Release Date: 1984

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BeoMaster 8000

Bang & Olufsen BeoMaster 8000

Beomaster 8000 was an advanced FM receiver with a rated output of 2 x 150 watts IHF A-202. It had the power, precision and overall performance to reproduce all types of music with the utmost fidelity.

The radio section united the principle of the modern digital frequency synthesizer tuner with a precise, automatic fine-tuning system to give unparalleled accuracy and long-term stability of reception. The set’s control panel gave instant access to all sound sources – an associated record deck and two tape decks and any of 9 user-programmable FM stations. The visual feedback indicated which sources were playing and their volume settings. Controls for secondary functions were protected beneath a hinged lid.

The infra-red BeoLab Terminal was for its time, complex technology tamed. It gave easy, direct access to music and allowed the control of a musical experience from anywhere in your room and operate Beogram 8002 and Beocord 8004 if these were part of your system. A single touch is all there was between what you wanted and the fulfilment of your wish. Radio programmes, cassettes and records were all available at the touch of a button.

In the early 1980s the technical quality of records, tapes and FM transmissions was vastly improved. Improvement meant increased dynamic range.

Increased dynamic range in sound sources makes great demands on hi-fi components. They must accommodate a greater range of tones: from the very faintest tinkle of a triangle to the loudest roll of the bass drum; and reproduce each tone accurately. This requires powerful, serious hi-fi components. Power to accommodate the dynamics, and accuracy to ensure that the fundamentals and harmonics of each tone are reproduced faithfully, i.e. with the intervals and relative intensity that gives each instrument its characteristic quality.

The 2 x 150 watts RMS Beomaster 8000 high fidelity FM receiver had the power, precision and overall performance level to help you achieve this goal. Up to the time of its introduction, it was Bang & Olufsen’s most accomplished receiver to date. During its construction phase, the company focused on one major goal: that none of its circuits or components should be able to limit or distort the sound signals it received before the amplifier’s power output level was exhausted.

In accordance with this, a special circuit registered, and the “clipping” function indicated when you should regulate volume level, if you wanted to ensure continued undistorted sound. Volume was controlled by a 60-step electronic attenuator. This regulated both channels together, in balance, and allowed precise adjustments.

A digital frequency synthesizer tuner was incorporated. It was a further development of other constructions since this tuner locked stations onto their actual transmission frequencies, rather than using a mere internally-generated frequency reference.

Beomaster 8000 had the most comprehensive user-programmable facilities imaginable. They were placed out of view in the programming compartment because you didn’t need to use them every day. The primary controls were external. To keep you informed, whenever the music system was in use, the status of the primary settings was displayed on the Beomaster’s large communication panel. Beomaster 8000 formed the heart of the Beosystem 8000.

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BeoMaster 6000 (1981)

Bang & Olufsen BeoMaster 6000 1981

This extremely distinctive and beautiful FM stereo receiver from Bang & Olufsen used the very latest technology, both in its complex audio circuitry and in the microcomputer-based control systems which made it such an effortless and pleasurable product to use – whether or not you decided to include the optional remote control facility. The specialist radio section concentrated on the superb sound quality available from FM transmissions.
It covered the entire FM band from 87,5 to 108 MHz and incorporated the most advanced techniques for accurate, drift-free stereo reception.

The amplifier gave 2 x 75 watts RMS with an extremely low level (0,8%) of harmonic distortion. Clean, clear sound – always. Two 24-hour timers allowed you to play or record any sound source automatically. You didn’t even have to be at home. Or, if you wanted to be sure of hearing the same news programme every evening you could set the Repeat function to remember for you – day after day.

Connections included sockets for a record deck and two tape decks (DIN or RCA phono plugs) plus graphic equaliser, headphones and two pairs of loudspeakers.

Beomaster 6000 formed the heart of Beosystem 6000 and was designed by Jacob Jensen.

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BeoGram 2000 (1983)

Bang & Olufsen BeoGram 2000 1983

This radial-tracking record deck had a lightweight turntable (only 400g) to minimise torque at starting. The automatic cueing system was also very fast-acting, so it was only a matter of a few seconds between touching the PLAY control and hearing the music.

The tone arm had built-in anti-skating and carried the MMC 4 pickup, ensuring accurate tracking and excellent sound quality. Normal PLAY and STOP functions were entirely automatic and could be operated with the lid closed; manual buttons for playing non-standard discs were located on the deck plate. In addition to automating the setting of correct speed and cueing position for each record, the Beogram’s built-in microcomputer allowed a REPEAT function, which could be programmed for up to 7 plays of the same record.

Drive was provided by a tacho-controlled DC motor via a flat rubber belt, so turntable speed was always accurate and could not be affected by fluctuations in the mains supply.

When used with Beomaster 2000, an electronic data-link allowed Beogram 2000 to be operated by the Beomaster’s controls. Beogram 2000 could also be made up as part of the Beosystem 2000, when linked together with other compatible Bang & Olufsen products.

