Very nice speakers! I have a set they sound great even without the preamp mounted. I really looking forward to your upgrade to have a better understanding of how I can improve my set as well. Thank you for sharing this knowledge.
I will continue with the upgrade next year and will make a series of videos showing the various parts that I acquire for these speakers, before I continue with the retrofit. (I just have to make a rather large retro computing purchase in the form of Infinite Reality 4 for my SGI Onyx2, early next year, before I continue with this upgrade.)
I've ended up by buying a newly refurbished set of midrange units for these speakers, as I couldn't find another midrange unit that would be adequately up to the job! I will still take a shot at fitting a pair of ScanSpeak illuminator ring-radiator tweeters though! These are the spares I've bought so far: [img]@t I still need to order the service kits for the amplifiers and crossovers. I'm going to be re-cladding the speakers in a polished blackened stainless steel of a thicker gauge. The only problem that I have at the moment regarding this is that I will have to use the current speaker top caps, which will have to be removed without damage, so that they can be blackened together with the other stainless steel panels which will have to be made up! Removing them without damaging them may prove to be difficult!
Your vision sounds amazing but it’s been five years now. Did you abandoned this project or how did they end up looking and are you amazed by the upgrades you’ve made?
I’ve done many successful extensive modifications to various speakers including B&O. Below is a list of the worlds finest/most transparent sounding components for you to use... 1) ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITORS ((Black Gate, Audio Note Kasei, Elna Silmic II, Nichicon Muse Bipolar)). 2) UPOCC COPPER WIRE - 99.9999% purity ((Neotech 22 gauge solid core for tweeter, Neotech 18 gauge solid core for midrange, Neotech 14 gauge stranded for woofer)). 3) MAKE SURE TO REMOVE THE TEFLON SLEEVING FROM THE NEOTECH SOLID CORE WIRE ONLY. THEN PAINT THE BARE COPPER WITH CLEAR DEOXIT FLUID TO PREVENT ANY FUTURE OXIDISATION. THEN USE PURE COTTON SLEEVING TO COVER THEM ((MORE HOLOGRAPIC SOUND)).
4) FILM CAPACITORS ((Mundorf Supreme Silver/Oil)). 5) THE BEOSOUND 3000 UNIT IS MORE TRANSPARENT AND HOLOGRAPHIC SOUNDING THAN THE BEOSOUND 9000. All the modifications above are recommended by the top boys in the audio industry ((MARTIN COLLOMS OF HIFINEWS MAGAZINE, JEFF GLOWACKI OF SONICRAFT.COM MODIFICATIONS IN THE USA)). BELOW IS THE MODIFICATION OVERHAUL I DID TO A PAIR OF BEOLAB 4000 SPEAKERS... www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=164687.0 HERE ARE MY MODIFICATIONS TO BEOVOX CX50 SPEAKERS... www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=161358.0
I've ended up by buying a newly refurbished set of midrange units for these speakers, as I couldn't find another midrange unit that would be adequately up to the job! I will still take a shot at fitting a pair of ScanSpeak illuminator ring-radiator tweeters though! These are the spares I've bought so far: [img]i.imgur.com/4tSUx12.jpg[/img] I still need to order the service kits for the amplifiers and crossovers. I'm going to be re-cladding the speakers in a polished blackened stainless steel of a thicker gauge. The only problem that I have at the moment regarding this is that I will have to use the current speaker top caps, which will have to be removed without damage, so that they can be blackened together with the other stainless steel panels which will have to be made up! Removing them without damaging them may prove to be difficult!
