Beogram TX

bobins08

bobins08

Celebrating Life
Hello, I need some opinions.

I have the opportunity to purchase a working Beogram Tx. The owner says the “needle” is good and it plays. Pictures look clean but I have not seen it in person yet. Don't know which cartridge is on it yet but is safe to assume it will need replacing (the stylus is not removable).

Assuming I replace the cartridge with just the basic Sound Smith elliptical ($200) and the table does in fact work, what do I have in terms of quality? I know we cannot talk cost here so I am asking about quality and performance. What is it comparable to? How good is the elliptical and the HE for that matter?

Referencing popular tables from the 70's ... Is this table better than a stock SL 1200? Better than the stock TD 160? Where does it rank with it’s competitors back in the day?

I have never owned a linear tracker and might want to play it for awhile for the experience.
 
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The TX was the basic model of the Beogram 5005 family and the Beogram 6002 family. They came with the MMC1 - MMC5 range. I am more familiar with the seventies Beo tangential tracking tuntables, I really like the sound of the Beogram 4004 and it's design. The Beo turntables of the eighties did not carry on the tradition of extremely well built gear. But as far as I know the sound was still very fine. But by far not as good as an SL 1200 for example, in my assumption.
 
I have a TX-2. I know it's not the same as your TX but it uses the same cartridges. Sadly, B&O no longer make replace cartridges and the styli are non-replaceable.
You could buy a replacement cartridge from Soundsmith or have the existing cartridge rebuilt. Soundsmith no longer rebuilds B&O MMC-series carts but there are other outfits that do. I sent the MMC4 from my deck to Germany where it was rebuilt with a nude Shibata stylus.
The TX-2 is great at tracking warped records and the suspension is good enough that our smallest cat can jump on the deck while a record's playing and it won't skip. I'm sure you'll find your TX has similar characteristics.
Although I prefer the sound of my other turntable (Dual 1209), if I had to live with the TX-2 as the only turntable, I'd be happy with that.
Until it broke. Lots of mystery circuits in there. So don't pay too much for the TX. I paid $100 for my TX-2 with a non-operating cartridge.
 
I've owned several Beograms, and though they have their quirks, they're geerally excellent turntables. I don't have a TX, but I have a 4002, 8000 and TX2, the latter of which I use on a regular basis (the other two need repairs, but I'm hoping to get them working soon). My Beogram 8000 is equipped with a SoundSmith SMMC20EN (nude elliptical stylus), and it sounds pretty good. Once I get it back from repairs, I'm planning to compare it with an original B&O MMC20CL cartridge I picked up recently.
bg8000_running.jpg


As for how it compares to turntables from other companies, it's hard to say. It doesn't have the starting torque or parts availability of anything from the SL-1200 series, but it should have a nice sound to it regardless, not to mention the cool linear-tracking and automatic functionality. I play records on my Beogram TX2 just about every night, and it does a great job.
tx2_spinning.jpg
 
Thanks to all for the feedback. I just wanted to be sure I wasn’t missing out on something in the must have category, although I’m still intrigued by the linear tracker. I’m at the point of not buying gear just to try it, and then have to flip it.

I will check into the stylus type, overall condition, and price. This gives me some good info.
 
Just to clarify, Soundsmith sells its own B&O replacement cartridges. They can rebuild MMC1 and MMC2 cartridges but no longer rebuild MMCs 5, 4, or 3 because it isn't cost effective.
If you end up buying a cartridge and something goes wrong with the turntable, you can get an adapter to use the B&O cart on a standard 1/2-inch mount.
 
olddude55 said:
Just to clarify, Soundsmith sells its own B&O replacement cartridges. They can rebuild MMC1 and MMC2 cartridges but no longer rebuild MMCs 5, 4, or 3 because it isn't cost effective.
If you end up buying a cartridge and something goes wrong with the turntable, you can get an adapter to use the B&O cart on a standard 1/2-inch mount.
Click to expand...
Yes, got it. Looks pricey for aftermarket compared to say a basic elliptical or an HE that Jico makes for Shure cartridges.
 
bobins08 said:
Yes, got it. Looks pricey for aftermarket compared to say a basic elliptical or an HE that Jico makes for Shure cartridges.
Click to expand...
Again, you're buying an entire cartridge rather than just a stylus, so factor that into the equation. Also, they're very nice-sounding cartridges when you get down to it, and the stylus lasts a good long time. I bought my SMMC20EN (SMMC3) in 2010, and it's still going strong.
bg8000_smmc20en.jpg
 
AdamAnt316 said:
Again, you're buying an entire cartridge rather than just a stylus, so factor that into the equation. Also, they're very nice-sounding cartridges when you get down to it, and the stylus lasts a good long time. I bought my SMMC20EN (SMMC3) in 2010, and it's still going strong.
bg8000_smmc20en.jpg
Click to expand...

Got it, I have reviewed the SoundSmith web page.

The sound of the cartridge is the critical point. For other tables we can buy the cartridge we like.
 
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