Marantz cd-63 mkii ki signature repair?

[DMorris]

Hello!

My profile may say I've been here a while but I think I can safely call myself new to the whole HIFI scene. Over the past few months I've built what I'd say is a decent starter setup. I have a Denon PMA 250SE amp paired with some Mordaunt Short MS10 bookshelf speakers, an Onkyo DS-A3 and a recent edition of a Sansui SR-222MKV turntable. I say it decent but in all honesty I have no idea.

A Marantz cd-63 mkii ki signature has recently found its way into my life and I'm having some problems with it. From a search on google it appears to be a problem with the machanism and this is causing the CD to skip. This seems to be fairly common and relatively simple to fix. I'm in no way confident to do it myself and have been quoted £65 to fix. My question is...Is it worthwhile repair the Marantz unit at that price or should I buy new? I'll just add the the CD player was free, so at the moment it hasn't cost me a penny.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[professorhat]

So long as that's all it needs, I'd say £65 was a bargain for player of that quality. I still have mine over 15 years on.

 

[Dougal1331]

Yes, get it repaired!

Superb player, well worth it.

 

[DMorris]

Thanks for the replies. I had a feeling that would be the response, I seem to have read everywhere that it is a good player. I'm hopeful that this is the only problem with it. A CD will play and it does sound good but after a while the CD will stop turning and the machine won't play it.

As I've got some replies, can I be cheeky and ask what you guys think of the rest of my beginners set up?

 

[professorhat]

No experience with the rest of your kit I'm afraid, but remember, it doesn't really matter what I think - as long as it sounds good to you!

 

[Tim]

I had the SE model and I still miss it now

 

[DMorris]

Sounds like I've managed to get a pretty good CD player then. Definitely a repair job after payday I think.

 

[MajorFubar]

I've been around long enough to have heard your kit when it was new. In fact two of those components I'm very familiar with: I use the same CD player and my dad still uses the MS10s which he bought new. I think you've got yourself a great system, provided you've budgetted for good speaker stands, which will make the MS10s really sing.

 

[DMorris]

As a starter I thought it would be best to go for second hand in order to get more for my money, plus I wasn't overly fussed about buying brand new. I did some research but took a bit of a punt on some of it. All in all it didn't really cost much and I got some bargains. I managed to get the MS10s for £50, I really need to add some speaker stands and I think that will be my next purchase. I've not rushed it and its been a gradual process, I got the amp for £30 which seemed like a bargain at the time. The turntable has been the biggest outlay.

Any advice on speaker stands?

 

[BigH]

Yes get it fixed, I have the 63SE still going after 20 years, modern players don't seem built to last. Plenty of parts available and even upgrades if you want.

 

[DMorris]

from what I can see parts seem to be quite cheap so an upgrade would be excellent. The gentleman I spoke to said that replacement parts from it have deteriorated in recent years and that they were very hit and miss. Is this true?

 

[Andy H]

I would definitely get it repaired. I had one of those once and still regret selling it to this day.

 

[MajorFubar]

Any advice on speaker stands?

Look for names like Apollo and Atacama. Partington if you've got deep pockets. My dad's got his MS10s on some 24" Atacama stands and they sound great. You must invest in some good stands for 'bookshelf' speakers. They're never going to give their best without.

 

[BigH]

Yes speakers can be had from about £45, if you don't want to spend that much for new ones have a look at auction sites and for sale sites in your area, you can often pick decent stands for around £20-£30.

 

[Al ears]

Yep, repair the Marantz. One of the best purchases pound-for-sound i ever made. Bought it from new and my brother has it in his system today.

 

[DMorris]

Ok definitely getting it fixed. Will be next month and I'll also keep an out for some speaker stands. I've been thinking of getting some for a while. Like most of the system I'll have a look over time and try and get the best deal.

Thank you all for the advice!