[BMXband1t77]

Ok thanks for the tips.

Yes my system originally did have B&O cd player/ tape deck/ record deck connected via din plugs BUT the cd player and the record deck now need service or repair (the record deck needs a complete new cartridge, expensive). I have quite a long post about my problems with my cd player tray operation and drive motor spinning up too fast. Still no firm answers what to do or where to get serviced in the UK.

So meanwhile i have had to compromise and use some of the RCA inputs for namely:

WiiM pro plus streaming player (for streaming from mobile devices to the Aux input)

Rega RP1 (Now utilising the WiiM Pro Phono input via a cambridge phono line converter)

Sony Super Audio cd/ dvd player (now utilising the WiiM pro Optical input which then comes out of the Beomaster Aux input)

I ‘broke’ the Phono RCA inputs simply by trying to remove them to fit an RCA Socket to DIN cable for the Rega RP1, which failed miserably in swathes of feedback hum, i think because of the Regas lack of grounding cable.

So at the ‘moment’ i have patched in the sources i need bypassing the current faulty B&O sources unitl they can be fixed. To be honest it works quite well, having doscoverd the WiiM Pro can ‘listen’ for input sources so swapping from playing a record to a cd it automatically switches inputs, a little like the B&O operation.

I agree the entire system integration is desired but at the moment for me it is out of reach.

thanks

jon

[BMXband1t77]

AHA!

thank you i see now, once the fm boards placed into service position you can remove the input board via 2 screws at the edges and inspect/ resolder the phono rca inputs sockets.

Would it be possible to get some nicer new gold plated types to solder on instead? my phonos are rough and extemeley grippy, probably why i ended up being a little too firm with them in the first place, i just could not get the rca plugs off to test out my new 5 pin din to rca socket (for putting the rega rp1 inline to the phono record input). this didnt work by the way, i am guessing due to the lack of ground lead from the turntable to earth it to the amps grounding post? or maybe i had already damaged the phono inputs anyway? Not sure to be honest.

what type of solder is best for resoldering these old B&O’s please?

thanks for your more informative and helpful reply.

Is servicing these and other B&O units something you do for others or just for fun?

Looks like you’re thorough at identifying the best bits to replace, or clean.

I still have problems with my Beogram cd 5500 motor / transport / tray too to get round to at some point (please see my rather long winded but nube trying to get it fixed post a few moths ago).

thanks again

Jon

[BMXband1t77]

HI,

it ‘sounds’ relatively easy but is there any documentation to show how/ where the screws are to remove the bottom plate? i don’t want to remove the wrong screws and find circuit boards ratling around inside etc!

would it be possible while desoldering the original rca sockets to upgrade them to newer gold plated ones? i know mine are pretty tarnished and rough/ grippy….which is probably why i ended up having to apply too much force to get my rcs cables off in the first place!

thanks for any help

Jon

[BMXband1t77]

Hi Martin,

would you mind casting your eyes over my recent updates on this cd tray/ playback problem please?

I have tried out a fair few things from info i have gleaned.

It seems as per my last update after a few ‘tray’ adjustments via the service manual, breaking it down,

1. i have found the cd motor spinning up way too fast, breaking the magnetic cd clamping thus the cd and magnetic puck run free inside the housing. When this does not happen, generally the cd player works for a day or two, then repeats the issues.
2. The tray has intermittent open close problems, sometimes working then other times having various fits.

Most of these issues seem to all show up together, when one happens, so does the other.

if as you say i need parts replacing and soder joints checking, is there a service centre that would undertake this work relatively cheaply? This is a second hand cd deck and despite me being mostly annoyed with it alot, it sounds great when it does work.

Also i now have a 5500 receiver that needs its phono input rca sockets resoldering, so a place that can take these on, does it exist?

regards

Jon

[BMXband1t77]

Hi Martin,

thanks for your response and yes it makes sense i have somehow dislodged the phono rca inputs/ broken dry joints etc.

Has anyone else had this issue here and perhaps posted up how they fixed it?

I have soldered in the past but frankly getting to the underside of the amps circuit board to even get near the solder joints makes me break out in cold sweat!

Do you know if its an easy fix or something i would be best leaving to an authorised B&O vintage service?

If so, do you know of any reputable ones who could give my poor amp a service?

Did you have any thoughts about why the 5 pin Din to RCA stereo socket cable failed?

Is it simply that this type of connection requires an earthing lead connected to the little earthing point on the back of the 5500 receiver?

thanks

Jon

[BMXband1t77]

Hiya guys,

Well it looks like i have busted my Phono Turntable rca inputs on my Beomaster 5500 receiver.

Having the total hump over it, having yet another device/ input go down on this second hand system, once i calmed down i had a brainwave.

If i could find my old Cambridge Audio MM phono stage could i actually utilise the WiiM Pro Plus line input and temporarily disconnect it from our previous Airplay 2 analog devices playback system, select the Aux input (sound coming from the WiiM) and hope that the WiiM app makes it route whatevers going into the unit back out of the WiiM line outs.

IT WORKS!!!

I can play our records once more off the Rega RP1 record store day deck!

AND now my thoughts are running towards digging out my Pioneer PDS801 turntable platter CD deck (thats actually alleged to be a really good cd transport) and using the Optical cable supplied with the WiiM Pro Plus, connect that cd deck up and put it into external dac mode?

I think it will work, then the WiiM Pro Plus can actually let me select between 3 sources,

Vinyl

CD

Airplay2/ Chromecast etc…

 

just thought you might like to know yet another reason i have been glad i bought this WiiM Pro Plus in the end!!

regards

jon

[BMXband1t77]

HI again.

i have followed the disk tray aligning processes as detailed in my previous post above following the service manual instructions AND it sort of behaved for a day, played superbly and sounded Great!

Please see my pictures for the relevant places that were realigned and indeed some were well out of wack. The tray height adjust was the most fiddly ironically because you have to ensure the disk clamp magnet does not foul on the metal sheet glued to the back of the cd tray, quite WHY they put this there AND left not really enough clearance around the magnetic disk puck perplexes me rather a lot.

Can anyone verify that my closeup of the clamping system is complete? There is nothing missing from the lower ‘drive’ spindle, i would have expected to see some kind of rubber ring pad or something for the cd surface to ‘bite’ into to prevent its spinning or sliding about whilst spinning up?

next day i powered on the main system and wammo, back to square one with the disk spinning up (WAY too fast in my opinion) then because of the speed, the magnetic clamp fails and then the disk and clamp run free making an awful noise.

Then the tray mechanism starts to play up, throwing the drawer out so forcefully the cd flew off the tray! then half going in, or not at all, or slowly ponderously closing the drawer, or refusing to open or respond at all.

So i think we have something of a reproducible problems here.

1. the speed regulation / reading of cd TOC seems to lose control intermittently, once it does it can be days before the deck works properly again, something to do with capacitors do you think?
2. The tray loader mechanism loses control intermittently and again, remains until maybe a few days later of inactivity.

SO there is something wrong with something on the circuit board?

Does anyone know of reputable UK based B&O vintage service centres i can ask about this?

To an expert engineer it might be quite obvious whats gone wrong wit my cd deck.

thanks in advance

Jon

 

[BMXband1t77]

Hiya all,

I have found the CD 5500 service manual and found a couple of interesting pages that possibly might relate to part of my disk tray/ loader/ magnet/ cd jumping problem.

(see attached .pdf pages)

I wonder if it’s possible some or all of these are out and creating the problem loading the cd disks up just out of alignment enough to make them break with the clamping and cause my problems.

when there is enough daylight i might give tweaking these a try.

if anyone has experience to share regarding these adjustments i would appreciate your input.

regards

jon

[BMXband1t77]

AH ok i think i see now.

Yes i will persevere with the WiiM based Airplay2 system now as it all seems to be working ok and feeding audio to the Beolab 6000.

No to try and fix that pesky beogram CD 5500!

thanks for help and advice and testing this ‘idea’

regards

Jon

[BMXband1t77]

Thank You!

I now have it working too, once i had tracked down the erroneously low volume slider somewhere!

I could not fit any ‘nice chunky’ hifi leads i already had because their plugs simply would not allow the Beocord’s din plug past them! so i had to find some cruddy thin bellwire phono to phono leads for now, still, it works for now. There just is not much room for upgraded cabling in these 5000/ 5500 receivers is there?

Do you know where i can get some B&O approved for Beomaster amp 5000/ 5500 small phono to phono leads, but with nice cable on them?

everything online looks too stiff and chunky to fit the DIN plug for tape 1 past them?

thanks for your help and testing,

meanwhile i treated the wifes Record Store Day Rega RP1 to a frosted Acrylic Platter and a uprated belt to help cope with it!

looks super kool….see piccies..

regards

jon

[BMXband1t77]

WOW! looks complex system.

I have just my Beomaster system 5500, a Beoplay A8 and the Beolab 6000, connected via Apple Express airplay 2 to the WiiM Pro Plus, the WiiM to the Tape 2 circuits in the amp.

I can’t see how i would be able to integrate that into the B&O app (i curently cannot seem to get the app to work reliably either).

I did try to find out how/ where/ a beolink network system might integrate, but honestly i got rather confused and i could not really see a way the 5500 main system would work with it. the most modern B&O kit i have might be the Beoplay A8 and Beolink 6000 speakers.

what sort of kit list would ne neccesary to duplicate what i currently have in this ad hoc Airplay 2 system?

