Beovox S80-2 speakers gave neutral sound reproduction with the added realism afforded by depth definition and perspective.
There was a 7,5cm mid-range/phase-link unit combined with a 20,5cm woofer and 2,5cm dome tweeter to provide a wide frequency response and no audible phase distortion. Overload protection was automatic. The cabinet was of pressure chamber construction. Optional pedestals and wall-fixing kits were available.
Designed as a perfect match, both physically and technically, for the Beomaster 2000, this advanced slim-line cassette deck was nonetheless a serious hi-fi product in its own right, combining a high-performance specification with supreme ease of operation.
Despite its unassuming appearance, Beocord 2000 contained a full pay-load of advanced circuitry plus a few extra features rarely found in cassette decks within this price frame. The primary controls – those concerned with tape movement – were totally electronic and designed on the Sensitouch principle. There were no knobs to turn or keys to press; a light fingertip touch was sufficient to activate any function.
Ferric, chrome or metal tapes could be used, and Dolby B noise reduction was included to ensure clean, hiss-free recordings. A clearly calibrated scale and input slider, together with large Peak Programme Meter, made it quick and easy to set accurate recording levels. These controls were placed adjacent to the cassette tray beneath a hinged lid which sprang open at a touch.
Beocord 2000’s built-in microcomputer made operation fast and foolproof. It was possible to switch directly between any and all tape transport modes without harming the tape, the mechanism or the motor. Microcomputer intelligence also opened the way for additional control functions that contributed in a very practical way to daily enjoyment of taped music.
A NEXT control allowed for easy track location (tape scan): one touch fast winds the tape to the next signal gap and plays the following track – automatically. So if you wanted to hear, for example, track number 5, just touch-and-wait four times and the place would be found for you. Similarly, you could repeat play-back of a favourite track up to five times with just a single touch. It’s such a convenient way of listening to exactly what you want, when you want.
Beocord 2000 had a socket for data-link connection to Beomaster 2000 so that direct switching was possible between Beomaster, Beogram and Beocord in the Beosystem 2000. The deck could also be data-linked to Beomaster 5000 or Beomaster 6000, when all tape functions could be operated via the receiver’s remote control system. Beocord 2000 could be made up as part of the Beosystem 2000, when linked together with other compatible Bang & Olufsen products. It was also part of Beosystem 3000 if that is how you wished to use it.
This was the first version of Master Control Link and was used with the Beosystem 5000 and the Beocenter 7000 series.
It allowed control of all elements in the main system whilst in a link room. The first incarnation was used with the remote controls of the Beosystem 5000 and Beocenter 7000 and when used with the MCP-5000 and MCP-7700, allowed two way communication. One could add four rooms in this system. It was superseded by the later MCL2 system which used Beolink 1000 codes.
This highly specified top-loading cassette deck closely matched Beomaster 2300 both in appearance and technical compatibility. But it was also worth serious consideration for use with any good hi-fi system, especially if ease-of-use was one of your demands.
Ferric, chrome and metal tapes could be used and the Dolby B noise reduction system kept your recordings clean and hiss-free. The large split-channel VU meters made it easy to set optimum recording levels using the input slider. The combined record/replay head was of long-life Sendust.
The 3-digit tape counter had a press-button reset; a memory function aided easy location of favourite tracks for repeat playing.
Piano-key controls separated all tape-transport functioned: these included a very precise pause control and a double-key record control – a safety check for preventing the accidental erasure of tapes.
Tape speed was highly accurate with deviation of less than +/- 1% and wow and flutter below +/- 0,15% DIN.
Beocord 2400 measured 40cm wide, 8cm high (11cm with cassette holder open) and 25cm deep. The slim cabinet was finished in either natural teak or rosewood.
At the 1969 Hanover Fair Bang & Olufsen and Jacob Jensen – designer of Beocord 2400 – were presented with the iF award for no less than 4 products for ‘outstanding industrial design’ including this sleek cassette recorder.
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
The first Master Control Panel and the first two way remote made by Bang & Olufsen, the MCP 7700 was designed to be used with the Beocenter 7700.
