Release Date: 1968

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BeoLit 800

Bang & Olufsen Beolit 800

A renamed Beolit 611T, with novel features such as the rubberised feet that extended from the cabinet when the handle was moved downwards, allowing the set to be positioned on its side without danger of marking the cabinet. This wood-clad model was positioned towards the top of the Beolit range at the time, with only the mighty Beolit 1000 its superior in terms of looks and performance.

Essentially a Beolit 700 chassis with some minor modifications, mounted in a wooden cabinet, the Beolit 800 fitted neatly in the Beolit range between the 700 and the very well specified 1000. The set was powered by 6 ‘D’ sized cells, and covered FM, LW, AM and SW wavebands, with the latter having its own dedicated rod antenna (both could be used for FM coverage). These were positioned at opposite ends of the chassis, unlike the Beolit 700 where they were placed next to each other, and gave a particularly pleasing symmetry when deployed when the set was operating on its side using the handle as a stand and the feet built into the cabinet.

For its time the Beolit 800 was a well specified portable radio and commensurate with its price tag, B&O equipped the set with features that would be expected of a radio at the higher end of the market. Connections for an external speaker or headphones, and a tape recorder or gramophone were located at the bottom of the set, with cut outs on the bottom plate for the cables to exit if connected. Treble and bass controls were provided, as was a separate tuning scale for the FM band. A duplex drive was fitted to allow a single tuning knob to be used on both the LW/AM/SW and FM tuning scales depending on which band had been selected. Like many of the other Beolits, the 800 included a ‘Radicator’, which served the dual purpose of showing the battery voltage when no station was tuned in, or the extent to which the receiver was tuned to a particular station. This latter function was particularly useful if the owner wished to use the set to take bearings using the internal ferrite rod antenna.

One interesting feature not copied on other Beolits was the use of a series of sliding indicators in a channel running underneath the FM tuning scale. Presumably an early and simple form of pre-sets, these could be lined up with a particular station’s frequency, and used to quickly line up the tuning pointer to these frequencies. A useful feature no doubt, but a disappointing one aesthetically as the sliders were made of flimsy plastic, and did not do justice to an otherwise visually pleasing set that was well constructed using mostly wood and metal parts. Overall though, the Beolit 800 was a well thought through addition to the Beolit range, offering as it did a range of placement options in an elegant wooden cabinet for the discerning customer. When it was withdrawn in 1968 it was not replaced directly, and the mainstay of the Beolit range to come in the form of the Beolit 600, took some of its styling cues from the Beolit 1000, leaving the 800 and the 1000 as the last Beolits to be offered with a wooden cabinet.

Review kindly written by Beoworld member John Barker

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BeoLit 600 (1964)

Bang & Olufsen Beolit 600 1964

“FM, Long Wave, Medium wave and Marine band. Push-button band switching. Built-in AM aerial. Telescopic whip for FM. Flywheel tuning. Separate bass and treble controls. Jacks for external aerial, extension speaker and gramophone. Rugged weather-resistant cabinet of impact-proof polystyrene in four elegant two-colour combinations. Car mounting bracket available. Dimensions: 223 mm high, 320 mm wide, 109 mm deep. ” – taken from the 1967 – 1968 Bang & Olufsen product catalogue (Read more on the BeoWorld Connoisseurs’ Club)

Beolit 600 was a very popular transistorised radio set of the mid-1960s. Unusually for the time, it featured an FM band, made possible by special transistors which had recently become available. These, like the others in the set, were sourced from Siemens, but were similar to those being made by Philips/Mullard. The output level was high for a transistor set, so a lot of power was needed. This came from six “D” size batteries mounted in an internal box. Access was through the bottom of the set, and would have been frequent if high volume settings were regularly used! There was no option of mains power for this model, the Beopower 600 mains adaptor was only suitable for sets made after 1970, which were of a completely different design.

The set was solid and sturdy, the plastic panels on the outside being purely cosmetic. Inside, there was a metal framework holding all the internal parts including the loudspeaker. Damping materials were fitted in places where it was thought resonance may occur. The styling was much admired, particularly by Murphy Radio, who copied it accurately in one of their models.

Beolit 600 included features such as proper treble and bass controls, a dual function battery and tuning meter (this changed function automatically when a broadcast was received), headphone and tape recorder sockets and coverage of the marine band (on the lower frequency short waves).

In 1970 Beolit 600 was replaced by the new Beolit 600 ‘colour radio’ range.