hi , only you can help me because you know the mk3s like the back of your hand, basically I sent the midrange panels to a specialized center to renew the suspensions, unfortunately when I removed them I didn't catalog the wires with the various colors, I was wondering if you could give me a hand. Greetings from Italy
Take a look at the picture on this site: www.hifiberry.com/docs/projects/bang-olufsen-penta-refresh-project-part-1/ And also look at this post on Beoworld, even though it's for the Penta MK1 and MK2, the wiring for the midrange units (arrangement and colour of the cables is the same). forum.beoworld.org/forums/topic/restore-or-upgrade-beolab-beovox-penta-crossovers-mk1-vs-mk2/
Thnx fore the video! I have a set of Penta 3's in which both amps only make a hard buzzing noise and almost no music. Do you have a source where to get the upgrade parts? Searched online but can't find them. Thnx
I have now also pentas and I'm going to upgrade the Amp to class d👌 since the amps are in a really bad shape (technically) and class d sound incredible
I haven't yet, but I'm seriously going to get into this upgrade later this year, as I still have a few obligations on the retro computing front. So I will get to this upgrade later this year. I will replace the midranges with Scan Speak 5F/8422T01's these drivers have an 8 ohm nominal impedance, as apposed to the 4 ohm nominal impedance of the original midrange units. But this isn't really a problem, as I can simply connect them in parallel, rather than the series connections originally used. The original midranges are arranged as two series circuits of two 4 ohm drivers each, making up a nominal impedance 8 ohms. If I connect the 8 ohm drivers in parallel, then the nominal impedance will be 4 ohms. This is half of the original impedance, so an adjustment to the midrange crossovers may be necessary, but I will initially test it with the current crossover configuration, and then make adjustments as required. As for the tweeters, I will replace the original tweeters with Scan Speak R2904/700005's
Im looking ar picking up a pair of these. I know the mids need refoamed and have done this before. How are the drivers attached to the baffle? Appears to be from the baffles rear. How do you remove them ?
@@Irinikus Appreciate your reply. Is it a big deal to remove the baffle ? Im picking up a pair of these in a few days - How is your restoration coming along ?
@@Irinikus Thanks for the help. Im sure i would have figured it out but sight unseen, this gives me confidence i wont have to do major surgery. Looking forward to this project !
Got them home and surprised that everything works. Midrange foams ordered. Only ran them with speaker level inputs from an inexpensive receiver at this point. Might they improve with line level input from my much higher quality preamp ? Very laid back speaker - maybe too much for my tastes ! Dang, removing those grilles Sucks :) Mid/Tweeter baffle came apart easily. I hope you eventually intend to renovate yours Irinikus - i would follow your progress intently !!
I’m a bit overburdened with commitments at the moment! I’ll try to prioritise this project during the course of the next year. I have in the meantime bought a full set of pristine midrange units, new filter caps and a new pair “base covers” which seal the crossover cavities, as they tend to develop cracks, and should actually have been constructed out of die cast aluminium! (As they carry the full weight of the speaker’s, minus that of the amplifiers!)
I will replace the midranges with Scan Speak 5F/8422T01's. They are smaller than the original units, so I will have to get carriers made up for them (machined from aluminium), to fit them properly. Although they are smaller units, I do believe that they will be better than the original midrange units that were installed in these speakers. The original units have an impedance of 4ohm's and are wired in series to give 8ohm's. I haven't taken a close look at the midrange crossovers as yet, but it appears that there are two separate midrange crossover circuits, each driving two midrange units in series. The Scan Speak 5F/8422T01's are 8ohm units, so I will therefore wire them in parallel giving two circuits that are 4ohms each. I believe that this will allow for greater power output from these units, as the current flow will be greater due to the lower impedance. (Therefore compensating for their reduced diameter.) As a result, the values of some of the components in the midrange crossover may have to be changed. This I will do when I refurbish the crossovers. I will only be able to do this once I've carried out a voicing with the new drivers fitted. The tweeters will be replaced with ScanSpeak Revelator R2904/7000-05 Tweeters.
I like the classic look of the Penta and I'm now considering re-cladding them with blackened, polished stainless steel and as far as the drivers go, I intend replacing the midranges with ScanSpeak 5F/8422T01's and the tweeters with ScanSpeak Revalator R2904/700009's. The 18's are also cool and I might consider them as rears for this system in the future.
No comparison on the low end, 18's are fantastic but weak on the bass. On the highs they'll blow Pentas out of the park, but Penta's are far superior in the low end. Also Penta's much easier to listen to, very balanced, not too much bass and not so realistic they're tiring to listen too. Both are incredible speakers however, I have Penta's and my brother has 18's we fight all the time about whats better ;-)
I'm only going to carry out the driver upgrade later this year. It won't be difficult to have the new stainless steel clad manufactured locally, but I want to have it blackened, so I'll have to source a local company which can do it for me, as these things would look awesome with a black mirror finish!
