Good afternoon,

Just registered, having never heard of this place until today.

I have a Bang & Olufsen TX2 turntable that I've owned since new in (gulp!) 1986. It's a lovely thing, a product of B&O's industrial art, but it has a recurring problem. If I can't get it fixed permanently, I'll get rid of it.

On every revolution, there's a scraping noise. It started doing it probably 3-4 years after I bought it. At the time, there was a B&O dealer in town who fixed it. The fix lasted another 3-4 years, then the scraping started again. I put up with it, mostly by not using the table much, until a couple of years ago. In that time B&O decided they really are art and disassociated themselves with retailers. :rolleyes: A local shop quieted it down some but it's still doing it. The nearest B&O boutique store disavowed all knowledge of things like turntables. So, two questions:

1. Is this thing permanently fixable?
2. If so, is it worth keeping?

TIA

Perhaps it's the platter bearing? Or the motor? Not familiar with that model, but with my Pioneer there is a small reservoir with two small tubes that connect to the motor and must be replenished with lubricant every now and again. Their is also a small reservoir for the platter. Perhaps something is running dry and causing the noise? Maybe it needs periodic maintenance. Like I said, not familiar with that model, perhaps someone else knows better.

The suspension is very compliant on that tt. Mine scrapes as you describe when I use a cleaning brush on a record (even with very light pressure). I am guessing that your suspension may need adjustment. Is your tt level?

The other thing about the TX-2 (if not all b&o tangentials) is that there is VERY little vertical travel available to the arm when playing. Mine will not tolerate almost any visible warp in a record. Warps cause the arm/cartridge to actually rub the record as it rotates, with some audible consequence. Is your sound possibly correlated with playing even slightly warped records?

There is a company in NY as I recall who service b&o tt's and sell aftermarket cartridges (albeit not inexpensively!). My guess is that it might just be worth having serviced, but it could be borderline. The cartridge as you know uses a proprietart mount, and the stylus is nonreplaceable, so if your stylus is old that'd be another $140 (at current market) that you'd have to shell out.

The TX-2 isn't as nice IMO as the earlier b&o tangentials, but I like mine a lot. The servo-drive tangential arm works quite well (again, IMO) and yields markedly less inner-groove distortion than any of the swinging-arm tt's I have. Generally cleaner sound, too. The b&o cartridges are pretty decent as well. I have the entry-level MMC-4, bought from b&o just before they stopped carrying cartridges. I now wish I'd sprung for the top end MMC-2. BTW, the TX-2 i's my 'daily driver'.


EDIT: The b&0 parts/repair place is: http://www.sound-smith.com/
I have had no dealings with them, so cannot offer a recommendation caveat emptor.

Another interesting site for b&o fans is: http://www.beoworld.co.uk/contents.htm

Appropos of nothing... here's my little TX-2 in action :-)

http://audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=9356

Hey, is that a Marantz CD-48 next to that TT??
Tom

The suspension is very compliant on that tt. Mine scrapes as you describe when I use a cleaning brush on a record (even with very light pressure). I am guessing that your suspension may need adjustment. Is your tt level?Hmm, hadn't thought of that before. :scratch2: The turntable itself is level, although from eyeballing it the platter may not be. The front edge of the platter appears to be just a bit higher than the back.The other thing about the TX-2 (if not all b&o tangentials) is that there is VERY little vertical travel available to the arm when playing. Mine will not tolerate almost any visible warp in a record. Warps cause the arm/cartridge to actually rub the record as it rotates, with some audible consequence. Is your sound possibly correlated with playing even slightly warped records?Nope. It does it whether the record is warped or not. One thing I'd forgotten is that it doesn't scrape for the first 3-4 minutes, then it starts with a vengeance. It's more horizontally-related than vertical. I have seen it be unable to play one or two records because of the vertical travel, but those were really badly warped. It's played some I thought were unplayable.There is a company in NY as I recall who service b&o tt's and sell aftermarket cartridges (albeit not inexpensively!). No kidding! Up to $350 on a TX 2! :jawdrop: I'll have to think about this.BTW, the TX-2 i's my 'daily driver'.
It's my only driver! I bought it because it was to be the "Last Turntable I'll Ever Buy." I like the way it sounds, I like the way it handles records, and it's definitely eye candy. If it can be made to work right without spending a bundle, I'll keep it.

Thanks for the help! I suspect that only SWMBO keeps me from that fine madness some of you guys have. "Why do you need more than one turntable?" Umm, umm... That's what she says about motorcycles too. :sigh:

Heck, the TX-2 isn't even my only tangential! But... I don't own any 'really good' tt's. Someday...

You might want to consider something like a VPI scout or a Rega or a Pro/ject (or is that Pro-ject) as a good replacement "tt for the rest of your life" that would be (comparatively) modestly priced.

BTW, I paid $7 for my TX-2 at a church fleamarket, and another $113 for the MMC-4, so I figure I made out OK.

Hey, is that a Marantz CD-48 next to that TT??

Wait a minute, let me go look...
yup. I think at the time it was considered a good, reasonably priced CDP. It was actually a present from my wife :-)

mhardy6647 is quite right - it's most likely a suspension alignment issue.

Lovely units but their viability as daily users is becoming questionable because of the replacement cartidge prices.

if you want to get rid of yours even with scraping platter, let me know........... :D

Adam.

Lovely units but their viability as daily users is becoming questionable because of the replacement cartidge prices.


I figure I'll use mine 'til the stylus goes and then I'll see what I can find for another $7. Maybe a nice Oracle? ;-)

This is the reason God created DUAL TT's!!