Bang & Olufsen Beocord 8004
The Beocord 8004 was Bang & Olufsen's top-of-the-line cassette deck when it launched in 1978. It succeeded the Beocord 8002 and was eventually replaced by the Beocord 9000. It's a three-head, dual-capstan design with a single servo-controlled DC motor driving the transport. The look is classic B&O: brushed aluminum case, dark gray detailing, and logic-controlled solenoid transport buttons instead of mechanical levers. The record and playback heads are Sendust type. The deck takes Type I (normal), Type II (CrO₂), and Type IV (metal) tapes with automatic bias selection.
The feature set was substantial for the period. Dolby B and C noise reduction are built in, along with Dolby HX Pro headroom extension. There's a 12-segment FLD bargraph level display, record mute, an electronic tape counter with zero-landing memory, timer-play, and a remote-control jack for B&O's Master Control Panel system. The three-head arrangement gives you true source/tape monitoring while recording. The deck was designed to sit alongside the Beomaster 2400 and Beomaster 4400 receivers of the same era, both in looks and electrically.
HiFI-Stereo (1984, p.58) listed the 8004 with wow and flutter at 0.04% wrms, frequency response of 30–18,000 Hz ±3 dB with metal tape, and signal-to-noise ratios of 58/68/78 dB for no NR/Dolby B/Dolby C respectively, with distortion under 0.8%. A later 1986 review in HiFI-Stereo (p.124) noted the deck's dual-capstan design and remote-control capability. Those figures are broadly consistent with the fuller spec sheet from the Vintage Cassette Deck database, which cites 20 Hz–20 kHz response on metal tape and S/N better than 68 dB with Dolby B. Note that the 1984 listing in HiFI-Stereo — several years after production — suggests the deck remained a benchmark worth referencing.
Owners consistently praise the sound quality. The common line is that it makes genuinely satisfying recordings with very little tape hiss. The complaints are just as consistent: aging transports develop hardened pinch rollers and slipping belts, and the record/playback head assembly is essentially unobtainable now. If the heads are worn, it's a parts deck. Working examples still command $400 - $800 on the used market. As one database put it, "when they work, they are superb."
Known specs:
- **Type:** Stereo cassette deck, 3-head (erase/record/playback), dual-capstan closed-loop drive
- **Heads:** Sendust record and playback
- **Tape types:** Type I, II, IV with auto bias selection
- **Frequency response:** 20 Hz - 20 kHz (metal tape)
- **Wow and flutter:** 0.04% wrms (period review); 0.06% WRMS (Vintage Cassette Deck database) / 0.08% wrms (HiFi Database)
- **S/N ratio:** 58 dB (no NR) / 68 dB (Dolby B) / 78 dB (Dolby C)
- **THD:** 0.8% at 1 kHz, 0 dB
- **Inputs/outputs:** Line in 50 mV/100 kΩ; line out 0.5 V/3 kΩ
- **Dimensions:** 10.8 × 42.4 × 29.6 cm
- **Weight:** ~11.5 kg (one database lists 22.9 kg, which is implausible for a cassette deck and likely a typo)
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