Keep your Marantz PM7200 cool

[JDL]

I have a Marantz PM 7200, it's a lovely sounding amp, however these amps are known for running very hot. Now I heard that heat is a killer of electrical components. So, my solution to the excess heat issue was to buy a small USB fan, I bought the all metal version for less than a tenner, I made some soft foam feet for it held to the frame by cable ties and it stands atop the amp on the front corner blowing across the whole top of the amp. The amp has nothing above it and I certainly would not put anything on top of it. I used to have my matching Marantz CD 6000 OSE KI underneath but that stopped working years ago and I was never very impressed with the sound of that CD player. Anyhow, my amp has been running well since 2006, and I'm fairly sure that the fan keeping it cool has helped it to last. It might look strange to some, it might sound strange to some to do this, however, I thought I'd pass it on in case this idea is any use to others with hot running amps. The fan is virtually silent, so I can assure anyone that it won't intrude on one's music listening enjoyment.

 

[Gray]

....I used to have my matching Marantz CD 6000 OSE KI underneath but that stopped working years ago and I was never very impressed with the sound of that CD player.

My one of those is more than 20 years old, looks and works as new and sounds great to me.

Depending on the music John, 'virtually silent' isn't good enough.
For many, nothing short of absolutely silent will do.
(It's why I prefer a fanless RPi rather than a laptop to play my music).

Good luck to you for keeping your amp cool though 👍

 

[JDL]

Ha ha, cheers. I posted it because I noticed an awful lot of people talking about their PM 7200 amps and how hot they're getting. But seriously the fan I use doesn't sound anything like as loud and annoying as PC cooling fan which I would find intolerable. I'm a bass player as well as a music listener. I bought I Hiwatt Combo amp about 2 years ago and the absolute racket coming from it's cooling fan was truly horrible. I couldn't use it. Luckily now I have a different one with no cooling fan!

 

[Gray]

I was wondering why heat was an issue with the 7200 when compared to, say, my old PM66KI Marantz amp - then I read about its class A option.
That would explain.

Presumably you take the class A option John?

 

[JDL]

I was wondering why heat was an issue with the 7200 when compared to, say, my old PM66KI Marantz amp - then I read about its class A option.
That would explain.

Presumably you take the class A option John?

Hi Gray, yes I do you use the class A option sometimes and I'm sure there is an improvement in sound. But my PM7200 really does get very hot especially when it's summertime and very hot days. I know it looks odd and perhaps seems silly to some people but my little fan keeps the amp cool, I can't hear it and I figured, rightly or wrongly that the amp will last longer if it's kept cool. I was reading on here that lots of owners of these amps were worried about the excessive heat and many people seem to be experiencing failures of this model of amp, perhaps because of the heat. (?)

 

[Al ears]

Hi Gray, yes I do you use the class A option sometimes and I'm sure there is an improvement in sound. But my PM7200 really does get very hot especially when it's summertime and very hot days. I know it looks odd and perhaps seems silly to some people but my little fan keeps the amp cool, I can't hear it and I figured, rightly or wrongly that the amp will last longer if it's kept cool. I was reading on here that lots of owners of these amps were worried about the excessive heat and many people seem to be experiencing failures of this model of amp, perhaps because of the heat. (?)

Perhaps you can direct us to these 'lots of owners on here '? Because I don't see them.

 

[JDL]

Perhaps you can direct us to these 'lots of owners on here '? Because I don't see them.

I just typed in Marantz PM7200 Amplifier and started reading the threads.

 

[plastic penguin]

Perhaps you can direct us to these 'lots of owners on here '? Because I don't see them.

Nope. Not many class A owners now. May have been a few on the original forum from a few years ago.

 

[plastic penguin]

I have a Marantz PM 7200, it's a lovely sounding amp, however these amps are known for running very hot. Now I heard that heat is a killer of electrical components. So, my solution to the excess heat issue was to buy a small USB fan, I bought the all metal version for less than a tenner, I made some soft foam feet for it held to the frame by cable ties and it stands atop the amp on the front corner blowing across the whole top of the amp. The amp has nothing above it and I certainly would not put anything on top of it. I used to have my matching Marantz CD 6000 OSE KI underneath but that stopped working years ago and I was never very impressed with the sound of that CD player. Anyhow, my amp has been running well since 2006, and I'm fairly sure that the fan keeping it cool has helped it to last. It might look strange to some, it might sound strange to some to do this, however, I thought I'd pass it on in case this idea is any use to others with hot running amps. The fan is virtually silent, so I can assure anyone that it won't intrude on one's music listening enjoyment.

Nice amp. Remember hearing one in the early 2000s.

If I remember correctly the output is 25 watts per channel in Class A mode and 95watts in AB.

But it was up against good opposition in the shape of Rotel RA-02, NAD 352 and Arcam A65, later A65 Plus.

 

[JDL]

Nice amp. Remember hearing one in the early 2000s.

If I remember correctly the output is 25 watts per channel in Class A mode and 95watts in AB.

But it was up against good opposition in the shape of Rotel RA-02, NAD 352 and Arcam A65, later A65 Plus.

I bought it in 2006 after doing so much reading about what to buy that was appropriate to my budget, I gave myself a headache. I also bought thick pure silver speaker wire that's pretty thick with four going to each speaker. It cost me over £100 back then. Since my CD player gave up I started listening to music posted on YouTube straight from an iPad because I got heavily back into classical and I'd have no chance of getting hold of CDs of some of my favourites like for example Lili Kraus playing all of Mozart's Piano Concertos, or Earl Wild playing Rachmaninoff's Piano Concertos, he astonishes me every time I listen. Anyhow, I just bought myself an old Meridian 206 CD player from eBay so I can listen to my Gong CDs again, and Led Zeppelin 1,2,3 and 4 and Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon and I'll start to build a collection of classical music.

