best speaker match for beomaster 4400

[oldie56]

Hi , I was wondering what members thought the best speaker match might be with a beomaster 4400 please? I have a spare pair of 120.2 `s which are in need of recommissioning, but would appreciate you thoughts on any other models which would be more suited…I hope to match this upwith a beogram 4000 if anyone has one for sale ( possibly consider a 4002) ..I already have a 7700 beocenter and a beomaster 6000 line up and am looking for the 4000 to finally  complete my B&O collection……( for now !) Many thanks in advance….

[hcraig244]

For me the best match would be a couple of Beovox S45’s…….I find them a very good medium size speaker providing a very nice full reproduction, regarding your intention to acquire a BG4000 you will need to spend a fair amount of money, not so long ago one could pick up a second hand unit needing some repairs for little over £100….now they are commanding much greater sums working or not, they are very desirable however ;¬)

Craig

[oldie56]

Hi Craig and thankyou for your reply….Yes, I realise that a 4000 will need quite an outlay, but it is one of those pieces of B&O I have always wanted to have, esp with a 4400…a kind of vintage dream team….you know what we are like..lol..many thanks again….

[hcraig244]

Of course I know…..the Beomaster 4400 has long been one of my favourites, I went through a phase of repairing/restoring them on an almost monthly basis such was my infatuation, I think i still have three lurking in various places around the house, however I then discovered the Beolab 5000 vintage amplifier….another massively over engineered work of art with an amazing reproduction…these where also readily available a few years ago at a reasonable price, mostly in very poor condition but with some help from members in here and some degree of patience readily restorable…these too now come with a hefty price tag whenever one comes up….but i’m rambling now……

Craig

[oldie56]

Its all gone up considerably ! I always heard good things about the beolab 5000 but whenever I saw one for sale it usually looked very tired so I steerd clear….should get the 4400 tomorrow, still a space for the BG4000 if I ever pull the trigger….its finding someone for service and repairs that worries me…same goes for all my other B&O pieces…I live in East Anglia and there is not alot of anything around these parts..lol…Even considered a garrard 401 TT, but need to know how that would compare sonically to a BG4000….not getting both !! Cheers Craig…….

[hcraig244]

I do all my own repairs/restorations….with the service manuals and wealth of support available here its not as difficult as you may think, there are very few options for this work these days…out of curiosity I enquired about repairs at our local B&O shop in Yarm….was told for the vintage items they have a chap locally who will take a look at the item and give an estimate for the repairs for a standard charge of £150……just to look at it!

I advised him if he ever had anyone looking for a competitive price to give me a call…….of course he never has ;¬)

[oldie56]

Hi Craig…£150 just to have a look !!! Incredible….must think B&O ownwers are made of money ! I once took a 7700 to repair guy who was semi local ( 90 min drive)claimed he knew what he was doing and he totally wrecked it …had it for months , kept fobbing me off, eventually he returned it and I had a job to get him to compensate me…it put me right off…I have a beomaster 6000(`80s), beocord 6000,  8004 xpro and a 6002 which I know just need a “service” had them for a few years now in storage…indoors bubble wrapped….also a 7700 and a7007 they have been serviced ( 2021) and then stored but the belts have probably gone by now as they have not been used since the service and hopefully thats all thats potentially wrong….I know these things dont like to be left unused…I am finally completeting the decoration of my home and the 2 rooms these pieces are going to live will soon be ready…dreading switching them on after all this time…lol….May I ask Craig if you do servicing for other owners please? Just in case I may need someone who I can trust…..many thanks again……

[hcraig244]

I only have experience with the vintage equipment, dont have much interest in the more recent products….I like the Beograms 4000 & 4002, the Beomasters 4000 & 4400 and also the Beolab 5000 mostly..I did have a couple of adventures with the Beocord 5000 with some success….however these are very complicated and heavily mechanically orientated ;¬)

[oldie56]

Hi Craig….I have heard about the beocord 5000 and its “complications”….not for the feint hearted  !! Well , I now have my 4400 and very pleased too…will be a little while before I get to plug in etc, decorating… …just a BG4000 to go beside it and I have the perfect pair ( in my mind anyway!) Sounds like my 6000 and 7700 pieces just fall outside your field of expertise ….if you happen to know of any one in East Angliaish , who might be able to help with servicing, that would be appreciated Craig...they may have to be decorative just for now then...lol....there is a very nice looking 4002 for sale in "ultimate bang & olufsen market place" facebook group, the seller is a Rob Bu in Essex....it looks very clean with a mmc4000..he is asking £1595.....although my heart really would like a 4000, if I went for the more "easier to maintain" 4002, this would be a contender for sure....I dont know if you have ever heard of this group?  ( facebook linked) but it might be worth me having another look ? Many thanks again Craig…..

