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Hi all,
I recently picked up a Bang & Olufsen Beogram 8000. Hoping someone here recognizes the symptom or can point me toward the likely culprit.
Symptom: On Play, the tangential arm carriage travels across to the correct position over the record, but the tonearm itself does not lower.
Access so far: I’ve opened the top lid into service position, and separately opened the service hatch underneath the tonearm area, so I’ve had a look at the mechanism from both above and below.
What I’ve checked / ruled out so far, roughly in the order I did them:
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- Manual test with the unit unplugged: gently pressing the arm down at the pivot gives slight resistance, and it springs back up on its own. So the main spring??? holding the arm raised seems intact.
- With the unit powered and Play/ Pause pressed: I hear a loud click/clack (the lowering solenoid firing), but the arm still doesn’t lower properly.
- Cleaned the mechanism with isopropyl alcohol – no change, so old hardened grease doesn’t seem to be the cause, or i missed an important spot.
- Tried increasing tracking force to ~2g, based on a documented Beogram 8000 “sticky lowering” fix involving the height-adjustment screw contacting the counterweight, no improvement.
- The small spring near that linkage/solenoid area feels completely loose in every position, not just at one end of travel. No tension anywhere.
Photos of the mechanism (arm raised, pivot block, area near the solenoid, and the underside service hatch view) attached below.
My best guess at this point is a detached or broken tonearm lowering-raising spring rather than an electronic fault. Does that match what others have seen? If so, is a used donor part a realistic fix, or is professional repair the more sensible route at this point? Is it even possible to fix because of the nearby phono wires?
Thanks in advance – happy to provide more photos or details on request.
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