 

[plastic penguin]

I bought it in 2006 after doing so much reading about what to buy that was appropriate to my budget, I gave myself a headache. I also bought thick pure silver speaker wire that's pretty thick with four going to each speaker. It cost me over £100 back then. Since my CD player gave up I started listening to music posted on YouTube straight from an iPad because I got heavily back into classical and I'd have no chance of getting hold of CDs of some of my favourites like for example Lili Kraus playing all of Mozart's Piano Concertos, or Earl Wild playing Rachmaninoff's Piano Concertos, he astonishes me every time I listen. Anyhow, I just bought myself an old Meridian 206 CD player from eBay so I can listen to my Gong CDs again, and Led Zeppelin 1,2,3 and 4 and Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon and I'll start to build a collection of classical music.

The problem these days is more people are moving away from Class A as they use so much electricity. Class AB, D and G are the common amp classes.

Regards keeping it cool Class A are designed to get warm, otherwise they don't perform at their best. Generally, if it's pure Class A, which yours isn't, they need to be switched on around 30 mins before use.

 

[JDL]

The problem these days is more people are moving away from Class A as they use so much electricity. Class AB, D and G are the common amp classes.

Regards keeping it cool Class A are designed to get warm, otherwise they don't perform at their best. Generally, if it's pure Class A, which yours isn't, they need to be switched on around 30 mins before use.

Thank you very much for your advice, I'll take that on board. To be fair, the fan I use is pretty weak and only blows across the top of the casing so I would think that it won't stop the electronics down in the bottom of the casing warming up. It's a big deep casing on those PM7200 and, mostly empty space. Maybe in the future I'll run it on AB until it's warm and I never use my fan until it's getting very hot. So far it's lasted me 17 years and still going strong. I hope my CdD player arrives tomorrow, it was meant to come today.....

 

[plastic penguin]

Thank you very much for your advice, I'll take that on board. To be fair, the fan I use is pretty weak and only blows across the top of the casing so I would think that it won't stop the electronics down in the bottom of the casing warming up. It's a big deep casing on those PM7200 and, mostly empty space. Maybe in the future I'll run it on AB until it's warm and I never use my fan until it's getting very hot. So far it's lasted me 17 years and still going strong. I hope my CdD player arrives tomorrow, it was meant to come today.....

No probs. These older amps need keeping in good order... they are getting fewer unless you go for hi-end brands such as Leak, Luxman....

The budget end versions tend to get dumped. I wished I kept my old Arcam A65 Plus. Fab amp but very overlooked.

 

[Gray]

...my CD player gave up

Do you know what the fault is John?

 

[JDL]

No I'm afraid I don't. It's so long since I looked at it I just packed it away. But I just bought a Meridian 206 off eBay, hopefully it'll be with me tomorrow. The Marantz was a an OSE6000KI. I was underwhelmed by its sound to be honest. And living right out in the stix in West Wales I don't like driving on long journeys. Maybe I'll have a go at learning how to fix it being quite a handy sort of mechanically minded person. Or send it somewhere. I'm undecided.

 

[plastic penguin]

No I'm afraid I don't. It's so long since I looked at it I just packed it away. But I just bought a Meridian 206 off eBay, hopefully it'll be with me tomorrow. The Marantz was a an OSE6000KI. I was underwhelmed by its sound to be honest. And living right out in the stix in West Wales I don't like driving on long journeys. Maybe I'll have a go at learning how to fix it being quite a handy sort of mechanically minded person. Or send it somewhere. I'm undecided.

How often do you use the CDP?

 

[Al ears]

West Wales eh??
Enjoy.
If you haven't already done so I would have the lid off that amp and give it a good vacuum.

 

[Al ears]

Nope. Not many class A owners now. May have been a few on the original forum from a few years ago.

I cannot see any mention of this amp getting hot anywhere and the OP would not have been around at time of original forum I guess.
Perhaps it's just the OPs that has an issue.

 

[plastic penguin]

I cannot see any mention of this amp getting hot anywhere and the OP would not have been around at time of original forum I guess.
Perhaps it's just the OPs that has an issue.

Possibly. And it was in production for a good few years...

 

[JDL]

My one of those is more than 20 years old, looks and works as new and sounds great to me.

Depending on the music John, 'virtually silent' isn't good enough.
For many, nothing short of absolutely silent will do.
(It's why I prefer a fanless RPi rather than a laptop to play my music).

Good luck to you for keeping your amp cool though 👍

Thank you. I just bought a Marantz PM8005 so maybe I'll ditch the fan soon ha ha👍🏻

 

[plastic penguin]

Thank you. I just bought a Marantz PM8005 so maybe I'll ditch the fan soon ha ha👍🏻

8005 is a really good amp. I almost purchased its predecessor the 8003 before I plumped for the Leema.

 

[JDL]

Plastic Penguin, now there's a name!! Thanks for that, you've reassured me because I read as much as I could but then started feeling kind of paranoid that it might not be any better than my PM7200 after what the Rega Brio seller said having expressed disdain at my choice of amp. It's a nice looking amp if nothing else and the insides look pretty impressive. Plus it's made in Japan and my feeling is that Marantz is a company with vision, a company that knows how to make very good gear.

 

[plastic penguin]

I've yet to hear a sub-standard Marantz amp - I've heard quite a few since the 80s.

However, couldn't say if it's better than the 7200, but my hunch is it should be.

 

[JDL]

Yes me too .

 

[plastic penguin]

Yes me too .

When are you going to receive it?

My memory is it had good clarity, chucky, rich bass and decent levels detail.