• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Beogram Day at the Yard Sales!

JonL

JonL

Lunatic Member
My little town sets aside one day every year as yard sale day. For a small fee to the civic association you get your yard sale listed on a map and get signs to post around directing people to your sale. The village is one square mile, we had 80 yard sales today. I tried to hit as many as I could, I guess I got to about 30 and was ready to call it a day. I had purchased a grand total of ONE LP. (Albert King). The sales had lot's of antique stuff (including a few beat up Victrolas for not a lot of money). Lot's of clothes, knick-knacks, etc. Not so may LPs, and almost all were filthy, worn out, stunk like mildew, etc.

I was at my last sale before heading home, and there on the table was a Beogram TX2 linear tracking turntable with a price tag of $10! :banana: They claimed not to know if it worked or not.

I carried it home (I was on foot, only one square mile, remember) and put a trash record on it and plugged it in, having first removed the platter for a quick look-see. I did find the belt nicely stuck to the pulley and gently freed it up. Push "Play" and lo and behold... it does everything it should! I had to run an errand, so I didn't have a chance yet to attach it to the amp to see how it sounded.

On my way to my errand, I stopped at a few more sales. One had lots of audio stuff (he installs multi room systems and such). Mostly 10 year old mid-fi or multi room switches and stuff. But there amongst it all was a B&O RX turntable! One broken hinge, and the tonearm was parked about the middle of the platter so I didn't have high hopes, and didn't even inquire about it now that I was the proud owner of TWO Beograms.

Returning home, I hooked the TX2 up to the amp and was dismayed to find virtually no audio, and very distorted at that. Inspecting the cartridge I found the suspension had failed (very common on these). Remembering that RX, I went back to that sale (it was now 4:00, official closing time). The tt was still there. I asked the price, he said "$75." I balked big time. He asked what I'd pay. I said $20. He was kind of pissed and asked if I knew what it was, that it was a $400 table, blah blah blah. He said they go for a lot of money. I said, "Well, it's still here...." and pointed out the broken hinge, that I didn't even know if it worked, and if it didn't it would cost a fortune to fix. He took my $20. I think the table is a bit screwed up in how the arm parks, but I was really only interested in the cart. Off it came, and onto the TX2 it went.

HOLY COW. This table sounds unbelievable! MUCH better than my 3404. I guess my 3404's stylus is worn out. The "new" cart on the TX2 is a MMC5 bottom of the line, replacing the failed MMC4 (one up the line). My 3404 has a MMC20EN which should be roughly equivalent to the MMC4 I think.

Anyway, I am really digging this turntable. Does anyone have any info on cleaning, lubrication, maintenance, etc?

BTW, these were the ONLY turntables I saw all day except for the Victrolas.

A very good day!
 
Register to hide this ad
Congratulations! The MMC 20EN (elliptical, nude stylus) was second only to the 20 CL (contact line stylus... shibata-like). Bottom to top: MMC 20S, MMC 20E, MMC 20EN, MMC 20CL.

From BeoWorld:

MMC 20 S was a stereo cartridge with a spherical framed diamond

MMC 20 E was fitted with a framed elliptical diamond which has a high polish

MMC 20EN had a naked elliptical diamond, mounted on a tiny tapered cantilever

MMC 20 CL utilised a Contact Line naked diamond mounted on a single crystal sapphire cantilever. This shape ensures maximum groove contact. This was the most highly-specified cartridge in the MMC 20 range​
 
I just keep the little rod that the LT travels on clean and lubed. I find dust accumulates on there and the arm will not track all the way across the record. $20 for a working B&O cart is a score in and of itself! :banana: Enjoy!
 
Very nicely done! :yes:

Your story is very similar to mine, albeit in reverse. Last year, I found a Beogram RX at a flea market, in it's original box, for $40. When I took it out of the box, I discovered that the plastic at the rear of the deck had warped, breaking the hinge (though the pivot on the dustcover itself had survived intact). It came with a boxed MMC5 cartridge, looking brand new. It stayed in it's box until I found a Beogram TX2 at another flea market for $50. Like yours, it's cartridge (a MMC5) had a collapsed suspension, so I installed the RX's MMC5 in the TX2, and had myself an excellent sounding turntable. :music:
-Adam

PS: One thing to watch out for on these is the belt which drives the tonearm mechanism. It eventually breaks, causing the tonearm to get stuck. LPGear and several other websites have replacement belts, though they're a bit pricy.
 
