Does a Beogram TX need a preamp?

CZ4A

Active Member
I recently purchased a B&O Beogram TX, my first turntable. It needs a drive belt, cartridge, and for a couple of unglued panels to be glued back on but it is otherwise complete. The other functions seem to work fine and the drive motor spins.

I'm more familiar with tube electronics. For an SS turntable like this Beogram, will it need a preamp to function best?
 
You need a phono preamplifier/EQ (either standalone, or in a preamp, amplifier or receiver to raise the output of a Beogram MMC (moving iron) cartridge to line level, if that is what your are asking.
 
Nothing different about the cartridge output of a TX (or a TX-2, for that matter) compared to what you'd be used to since the days of the GE "Variable Reluctance" moving iron cartridge :); no built-in phono preamp/EQ in the b&o TX to the best of my knowledge.
At least, there's none in my TX-2 :)

You do know that the proprietary mount used by b&o rather severely restricts your options for replacement cartridges, I presume? More to the point, it puts a certain amount of stress on one's budget. EDIT: Actually, the SMMC-4 isn't outrageously expensive.
http://www.sound-smith.com/bo-cartridges

TX-2 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

My TX-2, FWIW, has a b&o MMC-4 that I bought from b&o in Boston just before b&o stopped making/distributing cartridges. I should've bought an MMC-2 at the time, but I couldn't justify the expense ($250) for a cartridge to put on a tt I'd purchased at a charity sale for $7. Not a good call on my part.
 
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Yeah, I wish I knew about the cartridge prices BEFORE I bought the turntable. Oh well, as you posted, that particular cartridge isn't heinously expensive like some of the used ones I've seen on The-Auction-Site-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named.
 
Fly on down to Peekskill, New York and pick one up, it will be a pretty good sounding cart for sure. Probably better than the original that came with the table. Who knows he may be having a Christmas Sale.
 
If the tt's in good working order, I think you'll be pretty happy with it and the Soundsmith SMMC-4.

FWIW, from Methuen, I think I'd drive ;)
 
Good table, and Peter (Soundsmith) makes good cartridges. He sent mine in a couple of days, so you can call him and it'll arrive by post, although current holiday traffic might add some time. No affiliation. BTW< this is our go-to table after a few beverages, the automatic function can save you a costly slip of the hand...
 
Warning I think that cart is a Moving Coil and you would need a step up transformer to use it with a standard MM input.
Just be sure you know what you are getting.
 
Warning I think that cart is a Moving Coil and you would need a step up transformer to use it with a standard MM input.
Just be sure you know what you are getting.
Nope,they're moving iron ('variable reluctance') with output and loading requirements akin to a moving magnet cartridge.
 
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