In 1970, a young designer, David Lewis, created one of the world’s first transportable TVs – Beovision 600 – long before small portable TVs became widespread. Beovision 600 was a black and white TV with a solid handle and weighed just over 13kg. Compared to the pocket-sized TVs of today, it could hardly be called portable. Nevertheless, it was transportable with a 44cm screen and excellent sound quality. The TV set won the iF Design Award in 1970.
Full transistorisation meant that sound and picture appeared at the press of a button, a new and unusual feature at the time. The cabinet was made of plastic and the handle was concealed when not in use. Six pre-set stations could be operated by one press of a button and all settings were concealed in small compartments to prevent inquisitive little fingers fiddling with them. It also featured a retractable flex.
All in all, a pioneering TV design which, in later years, was copied by many other TV manufacturers. Beovision 601 replaced its predecessor in 1973, fitted with several new features which were missed out on Beovision 600.
This “open screen” table model was one of B&O’s early attempts to produce a more compact colour receiver that was suitable for smaller rooms. Using the chassis from the Beovision 3200 and a 22” “push through” tube, the set was neat and elegant but still not exactly small, the two massive chassis were shared with the other models in the range and these, rather than the screen size, dictated the dimensions of the cabinet. An attempt to disguise the bulk was made by adding a black strip all around the back of the cabinet, breaking up the otherwise vast expanses of wood, though this can be said to be only partially successful.
The front of the Beovision 2600 was finished in matt black and trimmed around the outside with aluminium. The loudspeakers (two elliptical units made by Celestion in the UK) took up a new position to the left of the screen, displacing the convergence controls to a hatch on the underside. Access to these was easy if the set was mounted on the optional stand but impossible if it was placed on a (sturdy) table. This was not ideal, as a set of this design should not be moved once convergence is completed.
The Beovision 2600 was not replaced directly when the 3400 range was introduced as all these models came with 26” tubes. However, the table version of the Beovision 3400 was considerably smaller than the 2600 anyway, so in practice a problem did not arise. 22” sets were re-introduced with the new 39XX series models, for example the Beovision 3500.
The Beovision 1600 replaced the Beovision 1400 range and included a new all-transistor chassis. As before, a 24” wide-angle tube was fitted, the largest monochrome tube that was available at the time. In contrast to the 1400 range, only one cabinet style was available, a table model, though this could be fitted with an optional pillar stand for free-standing use. The design was simple and elegant, with the minimum of cabinet work around the screen.
The controls were all of a new design, and concealed when not in use. Each one was mounted in a small latching drawer marked with a graphical symbol to represent its function. To adjust a setting (volume, brightness etc), one only had to touch the relevant drawer lightly and it would open, allowing access to an edgewise rotary control. The tuning worked in a similar manner, where the tuning controls were hidden inside the channel selector buttons. To adjust the tuning, one would press the button one wished to adjust, thus selecting the channel, then press again to slide out the drawer to reveal the tuning scale and control.
To make the most of the instant picture possibilities that the adoption of transistors (instead of the valves in previous models) offered, the heater of the picture tube of the Beovision 1600 was left energised at all times. In order to extend the life of the tube, when the set was switched “off”, the heater was run at a slightly lower level of power. Even despite this, the picture appeared truly instantly as soon as the “on” button was pressed, something that no other range of Beovision TV sets has been capable of since.
The rest of the design was quite conventional, with the exception of the voltage regulator which could tolerate a very wide range of mains voltages without picture disturbance.
The Beovision 1600 was the last large-screen monochrome Beovision model
The Tombstone: The simple, modernist graphic is the essential element in Jacob Jensen mechanical designs for Bang & Olufsen. The type-face used on the surface is Helvetica, popular in the post-War era and used by many publications today. The Beomaster was only a plate with an inscription and so it was given the sobriquet of ‘The Tombstone’.
“The Danish Press in 1967 referred to the Beolab and Beomaster 5000 as a “cinema system in two cigar boxes”. With the Beomaster 1200, which was aimed at a broader sector, B&O were ready to go the whole hog and abandon all known notions as to how a radio receiver should look. The reduction was absolute: to a wooden frame around an operating surface. The body of the apparatus disappeared, and only a small cooler grill at the top serves as a reminder of the contents. The totally top-operated equipment can be hung vertically on the wall as a decoration along with the simply framed art products of the time.
This is a slide rule gone mad. The knobs have become part of the polished aluminium surface – flush”! However, not only have the knobs been made flush with the surface, but superfluous functions have also been removed. For Jensen design is a question of considering the consumer’s functional needs. Five permanently set stations are selected below the aluminium sheet in the right-hand corner; user friendliness in everyday life is at the heart. The compact technology has turned the designer into a fashioner of operating aggregates.” — taken from ‘Jacob Jensen’ by Christain Holmsted Olesen.
Beomaster 1200 – type numbers 2501, 2503 – was, at the time of its introduction in 1969, one of the world’s most modern-looking and sophisticated receivers. It incorporated an amplifier around an FM/AM tuner. Radio stations could be tuned in by means of a sliding scale. The format of Beomaster 1200 was to set the trend in Bang & Olufsen design for many years to come.
Beosystem 1200 – made up of Beomaster 1200, Beocord 1200 and Beogram 1200 was the second of Bang & Olufsen’s first ‘designed’ system. The very first was Beosystem 1000 in 1965. The design ‘kinship’, which emphasised the interdependence between B&O’s various products, became a characteristic of B&O for many years. Beosystem 1200 was one of the first products selected by the Museum of Modern Art for the museum’s permanent collection (not exhibition) in 1972.
In 1969 the Danish Society of Industrial Design awarded Bang & Olufsen and Jacob Jensen the ID prize for the Beomaster 1200 radio/amplifier, Beogram 1200 turntable and Beocord 1200 cassette recorder for unusually beautiful and user friendly design. The jury emphasised in particular the Beomaster 1200 receiver which pointed in a new direction for the design of radios.
And the year after, three Bang & Olufsen products designed by Jacob Jensen received the IF award. The winning products were: Beomaster 1200 tuner/amplifier, Beomic 2000 microphone and Beolit 600 transistor radio.
“Congratulations! Well, we have done this before”, said Prince Henrik – The Queen of Denmark’s husband – when he presented the Danish ID award of the Society of Industrial Design to Bang & Olufsen, represented by Jacob Jensen, the designer. The remark made reference to the fact that B&O had also received the award the year before.
In Jacob Jensen the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA) chose seven Bang & Olufsen products designed by Jacob Jensen to be included in their Design Collection as representing excellent examples of the Museum’s criteria for quality and historical importance; design, in fact, which had influenced the twentieth century. Beomaster 1200 was one of those seven products.
The 1200 series represented the logical continuation of the line of development and design which put B&O at the forefront of manufacturers of entertainment electronics. The receiver was superseded by Beomaster 1001 in 1973.
These are superb looking receivers and are especially impressive when wall mounted. However to sound at its best, it really does need to use the recommended loudspeakers. With more modern speakers, the 1200 can sound a little weak and lacking in detail. The provision of Beovox 1200 speakers however reveals very satisfying performance. This is one of many examples where B&O have clearly designed a system.
This was a rare and interesting model. It boasted a new arm and motor compared to the Beogram 1000 but retained quite a lot of the design and the uninspired rubber mat.
It also had a most unusual dust cover with a metal surround with only the top panel being transparent. This design was to be seen also in the prototype Beogram 6000 but not in any production model.
