Pentalab to Pentavox Speakers

8 replies
Can a powered Penta speaker be converted to a non powered speaker?
Sure, you can remove the BeoLab from the base. There is some info on

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I have taken a look at the mountings studs and they are screw-threaded on either end, but not all the way along the shaft, so I'm not sure how you could shorten them.  Getting a shorter alternative would seem to be the best option. I broke one of the mounting studs on my Beolab Penta and I contacted

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If you're removing the amplifiers then you don't need to use the studs at all. Just use some new bolts to bolt the base plate into the threaded holes for the studs on the base of the speaker body.  
I rendered mine passive!   On my project/setup I ended up bypassing the Penta 2 amps altogether but kept I the unhooked-up amp attached to the tower. When I got them, I had one tower that worked sort of fine and one that never worked, sputtering sometimes, but always going straight to RED LIGHT.  My connection was Beocenter 9000 preamp out RCA to Penta RCA. Switching the wires always produced that one speaker not working.  After replacing all the midrange surrounds and accepting the fact that the doors on both the amps were not ever going to stay shut, but with no DIN speaker connection (so no display), I went the preamp out to a separate AMP route.  Beocenter 9000 preamp out to a Sony DA5 ES. This video was SUPER helpful.  https://youtu.be/Uh2edGVsGto?si=eDbuklbv1WJLBKbc After taking the base and Penta AMPS off, I undid the plain speaker wire that extends up into the tower and fished flat Monster speaker wiring up past the side of the amp through the inside of the base, trying my patience quite mightily.  I reconnected the rods for the electrically disconnected amp AND reconnected the base after connecting the flat wire to the terminals on the speaker itself and then connected it to the Sony's main speaker output.   Getting those smaller bolts the video mentioned and leaving the amp off seems like a WAY easier way to go. I get that the Penta amp was "matched" to the speaker array with crossovers and whatnot, but the Sony's outputs (110 watts per channel, ANALOG direct) It's legit too loud and too startlingly CLEAR to play above halfway.  It's the best non tube setup I've ever heard, even on cassette.  I was pretty lucky to get a Beolink 1000 remote and a Beogram 9000 to go along with the rest of the setup.  Everything (besides the Penta amps) acts just like new.  The Beocenter's CD player didn't want to work initially but it somehow self-healed, works fine, and I didn't ask any questions. I may try the setup with a semi-lower powered Yamaha RX-396 with it's 50 watts per channel, to see if I can discern any difference, but I haven't done that yet.

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double post

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Great that you keep them going J. Malonson! When they are still on their amps, the Pentas look a bit more ‘technical’ in my opinion. Enjoy and thanks for sharing! Regards, Johan

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Of course it's personal, but I found my Pentas without internal amps to sound far better musically than with internal amps. They're part of my AV setup currently, but when I switch them back to being the main stereo pair for music alone I'll remove the amps and run them passively. Julian

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Beofan for many years with a penchant for 1990s audio systems.
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