How to upgrade

[admin_exported]

My Marantz PM7002 amp is now officialy dead!! so i am now looking to get a new bit of kit.

My wife using some good logic pointed out that in the last seven years I had bought two budget Marantz amps ( both died on me) that had cost me around £600 why didnt i pay more and get reliability as well as quality. I now have a budget of £800 .

My question is do I blow this all on an Amp if i do which one ?

If I do is it a waste as my other components are not good enough? Marantz Cd7003/Tannoy 605

Or do I split the stash and get some new speakers or Cd , or both?

the wife is however not keen for me to get another marantz though i like their sound as has been pointed out to me i might just have been unlucky should i gamble and keep faith with them?.

It would be interesting to know if any body does keep any record of brand reliability my father has had his Yamaha amp for going on 22 years no problem.

 

[Big Chris]

Someone has posted on the 'Hot Deals' section that you can get the older version of the Roksan Kandy amp & CD for £900. They originally retailed at £650 each, so may be worth a look.

 

[chebby]

haulfryn:... my father has had his Yamaha amp for going on 22 years no problem.

Then make it easy on yourself....

http://www.yamaha-uk.com/hifi_components/?detectflash=false&product_id=213

Even has a built in phono stage.

 

[matthewpiano]

I'd second the suggestion to look at the Yamaha but also recommend trying a Denon PMA1500AE. Both brilliant, beautifully built amplifiers.

 

[the record spot]

haulfryn:

My wife using some good logic pointed out that in the last seven years I had bought two budget Marantz amps ( both died on me) that had cost me around £600 why didnt i pay more and get reliability as well as quality.

So two Marantz amps blew on you, costing £600 each in the last seven years?

Brand reliability - owned a fair bit of Marantz kit, never had a problem with any of it. Are you driving the amp too hard or something, have you got it hooked up all okay, power supply issues...etc? Maybe you've just been unlucky, but spending £600 on hifi kit should buy you peace of mind to some degree, not two major failures.

It's just that Marantz isn't a manufacturer of flaky stuff to the best of my knowledge and I'm going back to 1993 here, so 16 years worth of use give or take a year or two. Their build quality is good, decent components and I'd be inclined to check what's happening with your system as a whole before lashing out £800 on an amp for maybe the same thing to occur again.

 

[Anonymous]

You've also got Arcam as a choice - I know of no-one that has had a problem with an Arcam, ever. Try a discontinued Arcam A32 or a brand new A28.

 

[the record spot]

Mind you, for an £800 budget, I'd be out looking for a used Unison Research Unico or Eastern Electric amp. There's also the Icon Audio Stereo 20 at £500 or their Stereo 40 at £1k. Most of these are valve amps, but well worth checking out if you get the chance.

 

[Anonymous]

the record spot:Mind you, for an £800 budget, I'd be out looking for a used Unison Research Unico or Eastern Electric amp. There's also the Icon Audio Stereo 20 at £500 or their Stereo 40 at £1k. Most of these are valve amps, but well worth checking out if you get the chance.

Valve amps aren't the last word in reliability, regardless of manafacturer, though. And my girlfriend thinks "Eastern Electric" sounds like some dodgy Microwave you'de buy down the market...

 

[the record spot]

Build and performance is good for the models mentioned; put it this way, would I shortlist and audition the above models I mentioned? Yup. Are they well reviewed? Yup. Have any significant reliability problems been aired surrounding that gear? Nope.

Would there be any issues surrounding older kit, or the reliability of valves currently available, maybe. Then again, I hear there are some issues surrounding Cyrus' latest disc spinners too...

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice , but I had not given you all the details . my first Amp developed channel problems creating an annoying crackling trough the left channel(attempted repair then reaturned) I then bought the PM7002 which I did think was a great amp and it just had a power failure , I tried to switch it on one day and nothing happened, The guy who tried to repair it was just baffled by why he couldnt get it running so I think they are unrelated faults.. I posted my first message to see if other owners had the same thing happen and knew a quick solution. In retrospect it may be that I am just unlucky there seems to be a lot of Marantz Kit on EBay older than mine which supports your vview that they arent all bad , there are even some 7002s if I just want a replacement like for like.

But the upgrade as set in !! and I fancy a new Amp I was just wondering whether the rest of my system was good enough for The Roksan Kandy K2 which has a great write up £685 .(Marantz cd 7003/tannoy 605) , but I do like the look of the new Marantz range Pm7003/8003 which might fit in better , any body reviewed them yet? . The shop that was repairing my 7002 !! said they would waive their fee if I was buying from them (they have had three weeks working on it and fitted one part ) and they deal in Roksan Kandy.Picking the carcasse up tomorrow an find out the charge, is there anywhere I can rcycle it? , seems a shame to skip it.

 

[Anonymous]

haulfryn:

But the upgrade as set in !! and I fancy a new Amp I was just wondering whether the rest of my system was good enough for The Roksan Kandy K2 which has a great write up £685 .(Marantz cd 7003/tannoy 605) , but I do like the look of the new Marantz range Pm7003/8003 which might fit in better , any body reviewed them yet? . The shop that was repairing my 7002 !! said they would waive their fee if I was buying from them (they have had three weeks working on it and fitted one part ) and they deal in Roksan Kandy.Picking the carcasse up tomorrow an find out the charge, is there anywhere I can rcycle it? , seems a shame to skip it.

Yes, the rest your system would be good enough for the Roksan Kandy.

 

[the record spot]

The upgrade bug has set in? Quick, run for cover while you still can!

The Kandy and the 8003 look very smart; the Kandy being amp of the year in WHF I think. I think they're due to review the 8003 soon as well IIRC.

 

[Anonymous]

Latest news on my upgrade Bug, nice Hifi man suggest Arcam reckons the Kandy K2is overated,either new Arcam 18 0r 28 or a deal mon the Kandy L111 Cd Amp combi , he let me walk out with theArcam 28 to play with, but as I left he said my speakers the old toblerone shape Tannoy 605 are no good enough to let the Amp show its best. all fixed up sounds great,but i can see it has laid back sound , great with Getz and miles davies but my rock cd s just seem to lack bite ,so he coul be right do i need new speakers or does the Kandy range rock more? or should i just get the much cheaper Marantz 6002 and defeat this upgrade bug.

 

[Anonymous]

Think your dealer might be scenting a mega-sale! The Tannoy 605s are
good, but its true they're not in the current bright, ruthlessly revealing
fashion. You can, however, listen to them for hours. I'm highly biased,
though, since I had a pair and rue the day they were stored (not by me)
for two years in a damp cellar.