Marantz PM6003 - is there a better 2nd hand alternative?

[tommyb]

ok - so, If I'm to buy new - I'm going with the Marantz pm6003, proced circa £240.

Looking around various selling sites, there are a raft of alternatives at this price point, but some keep cropping up regularly:

Arcam Alpha 9 (in fact all sorts of Alpha's from 4 upwards)

Arcam Alpha 10

Rotel RA03

CREEK AUDIO EVO MK1

Audiolab 8000a

How do these compare to the New Marantz? Is this where my money should be going, or is the second hand options above a much better use of £200-£300???

Have I missed a second hand alternative? I did see a Musical Fidelity A3 at £350 and an A3.2 at £600 (not sure what the difference between the two is) but this seems a little steep right?

All opinions greatly apreciated - much help needed

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi tommyb

I would have the Alpha9, Alpha10 and 8000A over the PM6003 any day. Other used/discontinued amplifiers to also strongly consider are the Marantz PM64, NAD C370 and Rotel's RA-1062. The pick of these six is easily the PM64 followed by the C370/RA-1062.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Anonymous]

To answer your question...

....yes.


IMHO, amplifier technology hasn't progressed so much in the last 20 years, and a good quality Amp should last well.

I have an original NAD 3020i, and a mid eighties 8000a, both sound spectacular given their age and price.

My 8000a easily outperformed the NAD c340 it replaced, though in actual costs to me it was £200 cheaper and came with warranty*!

*It was a trade-in bargain found in a local hifi shop.

Plus, you wont lose as much money on second hand gear.

Just a though, but isn't there a Good KI signature you could try from the '90s?

 

[tommyb]

Thanks for the advice guys - much appreciated.

I've stumbled across a Marantz PM66 SE KI for £100. Is that a good deal, in the same ball park as the others mentioned, or is it a complete step down from what we've been talking?

As you can tell - I'm totally clueless!

 

[MUSICRAFT]

tommyb:
Thanks for the advice guys - much appreciated.

I've stumbled across a Marantz PM66 SE KI for £100. Is that a good deal, in the same ball park as the others mentioned, or is it a complete step down from what we've been talking?

As you can tell - I'm totally clueless!

Hi tommyb

£100 for the PM66KI sound reasonable however the other six amplifiers which i've mentioned are in a different league. If you like Marantz and really want to see what they are capable of then look out for their amps such as the PM64, PM84 or the PM94

Old is gold

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[tommyb]

aha - I suspected as much.

It seems as thought the options you mentioned are very difficult to get hold of and nearer the £300 mark. I'll defo keep my eye open.

I was Intruiged by the Rotel RA03 as that seems like a decent amp.

I'm not too brand specific, but ultimately will be driving Quad speakers and so Musical Fidelity, Marantz, NAD and Arcam should all be good I think from what I can gather.

It's so difficult. The Arcam Alpha 10 seems very good for the price and If I could find a Musical Fidelity A3 for around this price I'd take it.

Just need to be patient and keep trawling - especially for those Marantz options you suggested

 

[MUSICRAFT]

tommyb:
aha - I suspected as much.

It seems as thought the options you mentioned are very difficult to get hold of and nearer the £300 mark. I'll defo keep my eye open.

I was Intruiged by the Rotel RA03 as that seems like a decent amp.

I'm not too brand specific, but ultimately will be driving Quad speakers and so Musical Fidelity, Marantz, NAD and Arcam should all be good I think from what I can gather.

It's so difficult. The Arcam Alpha 10 seems very good for the price and If I could find a Musical Fidelity A3 for around this price I'd take it.

Just need to be patient and keep trawling - especially for those Marantz options you suggested

Hi tommyb

PM64, PM84 and PM94 amplifiers can be hard to come by. Any way Rotel's RA-1062 is a much better amplifier then the RA03. Other then the three Marantz amplifiers, if you do come across RA-1062 or a NAD C370 then i can confidently say to go for it.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[tommyb]

That's awesome.

I've found one for £299 at the moment althought that price will probably go up.

Have you any idea how it woulc compare to a Creek Evolution Mk1? I've found one of those also at the same price - but I suspect it's not in the same league as the Rotel.

Thanks for all your help so far

 

[MUSICRAFT]

tommyb:
That's awesome.

I've found one for £299 at the moment althought that price will probably go up.

Have you any idea how it woulc compare to a Creek Evolution Mk1? I've found one of those also at the same price - but I suspect it's not in the same league as the Rotel.

Thanks for all your help so far

Hi tommyb

Your welcome.

Which amplifier have you found please?

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[tommyb]

Hi, Sorry I'm a dufus lol

I've found a Rotel RA1062 for £299 but there's still yonks to go 'till it's sold.

cheers

 

[MUSICRAFT]

tommyb:
Hi, Sorry I'm a dufus lol

I've found a Rotel RA1062 for £299 but there's still yonks to go 'till it's sold.

cheers

Hi tommyb

I appreciate it however you don't need to apologize.

You've got to be in it, to win it!

Btw, what colour is the amp in please?

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[tommyb]

Looks like black brushed aluminium. Is that a good price? what in your opinion would be 'too much' for one of these amps? £350?