It can now be seen as the precursor to the Beosystem 5000 family though it was not as sophisticated as its descendants. It also had a back lit LCD display rather than the LED display used in the MCP 5000.
The main remote control for the Beosystem 5000, the MCP 5000 allowed full control of your Beosystem from your armchair.
Two way control allowed the status of the system to be ascertained easily and complex timer programming was possible using the controls under the flip down panel.
The MCP 5000 could only be used with the Beomaster 5000 and could be part of a multi-room system allowing full control in a link room. MCP5000 will not operate any of the other systems such as the Beosystem 5500, 6500 and 7000.
This tangential-tracking record deck offered superb sound quality from records plus the assurance that its playing precision minimised groove wear and kept your albums ‘like new’ for a very long time.
Operation was totally automatic. Record size and speed were identified by a ‘magic eye’ (photodiode) carried on a detector arm which travelled ahead of the tone arm. Fast and slow scan (both inward and outward) facilities allowed you to locate and play inner tracks without touching the delicate arm or pick-up.
The pick-up was the MMC3 with an unframed elliptical diamond carried on a tapered tubular cantilever of aluminium. The total effective tip mass of this arm/pick-up combination was a mere 0,35mg – no wonder Beogram 6002 was so kind to your records!
The motor was a DC tacho-motor controlled by an electronic servo-circuit. Turntable drive was via flat belt. The turntable and its bearings were mounted on the same inner chassis as the tone arm, and this was totally isolated from the motor, deck plate and outer chassis by a sophisticated pendulum suspension system.
When connected to Beomaster 6000, Beogram 6002 had a one-way data-link which makes it controllable via the Beomaster’s main controls or optional remote Terminal. Beogram 6002 could be used as part of a full stereo system – the Beosystem 6000 or 8000.
Beogram 8002 was a ‘state-of-the-art- product with a performance capability as near ideal as anyone had up till then devised. The platter was driven not by a conventional motor, but by a unique tangential-drive system that had no moving parts and no physical contact with the turntable.
Tangential drive works on the same principle as the ordinary domestic electricity meter (a form of electric ‘motor’ which you have probably always lived with yet been totally unaware of, since its disc continues rotating, silently and accurately, year after year without any maintenance whatever). It is based upon a law of physics by which any current-carrying body placed within a magnetic field experiences a force which will cause it to move.
Bang & Olufsen took full advantage of this simple law by placing the edge of the Beogram’s under-platter between two fixed coils. When current was applied to these coils a magnetic field was created in the gap between them, thus moving the under-platter without physical contact of any sort. The speed of rotation was dependant on the amount of current passing through the coils and B&O’s use of a quartz-controlled electronic servo-circuit to govern current flow keeping the turntable speed constant and highly accurate.
The tangential-tracking arm was made of hard-drawn brass. It carried the pickup in a straight line from the edge of the record to its centre – the same geometry used in cutting the original master-disc – so skating effect did not occur and vertical tracking error was barely measurable. The tone arm was preceded by a detector arm carrying a photodiode which could ‘see’ the surface below it. If the PLAY button was pressed when there was no record on the turntable, this magic eye ‘saw’ the broken pattern of the platter’s black ribs rotating and a safety circuit blocked any user command to lower the pickup. So Beogram 8002 was safe as well as extremely sophisticated.
The pickup arm used the latest type of cartridge – MMC2 – weighing a mere 1,6 grams. Its unframed diamond stylus had a multi-faceted (contact line) profile which could follow every last detail of the groove modulations.
Beogram 8002 had a computerised control system that made operation so easy that you didn’t even have to think about it. Just press PLAY. Machine intelligence identified the size and playing speed of the record. If you wanted to hear the same disc more than once, it was necessary to just press PLAY for each time you want to listen – up to 9 times. The number of repeats you ordered would appear as the last digit on the speed read-out panel.
You could scan the arm – inwards or outwards – to any track on the record in fast or slow motion. Manual override buttons were provided for playing non-standard discs and the pause control made it easy to resume play after an interruption.
Beogram 8002 could be used as part of the Beosystem 6000 or Beosystem 8000
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.
