BEO.ZONE

BeoCord 1200

BeoCord Reel to Reel

Production: 1969 - 12/1972

Beocord 1200 was a 4-track reel-to-reel tape recorder explicitly designed as part of a system of matching components. It was also the last to be produced in any quantity as by the 1970s cassette tapes had driven away from the demand for expensive and bulky reel-to-reel tape recorders. So this was to be the final leg in the race for supremacy which ultimately would be won by the compact cassette system developed by Philips.

Quite sophisticated for its time it was these features which made it so famous and its ability to record sound-on-sound. It also had inbuilt mixing facilities as well as automatic recording levels. Another useful feature was the built-in PA amplifier which could be operated without the motor running.  This made it very popular for groups such as community centers and churches who liked the sturdy aspect of the player knowing that they could trundle it around without its knocks and bruises causing no particular internal damage.

BeoCord 1200 technical specifications

Tape speeds 19 and 9.5 cm/sec. (7 1/2 and 3 3/4 in/sec.) 
Number of tracks 4 tracks record and playback 
Real size Max. 18 cm 
Playing times Tape Speed 19 cm/sec: 
360M 2 x 30 min 
540M 2 x 45 min 
720M 2 x 60 min 
1080M 2 x 90 min 
Tape Speed 9.5 cm/sec: 
360M 2 x 60 min 
540M 2 x 90 min 
720M 2 x 120 min 
1080M 2 x 180 min 
For mono, multiply above playing times by 4 
Fast forward and rewind Approx. 200 sec for LP tape 
Counter Pushbutton reset, 4 digit readout 
Wow and flutter 19 cm/sec +/- 0.15% (DN 45507) 
Speed deviation Less than 1 % 
Tape stop Photo-electric stop at end of tape 

Amplifier: 
Frequency response 19 cm/sec: 30 - 20,000 Hz (DIN 45500) 
Equalization 19 cm/sec: 50 µsec, 3180 µsec 
Distortion Less than 5% over tape at VU 0 
Less than 1% in amplifier 
Signal-to-noise ratio 65 dB (DIN 45500, 4 - 2.5) 
Cross-talk select Mono: Better than 60 dB at 1000 Hz 
Stereo: Better than 40 dB at 1000 Hz 
Erasure Better than 70 dB 
Erase frequency 100 kHz 

Dimensions W x H x D: 44 x 14.7 x 33 cm 
Weight: 11 kg 
Voltage: 110 - 130 - 220 - 240 volts AC 
Power consumption: 20 - 52 W 

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