Hi everyone
After a 15 year break, I am planning to get back into B&O. I once owned a Beocenter 8000, which I really liked but then my circumstances changed and I did not have room for it anymore so I sadly sold it. But now I have room again and I am still in love with the design. So a week from now I am going to visit a seller who has a Beocenter 8000 and a pair of Beovox 3000 for sale.
So the question is, what should I be looking out for? Seller says everything is in working order but I am obviously going to get a demo. Tapedeck and CD are obvious things to test but is there anything in particular I should be looking (or listening) for? I also have zero experience with Beovox 3000. Back when I owned the Beocenter I believe I paired it with two Beovox C40 and later a pair of M150. How would the Beovox 3000 compare?
Also, while we’re at it, if I buy the Beocenter, I will probably start looking for a Beogram to match with it. I would like it to fit designwise so I think Beogram 8500 or 9500 are my best bets?
thanks for any help.
Thank you to our Sponsors
Beocenter 8000 questions
8 replies
Just seen this and you may have bought it by now, but in case this is still of any use to you, I have a Beocenter 8000 (in fact, it's for sale on eBay at the moment as I replaced it with a Beocenter 8500). Here's what I found with mine:
- The tape deck needed new belts. There are two different models of tape deck on the Beocenter 8000 thru 9500 range but I think the 8000 was only ever fitted with the type 2. The belts are not very easy to fit (the large belt in particular is tricky to get in place). You can get the belts from Beoparts. If you try to play a cassette in it and it tries to switch to side 2, and then just stops, it's likely in need of new belts.
- The type 2 tape deck also has another common fault, but is fortunately quite easy to fix - I managed to fix mine with this this very helpful advice from .
- The CD player worked fine on mine, but there is a common fault where faulty capacitors (and I am no electronics expert so forgive the explanation) cause the laser power to be reduced, meaning it can struggle to read discs. I did not have that trouble with my 8000 luckily, but I did have it with another 8500 I used to own, but sold for parts. Kits to fix this are available from Beoparts shop cheaply, but you need to know your way around a soldering iron!
- The glass panels may have come loose, in fact I have owned a total of 4 of these Beocenters, and the glass panels had come loose on all of them. I removed the old glue very carefully basically by rolling it off with my thumb (very carefully, it took hours). I then used as strong double-sided tape to reattach it. Some of the black paint did come off the back of the glass around the edge while I was removing the glue despite the care I took, but that was easily fixed with black Airfix model paint.
- As for a matching turntable, alas I don't believe that B&O ever did produce a turntable that matches the lovely gunmetal aluminium finish of the BC8000. The nearest match is the Beogram 8500 which has grey panels rather than gunmetal black panels. I used mine with a Beogram 3000 at first, then later a Beogram 8500. Neither matches the gunmetal finish but they still complemented it quite well. Note that as the BC8000 has a built-in phono stage you are looking for a Beogram that does not have a built-in phono stage. See .
Location: Liverpool
My B&O Icons:
Old enough to have gazed at classic B&O HiFi in Plumbs shop windows in the 80s...
Should also have added - ehile I did not have this problem with my 8000 or 8500, I did have this problem with my (older) 9000 and the 8000 could have the same issue - check the Speaker 1 outputs are working, in case the mute relay has stopped functioning. Again an easy fix, but requires soldering. See https://forum.beoworld.org/forums/topic/beocenter-9000-restoration-2-issues/
I have ordered a new mute relay for my 9000 from Beoparts (now: Danish Sound Parts); it was cheap and was delivered earlier this week, I just haven't got round to fixing it yet.
Location: Liverpool
My B&O Icons:
Old enough to have gazed at classic B&O HiFi in Plumbs shop windows in the 80s...
The old ones were rock hard, like plastic. However, I am not convinced that the new ones made much difference! The problem is mentioned half way down this page, where there's a suggestion of using cut up squash balls as feet! EDIT: I found my post about fitting them:Location: Warwickshire, UK
My B&O Icons:
I never had this problem with my Beocenters but I did with one of my Beograms; new rubber feet and a more solid shelf solved it for me. If I hold my ear close to it there's still a hum, but you can't hear it normally.
Location: Liverpool
My B&O Icons:
Old enough to have gazed at classic B&O HiFi in Plumbs shop windows in the 80s...
I don’t think it’s the rubber feet. I’ve tried having the BC9500 on other surfaces (one even of rubber) and the same thing happens. It definitely sounds like the sound is coming from the internal power supply.
I happened to have a transformer unit in a drawer from a Beocenter 8500 which I broke down for parts - I've just taken a look at the 8 rubber bushings and they are rock solid; in fact one of them broke to pieces while I was inspecting it. My understanding is that the transformer unit (part ref PCB64) is the same in the 8500 and 9500 - not sure if anyone can confirm that?
Since the bushings are so cheap and the transformer unit is relatively easy to remove, I think it would be worth a try. There's a reasonably good chance that they are the cause.
Location: Liverpool
My B&O Icons:
Old enough to have gazed at classic B&O HiFi in Plumbs shop windows in the 80s...
Please Log In to Reply
You must be logged in as a BeoWorld member to post replies to forum threads.
or
Join BeoWorld
Register to access the forums, reference material, and exclusive member benefits — including our monthly prize draw.
Become a MemberDecember 2026 Prize Draw
Gold Members OnlyAs a Gold member you're automatically entered into our exclusive prize draw — your chance to win iconic Bang & Olufsen products. A unique benefit of BeoWorld Gold membership, every draw brings a new opportunity to win something special.
1st Prize
2nd Prize
3rd Prize