Beogram stylus and sound
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Hi there, I was hoping that someone could help me on a few things.
I have recently bought a Beogram 1200 and I have cleaned it all up and it is turning nicely.
The stylus luckily seems to be there however I am not sure if it is working properly, here are a few of my problems:
- When I play a record the sound is very crackly, when I put a little pressure on the needle the sounds seems to pick up a little and is a little clearer?
- The sound is very quiet. This may be a problem of my next point.
- I have basically attached my Beogram to my Marantz stereo, with a simple 5pin din male to RAC plugs. The sound is very quiet, I have the stereo at full blast and hardly any sound comes out.
So questions are: Is my stylus broken? DO I need to connect the Beogram to my Marantz in a specific way, using specific cables or an amp?
I am not really sure where two start as I know it could be a few problems, but if anyone has any ideas then that would be great. Thanks in advance for your help
Matt
Welcome to the forum. First, I would check that your cartridge stylus force is adjusted properly. It should be 2 grams. You will need a stylus force gauge as I don’t believe there were calibrated markings. If this does not solve your problem, I would check whether yours as the phono card plugged into the bottom. If it does then this could be at fault. Which inputs are you using on your Marantz?
Hi there, thanks very much indeed. I have a feeling I might be on here quite a bit with the problems I am having with my other stuff as well 😉
But I checked the phono card (is this the pre amp?) I realised that my Marantz has an internal pre amp and I had plugged the RAC plugs into the wrong ones, so once I plugged those into the Phono plugs I got a lot more sound. Actually loads loads more!
I have checked the balance in the arm as well, The First 1200 comes with a gauge between 0-3 grams. So I have set it to 2 like you mention (also states that in the confusing manual I think)
I am still getting quite a bit of distortion which is leading me to think that my Stylus is on its way out. I think ill take it into a store tomorrow and see if they can tell if its broken.
M
If the 1200 has the phono preamp then you would connect to an AUX/CD/Tape input on your Marantz. If not you go into Phono making sure MM is selected versus MC if your Marantz has this. Either the stylus or its suspension may have worn out which is not surprising after 40+ years. Finding a replacement will be costly or lucky.
Hi there
yeah I think I have all the cables plugged in correctly now. the balance seems to be all good as well. I was scared that it might be the stylus and looks like its the culprit.
I guess my search begins?
Thanks for the help guys
Check the tracking force dial calibration with a gauge.
It could easily be way off.Martin
Hi,
I have yet to find an original stylus that is still good, several decades after they were produced. Don’t expect anything from old cartridges. They just don’t work.
Ha yeah I am beginning to realise that. I live in Sweden and found a good contact in Denmark so hopefully they are able to help.
I found a couple of old cartridges on a couple of sites, but they ant the same as the original, the Original cartridge has a nice clear plastic front, these ones had a black one, just not as nice.
As far as I know, Black nose are SP 7 to X (?) and clear nose are SP10 to 14. Not the same at all. But “far” as I know may not be “far” as I believe!
Soundsmith in the USA make hi quality B&O replacement stylus
Soundsmith in the USA make hi quality B&O replacement stylus https://www.sound-smith.com/bo-cartridges
For the SP cartridges discussed here, they only offer a rebuild service.
It would be much cheaper to find a good quality stylus on f.e. Ebay and replace it yourself.
For the Beogram 1200 it must be a 15deg tip, like SP6/7/10/12/14 – no SP1/2.Martin
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