Old B&O vs. new Rega P1

For me B&O is about three things; looks, sound and convenience in that order. In my studio I have a 9000 and a 8002 tt with mmc 1,2, and a 4 for the not so good lps. If you are interested in casual listening B&O offers great products. At current used prices you are getting innovative technology at a very cheap price. As to comparison I had a Rega P-25 with a modified RB 250 arm which to my mind had a much fuller sound. Choices choices good luck

I owned a B&O 3000 with the tangential arm for more than 20 years. With the MMC3 it put out pretty good sound and I maintain they remain the most stylishly engineered components ever. But then, I like minimalist Swedish furniture, too, so that's just personal taste.

But, after my second $400 repair on the tracking arm and staring at several hundred dollars for new cartridges, I bought a Rega P1 more than a year ago and have been very, very happy.

I sprung for the glass platter upgrade and the sound out of the Rega is easily equal and I think better. Great clarity and range. Now, I am not somebody in a position to plunk down $5K for a turntable. Someday I may spring for a Rega P3 or something similar but for the casual audiophile, this is a great bang for the buck table. About $400, simple to set up and fine sound.

Also, the upside is that I sold a couple of used B&O cartridges on ebay and they just about paid for the new Rega.

I own B&O Beogram 8000. With the original B&O cartridge the performance is ho-hum. It sounds smooth and rich, but seriously lacks detail and high frequency sparkle. I've then replaced B&O MMC 20CL with Sound Smith SMMC 20CL, and the difference is amazing. The performance with Sound Smith cartridge is very close to the Rega setup that I loaned from my friend. Rega with good MC cartridge sounds more detailed, but the difference was small, small enough so that I could forgo in favor of the convenience of automatic operation with B&O table.

I have the Beogram 4002 with the original MMC 4000 cart. The drive for the tangential arm failed. It is absolutely the coolest looking vintage TT, but I don't know whether to spend around $400 to get it repaired. It is in very good cosmetic condition. Any opinions?

Currently using a nice old Dual through a Proton PreAmp and a Nakamichi reciever.

Craig, try the forum at beoworld.org. There are a couple of resident experts with extensive part bin. You could also send the unit over for repair if you wish. It probably won't cost $400 to repair, but you will need to be handy, or find someone who is.