Bang & Olufsen Beomaster 1900 (1977)

The Beomaster 1900 is a 2×45 watt stereo receiver from Bang & Olufsen, built in 1977 and sold at a then-substantial 2275 DM. It was part of the company's "90's concept" - a marketing idea the source itself calls "bizarre" in retrospect, one that sought to sell only complete stereo systems. The receiver was reportedly so far ahead of its time that many buyers in 1977 simply didn't know what to do with it.

The 1900 is one of the first B&O devices to operate entirely with electronic switches. A servo motor and a logic unit govern all functions, and the turntable motor is a DC type with electronic speed control. The unit belongs to a family of B&O components linked by a 7-pin plug, which also carries power. That has a catch: connect a plug with the wrong voltage and you risk burning out not just the device but the entire system. HiFI-Stereo (February 1977, p.25) ran a two-page advertisement for the companion Beosystem 1900. It stressed pairing the low-mass tonearm of the Beogram 1900 turntable with the MMC 4000 cartridge.

Physical specs are modest for the era: 47.89 cm wide, 8.9 cm high, 29.8 cm deep, and 6.8 kg. The music plug contacts are gold-plated. The rest are silver-plated.

Collectors should know a few things. The unit uses a memory chip backed by a lithium battery, and when that battery dies, the unit stops working entirely. The original backup is a 4.8 V / 2000 mAh cell, still available today. Battery corrosion is a known issue, as is weakness in the power supply and capacitors of this generation of B&O gear. The servo motor is also a common failure point and often needs replacement. One important warning: if the unit is operated with light bulbs instead of fuses, the circuit board can be destroyed. When it works, the 1900 behaves "very good, as with all B&O devices," in the words of one technician-owner.

No frequency response, THD, signal-to-noise, or sensitivity figures are documented in the available record, and no period reviewer appears to have published a full lab test of the receiver itself.

Power output: 2×45 watts
Dimensions: 47.89 × 8.9 × 29.8 cm (W×H×D)
Weight: 6.8 kg
Production: 1977
Original price: 2275 DM