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BeoLit 500 (1965)

Bang & Olufsen Beolit 500 1965

In the 1960’s, small, transistorised radios became extremely popular. This was a result of miniaturisation of electronics products. The world leaders on the road to miniaturisation as we know it today, were the Japanese. Bang & Olufsen eager to come up with its own idea of making products smaller, designed its own transistorised radio: the Beolit 500.

An FM transistor set, entirely without dial, with push-button selection of up to five pre-tunable stations. The Beolit 500 has a large high-performance speaker, a telescopic FM whip, jacks for tape recorder, gramophone and extension speaker, automatic frequency control, and good battery economy. An attractive extra feature: the Beolit 500 can be used as an intercom system. Dimensions: 76 mm high, 264 mm wide, 191 mm deep. Choice of teak or Brazilian rosewood finish. Not available in the UK.

Beolit 500, type 1101 is one of those so-called ‘transistor radios’ – a small portable radio that could be carried around. However, Bang & Olufsen worked on the assumption that these small ‘portable’ radios were most often stationary. As well as an FM radio receiver, Beolit 500 could be used as an intercom via an extra loudspeaker (that it could also be adapted to receive police radio communications by short-circuiting a couple of switches was an entertaining, but unintentional side-effect).

Sockets for an external 7.5V power supply (via Beopower 600) and a tape recorder were fitted.

Beolit 500 won the iF Design Award in 1966.

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BeoLab 5000 (1969)

Bang & Olufsen BeoLab 5000

Design is a language which is understood by everyone…” as designer Jacob Jensen expressed it and demonstrated it in practice.”

A silicon-transistor high-fidelity amplifier with less than 0.6% distortion at all frequencies and at all volume levels up to 2 x 60 watts of power output. Its signal-to-noise ratio is better than 90dB (linear measurement). It has calibrated graphic controls and is extremely versatile, due to an unusual number of input and output facilities.

The Beolab 5000 is an amplifier that introduces no hiss or hum and reproduces all frequencies of the tonal range exactly as received. It has enormous power, permitting reproduction of even the loudest passages without distortion. Moreover, operation is logical and straightforward; varying or poor record quality can be compensated by means of efficient filters which remove the particular tonal range in which flaws are present; there is provision for connecting several speakers, including centre speaker, as well as provision for channelwise control of programme material. A special feature is a test control to facilitate adjustment of balance between channels. The use of silicon transistors ensures very low noise level, high temperature stability, and a very wide tonal range.” – taken from the 1967

Bang & Olufsen’s Beomaster 5000 FM tuner, BeoLab 5000 amplifier and Beovox 2500 Cube loudspeakers were the first product series designed by Jacob Jensen in 1967.

The traditional style for tuning knobs was replaced by an exact measuring instrument akin to the slide rule which was considered an innovation in changing the future of radios and amplifiers. The interface, in its precision and simplicity, proved to give the user optimal functionality. This solution had never been seen before and laid the foundation for the future form language of B&O. On this basis, Jacob Jensen was asked to design B&O´s audio programme. Beomaster 5000 was an FM tuner, with elimination of static between stations and a built in ‘data base’ which automatically tuned in on stereo broadcasts.

Partner to BeoLab 5000 was Beomaster 5000, an amplifier with the same slide rule interface.

The TV boom of the 1950’s hit the cinemas badly, which meant that the pressure on Bang & Olufsen’s sound engineers became less. The engineers’ love of high class sound reproduction, however, remained undiminished.

As early as the 1950s, they had developed stereo systems for the installation of Cinema-Scope systems in cinemas. In 1958, they were also responsible for the development of equipment for the first stereophonic radio transmissions from Denmark’s very first commercial radio station, Radio Mercur. When stereo started gaining ground, the engineers found new opportunities for a comeback.

The development of High Fidelity had already begun in the US and a number of small companies, headed by Scott and Fischer, had gained a dedicated following. By 1964, Bang & Olufsen was planning to conquer the new upcoming European Hi-fi market, a niche which ideally matched Bang & Olufsen’s survival strategy. Now engineers with more than 30 years’ experience behind them, under the leadership of chief engineer Nikolaj Krebs Sørensen, embarked on the development of the world’s most perfect hi-fi system, the BeoLab 5000 series.

With its ultra selective tuner and a powerful, distortion-free amplifier of no less than 2 x 60 watts, it offered qualities never seen before. The design was equally sensational. In the US, where the production of Hi-fi components had already started, they had found their form in the 19” rack format which was used by the first customers, the radio stations. When Hi-fi enthusiasts wanted quality tuners and amplifiers, they had to accept a design which belonged in the professional world.

