Using a dedicated phono pre-amp with the Marantz PM6005

scottymnz

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Hey all,

I have just bought the Marantz PM6005 and CD6005 combo. Until now I have been using a Cambridge Azur 640P phono pre-amp as tthe interface between my pro-ject turntable and a cheap(ish) stereo.

My question is what is the Marantz phono stage like. Should I retire my Cambridge and use the built in Marantz phono stage or should I continue to use the Cambridge as a dedicated phono pre-amp.

Any thoughts would be gratefully received.
 
Welcome...

Yes, get shot of the Cambridge phono stage. It is a very good phono stage but so is Marantzes built-in jobbies. I suppose if you hook the Cambridge up in the CD/Tuner/Aux inputs you can compare the two. I'll be surprised if Marantz was lacking in this area.
 
Hi Scotty, and welcome to the madness. My hunch is you will be fine with the Marantz's built in phono stage. However why not try for yourself by putting the Cambridge into a spare input, as then you can compare them for yourself.

You would need a tt and cartridge costing in excess of £500 to need a better preamp stage.
 

Johnno2

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sorry to butt in, but what about the Yamaha AS500 phono as well , just set up a vinyl system with a used technics SL1300, sounds fine enough but wonder if I could get an extra tweak of qaulity by using one of the new CA azur phono amps like the 551p, or would it be like throwing money in the bin,
 
Johnno2 said:
sorry to butt in, but what about the Yamaha AS500 phono as well , just set up a vinyl system with a used technics SL1300, sounds fine enough but wonder if I could get an extra tweak of qaulity by using one of the new CA azur phono amps like the 551p, or would it be like throwing money in the bin,

Why should the OP sell the Marantz when he's just bought it? All the built-in phono stages around that price are pretty much the same.
 

namefail

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Johnno2 said:
sorry to butt in, but what about the Yamaha AS500 phono as well , just set up a vinyl system with a used technics SL1300, sounds fine enough but wonder if I could get an extra tweak of qaulity by using one of the new CA azur phono amps like the 551p, or would it be like throwing money in the bin,

I've got this very set-up right now, phone pre and AS500 wise anyway, with a Rega Planar 2 and MS Avaino 6 at the other ends. Perhaps the Yams phono stage is a weak link in its build but I've found the 551p does indeed make a nice improvement to the solidity of soundstage and detail to the overall affair. Is it worth 69.99, I'm not sure. Give it a try is the best advice I can give here.
 

stevebrock

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Its interesting how in-built phono stages sound, on my old Brio R the in built phono was very good and slighly short of the £400 Trichord Dino MK2 also the phono in the Elicit R goes up another level and when I compared to Elicit R phono to the Dino Mk2 phono the Dino fell way short. I have demoed the £800 Aria with the Elicit R Phono and to be honest all that was different was the vocals were a little more forward. Personally I wouldnt waste £800 on the Aria unless I was going for a Low Ouput MC (that £800 could go into a future speaker upgrade)
 

namefail

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Can anyone quantify what extra load the internal phono stage places on an amp vs. an external one going into a standard line level input?

Edit to add: Based on the power consumption of a few external phono stages I've now looked at I'd say not a lot, about 5 watts.
 

Johnno2

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ID. said:
PP, I believe he is looking for advice for himself, not suggesting what the OP should do.

indeed I am, should have phrased it differently. just intersted to know like the OP about phono stages in these budget amps . Since vinyl is not used much by buyers, I would have thought they have cut cost in this area to concentrate on better componemts elsewhere, but then again Marantz and Yamaha have both probably got half decent phono inputs and are quite usable. but us hifi folk are always wondering if it could by made a little better for not much cost, as in the CA551p,

Maybe I could loan one from richers, for a couple of days
 

drummerman

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Having a load adjustable phono stage is certainly beneficial. It allows you to fine tune cartridge response.

Introducing an additional component (with interconnects) can potentially off-set benefits.

As with everything vinyl, suck it and try seems to be the method.

regards
 

Johnno2

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got a 551p from richers ! the guy to me I could return it within a two week window with full refund if dont like it , solid neat little unit

will report back next week what I think compared to the AS500 internal phono, as it might just be a subltle differnce that takes a while to discrern, or it might be night and day, off to give it a try, maybe it will be useful to others of thinking bypassing their internal phono who dont want to spend silly money
 

p_m_brown

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Good luck with the purchase and enjoy!

FWIW, I was in the market for a decent ish phono amp after upgrading my amp. I tried a Graham Slee Communicator which sounded too thick in the upper bass and lacked clarity (to my ears, in my system) but I have just acquired a fab bit of kit from Angle Audio. Just the entry level one which retails at £135 but sounds ridiculously good for the money! Has superb clarity, soundstage and a believable bottom end. I managed to source one from the 'bay for about £70 so all in all, a bit of a bargain!
 

Johnno2

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Ok , spent some time with this little unit , no night and day difference as expected to my ears anyway, more of a differnt presentation, slightly better soundstage,and a more involving sound, but its not a massive upgrade from the AS500 phono input,, I did notice some percussive instruments standing out a litte more, which got my foot tapping (always a good sign,) and a slighty crisper cymbals . Is it worth £70 over the AS500, for the minor improvents I would say yes,

surface noise is no better, but looking at the specs its the same as the AS500 at 85 dB s/n ratio, so thats not surprising, but its decent enough,

THD is lower for the CA unit

Still have over a week to decide to keep it, or even pay the differnce for the better model 651p :? but using an AT95E on a old direct drive technics it might not be worth spending anymore on a phono
 

slice

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hello scotty, have you had chance to evaluate the marantz combo in a more general sense, for playing cds or using the digital inputs? It's strange that there are no expert reviews out for the pm6005 yet, even from what hifi.
 

scottymnz

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Thanks for the replies guys.

Slice, I havent had a chance to give it a proper go yet. The boss has been working me too hard. I am going to have a proper sit down with it this weekend.
 

Johnno2

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well if the 640 is anything like the 551p it 'should' sound better than the internal phono,, the 551p is better than the yamaha internal phono to my ears, the 640 should be better still or at least as good,

not sure if Marantz cut costs with phono inputs on their amps , but the yamaha is supposed to be quite good, but not as good as the CA
 

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