Cartridge Type: MMC5

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BeoCenter 2200

Bang & Olufsen BeoCenter 2200

Beocenter 2200 was a distinctive high fidelity system offering 3-waveband radio, record player and cassette facilities in a very compact, slim-line format. Maximum power output was 2 x 25 watts RMS.

The radio section covered long, medium and FM bands. Four favourite FM stations could be pre-set for instant recall. A horizontal thumbwheel on the front of the unit controlled manual tuning: the large graph-grid tuning scale was very easy to see and use.

The record deck featured the (then) latest Bang & Olufsen tone arm carrying the ultra-light MMC 5 pickup. Operation was entirely automatic and needed just a single touch on the PHONO button. Built-in logic circuits identified the size and speed of any record placed on the lightweight turn-table and would cue the pickup arm onto the run-in groove with absolute accuracy and safety.

The cassette recorder had electronic control so you could switch directly between, say, fast rewind and PLAY without danger of straining the mechanism or damaging the tape. Dolby B noise reduction and automatic selection between ferric and chrome tapes was included. Metal tapes could also be used, so you were assured of top class sound quality for those really special recordings.

Listening to tapes was also quick and easy: the NEXT button allowed you to scan the tape track by track until you found the one you wanted to hear.

The recommended speakers for use with this system were the Beovox X25.

Connections: Mono microphone; 2 pairs speakers; headphones; external tape recorder with two-way copying; AM and FM aerials

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BeoGram RX

Bang & Olufsen Beogram RX

A basic radial armed turntable which replaced the Beogram 1800 in the range.

It was designed for use with other makes of amplifier and hence was fitted with phono plugs instead of the more usual, for B&O, Din plug. It came without a MMC pick up though most would be fitted with a MMC5.

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BeoGram 2404

Bang & Olufsen BeoGram 2404

An updated 2402 but with the revised lightweight arm designed to take the MMC5 cartridge.

Rather an afterthought, the 2404 was designed to work with the Beomaster 2400-2 and was fitted with the 7 pin DIN plug to allow control by remote. This was not compatible with Datalink. The last UK model of this design and interesting simply because it had the new cartridge but the old remote control software unlike the Beogram 6000 which boasted the new software and old cartridge.

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BeoGram 1800 (1984)

Bang & Olufsen BeoGram 1800

This radial-tracking deck combined ease of operation with superb performance specifications. It featured a new, advanced type of tone arm carrying the remarkable MMC5 pick-up with its unframed, elliptical diamond stylus. The platter was of a lightweight design (400 grams) to reduce torque at starting.

Its carefully milled profile, with large metal surfaces set between slim bands of Nextell, ensured high electrical capacitance between the record and the metal, effectively earthing static charges without actual contact. It was driven by a flat rubber belt from a tacho-controlled DC motor. The belt’s compliance acted as a mechanical filter, preventing motor vibrations from reaching the record and stylus.

To complement this improved arm/cartridge combination Beogram 1800 had a new faster-acting movement control system with separate cam wheels for vertical and horizontal arm movement, so that automatic operation gave you music within a very few seconds. So cueing was really fast, but still careful of your records.

For improved record safety, you could operate normal PLAY and STOP functions while the lid was closed. Just one touch – the rest was automatic. Record size and speed was identified by the Beogram’s logic circuits. Beogram 1800’s slim plinth had a brushed aluminium finish.

Opening the lid gave access to three further function controls: CUE, 33 and 45 speed overrides (for non-standard discs).

Beogram 1800 was designed by Jacob Jensen and at the 1969 Hanover Fair Bang & Olufsen and Jacob Jensen were presented with the iF award for no less than 4 products for ‘outstanding industrial design’ including Beogram 1800.

Types: 5811 (1984 – Aug 1984); USA 5813 (1984 – Feb 1986)

These are probably the slimmest looking record player available. Quite a bit of this is down to clever visual tricks and surprisingly, the decks related to this model all looked thicker. It sold well and may were bought to work with non B&O systems. It shared the excellent suspension of its predecessors and had the new cartridge mounting. Now available for little money, this is a superb sounding deck. Highly recommended.