JonL said:
Anyway, I am really digging this turntable. Does anyone have any info on cleaning, lubrication, maintenance, etc?
Click to expand...

Congrats on finding the TX-2.

I've owned one since 1989, when I bought it new. Aside from belts and cartridge changes, I've done nothing other than a tiny drop of oil on the spindle bearing every couple of years. It's been a very reliable and trouble-free turntable.
 
B&O gets a bad rap, IMO. I always read about how difficult they are to repair, but I've yet to hear of one that actually needed repair! My 3404 was used daily for about 7 years, then went into storage for about 15+ years. It came out about 8 months ago and worked just fine every day until I set it aside for this TX2.
 
Nice catch. They are good sounding tables. If the old cart still has the cantilever intact (?), Soundsmith may re-tip it or rebuild it for you. Gotta keep saving those old B&O tables. Good work :)
 
JonL said:
B&O gets a bad rap, IMO. I always read about how difficult they are to repair, but I've yet to hear of one that actually needed repair! My 3404 was used daily for about 7 years, then went into storage for about 15+ years. It came out about 8 months ago and worked just fine every day until I set it aside for this TX2.
Click to expand...

Yeah, there's something about these B&Os that make them excellent turntables. I currently have four of these, a Beogram 3000 (pre-MMC, radial arm), the boxed RX, an RX2, and the TX2. The 3000 does have an issue with the speed control mechanism, but it shouldn't be terribly hard to work on once I get around to it. Not sure about the RX or RX2, but the TX2 is very easy to work on (hell, they put a diagram on the bottom to show you how to open it up!). Just last night, I noticed that it's suspension was sagging around the front right corner of the unit, so I removed the platter, turned the screw for that section of the pendulum suspension through the conveniently-provided hole, and voila! Nice and level. About the only worry I have about the unit is the incandescent lamp which appears to be housed in the tonearm block (you can see a faint glow underneath it during playback), and is probably part of the tonearm's positioning sensor or somesuch. Might be difficult to replace if it goes out, methinks, but who knows.
-Adam

PS: Soundsmith apparently doesn't retip MMC5, MMC4, or MMC3 cartridges. However, there are other companies, such as Schallplattennadeln and Amina Audio.
 
AdamAnt, thanks for those links for retipping. I think I'm going to set aside some funds towards a Soundsmith SMMC2, and meantime send my broken MMC4 to be retipped. From what I can make out of the German site, they are a lot more expensive than Amina. I can't read enough of the German to understand if they are using a better stylus, though. Have you got any opinion?

My TX2 was sagging a bit at the front right corner too. It seems that most of the weight of the tonearm carrier affects that spring. I was just about out of adjustment, but I noticed that the left rear was a little high. I was able to get the platter to the correct height all around by lowering the left rear a little and balancing the adjustment of all three springs. It looks like it would be easy enough to shim up the spring or shorten the little wire link if necessary in the future. I'm really enjoying this table. I've downloaded the owner and service manuals from vinyl engine and learned about some of the features that aren't obvious... like the ability to have the table repeat play the side up to seven times.
 
JonL said:
AdamAnt, thanks for those links for retipping. I think I'm going to set aside some funds towards a Soundsmith SMMC2, and meantime send my broken MMC4 to be retipped. From what I can make out of the German site, they are a lot more expensive than Amina. I can't read enough of the German to understand if they are using a better stylus, though. Have you got any opinion?
Click to expand...

I can't say I have any direct experience with either company. I've heard few things about Amina Audio, but several good things about the German site through the BeoWorld forum. Of course, many of the folks on that forum are likely from Europe, so it's probably easier for them to deal with a European company than an American one. There's a thread about both SoundSmith and Schallplattennadeln located here. I may end up ordering a SMMC4 from SoundSmith eventually, but I'm not sure if I'm going to do anything about my existing cartridges, since they're all bottom-of-the-line MMC5s.

JonL said:
My TX2 was sagging a bit at the front right corner too. It seems that most of the weight of the tonearm carrier affects that spring. I was just about out of adjustment, but I noticed that the left rear was a little high. I was able to get the platter to the correct height all around by lowering the left rear a little and balancing the adjustment of all three springs. It looks like it would be easy enough to shim up the spring or shorten the little wire link if necessary in the future. I'm really enjoying this table. I've downloaded the owner and service manuals from vinyl engine and learned about some of the features that aren't obvious... like the ability to have the table repeat play the side up to seven times.
Click to expand...

