Beomaster 5000 (1983)
| Product : | Beomaster 5000 |
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| Produced from : | 1983 - May 1986 | |
| Designed by : | Jacob Jensen | |
| Finish : | Aluminium / Dark Grey | |
| Desirability : | 3 |
Designed in 1983 as part of the Beosystem 5000 stacking system, Beomaster 5000 was a brand new product which actually turned out to be the last ever, all-new Beomaster. From that point on on every ‘new’ Beomaster had its history firmly rooted in that of either the Beomaster 5000-family or the Beomaster 1900-family.
A beautiful-looking machine, the Beomaster 5000, like the rest of the Beosystem 5000, could blend in to anyone’s home circumstances, as its footprint was relative small as each and every one of its four components could be stacked one on top of the other. The whole system was therefore both discrete and good-looking, its usability enhanced by the fact that around-the-house music could be easily and economically obtained. Following on from Beocenter 7700, Bang & Olufsen’s early ‘music wherever you go’ system allowed for other sets of loudspeakers to be used in other rooms, and by way of two-way remote control, the user could could control the source by using inbuilt state-of-the-art electronics. The MCL Link 82 product was very sophisticated for such an early system, and over the years the system was tweaked and enhanced to give us the Datalink system which was so widely used by other Bang & Olufsen products.
Both FM and AM wavebands were included within the sensitive tuner section and nine frequently-used radio stations could be programmed in for later use.
The amplifier delivered a generous 2 x 55 watts of good-quality sound and Automatic Power Handling Control continuously monitored the dynamic range and power of the signal, instructing the built-in microcomputer to decrease volume if there was a threat of ’clipping’ or damage to the speakers.
With all these sophisticalted electronics an extremely quiet fan was built in - another first for the company - which turned itself on when the internal temperature was over a pre-programmed threshold.
And as part of the system’s flexibility, Beomaster 5000 could be used by any of three ways: by using the tactile flip-down coltrols on the receiver’s front, by using the comprehensive MCP 5000 remote-control panel or by using a smaller cut-down version remote-control, the Terminal 5000.
Beomaster was replaced by Beomaster 5500 looking very much alike and offering a similar range of technicalities.
The receiver unit of the Beosystem 5000 is an integrated nominally 55 watts-per-channel amplifier and three-waveband tuner. It is housed in a slim-tine silver and grey cabinet to match the other units. All controls are covered by a panel, running the length of the unit, which swings down at 45 degrees when the left-hand end is pressed. A similar touch-control at the right-hand end of the panel will switch on the system (to receive the source signal last used) or switch to ,off’ or ‘mute’ depending on whether it is pressed for a long or short period. A tiny red LED indicates that the Beomaster 5000 is in the off (actually ’stand-by’) mode, while displays of the tuner frequency, source name, etc. appear when the unit is in operation.
Normally the panel will be left closed, and all operations carried out via the remote Master Control Panel. However, it may sometimes be more convenient to perform some operations on the receiver itself, and so various control functions are available such as volume up/down, loudness contour on/off, source selection, manual tuning and advance/return cueing.
All input and output connections are made on a panel under a hinged grille at the back of the receiver. Conventional phono sockets are provided, in case the Beomaster 5000 is to be used with other brands of equipment, but the computer-controlled operation is possible only if the alternative DIN sockets are used. These are to a special B&O 7-pin configuration which is essentially the regular 5-pin DIN plus two (removable) pins to carry the single-wire Datalink signals. Communication is two-way, so that the Beomaster 5000 can both send instructions to the other units and receive data as to their status (’no tape’ etc.), relayed to and from the remote-control unit too as appropriate. As well as inputs for phono and auxiliary (CD player), there are in/out sockets for Tape 1 and 2 and access sockets to permit connection of the pre-amplifier to an extra power amplifier or loop out/in to a separate signal processor such as a graphic equalizer (with U-links).
Two pairs of DIN loudspeaker sockets are provided, the first being for local speakers and the other for a second local pair or relaying to another room for control by a Master Control Link, as already mentioned. Aerial sockets are fitted for AM or FM, though the FM socket is male rather than the UK standard type, and so an adapter will be needed for direct connection of an existing UK aerial cable. A standard stereo headphone jack-socket is mounted in a recess in the front panel, and mutes speakers 1 when the jackplug is inserted.
Scan tuning of radio stations is extremely simple. When the desired waveband is selected, its lowest frequency is displayed and the ‘Advance’ button can be used to scan upwards, the tuner stopping at each ’strong’ signal until moved on or back by means of further taps on the Advance/Return buttons (LW and MW are conveniently linked together). Once chosen, the display confirms that the station is locked in tune, and can be allocated to one of the nine preselector buttons by pressing Store and the button number required. The tuned frequency for each button, and indeed the status of each unit in the system, can be interrogated and displayed by following the routines described in the remarkably comprehensive instruction booklet.
Taken from ‘Gramophone’ magazine - Sept 1984 (page 112)
BeoMaster 5000 types:
