Turntable advice

[jamesj]

I’m thinking of adding a turntable to my system (would link to 18’s via core).

I’ve seen a few nice looking Beograms on ebay, just wanted some general advice on what to look out for.

Also, any recommendations for preamps? Can I stream to the other B&O multiroom speakers as well?

Many thanks in advance

[etype76]

18s + Core would work very nicely with a Beogram and you could multiroom to other compatible speakers. I believe B&Os expensive 4000c connects via a core hidden in the cabinet.

As for turntable, so many Beograms to choose from but buyer beware there can be a lot of nightmares out there in terms of issues (such as needing lubrication, recapping). Unless you are a hobbyist and want a project I would get one properly restored if we’re talking tangential Beograms (400x, 800x,) some more modern ones look quite nice such as the 4500 and I think there’s a built in RIAA. With others, any reasonable mm phono preamp will be good. Steve at sounds heavenly or Soundsmith are good choices but really so many out there. What’s your budget? Do you intend to buy a lot of vinyl? How much use will it realistically get? I use mine from daily to 2/3 times a week.

Aesthetics will also play a role in your choice I’d imagine.

[Gaea]

Choose one that has or can have an internal RIAA Preamp.

Beogram 1000, 1500 (old model), Mostly modelnumbers x500 like 4500 5500 etc with. some exeptions like 1800? On Steves website you can find them somewhere.

 

[jamesj]

Thanks for the great advice.

Budget: Nothing crazy, I will still predominantly stream music and there are better areas to spend larger sums on. I guess I’d like to have something looking good and working for around €500-700. Have come across an RX2 with mmc4 cartridge, which looks quite nice and apparently works (lets see).

Is there a reference somewhere where you can see the dimensions of each model? It needs to go on top of a USM shelf with a depth of 35cm.

With regard to cartridges, is it better to buy used and ‘re-tip’ (whatever that means) or are there after market alternatives? I assume B&O no longer sell these.

[jamesj]

Googled my own question here and found beocentral

[Gaea]

Tonar has had aftermarket cartridges, there is some new old stock here and there.

Retipping means mounting a new diamond on a needle(cantilever), there are different kinds of diamonds that can be mounted. The needle, wich is called a cantilever can also be replaced.

The SP type cartridges are cheaper then the MMC type cartridges.

FJS in Germany retipped my SP cartridge, he said it had a lifespan of around 2000hrs, the cheaper ones a lot shorter.

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