PPPS!!!

I got the Airplay 2 casting to work thanks to bit your help, i did initially run into problems when changing from analog line input playback (vinyl/ cassette/ cd) but i found out why. DOH! i was being too careful and had one of the numerous volume sliders down too much, LOL…all good now.

I plan to contact WiiM about this, because prior to connecting up the line ins i did have the Aux out set to max volume radio button and matched the line level to generic amp volume (evening out volume differences from input to input).

My suggestion is that they provide seperate ‘fixed’ volume levels so that outputs, and inputs can have their own preset ‘max’ volume levels, to help prevent nasty surprises when switching over from WiiM out to line in……i think that makes sense, do you?

thanks

jon

[BMXband1t77]

Well indeed, i have had a few cd players and this one sounds superb to me to be honest!

The internal circutry, much like the amp and cassette deck seem ‘over engineered’ with huge circuit boards and massive power supply coils and caps BUT the sound from my 5500 system has made my jaw drop a fair few times, hearing details and nuances on recordings i ‘thought’ i knew inside out!

I am not really aufait to start mucking around with caps and risking electrocution.

I can solder but i am not really an electrician wizz.

Can you recommend a decent UK B&O service who might service my cd deck for a ‘reasonable figure’?

Are there vendors of these kits on ebay or the internet?

About the CDR, you are right! Some CDR are fine and others refuse to play at all. Bizarrley one commercial cd for a 2 cd pack refuses to play, when the second cd plays fine?

bizarre.

please see an earlier reply for a few other things i want to try out, caddy (NOT laser array) height adjustment, ie bringing it nearer ‘up’ perhaps to the clamping puck, and remagnetising the top ‘puck’ so it clamps more firmly after 30 plus years of use.

see piccy for areas i plan to work on.

And 2 pics of looking almost directly front on to the tray, is the tray height set right?

thanks for the advice

jon

 

[BMXband1t77]

ok, yes i will clean the clamping ‘pucks’ with iso alcohol.

Yes the tray, when behaving ‘normally’ it does line up flush with the front fascia if thats what you mean.

just it has these odd ‘fits’ of the tray flying out, then half way back in, sits there for a bit, then either goes into sleep mode or the tray snaps shut. sometimes ponderously opening like waking up a teenager, or refuses and goes straight into sleep mode. not an extensive list of its hissy fits but thes tray oddities are nearly always accompanied by the cd clamp system problem witht the cd spinning around out of control unclamped.

just plain weird,

despite this, unitl today the deck has played a range of cd’s faultlessly, then ‘whammo!’ starts its hissy fit again.

totally perplexed i am yes?

thanks

jon

[BMXband1t77]

Yes i pickup cd’s via the central hole only.

no grease went near the cd clamping or motor system.

i havent put grease anywhere near the actual drive / motor mechanism, just lubed up the rollers for the tray loader mechanism and was very careful not to get it anywhere else especially not onto the belt or pulleys.

your idea about the deck may be out of alignment for some reason might be worth investigating. As far as i understand the laser unit is mounted into a ‘caddy’ and that caddy also has heigh adjustment (see photo) BUT this isn’t affecting the laser focussing array, it just lowers or lifts up the entire ‘caddy’ into position. if im right in thinking it might be that the caddy is too low thus the magnet clamping has the potential to not clamp down efficiently and thus when the cd spins up the clamp effect is broken making this weird random error happen every now and then.

How do i measure raising or lowering this, shall i just count the turns in 90 degree turn increments on each screw?

Until yesterday the cd deck has performed well, behaving itself and playing a range of cd’s.

it seems to be this way, behaves for days on end THEN just when i start to relax, the horrible sound of a disk running wild inside the drive is heard. As i said before, thankfully none have been damaged or radially scratched yet…just sounds worse than it is!

I plan to investigate what you say about the caddy being too low or high, and i also will revisit my idea of putting strong magnets onto the little clamping ring and leave them on for a day or two to ‘re-charge’ the magnetic properties, after 30 plus years of contsantly being engaged and disengaged, surely this little magnetic ring must be losing its magentic properties?

would a little tiny bit of synthetic grease gently wiped with a cotton bud on the top ‘puck’ white plastic locator collar ( the bit that engages with the clamp lifting arm at loading / ejecting) be an idea? just a thin coating mind, not globs of it!!

please refer to picture here where i have indicated the areas of interest and adjustments.

one last thing,

this deck sits underneath the rather heavy and solid beocord 5500 cassette deck, is it possible that this might be adversely affecting the cd player? I did try yhem the other way round with cd deck ontop BUT that stopped the cassette decks tray opening at all!?!?

thanks for any help and adjustment tips, in laymans terms please thought! haha.

jon

[BMXband1t77]

OH!?!? Really!!!