I'm going to swap out the midranges with balanced mode radiators and the tweeters with ring radiators. I will report back on the performance once this is done.
These speakers are surprisingly good and perform extremely well in a small space. Therefore they're well worth spending a little money on, in my opinion. (It will be extremely interesting to see just how good they can be!) As far as the midrange upgrade goes, I'm now considering the ScanSpeak DISCOVERY 5F/8422T01, they're not very expensive and they have a five-star rating. These drivers are 1.3cm smaller in diameter that the original midrange units, so I'm going to have to get aluminium rings machined in order to fit them properly. As far as the tweeter upgrade goes, I'm still considering the ScanSpeak REVELATOR R2904/700009 ring radiator tweeter. A good tweeter makes a world of difference and really helps to accentuate the perceived the midrange performance of a speaker. I always thought that I'd like the stainless steel finish, but in my opinion, it makes the speaker look dated. Once they have their new anodised cladding fitted, I think they'll look rejuvenated.
![Bang Olufsen Beolab Penta speaker upgrades - 6 simple hacks for better B&O sound [4K]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/6sikXyjKlp4/mqdefault.jpg)
Very nice speakers! I have a set they sound great even without the preamp mounted. I really looking forward to your upgrade to have a better understanding of how I can improve my set as well. Thank you for sharing this knowledge.
I will continue with the upgrade next year and will make a series of videos showing the various parts that I acquire for these speakers, before I continue with the retrofit. (I just have to make a rather large retro computing purchase in the form of Infinite Reality 4 for my SGI Onyx2, early next year, before I continue with this upgrade.)
I've ended up by buying a newly refurbished set of midrange units for these speakers, as I couldn't find another midrange unit that would be adequately up to the job!
I will still take a shot at fitting a pair of ScanSpeak illuminator ring-radiator tweeters though!
These are the spares I've bought so far:
[img]@t
I still need to order the service kits for the amplifiers and crossovers.
I'm going to be re-cladding the speakers in a polished blackened stainless steel of a thicker gauge. The only problem that I have at the moment regarding this is that I will have to use the current speaker top caps, which will have to be removed without damage, so that they can be blackened together with the other stainless steel panels which will have to be made up! Removing them without damaging them may prove to be difficult!
I am subscribing just to see what this upgrade looks and sounds like when it is done!
Your vision sounds amazing but it’s been five years now. Did you abandoned this project or how did they end up looking and are you amazed by the upgrades you’ve made?
I hope you provide an update to this, very exciting and clearly a great looking pair!
I will definitely do so once I get back to them later this year!
It seems like he’s abandoned this project 😕
I’ve done many successful extensive modifications to various speakers including B&O. Below is a list of the worlds finest/most transparent sounding components for you to use...
1) ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITORS ((Black Gate, Audio Note Kasei, Elna Silmic II, Nichicon Muse Bipolar)).
2) UPOCC COPPER WIRE - 99.9999% purity ((Neotech 22 gauge solid core for tweeter, Neotech 18 gauge solid core for midrange, Neotech 14 gauge stranded for woofer)).
3) MAKE SURE TO REMOVE THE TEFLON SLEEVING FROM THE NEOTECH SOLID CORE WIRE ONLY. THEN PAINT THE BARE COPPER WITH CLEAR DEOXIT FLUID TO PREVENT ANY FUTURE OXIDISATION. THEN USE PURE COTTON SLEEVING TO COVER THEM ((MORE HOLOGRAPIC SOUND)).
4) FILM CAPACITORS ((Mundorf Supreme Silver/Oil)).
5) THE BEOSOUND 3000 UNIT IS MORE TRANSPARENT AND HOLOGRAPHIC SOUNDING THAN THE BEOSOUND 9000.
All the modifications above are recommended by the top boys in the audio industry ((MARTIN COLLOMS OF HIFINEWS MAGAZINE, JEFF GLOWACKI OF SONICRAFT.COM MODIFICATIONS IN THE USA)).
