Here’s a Beolit 600 – a famous B&O portable radio designed by Jacob Jensen. This radio was from a range of items selected by MOMA in New York in the seventies to showcase Scandanavian design. Jensen’s iconic slide rule theme, seen in several products from the Bang and Olufsen audio range such as the Beomaster 3000, evoked a solidity complimented by interchangable plastic side panels. Sound quality was exceptional for a slim line portable radio made possible by a large oval loudspeaker.
Although a very solid construction the radio does suffer from a few weak points that often show up. The speaker voice coil tends to seize up causing a weak tinny sound. Replacement speakers are difficult to find as they are an odd size and only 40cm deep. The three plastic pegs that retain the base plate and allow it to slide into place also break and are often replaced with pan head screws that tend to scratch the aluminium base. A cardboard battery tube was fitted to keep the 5 D-cells in place. These are often missing having damage from battery electrolyte leakage. Without the tube the batteries rattle and spring out all over the place when the cover is removed. Volume and tone control sliders are plastic covered in aluminium but the plastic is brittle and breaks so the sliders are often missing.
Having side panels that could be changed easily allowed the radio to be colour co-ordinated and adapt to new interior fashions helping to prolong its useful life. Red was a popular colour along with white, purple, and green.
06/06/2025 at 11:30 pm
My Beolit 600 still works perfectly since 1972. I still have a sealed antenna.
07/06/2025 at 8:14 am
Thanks Kobus for your comment. It’s good to hear about your Beolit radio and that it’s still working perfectly.
Reading my post again, I’ve mentioned several things that can go wrong with the Beolit rather than sing its praises. And that gives an unfair impression about the design, which really is exceptional. I wish I’d had the opportunity to own one back in the seventies and use it daily. I wrote the post after collecting several second hand Beolits in the noughties, all had faults – which is probably why they were being sold! Fortunately I fixed all of them and even found a replacement Seas speaker.
What do you mean about the sealed antenna?