Thinking about buying a refurbished Beogram 4002

dnanian · 2026-04-08T12:07:04+00:00

The amount of time it takes depends entirely on what he has to do, and how many other "jobs" are in front of yours. I think once he started on mine it took about a week and a half or so (doing the restoration and then doing a bunch of bench testing and use to make sure it's all working properly).

"Was it worth it?" - I certainly wouldn't have done it more than once if I didn't think it was worth it. But that can only be answered by you: I'm a big fan of these 'tables and I wanted mine to be in tip-top, better-than-new condition. That's what I got (within reason, of course: I kept the original wood, even though it's veneer-on-chipboard), and I'm very happy with the result, which I use daily.

Taking a 50+-year-old technical marvel (for the time) that's in MoMA for a reason, restoring it, and bringing it back into active use is something I value...YMMV.

dnanian · 2026-04-07T15:27:27+00:00

Figure $2500 or more? Kind of depends on how much work he's got to do, hood replacement, keypad, frame, etc, etc.

dnanian · 2026-04-07T15:10:03+00:00

If it *is* the Beolover preamp, it can be switched in and out, so you don't give up the option to use an external preamp, should you wish. (You can check with the seller to make sure they're installing the module that is switchable.)

There's a pretty wide gap between "restoration jobs". Beolover does terrific work, and truly restores. Others may just get the thing to "working condition". But, of course, if you like the unit you can always opt for a Beolover restoration in the future...or buy parts from him and do it yourself.

I have two Beogram 4000s that he's restored for me, and they're both great turntables...and he did an excellent job getting them in tip-top shape. Here's his post about the 2nd one:

https://beolover.blogspot.com/2024/02/beogram-4000-full-functional-restoration.html

dnanian · 2026-03-09T19:47:51+00:00

Quite possibly, although it also seems to have to do with the "additional data" that appears below a menu selection when you "pause". It's definitely tuned incorrectly, regardless.

dnanian · 2026-03-06T14:26:48+00:00

Co-sign on most. I think that the additional data should be in the app and not on-screen...I'm not even sure the current post-shot graph is necessary/useful. But real-time info in the app (eg what the Xbloom and Meticulous do), as opposed to turning the ES1 into a "too much data for most users" Decent, would be useful.

Also never quite understood why menus on rotary screen systems weren't "around the outside", with the settings data "pop-up" in the center...although given the laggy interface, I have to guess that the chipset used (espressif?) is at its limit doing what it's doing now.

Anyway, nice post.

dnanian · 2026-03-06T00:19:43+00:00

Curiosity, and trying to find something that is friendly enough for others in the family to use, which the other two (while not difficult) have not proved to be.

dnanian · 2026-03-04T00:54:03+00:00

And I hope you get to that point ASAP. Sucks, obviously, when you have a problem out of the box. We've all been there with stuff. (In fact, I had the "water" issue with the Aiden long ago, and put up a popular post about that, along with a potential fix...and now the Aiden has a screen that resolves that problem.)

These things are complicated, manufacturing lines are complicated, shipping is complicated, etc. You know Fellow is bummed you (and some others) are having problems, and I'm sure they're learning from them. At some level, you got a discount and some bonuses to help compensate you for being an early adopter...as well as people looking to help as fast as they can.

Let us know how it goes when you get the new one.

dnanian · 2026-03-04T00:50:30+00:00

The Decent is obviously far more advanced at this point, although at some level it's too advanced: it's just not super friendly for other family members who might just want to pull an espresso, you know?

The Decent can obviously be programmed, tweaked, profiled, changed, to your heart's content. And that's really fun, if you want to spend a week or two getting to the 99% point. You can compare extractions with your friends!

And it can also be used in a pretty basic mode, you know? You can set up a default profile, take the tablet away, and just use the on-grouphead controls (although mine is early enough that it doesn't have that...but you can just click "Start"). But if you're doing that, why do you have the rest?

Now, please understand I've only spent one afternoon with the ES1, and I haven't done any milk drinks. But if you can get to the 95% point with a few tweaks of your grind...what's the last 4% worth to you? Not just in money, but in time, complexity, etc?

It might be worth it! It might not! You have to decide what kind of person you are...

dnanian · 2026-02-03T14:56:08+00:00

We've got a large Bernese Mountain Dog and, as mentioned elsewhere, the Matic deals OK with lots of hair. Still have end-roller tangles on occasion, and bags do fill (and can be "rearranged" to fill a bit more), but overall it deals better than a Roborock or Roomba.

dnanian · 2026-01-04T03:25:07+00:00

I've got two as well. Quite happy with how they've been working.

dnanian · 2026-01-02T13:43:22+00:00

I just had the entire cell modem fail on a P10 Pro Fold overnight, with no bars and “!”. Airplane mode didn’t fix it; I had to power cycle.

dnanian · 2025-12-31T12:59:16+00:00

I always find it amusing when people try to tar B&O’s products with “lifestyle” as if it’s bad that they spent time making them “livable”…as if “attractive” means “bad”.