BELOW IS THE MODIFICATION OVERHAUL I DID TO A PAIR OF BEOLAB 4000 SPEAKERS...
www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=164687.0
HERE ARE MY MODIFICATIONS TO BEOVOX CX50 SPEAKERS...
www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=161358.0
Thanks for the good inputs! :)
@@Irinikus No problem. Your Penta’s have a lot of potential to sound as good as a £20,000 speaker if done right.
I've ended up by buying a newly refurbished set of midrange units for these speakers, as I couldn't find another midrange unit that would be adequately up to the job!
I will still take a shot at fitting a pair of ScanSpeak illuminator ring-radiator tweeters though!
These are the spares I've bought so far:
[img]i.imgur.com/4tSUx12.jpg[/img]
I still need to order the service kits for the amplifiers and crossovers.
I'm going to be re-cladding the speakers in a polished blackened stainless steel of a thicker gauge. The only problem that I have at the moment regarding this is that I will have to use the current speaker top caps, which will have to be removed without damage, so that they can be blackened together with the other stainless steel panels which will have to be made up! Removing them without damaging them may prove to be difficult!
hi , only you can help me because you know the mk3s like the back of your hand, basically I sent the midrange panels to a specialized center to renew the suspensions, unfortunately when I removed them I didn't catalog the wires with the various colors, I was wondering if you could give me a hand. Greetings from Italy
Take a look at the picture on this site: www.hifiberry.com/docs/projects/bang-olufsen-penta-refresh-project-part-1/
And also look at this post on Beoworld, even though it's for the Penta MK1 and MK2, the wiring for the midrange units (arrangement and colour of the cables is the same). forum.beoworld.org/forums/topic/restore-or-upgrade-beolab-beovox-penta-crossovers-mk1-vs-mk2/
Thnx fore the video! I have a set of Penta 3's in which both amps only make a hard buzzing noise and almost no music. Do you have a source where to get the upgrade parts? Searched online but can't find them. Thnx
Here we go: www.bonanzamarche.fr/booths/Dillen_de
@@Irinikus Thnx!!
I have now also pentas and I'm going to upgrade the Amp to class d👌 since the amps are in a really bad shape (technically) and class d sound incredible
I'd sure like to see the result! :)
@@Irinikus I started again with them, now new fabric on them
@@yurianhuizing2352 Very nice! :)
Have you already changed the drivers? Do you have to make changes in crossovers?
I haven't yet, but I'm seriously going to get into this upgrade later this year, as I still have a few obligations on the retro computing front. So I will get to this upgrade later this year.
I will replace the midranges with Scan Speak 5F/8422T01's these drivers have an 8 ohm nominal impedance, as apposed to the 4 ohm nominal impedance of the original midrange units. But this isn't really a problem, as I can simply connect them in parallel, rather than the series connections originally used. The original midranges are arranged as two series circuits of two 4 ohm drivers each, making up a nominal impedance 8 ohms. If I connect the 8 ohm drivers in parallel, then the nominal impedance will be 4 ohms. This is half of the original impedance, so an adjustment to the midrange crossovers may be necessary, but I will initially test it with the current crossover configuration, and then make adjustments as required.
As for the tweeters, I will replace the original tweeters with Scan Speak R2904/700005's
Im looking ar picking up a pair of these. I know the mids need refoamed and have done this before. How are the drivers attached to the baffle? Appears to be from the baffles rear. How do you remove them ?
They are held in place by brackets on the rear of the baffle, so you have to remove the baffle first.
@@Irinikus Appreciate your reply. Is it a big deal to remove the baffle ? Im picking up a pair of these in a few days - How is your restoration coming along ?
I'm glad to help!
The baffle for the section housing the midrange drivers and tweeter very easily unscrews.
@@Irinikus Thanks for the help. Im sure i would have figured it out but sight unseen, this gives me confidence i wont have to do major surgery. Looking forward to this project !
Got them home and surprised that everything works. Midrange foams ordered. Only ran them with speaker level inputs from an inexpensive receiver at this point. Might they improve with line level input from my much higher quality preamp ?
Very laid back speaker - maybe too much for my tastes ! Dang, removing those grilles Sucks :) Mid/Tweeter baffle came apart easily.
