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Bang & Olufsen Re-Releasing Classic Turntable Design from 1972
The Beogram 4000c Recreated Limited Edition was created by refurbishing old models
By Rain Noe - October 8, 2020
Bang & Olufsen has undertaken a very unusual task: They tracked down and purchased 95 surviving models of their Beogram turntable, which was first released in 1972. All of them were shipped back to their original factory in Denmark, where B&O's engineers cleaned and refurbished all of them, to be re-sold as the Beogram 4000c Recreated Limited Edition.
The turntables have been disassembled and thoroughly inspected by a team of skilled engineers. Every component is painstakingly cleaned, new parts are added where needed – from the smallest ball bearings all the way up to the drive belt – ensuring lasting performance. Once this process is complete, each Beogram is individually tested then fine-tuned to meet Bang & Olufsen's exacting specifications.
"We have applied the same passion, precision, and care to this restoration as you would to any masterpiece. Our goal is to reveal the essence of the original, while breathing new life into the product, allowing it to be enjoyed for decades to come," says B&O Global Product Manager Mads Kogsgaard Hansen.
Interestingly, it appears B&O's engineers were able to take advantage of something their predecessors had left behind for them in the 1970s: Extra space within the turntable's housing. "When Beogram 4000 was first created in the early 1970s, the original design team sought to make an obsolescence-proof product by leaving space in the internal architecture for additional technology upgrades," the company writes. "In the restoration process, Bang & Olufsen's engineers have taken advantage of this foresight and added an RIAA phono pre-amplifier, allowing the turntable to be connected to modern speakers using a phono or 3.5mm line-level connection."
Each refurbished Beogram has also been wrapped in a new oak frame, and had new dust lids added.
The first units will go on sale later this month--in Europe only.
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Rain Noe
I’m a lapsed industrial designer. I was born in NYC and figured I’d die there, but a few years ago I abandoned New York to live on a farm in the countryside with my wife. We have six dogs.
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Bang & Olufsen Re-Releasing Classic Turntable Design from 1972
Yes Mike. The light ensured that media was present before lowering the stylus. And it always lowered it at the precise location. So if an album was not present and PLAY was depressed the two arms would servomotor drive towards the center. Not finding any media the arms retired back to their resting location. Thus one didn’t have $200 to $$$ sapphire cantilevered styli bouncing along the radial disc supports. Ouch!
Long ago, slightly out of warranty, they replaced the motor and proactively replaced a misbehaving dust cover to ensure that It landed delicately, silently when released from 4 inches. Without the 1.5 gram stylus skipping on the record. They charged me $2 since the belt they replaced was considered a “wear and tear” component like tires. They ran a motor test for several hours to guarantee the speed precision. $500 and $375 for receiver and turntable respectively in 1976 and worth every penny. Luckily I have two cartridges. Hope they still work. New ones now equal or vastly exceed the cost of the original turntable with MMC20 cartridge. Design, engineering and manufacturing excellence at this level is worthy of worshipful admiration.
Time to un-mothball my Beomaster 3000, Black with rosewood and a matching Beogram 1800 turntable. 1976 acquisition. My first “Hi-Fi” , I mean Stereo. 100 watts with simulated quad sound. Operating the muscular toggle switches and the verniers (like the cursor on a slide rule but with little knurled wheels) for volume, tuning, balance was a real haptic joy.
Is that a little track detecting camera on the left of the needle?