Bang & Olufsen Beosystem 5000 (1986–1989)

The Beosystem 5000 was Bang & Olufsen's second-generation integrated system, produced from 1986 to 1989. The center of it was the Beomaster 5000 tuner-amplifier, rated at 2 × 55 watts into 8 ohms (or 2 × 80 watts into 4 ohms) with total harmonic distortion below 0.05% at rated output. The system was typically sold with a Beogram 5500 turntable, B&O's deck with auto-return tonearm. The Beogram CD 3300 XR and Beogram CD 5100/5200 compact-disc players could be attached as external sources. They linked by audio leads and by B&O's master control-link system, which gave full remote interaction.

The tuner section covers FM (87.5-108 MHz) and AM (522-1608 kHz). Mono sensitivity is rated at 1.5 µV and stereo at 30 µV. FM signal-to-noise is specified at 70 dB mono and 68 dB stereo, with distortion under 0.15% and stereo separation exceeding 35 dB at 1 kHz. The phono stage accepts 2.5 mV from a 5 mV MM cartridge. The CD input is rated at 500 mV sensitivity into 20 kΩ with a signal-to-noise ratio above 80 dB. An infrared remote handset came as standard, and the main panel allowed programming of the system's functions.

The Beosystem 5000 was part of the second generation of the Beosystem line. HiFI-Stereo (February 1986, p.124) noted that the system's cassette deck used a transport-in-a-drawer design with Dolby HX Professional headroom extension, operable by remote control. That was an unusual arrangement.

There are a couple of known production variations. Earlier units have white-on-black display text, and later units switched to amber-on-black. Common failure points are display fading, power supply and logic board electrolytic capacitors that need replacement, and tuning knobs/encoders that can become dirty or fail. The original BR 5000 remote is no longer available from Bang & Olufsen but can be found used.

Owners have described the system as "very capable but heavy," and one former owner noted service issues as a reason for selling. No original price has been documented in the research sources, and physical dimensions and weight are likewise unrecorded.