Bang & Olufsen’s brief for the designers was: “Create a European Hi-fi format, which communicates power, precision and identity.”

This became designer Jacob Jensen and his assistant, David Lewis’ first assignment together for Bang & Olufsen. They solved it by designing the new linear controls like a slide rule bar in order to communicate the greatest possible precision. Thus began the era of the slide rule bar, a motif which was used and varied in the years to come.

The Hi-fi modules’ handles became countersunk Allen screws and the faceted and framed gold panels, which were the industry’s standard, were, in Bang & Olufsen’s design, transformed into extruded natural anodised aluminium.

BeoLab 5000 became a success, not only as Bang & Olufsen’s flagship, but also in more affordable versions, e.g.. Beomaster 1200 and 3000 and competitors were forced to follow suit. Elsewhere too, knobs were replaced by the linear slides – a development which continued until the mechanical grips were replaced by the electronic ‘easy touch’ controls of the Beomaster 1900.

At the 1967 spring fair in Hanover, B&O received the IF award for BeoLab 5000, Beomaster 5000 and Beovox 2500 Cube for outstanding and user friendly design.

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BeoGram 1500 (1967)

Bang & Olufsen BeoGram 1500

Beogram 1500 is the acclaimed Beogram 1000 3-speed stereo record player equipped with a built-in stereo output amplifier delivering 2 x 8 watts of audio output. The Beogram 1500 has no built-in loudspeakers but may be se with external speakers e.g. the Beovox 800 or the Beovox 1000.

The Beogram 1500 has jacks for radio and for tape-recorder – the Beocord 1500 de Luxe would be particularly suitable. If you use the Beogram 1500 in connection with an FM tuner e.g. the Beomaster 5000, you have a small but complete hi-fi system.

The Beogram 1500 has separate adjustment knobs for volume (with built-in balance adjustment), bass and treble. Pushbutton panel for control of on/off, tape recorder, radio, and gramophone. All these functions are conventionally placed on the top of the instrument. Built-in voltage selector for switching between 110, 130, 220 and 240 volts AC. The Beogram 1500 is very elegantly designed and has a transparent dust cover

In the real world, this is a Beogram 1000 with a rather nice 8W per channel amplifier attached. There are two types with the later ones using the same amplifier as the very upmarket Beocord 2400 reel to reel deck. Surprisingly good though the isolation of the deck was no better.

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BeoGram 1000

Bang & Olufsen BeoGram 1000

superbly designed, tastefully styled

The turntable and overall design was by Jacob Jensen; the tonearm and MMC cartridge principle was by Erik Rørbæk Madsen. Beogram 1000 was the recommended turntable for Beomaster 1000.

The First Beogram?

Beogram 1000 was the very first Bang & Olufsen turntable to be designated with the suffix ‘Beogram’. Before its introduction, earlier decks did not, strictly speaking, hold this product name.

This player has extremely low vibration and rumble – a decisive feature for playback of stereo gramophone records, due to the fact that the stylus must be sensitive to vibrations in all directions.

The Beogram 1000 has antimicrophonic suspension that takes up acoustic and mechanical vibrations from the support and prevents the stylus from leaving the groove. In practice, this means that mechanical vibrations from the support or from persons walking or dancing in front of the Beogram 1000 cannot make the stylus jump in the groove. Such vibrations will be absorbed in the antimicrophonic suspension and will not reach the turntable or the pickup.

Equipped with the world-famous B&O ST/L-15 pickup unit; heavy turntable designed as a stroboscope disc; built-in hydraulically damped pickup lift operating y means of a rocker button. Specially engineered speed selector (78, 45 and 33.3 rpm); built-in special centre insert for 45 rpm records. The Beogram 1000 is available in two versions: Beogram 1000V (for 240/110 volts AC) and Beogram 1000VF (for 240/110 volts AC with built-in preamplifier.

Choice of teak or Brazilian rosewood finish and with a practical transparent acrylic dust cover.

And so ends the brochure speak! The Beogram 1000 was heavily based on earlier decks and, despite what B&O said, was not that resistant to external forces. It also was not able to be played with the lid on and indeed the lid had a cut out at the back to allow the pick arm to protrude. It allowed reasonable play back and was reliable but performance led to B&O looking elsewhere for a turntable for the Beolab 5000 system.

Mounting Options

Wall Bracket / Shelf for BeoGram

A universal shelf that will support all Bang & Olufsen turntables from the past 30 years. Including three cable entry points to allow you to bring cables from below the shelf or through the wall.