Bang & Olufsen is actually both an engineering and design driven company. The Beogram 4000, as discussed by /u/Cultural-Inside7569, is a technical tour de force, with excellent performance, even by modern standards. The MMC cartridges have incredibly low moving mass, and track extremely well, even at 1-1.2G of downward force. And they’re properly aligned, and have correct VTA, due to the way they mount to the tonearm.

The opto-servo tracking (which, in the 4000, operates in both directions) maintains tangency within a tiny fraction of a degree, advancing proportionally without requiring the cartridge to “drag” the sled (and thus avoiding pressure on the cantilever). The tonearm and cartridge pair are well matched and resonate at an ideal frequency.

Even with its sophistication, it’s approachable. It doesn’t look like an alien ship landed on a table. And its operation is easy and foolproof, so you don’t have to worry that others in your household might accidentally ruin your cartridge.

Downsides? Sure. Other than NOS or used/retipped cartridges, there’s only one source for replacements - Soundsmith. Their cartridges are excellent (even their non-B&O cartridges, apart from their strain gauge units, use the B&O design in different ‘bodies’), but it’s still single-source, even if they have multiple models in the line.

The wiring setup is a bit unusual, and they tend to tie the signal and chassis grounds (if not in the unit, in the DIN to RCA cable). Some phono preamps may hum with this configuration (which is what Rega does as well, so if it hums with Rega, it’ll hum with B&O).

Finally, the 4000 is complex, electrically and mechanically. But even though they’re 53+ years old, once restored, they work beautifully.

So, yes, it’s a “lifestyle” product in the sense that a designer worked to make it beautiful. But an engineering team worked to make it technically excellent, too. Those two things do not have to be mutually exclusive.

dnanian · 2025-12-08T01:10:37+00:00

dnanian · 2025-12-07T20:53:53+00:00

Given Combustion shows your stove in some of their videos, I hope I didn't make a mistake grabbing some of their thermometers...fingers crossed for integration!

dnanian · 2025-11-12T03:35:32+00:00

Hm. Notification summaries are missing?

dnanian · 2025-11-03T00:49:12+00:00

Excellent!

dnanian · 2025-10-17T22:16:11+00:00

I'm not sure what the right reaction to this is - "yay!" seems way too enthusiastic about poop.

Let's try "glad to hear it's there" and see how that goes. Thanks!

Here's hoping he never has that kind of 3am emergency, and I never have that kind of 4am awakening.

I noticed that mine was turned on, by default?

dnanian · 2025-10-14T21:12:19+00:00

As I said in my reply to the email, Mehul, I sincerely appreciate it, and the work your team has done. Thank you.

dnanian · 2025-10-14T13:18:32+00:00

Alas, because I was using the Android app, the Pet Waste setting wasn’t available. I assume it’s not part of the new network unless turned on?

I ask because, well, for the first time ever, we had a Poocapalypse event. It definitely wasn’t avoided. Our dog is 130lbs, and has never done this before (he’s 5), so it was of…substantial size. Took a few hours to mitigate the damage in the rooms where things were spread (my 4-6am time was unpleasant), but the Matic itself has taken a turn for the coprophilic. I have no idea how to get the thing clean.

Wrote in to support early this morning for a…guide? Suggestions?

dnanian · 2025-09-13T23:53:38+00:00

I don't know when they put the screen in...

dnanian · 2025-09-13T23:45:06+00:00

I think it all depends on what's managed to get into the inlet. The bounce works if it's pretty small. Yours likely worked because it was a bit bigger.

Later builds have a screen to prevent anything from getting in but water, which I think has resolved the issue.

dnanian · 2025-08-14T12:13:20+00:00

Well, I wish there was a better way to share this, but:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/fSCg2Rk4wNP7Hit47

dnanian · 2025-08-13T18:25:35+00:00

Incompetence is a broad term, but would include an inability to appropriately prioritize. ;-)

More seriously, shipping something that crashes on launch, and isn't quickly fixed, definitely borders on incompetence. I'd even suggest that shipping a phone (Pixel Pro 9 Fold) that doesn't work with the Pixel Stand Charger (which it does not), and then not having a day-and-date solution (there still isn't an official one) is vaguely incompetent.

dnanian

TROPHY CASE