I hope you eventually intend to renovate yours Irinikus - i would follow your progress intently !!
Did you ever finish?
my bru
It's been 2 years now. Any updates?
I’m a bit overburdened with commitments at the moment! I’ll try to prioritise this project during the course of the next year. I have in the meantime bought a full set of pristine midrange units, new filter caps and a new pair “base covers” which seal the crossover cavities, as they tend to develop cracks, and should actually have been constructed out of die cast aluminium! (As they carry the full weight of the speaker’s, minus that of the amplifiers!)
d'you find something to replace the mids that fit?
I will replace the midranges with Scan Speak 5F/8422T01's.
They are smaller than the original units, so I will have to get carriers made up for them (machined from aluminium), to fit them properly.
Although they are smaller units, I do believe that they will be better than the original midrange units that were installed in these speakers.
The original units have an impedance of 4ohm's and are wired in series to give 8ohm's. I haven't taken a close look at the midrange crossovers as yet, but it appears that there are two separate midrange crossover circuits, each driving two midrange units in series.
The Scan Speak 5F/8422T01's are 8ohm units, so I will therefore wire them in parallel giving two circuits that are 4ohms each. I believe that this will allow for greater power output from these units, as the current flow will be greater due to the lower impedance. (Therefore compensating for their reduced diameter.)
As a result, the values of some of the components in the midrange crossover may have to be changed.
This I will do when I refurbish the crossovers. I will only be able to do this once I've carried out a voicing with the new drivers fitted.
The tweeters will be replaced with ScanSpeak Revelator R2904/7000-05 Tweeters.
@@Irinikus thanks a mill for the feedback, I hope you're crossover patches balance well and all goes smoothly, big respect
Instead of spending all that time and money get a pair of 18’s which will outperform these any day a week and look amazing at the same time.
I like the classic look of the Penta and I'm now considering re-cladding them with blackened, polished stainless steel and as far as the drivers go, I intend replacing the midranges with ScanSpeak 5F/8422T01's and the tweeters with ScanSpeak Revalator R2904/700009's. The 18's are also cool and I might consider them as rears for this system in the future.
No comparison on the low end, 18's are fantastic but weak on the bass. On the highs they'll blow Pentas out of the park, but Penta's are far superior in the low end. Also Penta's much easier to listen to, very balanced, not too much bass and not so realistic they're tiring to listen too. Both are incredible speakers however, I have Penta's and my brother has 18's we fight all the time about whats better ;-)
@@ajc5869 With the upgraded ScanSpeak mids and ring radiator tweeters, I think the Penta's will sound truly spectacular.
Do you have a video from how they are now?
I'm only going to carry out the driver upgrade later this year. It won't be difficult to have the new stainless steel clad manufactured locally, but I want to have it blackened, so I'll have to source a local company which can do it for me, as these things would look awesome with a black mirror finish!
@@Irinikus wow 😍 mine has the original stainless steel still, I love there sound👌 do you think upgrading the tweeter will be a good idea?
I'm going to swap out the midranges with balanced mode radiators and the tweeters with ring radiators. I will report back on the performance once this is done.
@@Irinikus awesome 😍
Lots of expensive modifications!
These speakers are surprisingly good and perform extremely well in a small space. Therefore they're well worth spending a little money on, in my opinion. (It will be extremely interesting to see just how good they can be!)
As far as the midrange upgrade goes, I'm now considering the ScanSpeak DISCOVERY 5F/8422T01, they're not very expensive and they have a five-star rating. These drivers are 1.3cm smaller in diameter that the original midrange units, so I'm going to have to get aluminium rings machined in order to fit them properly.
As far as the tweeter upgrade goes, I'm still considering the ScanSpeak REVELATOR R2904/700009 ring radiator tweeter. A good tweeter makes a world of difference and really helps to accentuate the perceived the midrange performance of a speaker.
I always thought that I'd like the stainless steel finish, but in my opinion, it makes the speaker look dated. Once they have their new anodised cladding fitted, I think they'll look rejuvenated.
@@Irinikus .......so coming up on 2 years later.......please show us the results.
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