Erm so can you reccomend another player that might work with my current Beomaster 5500 system using the B&O format din input and will work alonside the amp, remotes and the huge Master Control Panel remote?

With what you’re saying i don’t know, is it worth further servicing this unit ie replace the tray mechanism belt, or any other ‘tweaks’ that might resolve this really wierd and random issue?

thanks for any help.

Jon

[BMXband1t77]

YUP! exactumondo what i wanted to achieve!

Glad my rather complex post made sense and has actually given you even more enjoyment of your music! haha…not bad for a Nube on this forum eh?

Yes i had a bit of a dilemma originally thinking the only avenue was to go fully Apple Airplay 2 but my household also has ‘non apple fans’ using Android and a few other Alexa speakers Yes! The WiiM even works with them, streaming from Alexa to the WiiM and thus into the main system! It does take a little setting up initially turning on the multi device part in the Alexa app, but tbh i was surprised it worked first time!

The additional cost of the WiiM pro plus a slight stumbling block as i didnt want to throw too much money at this household streaming project but it has really been worth it in the long run, and now the addition of being able to re-stream the analog inputs from my main system is exciting to say the least.

I totally forgot about the TAPE 2 section (probably because ive written it off as i am using the AUX in for audio from the WiiM pro plus), forgot theres a spare LINE output free! hahaha.

All i need to do is find a reasonable good but ‘smallish’ phono lead to fit into the rather tight Beomaster 5500 connection bay, it is rather ridiculous how little room has been given LOL, it makes me frown every time i have to fiddle with connections. I might try with a cheapo one first to make sure this works for me too, then find something a bit more ‘HiFi’.

My original idea to use the Pre-Outs was because i had seen it discussed for connecting up the active Beolabs (because they really dont like line level inputs!) and so what comes out is generally set by the amps overall volume level, which was sort of my concept. But the TAPE2 output makes more sense now youve tested it works. Also was concerned about using the Aux in (on the Tape 2 channels i think) as well as the Tape 2 OUT, forming a feedback loop, but i think the WiiM software might switch off the WiiM audio out in the app when selecting the input as Line in or Airplay 2 Restreaming.

thanks again for all the help and advice, im glad i joined up to this forum.

cheers

Jon

[BMXband1t77]

Yes MM, it was one of the reasons i decided to plump for the WiiM Pro Plus instead of sticking to a purely Apple Express Airplay 2 setup.

I watched lots of videos on youtibe about it and decided it was the way to go, although i wasnt planning on spending out on it, with a household mostly apple devices but also with android phones and even a few Alexa devices this unit seems to sit happily in the middle streaming whatever you send it. For some devices, like Alexa speakers, a little more setting up is required.

Using the Apple Home app is a little frustrating to be honest, as i keeps moaning none of my devices are ‘supported’ yet they still work fine.

Thanks to you and Yann for doing the roadtesting out for me, all i need to do is find a reasonably decent phono to phono that will fit in the ridiuculously tight space in the back of my Beomaster 5500! (i think someone really did not think that one through at the design stages?!?!).

I am glad my rather complex questuion and post has resulted in both of you discovering fresh ways to enjoy your music on your B&O systems.

looking forward to sorting mine out soon.

all the best

Jon.

 

[BMXband1t77]

cheers,

yep I’m aiming for around 2/ 3rds high.

I was fortunate enought to get a nice pair of 3000’s with the original brackets too!

have bought a laser leveller so hope to be drilling holes soon!

thanks

jon

 

[BMXband1t77]

HI,

tonights pics after clearing off the record racks and finding boxes to cut to approx size.

I have stuck them on the wall as a temporary guide and thinking to drop them down a bit (in line with the top of door frame – this doorway remains open but the lounge is through there so if sound leaks in thats fine).

Then in a bit, maybe just 1 to 3 inches and the brushed steel sides look best to me on the outsides.

what do you all think?

regards

Jon

 

[BMXband1t77]

LOL, yes it is a mess but we have just moved in so things are topsy turvy.

eventually i’ll get those boxes of cd’s cleared on the right and yes the top level of the record rack will be cleared off. For now its unlikely the rack will be moved centrally as it can interfere with the doorways ‘flow’. We also have a proper hifi rack for the system to go in hard against the wall at the right hand side. For now we are just happy to have a (mostly) working B&O system to listen to.

Your idea of making cardboard squares of similar size of the Beovox 3000’s to stick up to work things out, distances and ‘look’, is a really good idea! thanks! ill deffo try that out.

regards

jon

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