Heavy interconnects..................

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Right, some of you may of been following the Marantz/Alpha 9/P9 saga.... the worlds most boring soap opera (or maybe the second, I can still remember 'Crossroads').

I decided that I could spend a long time clucking and tinkering around, like some old man in a shed.... but my utility providers need money so I decided to stop mucking about and took the whole set up to Audiogold..... and it turns out that there is nothing wrong with the Arcam Alpha 9 and the P9 amps..... (phew, dems the one that will make money).

But the Marantz CD63 K.I. Sig is a different matter.... I have two and they were both fine when I bought them.... and they both developed similar problems soon after I got them. When left to run straight through a CD they are fine.... but should you change something using the remote (or indeed the buttons on the units); say skip forward/back, pause, stop, play.... then there is a 'bop' (almost akin to someone switching on/off a microphone).

Today at Audiogold the engineer managed to ascertain that the soldering on the phono plugs was knackered and that it needed going. Enthusiastic waggling caused the channel to disappear in and out........

Now... I did suspect this and there are two causes:

1) these are old machines and you could expect the solder to be a little dry and brittle and...

2) I use heavy, well made interconnects, which, I think, have pulled at the plugs.

Upon talking to the engineer he confirmed that a lot of his repairs were of this type and caused by plugs that are too stiff or that are so heavily constructed that over time they just pull down on the phono out of a unit.......

Of course I do not know if the soldering of the plugs will fix all the Marantz's problems.... if it did I am certainly going to get the other one done, but it is something to think about. Quality interconnects certainly make a large difference to sound quality.... but too well a constructed cable could also be shortening the life of the unit by putting too much strain on the phono plugs........
 

fatboyslimfast

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If you have a rack with a tubular frame, you could always cable-tie the interconnects to the frame, leaving just the right amount to reach the equipment.

In fact, now you've highlighted it, I'll do mine this evening!
 

chebby

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What doesn't help either is the very tight fit some of these plugs have.

Luckily my Chord Crimsons are a good firm fit but don't need force. The cable is also fairly light and flexible.

I think you really have to worry when the rigidity of all the cables can support your amplifier a couple of inches in the air!
 

Andrew Everard

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bloatedgut:.... but should you change something using the remote (or indeed the buttons on the units); say skip forward/back, pause, stop, play.... then there is a 'bop' (almost akin to someone switching on/off a microphone).
Today at Audiogold the engineer managed to ascertain that the soldering on the phono plugs was knackered and that it needed going. Enthusiastic waggling caused the channel to disappear in and out...

I still don't see how iffy solder joints on the phono outputs could be causing the symptom you describe.
 
A

Anonymous

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Andrew Everard:bloatedgut:.... but should you change something using the remote (or indeed the buttons on the units); say skip forward/back, pause, stop, play.... then there is a 'bop' (almost akin to someone switching on/off a microphone).
Today at Audiogold the engineer managed to ascertain that the soldering on the phono plugs was knackered and that it needed going. Enthusiastic waggling caused the channel to disappear in and out...

I still don't see how iffy solder joints on the phono outputs could be causing the symptom you describe.

Ah..... now...... I admit that I maybe linking two different problems (I should also say that it I am not paraphrasing the engineer... I left it with him that he would do the obvious work and then take it from there) and that, it might, to someone who is more initiated in the internal workings of electronics, appear that I am being more than hopeful. In essence my hope is based upon the two problems (dodgy connection and bopping) developing over the same time period in the two different machines.... i.e. circumstantial evidence rather than logic I am afraid......
 

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