The Beogram 4002. If you are serious about your audio system, there is no alternative.
The Beogram 4002 began when Bang & Olufsen engineers were told to set aside the traditional solutions to turntable design and begin anew. Their goal was simply stated:
Develop an electronically controlled turn table with optimum specifications. The result of their work was the Beogram 4002, an audio component unequalled in both concept and performance.
The cartridge. The quality of any turntable is easily negated by using an inferior or mis matched cartridge. Bang & Olufsen engineers felt it was essential to develop a cartridge which was an integral part of the turn table and not simply an appendage added later by the user. Therefore, an entirely new cartridge was developed which could meet the specification levels set for the turntable.
This cartridge was the MMC 6000; a brilliant piece of miniaturization capable of reproducing a frequency spectrum from 20 to 45,000Hz. The MMC 6000 features the new multi-radial Pramanik stylus for exceptional high frequency tracing and has effective tip mass of only 0.22mg. It has a tip resonance point of over 45,000Hz, a compliance higher than 30 x 10^-6, and a recommended vertical tracking force of 1 gram.
--- A color brochure presenting all Bang & Olufsen products in detail
is available upon request.
The tone arm assembly. The Beogram 4002 features one of the most sophisticated tone arm assemblies ever developed. Its tangential tracking effectively eliminates tracking error and skating force. When a record is being played, each revolution brings the stylus one groove's width closer to the center. This inward movement causes the tone arm to pivot the equivalent fraction of a degree and reduce the amount of light received by a photocell within the tone arm's housing. This causes a servo motor to very slowly move the entire assembly the exact distance required to compensate for the angular deviation. Precision, low-friction ball bearings keep the vertical and horizontal friction of the tone arm to between 5 and 15 mg. As the tone arm is always kept tan gent with the record groove, skating force is eliminated.
Operation. The Beogram 4002 utilizes computer logic circuits for automatic control of the operation cycle. Once you have de pressed the "on" switch further assistance is unnecessary. The detector arm preceding the tone arm senses the presence and size of the record and transmits the appropriate information to the control unit. If there is no record on the platter, the arm will be instructed to return to the rest position and shut off the unit. When a record is detected, the correct speed is automatically set and the stylus cued in the first groove. A patented electro-pneumatic damping system lowers the tone arm at a precise, controlled speed to prevent damage to the stylus. The entire cueing cycle takes only two seconds. The control panel of the Beogram 4002 also permits power assisted manual operation. You may move the tone arm in either direction and scan the entire record at slow or rapid speed. A slight touch on the control panel will lower the arm exactly in the groove you have chosen; another touch will immediately lift it for recuing elsewhere. During any operation, either manual or automatic, you need never touch the tone arm.
Bang & Olufsen
Fine instruments for the reproduction of music.
Bang & Olufsen of America, Inc.
2271 Devon Avenue Elk Grove Village, Illinois 60007
Bang & Olufsen components are in the permanent design collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
(Audio magazine, Nov. 1974)
Also see:
Bang & Olufsen Beogram 4002 turntable (Sept. 1976)
Bang & Olufsen SP-12 phono cartridge (ad, Oct. 1970)
Miracord 760 turntable (Jan. 1975)
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