£200 to buy a new stereo amplifer

[Pistol Pete1]

My 2.5 year old Marantz PM6004 is dead....well needs a new microprocessor board at £150.

Despite the issue first arising 8 months after purchase (and fixed at that point), marantz will not help with the cost of this fix, which I find disappointing. (Although a strong letter is headed their way!)

So, with £200 to spend, and an 'anti Marantz' feel, what replacement amplifiers would be worth considering?

I did think the Pioneer A30 looked good, with 40 watts rms and a power amp direct feature (use stereo amp to drive front speakers in AV), after being so impressed with their SC2023 that I purchased recently.

Any thoughts?

 

[nopiano]

I'd take a close look at and listen to the Denon PMA720 or the Yamaha AS500, though I think they are rather differently 'voiced', so a try out in your system is vital. I'm less familiar with the Pioneer, but they have a great heritage and good reputation for current models like their streamers.

If you are in the UK and buy from Richer Sounds, you can get a 5 year warranty for 10% extra. I needed it once and it worked well.

 

[CarlDW]

There are the usual suspects at this price point - the Pioneer A30 is definately worth a look and has been well reviewed. It will also match your other Pioneer kit.

The Denon PMA720AE and Onkyo A9030 are two others I would try and listen to.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

I'd take a close look at and listen to the Denon PMA720 or the Yamaha AS500, though I think they are rather differently 'voiced', so a try out in your system is vital. I'm less familiar with the Pioneer, but they have a great heritage and good reputation for current models like their streamers.

If you are in the UK and buy from Richer Sounds, you can get a 5 year warranty for 10% extra. I needed it once and it worked well.

I heard the Yamaha and PM6004 and came home with the Marantz so I'd imagine I still don't like the Yamaha.

Got my Pioneer SC2023 from richer sounds and got the 5 year warranty too. I try and get things from there due to their well priced extended warranties when possible.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

There are the usual suspects at this price point - the Pioneer A30 is definately worth a look and has been well reviewed. It will also match your other Pioneer kit.

The Denon PMA720AE and Onkyo A9030 are two others I would try and listen to.

Thanks....2 votes for the Denon, so I'll check it out. ....although Marantz and Denon are owned by the same company.

My new AV receiver replaced the Denon AVR2310 too.....I find the Pioneer better to my ears.

 

[KidKomet]

Are you set on buying new? Might be worth looking at ex-dem or even S/H. For just a few hairs over your budget I've seen a Rega Brio-R and a Roksan Kandy K1 Mark 3 go. Both would give a significant improvement over the Marantz in my opinion. As always, demo where possible!

 

[lindsayt]

As an alternative suggestion, you could buy this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SONY-TA-F670ES-STEREO-AMPLIFIER-ST-SE500-TUNER-/261589967059?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers&hash=item3ce7fa20d3

Either keep the tuner or sell it for £20.

Or this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sony-TA-FB940R-Stereo-Integrated-Amplifier-/261588848316?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers&hash=item3ce7e90ebc

Or something like them. Google them for more info.

 

[audioaddict]

were the reviews good for the pioneer a30 ? i can seem to find one

 

[hoopsontoast]

As an alternative suggestion, you could buy this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SONY-TA-F670ES-STEREO-AMPLIFIER-ST-SE500-TUNER...

Either keep the tuner or sell it for £20.

Or this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sony-TA-FB940R-Stereo-Integrated-Amplifier-/26...

Or something like them. Google them for more info.

The Sony 670ES is a good shout, you could even get a 770ES for £200 if you are really lucky. Great amps, oodles of power, lots of inputs and flexible too. I've had Three 770ES and a 670ES, mine have been fine but some this age might need a service, one thing to think of though.

 

[Covenanter]

Tell us the full story! Why won't Marantz help? If the kit was repaired under warranty that extends under UK consumer law for repeats of a failure. Why aren't you pressing your case? If they are at fault a small claims case would make them concede in 5 minutes flat. There is no way a company like Marantz would fight a valid case.

Chris

 

[matthewpiano]

Tell us the full story! Why won't Marantz help? If the kit was repaired under warranty that extends under UK consumer law for repeats of a failure. Why aren't you pressing your case? If they are at fault a small claims case would make them concede in 5 minutes flat. There is no way a company like Marantz would fight a valid case.

Chris

What he said.

 

[bigfish786]

with £200.00, i would highly reccommend buying the best arcam amplifier you can get, you should be able to get an A85 at a push, or an alpha 9. have a look around, i really rate arcam amps, they've got a bit of sparkle, that makes them quite special. i still have an a70 in a second system, i don't want to part with it. such a cracking little amp.