What's considered 'high' for these units? I find it hard to figure out exactly what the platter height for the TX2 is. At the moment, thanks to my adjustment of only the front spring, the top of the platter seems to be above the top of the baseplate by roughly the thickness of a US half-dollar coin (~2mm) at all of the corners (unloaded), which seems to be close to what the service manual specifies.

As far as the repeat thing goes, I discovered repeat mode on my own, through sheer luck. I didn't know, however, that the number of presses of the PLAY button affected the number of repeats. Of course, I've probably used the repeat function a grand total of twice, so it hasn't affected me too much. ;) Kinda wish there were a way to restart the record while it was playing without pressing •, followed quickly by PLAY, but I can deal with it.

Yeah, the TX2 is a fun turntable to play with. The linear tonearm tracks warped records better than just about any radial-tracking turntable I've used. Also, it's much easier to deal with than the close-and-play Technics linear trackers, like the SL-5 I own. Plus, the styling of the TX2 is just off-the-charts cool. :banana:
-Adam
 
I think the manual specifies 2.5 - 3mm height. Mine was well over 3 in the left rear, and probably under 2 in the right front.
 
JonL said:
I think the manual specifies 2.5 - 3mm height.
Click to expand...

Sounds about right. When I first noticed the problem with my TX2, the rear section was about where it is now, and the front corner was probably near or below 1mm, causing warped records (especially 180 gram ones) to scrape against the top plate as it spun. :eek: I don't have a decent metric ruler at the moment, so I've used the thickest coin I could find as a reference point. Since adjusting the front part of the suspension, I have yet to see the scraping problem reoccur.
-Adam
 
3mm is roughly 1/8 inch. I used an english machinist's scale and ended up just under 1/8 all around. I was having trouble using my (original) Discwasher brush. Even the lightest pressure I could use would make the edge of the record rub the top plate. That right front corner is the spot I naturally place the Discwasher. Now that I've adjusted it (and I also try to go more towards the front center instead of front right with the brush) I have no more problem. I continue to be impressed with the sound, even with the BOTL MMC5.
 
Last edited:
One thing I noticed: according to the service manual, not only is the height supposed to be 2.5-3mm, but it should be that way "with the carrier pushed in the direction of the centre." Not quite sure exactly what that means, but I did try measuring the height with the tonearm block moved all the way to the right, and it does change things dramatically. With the tonearm near the center, instead of being balanced at 2mm as I have it with the tonearm in the rest position, the right side of the platter is now well below 2mm, while the left side is now above 2mm. Any theories? I'm guessing that the rear screw is the one to adjust in this case, but it's hard to tell exactly how to access it.
-Adam
 
Interesting... I had exactly the opposite experience! With the carrier in the park position my right front was very low. With it all the way towards the center the right front came up a bit. It didn't seem to change the left rear all that much. I wonder if the spring rates in the various positions is different - either by design or by deterioration. I just checked now since having adjusted the screws. Moving the arm has less effect now than it did before. Moving it to the center still raises the right slightly and lowers the rear slightly. The suspension mechanism consists of three leaf springs spaced around the platter support. Each spring has a fulcrum, the adjustment being made by raising or lowering the side across the fulcrum from the end with the suspension hanger. The geometry isn't straightforward. The springs taper and the tightening screw will not only adjust the height but also effect the curvature of the spring, and that might affect the spring rate.

To access the rear screw I had to remove the rear cover. It's just two small screws from the back and it lifts off. I took the opportunity to give that piece a nice washing in the sink. The grooves were full of dirt. The rear label was already trashed and totally illegible, so I didn't worry about it.
 
Oops, got them mixed up. Posting about something while not directly in front of it will do that sometimes... :o :stupid: The platter indeed goes lower on the left side when moving the tonearm carriage over the platter. I removed the rear cover of mine, and tweaked those screw adjustments as best I could. The real question is, exactly how did B&O specify said carriage to be positioned when looking for the proper height? Were they looking for an average height of 2.5-3mm throughout the tonearm's travel, or did they have something else in mind? As it stands now, I have the height of all four corners as near to that range as possible with the ranges given from the three adjustments.

The rear cover on mine (which I've removed a couple of times, when trying to access the tonearm carriage belt) is a bit dusty, but not too bad. Somehow, the stickers have managed to survived on mine, albeit with some peeling at the corners. The baseplate area in front of said cover managed to pick up quite a bit of dust, of course. Wiped it off with a damp rag, and it looks nice and shiny now. Definitely something to be said for the styling of these units, and the amount of work they put into making it an excellent piece of equipment at the same time. :thmbsp:
-Adam
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom