advertisement


Bang & Olufsen Beocenter 9300 - CD/Tape/Tuner

MikeMA

pfm Member
I'm really not at all familiar with B&O kit, but I know that some of it is well regarded and has become collectible.

A friend of mine has inherited from her late father a Beocenter 9300 complete with speakers . My question is, are they any good, and are they worth restoring? I should add that she is not really into hi-fi, she just needs something decent, simple to use and which works. My gut feeling is that she'd be better of selling the B&O stuff if she can and buying something else. It would be mainly for the radio, music from her laptop, and perhaps the odd CD. Any B&O fans care to comment?
 
It’s decent enough audio-wise but a classic bit of design. Think it has an aux input for a computer source. It’ll be 5 pin DIN though.
 
@Beobloke is yer man but I would expect it to be very good. To hugely generalise... B&O is vastly under-rated on sound quality, great styling, often a PITA to service... Their really high end gear is state of the art and they do more cutting edge R&D into hi fi than pretty much any other manufacturer.
I totally agree. A lot of people seem to think B&O, including vintage, is/was just expensive Bose. It's great, and I really love my Beosystem 4500 which was from the same era as the 9300. Both Jacob Jensen designs too.
 
Last edited:
I'm really not at all familiar with B&O kit, but I know that some of it is well regarded and has become collectible.

A friend of mine has inherited from her late father a Beocenter 9300 complete with speakers . My question is, are they any good, and are they worth restoring? I should add that she is not really into hi-fi, she just needs something decent, simple to use and which works. My gut feeling is that she'd be better of selling the B&O stuff if she can and buying something else. It would be mainly for the radio, music from her laptop, and perhaps the odd CD. Any B&O fans care to comment?
If the system works I think it would be perfect for your friend. mini-jack to DIN cables are cheap on eBay, e.g. for a Chromecast audio or laptop output.

What are the speakers? Beovox Redline something or other? RL2000, RL60, etc.? If they are CX100s or CX50s I would look for a larger B&O from the same era to pair with the 9300.
 
@Beobloke is yer man but I would expect it to be very good. To hugely generalise... B&O is vastly under-rated on sound quality, great styling, often a PITA to service... Their really high end gear is state of the art and they do more cutting edge R&D into hi fi than pretty much any other manufacturer.
A PITA to service… another myth easily debunked when you see the service manuals!
Then everything is clear and simple because B&O used to make superb service manuals of unrivaled quality and detailed precision.
I have restored loads of B&O stuff since I started my collection in the late noughties (thanks Tim, Martin and Adam!).
Another bonus, they made use of common European components, nothing exotic that is impossible to replace — think Japanese here.
The 9300 is a keeper (not in my collection I might add!).
 
I'm really not at all familiar with B&O kit, but I know that some of it is well regarded and has become collectible.

A friend of mine has inherited from her late father a Beocenter 9300 complete with speakers . My question is, are they any good, and are they worth restoring? I should add that she is not really into hi-fi, she just needs something decent, simple to use and which works. My gut feeling is that she'd be better of selling the B&O stuff if she can and buying something else. It would be mainly for the radio, music from her laptop, and perhaps the odd CD. Any B&O fans care to comment?

Yep, excellent bit of kit and well worth saving and using. More details here:

https://beocentral.com/beocenter9300

If you need the name of a man to service it, drop me a PM.
 
A PITA to service… another myth easily debunked when you see the service manuals!
Then everything is clear and simple because B&O used to make superb service manuals of unrivaled quality and detailed precision.
I have restored loads of B&O stuff since I started my collection in the late noughties (thanks Tim, Martin and Adam!).
Another bonus, they made use of common European components, nothing exotic that is impossible to replace — think Japanese here.
The 9300 is a keeper (not in my collection I might add!).

It's no myth!! I speak from personal experience and will repeat as often as required. The actual electronics is great... easy to work on etc. It's the casework and silly overcomplicated mechanisms to make sleek covers on controls slide back etc that is the issue...especially (mainly!) when they are some age and "plastic rot" has set in.
 
I guess it’s a problem when you do that for a living and have to charge the extra-hours (or not).
As a hobbyist it’s actually fun and not that difficult!
 
A PITA to service… another myth easily debunked when you see the service manuals!
Then everything is clear and simple because B&O used to make superb service manuals of unrivaled quality and detailed precision.
I have restored loads of B&O stuff since I started my collection in the late noughties (thanks Tim, Martin and Adam!).
Another bonus, they made use of common European components, nothing exotic that is impossible to replace — think Japanese here.
The 9300 is a keeper (not in my collection I might add!).
That may have been the case in the good old days, but not now. I had a Beolit Bluetooth speaker which failed just outside its warranty period, and it was good for nothing but landfill.
 
Thanks for all the helpful replies and encouraging comments!

It turns out my friend also has a Beogram 7000 turntable and a pair of Beovox RL6000 (Type 6522) speakers.

@Beobloke - and anyone else - whats the view on these?

The Beogram is a very good performer and also has its rightful place in history as it was the last new turntable ever offered by B&O. It also has a built in RIAA preamplifier which makes it very flexible in connection terms. Well worth using, in my view, especially if the stylus/cartridge is good.

As to the speakers, I’ll let someone else be the voice of reason on that. I thought all the Red Line models were crap, personally!
 
It's no myth!! I speak from personal experience and will repeat as often as required. The actual electronics is great... easy to work on etc. It's the casework and silly overcomplicated mechanisms to make sleek covers on controls slide back etc that is the issue...especially (mainly!) when they are some age and "plastic rot" has set in.

I’ve spent most of the last couple of hours repairing a Bose AV3-2-1 home cinema system. Trying to take that apart without breaking the plastic casing or the flimsy clips that hold it together makes any B&O look like a walk in the park by comparison!
 
I guess it’s a problem when you do that for a living and have to charge the extra-hours (or not).
As a hobbyist it’s actually fun and not that difficult!

We will have to disagree on that then:) I will not take on repairs of B&O gear after too many experiences with 70's gear of theirs where various plastic clips etc simply break off due to the years effecting the plastic and it then being not possible, after carrying out the straightforward repair, to reassemble the casework correctly and having to do things like glue side panels back on.
 
I’m also in the keep it and use it camp here, really cool stuff. I think it’s perfect for a non audiophile that wants to listen to the radio, laptop and occasional CD. It’s very aesthetically appealing, intuitive to use and will likely spank any mini system or Bluetooth speaker on sound quality too.
 


advertisement


Back
Top