rolf2 wrote:

P. S.: To my knowledge, the head unit is always capable of playing CDs and DVDs. The socket unit makes the difference, although it seems that not many of the “Audio only” units are available. If the Scart plug is provided (I guess Europe version only), your version is able of playing DVDs.

Yes mine is playing DVD’s, but for the short test I did the controls did not seem that responsible and the interface was horrible looking. Well it’s a long time since I used a DVD player, so might just have gotten to used to streaming movies.

I might Hook it up to my BC6 as a DVD player just because the functionality is there, but guess I’am not gonna use it much for other than testing purposes.

[Gaea]

My mother’s BC2 has the clamper somewhat sticking to the sticky plastic underneath, so the clamper has sometimes difficulties opening.
I used a q-tip with silicon spray to relieve the stickyness of the clamper seat.

I replaced the belts and used the Kose trading video to remove the wings

[Rolf2]

Madskp wrote:

Rolf2 wrote:

Could you explain, how you plan to approach this, please? Mine is in a very good technical condition, cosmetically the soft touch on both units is starting to get sticky.

I am using Isapropyl alcohol and toilet paper. Had to rub the spot three times to get this result which I think is far better looking than the dusty, scratchy and sticky surface. It takes some time and rubbing, but I think it is worth it. You might wan’t to start on the back to see if you like the surface underneath. If you know how to take of the wings it might be worth doing that to eliminate black spots on them when doing the edges.

Thank you for explaining and giving advice. I found a Youtube video, recommending Isopropyl as well for cleaning BL 3´s with sticky gray lacquer. Good to have your confirmation that this is the way to work on it. Guess it will be all the same for cleaning products with sticky soft touch coating, e. g. BC 2 table charger / dummy, BeoMedia 1, etc.

Yes mine is playing DVD’s, but for the short test I did the controls did not seem that responsible and the interface was horrible looking. Well it’s a long time since I used a DVD player, so might just have gotten to used to streaming movies. I might Hook it up to my BC6 as a DVD player just because the functionality is there, but guess I’am not gonna use it much for other than testing purposes.

I´m installing those older B&O units for the sake of having the functionality as well. Watching them play, using their features. To know they can be used, in case I can take some of my time enjoying it, also linking them to modern era B&O.

[Rolf2]

Gaea wrote:

I replaced the belts and used the Kose trading video to remove the wings

Yes, those videos are definitely a good knowledge source. Thanks for pointing toward it. Additional help is available in the BC 2 Service Manual, 5.3 – 5.5.

[Madskp]

Rolf2 wrote:

Guess it will be all the same for cleaning products with sticky soft touch coating, e. g. BC 2 table charger / dummy, BeoMedia 1, etc.

Regarding beomedia 1 and Beomaster 5 as well I don’t know if the Bang & Olufsen text will survive this treatment. But might be better than the alternative.

Gaea wrote:

I used a q-tip with silicon spray to relieve the stickyness of the clamper seat.

Good to know there is also other alternatives

[bigbruggsy]

Hi Madskp, Thank you for your detailed information in your posts. I have a question as to where you bought the 25mm x 1.5mm belt? I’ve tried ebay and amazon and don’t see any that size.

[Madskp]

Yeah it might be a little hard to search for it as it seems do depent a lot about where spaces are set in the search phrase and whether you use . or , for decimals.

I will send you a private message linking to the one I bought.

[Author]

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