[hcraig244]

Check this out…price will inevitably go up but maybe not as high as £1500

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/306021586288?_skw=beogram+4000&itmmeta=01JHJXE2X0X46MFQX97VHCKV6D&hash=item47404ed570:g:pQgAAOSw0oRnetVA&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKmaF3V1lT2OD8N3cr6gD3y6JtTUnfdRrznZ6bkNI3uwDJryLU6%2FC5%2Bik5SrZJzZHROODoak10JeAtC%2FmDkVfNvlk4WFcMqCJTHdRzijCYT7MNwVDnb3L4uybJk7QUQIRj%2BInaslhTRV%2F2pnHFUZig9QzOcAaumZ9UUlfrF%2B6sbjogbr0rMkjNfpDCy5gDfnVVjAx2s6AW%2Fe9%2BOYNoW1Fvzxhh0yVUOd04CVPvCvaypGPrHu8ugQTSMePt%2Fg%2BsmG%2FHY%2FMFO2xx46UrF%2Fa%2F4SGoOmJeBFJdGgrtqChfFy7PPxTw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR9CuuN2MZQ

[oldie56]

Hi Craig, Thankyou for the heads up…it is under 2 hrs from me too….these listings are always a bit of a gamble I find….if it is just the matter of putting a cart on it it would be great but I am always concerned it will be a lot more wrong than that….Hyperthetically Craig,if it went for sensible money, would it be something I could ask you to have a look at and hopefullyput right for me please? Do you  repair other peoples vintage units? Realise this could be a money pit, but at sensible money this could be a reasonable buy …Also it is on the way to your neck of the woods I think….Are you in Yarm, NEast? If it is something you would prefer not to do, absolutely no problem at all, thought I would ask as you never know….it will probably go for silly money anyway….had my eye on the 4000 on Ebay now at £1995.00 been on for some time now but his price has fallen over the last year….Why didn`t I get this darned TT years ago when they were not so astronomical??? The techy side of these tables is not my strongest point, they do seem very “engineered” to what I am used to …I think that it has been this factor that probably held me back in the past from getting one….as I think about it now, if I knew someone who knew the tables and was trustworthy and was reasonably close by, it may be worth me finally pulling the trigger on one….lol….thats alot that has to right I think…lol….Hope you dont mind me asking Craig…many thanks again….Tony…

[hcraig244]

If you can deliver it to me in person I will sort it for you….couriers wreak havoc on these decks and will cause more damage, have a punt at it. I can use one of my cartridges to test it prior to your purchasing one if your successful….good luck!

[Peter]

I have a Beomaster 4401 as well as both Beogram 4000 and 4004 – (We shall ignore the 4001…) The best speakers are M100.2s. Just had the 4401 and M100.2s refurbished. I have had S120s – they are a really good speakers but don’t have the bass of the M100. I have lent them to a friend who uses them with a BC9500.

The 4000 is a wonderful deck – beautifully made and hideously over engineered! (Though not as much as the Beocord 5000!) This was made by B&O and they then made the 4002 which vastly simplified the 4000 and produced sound almost exactly the same. Don’t get me wrong, I love the 4000 and it is my second favourite Beogram but it is complex and when it fails, it is likely to be costly. Having said that Craig is a total star and I have no doubt of his abilities.

The Beomaster 4400 is a wonderful receiver – I have owned almost all of the range and I rate this one the highest, even above the 8000 of which I have had two. The 4400 is the one I kept (well 4401 but it is the same!) because it is just very musical. You can use with S45.2s though they are not rated to cope with them but I think they are a better speakers than S75s. If you have room, look for M100s though – you will then be using the speakers designed for the system and they work very well together. S120s are very good but I find the tweeter shrieks at high volumes, something the earlier range did not do. The S75s though have a less controlled bass so it is what you prefer.

The Beolab/Beomaster 5000 system is great though the 4400 is realistically a better system now – I do run one with my favourite Beogram – a 3000 Thorens with 12″ arm – the bass is just better than any other Beogram though I do have a bespoke cartridge which helps. I would suggest if you get a Beogram 4000 that you look at getting a decent cartridge – most originals will have suspension that has hardened and the stylus will be worn. Personally, I am less keen on the Soundsmith cartridges – they have a more modern sound and are excellent but I prefer the B&O ones and have had a number refurbished.

And to finish, Craig is a great guy and knows what he is talking about! Best wishes.

 

[oldie56]

Hi Peter and thankyou for your advice….I have some m120.2s and s45.2s I can refoam and use, and will now have a look into your suggestion of m100.2s….I have heard of the M100s but not the .2 version ! I will definitely investigate those….btw I have also been thinking about the beovox 3800 as a possible match too…but will def look into those M100s……….yes, the BG4000 does seem to be  a double edged sword ….get a good one and you are off to a strong start…get a bad one and it could be a money pit…..despite its appeal , I know this deck is way out of my tinkering comfort zone and that worries me…also , there is the lack of any local servicing options if/when anything does go wrong…its a bit of a worry ! But Craig has very kindly been giving me his advice and thoughts and I am very grateful indeed….Thankyou for the advice Peter and fingers crossed……Tony…

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