World’s best B&O collection – 1,000 items!

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Hi Beoworlders,

Please come and join me for a VERY special video premiere – a private guided tour of the World’s largest B&O collection of 1,000 items dating back to 1925! The video goes live at 12pm (UK) or 1pm (EU) on Friday – see you there!

Kind regards, Steve.

[Guy]

Great video thanks Steve! ?

I suspect that I have nearly as many Beocoms – lots of charity shop ‘finds’ from when I lived in Denmark!  The rest of my B&O collection sadly doesn’t compare … ?

[Tignum]

Holy impressive! And same for me – the products that I was exposed to at first somehow remain favorite. For me those are the products of the 90s. Only a mini collection here though.

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Hi,

Thanks, I really enjoyed making this video! If you like 90s B&O, there will be lots more in the next video which should go live in a week’s time…

Kind regards, Steve.

[Dillen]

Steve at Sounds Heavenly wrote:

Hi Beoworlders, Please come and join me for a VERY special video premiere – a private guided tour of the World’s largest B&O collection of 1,000 items dating back to 1925! The video goes live at 12pm (UK) or 1pm (EU) on Friday – see you there!

Kind regards, Steve.

 

It’s a very impressive collection indeed – no doubt about that – and it does show some interesting specialties and rarities.

The collector(s) themselves may feel that it’s the best or finest collection in the world, and others may agree as this would be a decision to be made by the individual viewer.
I would tend to agree myself.
However, calling it the largest collection in the world would be factually wrong.
It’s far from being the largest collection in the world. And not the largest in Denmark either.
Keep in mind, that not all collectors like to show off their collection.
Based solely on collectors I am aware of and collections I personally know of and/or have seen, I would say its perhaps in the top ten in Denmark and top twenty internationally.

Impressive and interesting nonetheless, and the guys behind it are great.

Martin
(For reasons unknown to me apparently no longer Dillen).

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Hi Martin,

I did put a question mark in the details of the video to suggest that this may be the largest, I am sorry for forgetting to add this in the Beoworld thread. Most of the large B&O collections that I have seen or heard about are around 100-300 items, so I haven’t heard of anything approaching this one at around 1,000 items anywhere else. I know that some people keep their collections quiet, but I haven’t heard of anything near to this size. Do you know of any others bigger than this one?

Kind regards, Steve.

[Dillen]

Steve at Sounds Heavenly wrote:

Do you know of any others bigger than this one? Kind regards, Steve.

Yes.

Martin
(Previously known as Dillen but apparently this was changed)

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Thanks Martin,

I beg you to ask the owner(s) to share details of their collection please, as so many B&O fans would love to hear about them…

Kind regards, Steve.

[Dillen]

Steve, I cannot ask people to do this. It can be a sensitive matter and some people
would not like to publicise anything.
If they read this they can make the decision whether to share details or not themselves,
but unfortunately, I’m under the impression that many of them are no longer active on Beoworld – and some never were.
But I can tell you that my own collection has been trimmed down considerably over
the last ten to fifteen years or so, so at present it is down to apprx three and a half thousand products, including prototypes, pre-production products and territory specific products.
My collection was never in the puclic view.
Actually most of it has been packed down and put in storage a pair of decades ago so not even really visible to myself.
My focus was always on audio products.
I have no more TVs or phones as far as I remember.
I have owned a few hundred televisions, VCRs etc, but had to focus and part with something.
I have more than 50 different production versions of Beomaster 1000 (not counting different wood finishes), just to name one product.
And my collection is not the largest I know of.
By far.

Martin

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Thanks Martin,

I fully understand. I hope that some of these collectors may read this thread and choose to share some information of their collections (this can be done anonymously if they wish) for the benefit of other B&O enthusiasts.

One thing that has been very clear to me over the past week videoing the B&O items at Struer museum and in other collections has been that there is a great love and admiration among B&O fans for these vintage products and for the people who work to preserve them.

It would be wonderful if collectors could please consider showing your collections and sharing your love for the brand. It is always exciting when rare or unique B&O items come to light after being unseen for  years, then the thousands of people who share our passion for B&O can also enjoy hearing about them.

Kind regards, Steve.

[matador]

1000, 2000, 3000, 5000… There is always a bigger fish!

Personally, I can’t see the point, the pleasure or the need  for collecting (accumulating) so much items even more when they are stored away, useless and only aging without even being connected. Just above, and even thought I’m impressed by such a beautiful collection, there is enough to fill more than ten mini museum or exhibitions. Maybe they are used for that purpose, I hope so. Because if this is not the case, the only thing I can see here are systems removed from the second hand market that could be refurbished and used in enthusiasts houses.

This and (one of) the largest collection in the world of aging capacitors, rubber melt and foam rot!

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Hi Matador,

I have huge respect and admiration for Ronnie and the “Beonists” at the Struer Museum, as well as for Morten, Lars and Viggo at Bremdal for their passion for the brand and for allowing other B&O fans to share the enjoyment of their collections.