 

[Blackdawn]

Hi, The Pioneer A30 is a very good budget amp but I'm not sure whether it will go well with your KEFs. Can you take them to a shop to listen? Have you got any warmer sounding speakers like Dali, Boston Acoustics or Wharfedales?

Theres always the NAD C316BEE but a bit over budget.

 

[MeanandGreen]

If you could stretch your budget a bit I'd personally seriously consider something like this NAD C370. Yes it's secondhand, but it's claimed to of been overhauled...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NAD-C370-Graphite-Integrated-Amplifier-Remote-Manual-/151400768642?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers&hash=item2340306482

The C370 is a phenomenal amplifier!

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Tell us the full story! Why won't Marantz help? If the kit was repaired under warranty that extends under UK consumer law for repeats of a failure. Why aren't you pressing your case? If they are at fault a small claims case would make them concede in 5 minutes flat. There is no way a company like Marantz would fight a valid case.

Chris

Full story is it was repaired within a few hours of the tech guy looking at it at the shop it was bought from, who are a Marantz authorised dealership. Marantz have told them that because they have no record of the fault at their service centres, it is something they can't help with...thus the 'strong' letter from me heading their way! Clearly they don't take their own dealerships word much! (I do have a repair receipt to verify the issue too)

As the original repair took very little time, and the fact that the intermittent issue only occurred once in a while at that time, it was suggested by the shop that the machine was merely reset, which solved the problem. The issue is now a lot more frequent and resetting will not cure the problem everytime, which is why a new microprocessor board is needed. Of course, that suggests one was needed on initial inspection, but as the issue was so intermittent it would have been hard to diagnose this.

The shop in question has been great throughout. Marantz on the other hand have not.....In my opinion! Although Marantz did send the circuit diagrams to the shop in order for their qualified tech guy to see if he could help.

Shame really, as I've bought a lot of equipment from Marantz throughout my years in hifi ...All of which has been great, and reliable. But it only takes one poor customer experience to 'sour' the taste, so to speak.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

If you could stretch your budget a bit I'd personally seriously consider something like this NAD C370. Yes it's secondhand, but it's claimed to of been overhauled...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NAD-C370-Graphite-Integrated-Amplifier-Remote-...

The C370 is a phenomenal amplifier!

Thanks for all suggestions so far. Ideally I'd prefer new, but have been looking at Nad machines on auction sites too.

I do need it to switch on/off and change inputs via remote control for AV use though. Something I didn't mention before.

Power amp direct feature is a real bonus, which is why I noticed the Pioneer A30. But it's not essential, as the PM6004 didn't have it.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Hi, The Pioneer A30 is a very good budget amp but I'm not sure whether it will go well with your KEFs. Can you take them to a shop to listen? Have you got any warmer sounding speakers like Dali, Boston Acoustics or Wharfedales?

Theres always the NAD C316BEE but a bit over budget.

New Q series are not as 'lean' as the old version. They are seen as a neutral sounding speaker, and I love detail in my music anyway.

 

[Tannoyed]

Yamaha AS 500 loads of power and cheap. Perhaps not the most subtle. Avoid second hand and certainly don't buy anything more than a very few years old.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Yamaha AS 500 loads of power and cheap. Perhaps not the most subtle. Avoid second hand and certainly don't buy anything more than a very few years old.

As mentioned earlier, I demo'd the Yamaha when I bought the Marantz. Didn't like the Yamaha, I'm afraid. Thanks for the idea though.

 

[audioaddict]

dont know if anyones recommend a nad 316bee............i read that it may only be 40 watts butit has power to spare way beyond its spec..........

 

[audipheonix]

Have u home demoed the yamaha with kef q100? I have the same combination , it sound good with most music types baring some rock (viz. linkin park , limp bizkits). hoping to add a good cd player or MF V90 dac to complete the setup. Kef Q100 are great little speakers, but it doesnt get to much mention here.

 

[Blackdawn]

The Denon PMA720AE is worth considering as well with good specs and more power than the Pioneer A30.

 

[nopiano]

The Denon PMA720AE is worth considering as well with good specs and more power than the Pioneer A30.

I agree, which was why I mentioned it in post number 2!

 

[Blackdawn]

so, I wonder what the OP bought in the end?

 

[Blackdawn]

were the reviews good for the pioneer a30 ? i can seem to find one

amazon uk