 

[plastic penguin]

tommyb:Looks like black brushed aluminium. Is that a good price? what in your opinion would be 'too much' for one of these amps? £350?

Given the Rotel in question hasn't been made since around 2005, and it retailed for £595, I would be loathed to pay any more than £350. Much better alternative would be the Creek Evo - one of the finest sub £1,000 machines I've heard.

 

[Anonymous]

As above really...

For me I'd defintley go down the Arcam Alpha 10 route for that budget but the NAD C370 integrated is a superb amp as is the NAD C352 (just make sure it's the PD version (PD will be marked under the volume knob

The Alpha 10 is a stunning amp though; £900 in it's hey day and still going strong now...

 

[MUSICRAFT]

tommyb:Looks like black brushed aluminium. Is that a good price? what in your opinion would be 'too much' for one of these amps? £350?

Hi tommyb

Depending on condition not more then £350 for the black finish and £400 maximum for the silver/black version.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[tommyb]

so its down to:

1) Arcam Alpha 10 (RRP circa £900 at launch)

2) Rotel RA 1062 (RRP circa £550 at launch)

3) Creek Evo 1 (RRP circa £550 at launch)

All highly recommended, via replies already.

Is £350 too much to be paying for any of these? I just don't doen't want to be blagged / stitched up (who does?).

£300 is my absolute cap on budget so It's good to know my limits so to speak.

Thanks Guys

 

[plastic penguin]

tommyb:

so its down to:

1) Arcam Alpha 10 (RRP circa £900 at launch)

2) Rotel RA 1062 (RRP circa £550 at launch)

3) Creek Evo 1 (RRP circa £550 at launch)

All highly recommended, via replies already.

Is £350 too much to be paying for any of these? I just don't doen't want to be blagged / stitched up (who does?).

£300 is my absolute cap on budget so It's good to know my limits so to speak.

Thanks Guys

No, £350 would be my ceiling amount on this type of amp. Put that into context, my Pulse, replaced only last year by the MKIII version, retailed at £1300 and it cost me £749.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

tommyb:
so its down to:

1) Arcam Alpha 10 (RRP circa £900 at launch)

2) Rotel RA 1062 (RRP circa £550 at launch)

3) Creek Evo 1 (RRP circa £550 at launch)

All highly recommended, via replies already.

Is £350 too much to be paying for any of these? I just don't doen't want to be blagged / stitched up (who does?).

£300 is my absolute cap on budget so It's good to know my limits so to speak.

Thanks Guys

Hi tommyb

I used to sell the Alpha 10 and RA-1062 amplifiers. I've also heard the Evo amp on a couple of occasions. Depending on condition the maximum i would suggest for the amps is Alpha 10 £300, RA-1062 black £350 or £400 silver/black and Evo £200.

Fwiw, the RA-1062 betters the Alpha 10 and Evo amplifiers and then some.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Frank Harvey]

The Alpha 10 is an extremely underrated amplifier.

It's all very well saying one amp is definitely better than the other, but if an amplifier doesn't have any synergy with a specific pair of speakers, it doesn't matter how good it is.

It's all down to the speakers that the amplifier is going to be use with.

 

[tommyb]

I've going to be using Quad speakers with the amp - even if I upgrade the speakers to higher spec, I'll stay with the Quad brand as I really love the sound.

I'll be playing all sorts of music, primarily via an Airport Express, although if the amp proves to be really good, might move my cd player and turntable and hook that up too (i'm running a denon Dl110 high output MC cart which is effectively usable with MM phono stages)

If I'm honest I think the Rotel RA1062 has edged out the Arcam 10 which is a stonewall 2nd place.

I just hope I can find one. An Arcam 10 went on flebay last week whilst I was away fro £250 - doh!

I could be waiting for some time.

 

[Anonymous]

Both the Arcam Alpha 10 and the Rotel RA1062 amps will work superbly with the QUAD speakers BUT so will the NAD C352 and NAD C370

I'd stick with those makes to be honest...

 

[MUSICRAFT]

tommyb:
I've going to be using Quad speakers with the amp - even if I upgrade the speakers to higher spec, I'll stay with the Quad brand as I really love the sound.

I'll be playing all sorts of music, primarily via an Airport Express, although if the amp proves to be really good, might move my cd player and turntable and hook that up too (i'm running a denon Dl110 high output MC cart which is effectively usable with MM phono stages)

If I'm honest I think the Rotel RA1062 has edged out the Arcam 10 which is a stonewall 2nd place.

I just hope I can find one. An Arcam 10 went on flebay last week whilst I was away fro £250 - doh!

I could be waiting for some time.

Hi tommyb

The RA-1062 is a superb amplifier and one which will energise your Quad speakers

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Blackdawn]

It's quite a lot to spend on an amp with no warranty. What if it breaks down the first time you use it? I know you get a better amp for your money second hand but what about ex-demo instead, you should get some warranty and after sales help if it goes wrong.

 

[matthewpiano]

I agree with blackdawn and, personally, I think you should still audition the PM6003 and the Yamaha A-S500. They are both superb amplifiers and you might find their involving and enjoyable take to be just what you are looking for.

 

[Overdose]

Musical Fidelity XA100R £249? Supposedly a good amp. Looks may not be your bag. Some warranty with this.

PM me and I'll send the link.