By allowing us to see and enjoy the rare B&O products that they have found, they help us to keep our love for the brand alive, as well as contributing to this unique area of Denmark’s history.

Kind regards, Steve.

[matador]

Steve, my comment was not meant to be disrespectful and not specifically aimed to the people you portrayed in you video.

Generally speaking there is a huge difference between, personnel museum or collection open to public (even if selected public) and private collections that are invisible and forgotten.

There is also a difference between the very very old items, that I reckon they must be stored and cared somewhere by instructed people and all the 80-2000’s systems that can still work and could find a home where they will do what they’re created to: sound and picture while being cared, displayed, cleaned, serviced etc…

Just a point of view.

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Thanks Matador,

Please don’t worry, I know that you didn’t mean any disrespect. I am so grateful to the people who care for and display their vintage B&O collections, it is exciting to be able to view these and to share them with other B&O fans.

You may be interested to hear that B&O have recently purchased a further private collection (including a Hyperbo 5 RG Steel!) and that they are looking to curate this and make it visible to the public as part of a special exhibition. They kindly allowed me to film the items before they are restored and displayed, so I hope to be able to share this with you this week.

Kind regards, Steve.

[Dillen]

I am not sure exactly what the point was when I started collecting at the age of nine or ten, but it certainly wasn’t in order to brag or show off.
And it still isn’t.
I remember sitting with the catalogues, helplessly in love with each and every product, unable to decide which one(s) I’d like to have the most, if I should ever get a chance to own one.
And then it took off.

I’ve been collecting for my own pleasure. I would love to have all my items up and running, ready to look at, dust off and use, but I simply don’t have room for it, and it wouldn’t be a museum or somewhere I would drag my family and friends around anyways.
At home I only have my Beomaster 8000 which is in daily use. I have nothing on “display” and no “conversation pieces”.
The last two decades I have slowly but certainly been parting with things. Started with larger products, TVs,
large speakers, 40s, 50s and 60s radiograms, moving to doubles and/of more commonly seen products etc.
These days I am only adding items I never saw or owned before, exotic and strange products.
Documenting everything as I go has become an important point for me, and I should’ve done that from the very beginning.

Martin

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Thanks Martin,

That is interesting to hear.  Would you be willing to have a conversation privately about possibly showing some of the pictures or documentation from your collection please?

There are a lot of people who share our love for vintage B&O products, but who don’t get the change to experience these wonderful collections and I know that many of them would be excited to hear about the items you have found.

Kind regards, Steve.

[Dillen]

I would not enjoy being interviewed as such, but I don’t mind showing a few of the more exotic products, I have come across, if it could be of interest.

Beomaster 2100 (prototype)

Beocord 1900 black edition (as found, before I carefully cleaned it up).
Presumably an attempt at a matching cassettedeck for Beomaster 2200 and Beocenter 3300.

Beomaster 2400 first edition (with different symbols). I have the matching remote control too.

Record player G46SR

Martin

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Wow,

Thanks Martin! Please keep the pictures coming!

Kind regards, Steve.

[Millemissen]

I must admit that it is very hard for me to understand ‘collectors’….be it of B&O vintage or anything else.

So I tend to agree with Matador.

I am very happy to be able to visit the Struer Museum once in a while and – especially – I am happy to be able to tell people that we have a public and well curated exebition of the B&O story/history there.

At the risk of stepping on someone’s toes (I certainly do not mean to). Wouldn’t it be better, if those with these large collections of rare tugged away B&O (vintage) stuff would donate some of the more interesting items to the Museum…..in order to make these visible for everone?

We all know that we can not take our earthly belongings with us when we leave this world – and in most cases those who will enherit these collections will have no, or no real interest in the B&O stuff or history.

Why not make it possible for other people with love for vintage B&O and the history behind the company to learn more about this?

 

Personally I do not collect – apart from what I have a daily use for.
So not much to see here……even if my wife thinks that what I have is already too much.

 

Anyway thanks to Steve for making these videos – makes it easier for me to tell people of the uniqueness of B&O.

 

MM

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Thanks MM,

I’m also a B&O “user” rather than a “collector” (I just have one B&O item that I don’t use at the moment, a 1970s Beocenter that is under repair).  I am torn between the two viewpoints, as I don’t want to see rare and unique B&O items hidden away and lost (sometimes not even able to be enjoyed by the owner), but I know that museums such as Struer and Bremdal have got some of their best items as gifts from private collectors.

Maybe if some collectors would be interested in “loaning” a few of their special items to a museum, or documenting the rarest items they have found, then this could help all the other B&O fans who haven’t had a chance to see or hear about these items.

I felt like a child in a sweet shop when I visited the B&O museums around the Struer area, I want more B&O enthusiasts to be able to experience this joy as well.

Kind regards, Steve.

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