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BeoCord VHS80

Bang & Olufsen BeoCord VHS80

Beocord VHS 80 was Bang & Olufsen’s entry into the VHS arena. Both Beocord VHS 90 and VHS 80 had stereo sound circuitry with Dolby B Noise Reduction. So when combined with a stereo Beovision they ensured the fullest enjoyment from stereo videotapes. You could also record stereo TV/FM Simulcasts if you used a stereo Beovision model.

One of the many plus points for owning a Bang & Olufsen VHS recorder from this period meant that for the first time, you could operate both the Beocord and the Beovision using the same remote Terminal. Whichever Beovision you chose, whether mono or stereo, Beocords VHS 80 or 90 would have been an ideal match for it. One touch on the TV’s remote Terminal allowed you to play a videotape, make recordings, fast wind or rewind the tape, scan the tape in either direction or freeze a single frame on-screen. If you wished to combine a Beocord VHS 80 or VHS 90 with a non-Bang & Olufsen TV, the remote Video Terminal could be purchased separately to provide chairside control of all primary playing and recording functions.

Beocord VHS 90 offered the best of both worlds – a high quality stereo sound recorder that, when connected to a hi-fi system, achieved performance characteristics that were close of compact discs; and a video recorder that combined superb picture quality with true hi-fi sound. When used as an audio recorder, up to 8 hours of music could be stored on one VHS tape and replayed non-stop. For hi-fi video recording, 4 hours was the maximum. With Beocord VHS 90, you could instruct the automatic timer to record up to five different programmes up to 14 days ahead. A repeat button enabled you to record the same show at a specific time every day of the week.

Unlike most most dual-purpose machines the Beocord VHS 90 records two versions of video track simultaneously: a hi-fi stereo track for replay on the same machine and an ‘ordinary’ stereo track which meant that your cassettes could be replayed on a non-hi-fi stereo video recorder.

Beocord VHS 80 also had stereo sound circuitry for video recording and playback. In fact, it offered the same video facilities as Beocord VHS 90, including an identical 39 channel search-and-store tuner and 5 programme/14 day timer.

Picture quality was of equally high standard too, but Beocord VHS 80 did not offer audio-only recording or hi-fi sound characteristics. However, it did incorporate a Dolby B Noise Reduction Circuit for maximising the recorded sound.

Placement of both VCRs: a practical stand from Bang & Olufsen organised your video system into a complete remote-controlled centre which could easily and discreetly be placed in your viewing room.

Finish: metal grey

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BeoCord VCR70

The last Video 2000 made by B&O, this again was based on a Grundig machine. The format had however not managed to get a foothold in the rental market and therefore had lost out to the inferior VHS system. As a European format, it did last longer in the core market but gradually B&O realised that they had to serve all their markets and so introduced a VHS machine.

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Beovox M150.2

Bang & Olufsen Beovox M150.2

Beovox Uni-Phase MS150 and M150 were Bang & Olufsen’s answer to the need for loudspeakers that could cope with greater dynamic range and increased demand for serious, no-gimmick sound reproduction.

They were B&O’s biggest and most perfected loudspeakers up to the time of their introduction, designed to reproduce sound with a natural, linear phase quality – even at very high sound pressure levels. Their power handling capacities were specified at 150 watts RMS. However, effective overload protection circuits enabled them to handle brief passages of music way above their ratings.

Both speakers reproduced all types of music – from the faintest to the loudest notes – with extreme accuracy and precision, without adding to or subtracting from the signals they received.

In addition, the MS150 was designed to reproduce a clean, powerful bass in a relatively large room. That is why it was fitted with a monitor quality sub-woofer and had a net volume of 64 litres. It reproduced the lowest of tones that any record, tape or FM broadcast could deliver. Apart from the sub-woofer, all other speaker drivers in both models were identical.

Behind this successful design lay a new acoustic technology, an integrated loudspeaker design which put Bang & Olufsen in control of all the parameters that affected the loudspeakers’ performance. That is, all, except the room acoustics in which they were situated.

The new technology was based upon the use of Fourier analysis, computer-aided design and simulation techniques and laser holography. It helped prove measuring, calculating and testing techniques and thereby led to better cross-over filters’ design, refinement of patented linear phase techniques, control cabinet resonances and the minimisation of diffractions caused by the cabinet’s traditionally sharp-edged profiles. There was also a redesigning of the necessary drivers in order to meet precise construction requirements and perform optimally.

A monitor quality sub-woofer, a 20cm bass unit and a 64 litre net cabinet secured clean, powerful, bass reproduction. The mid-range unit, a 7,5cm dome tweeter, was aperiodically tuned to secure the exact frequency response characteristic required, while the super tweeter ensured excellent high frequency response.

Beovox M150-2 featured a 3-unit configuration to ensure monitor-quality sound reproduction in the 38 – 22000 Hz frequency range. Power handling capacity was 150 watts RMS with overload protection on all drive units. The 7,5cm unit acted as a mid-range filler-driver to eliminate audible phase distortion, so the music was always crisp and well defined with individual instruments correctly ‘positioned’ in the musical landscape. Pedestals were included as standard equipment.