Is the Marantz TT-15S1 the very best bang-for-the-buck at its price point?

Seems like a killer deal on paper. Great cartridge, Marantz engineered, built by Clearaudio in Germany, fantastic reviews everywhere...

Any serious competition at this price point or is that table the only (or best) homerun at its price point?

 

Is it still going for a grand?

Personally I didn't care for it that much but at a grand it was hard to beat. Still, I'd go for a PLX1000 and a 2M Bronze over it.

 

1500. What didn't you like about it?

 

I think some project tables at this price point come pretty close. I don't love a plinth that is just a hunk of acrylic.

I think most of the value is in the cart. The plinth and platter is pretty basic.

 

I thought it sounded a little thin and too laid back. I'm not a fan of Clearaudio cartridges though. I have heard their entry level cart, the Performer and the Virtuoso. My first take on the Performer was that it sounded like a rather bland AT cartridge then I found out they rebody AT cartridges. I did however here a Performer on an RP6 and prefered it to the Virtuoso on the tt15. Also don't care for the lack of dustcover or appearance. But when it used to go for a grand it was a hard deal to beat

 

It looks cool in person. My personal preference leans toward a turntable that has the belt driven around the platter not a sub-platter. You will achieve many engineering benefits including speed stability without a speed controller. At that price point you should be able to find a turntable like that

 

I suggest that you read Robert E. Greene's review in Absolute Sound if you havent yet.
I trust his reviews.

 

I concur wholeheartedly. I think this is the most unbeatable combination of overall quality in hardware and sound in a modern TT with cartridge for under $1000. I almost wish it is what I would of ended up with being on a limited budget.

 

It's not at 1K any longer. It's at $1500. Do you still believe it is unbeatable at that price, now?

 

It's a pretty competitive market at that price point. There was a recent thread on the Marantz refurbished vs Project ... Pro-ject XPerience SB or the Marantz TT15? »

 

Here are the turntables that I was looking at in $1000 range WITHOUT a cartridge (and I will never spend more than $400 max for a cartridge).

Project S Persplex (it was on sale for $1,200)
Marantz TT-S1 ($995)
Opera Wax Consonance ($950)
Used Technics 1200 w/ KAB tone arm damping and somewhere mods ($550)

Keep in mind that the recently released Rega Planar 3had not been unveiled and the Pioneer PX-1000 was beneath my radar. As an aside, between the two I would grab the Pioneer PX-1000 over a Technics 1200 mkII.

I do think that the Marantz TT / Virtuoso Ebony cartridge package deal is a good contender (I know the cartridge is normally almost as the turntable), just not as good as the Pioneer or Rega. And you need to ask yourself if you want to spend $800 every time you want to replace the needle. Of course you could swap out the cartridge later..

I went with the Opera Consonance because it does have a strong motor for a belt driven TT and I liked the minimalism in the design all around. Also the uni-pivot to earn was designed to eliminate some problems that occur with traditional unipovit to earns. However, it does not have the support that the other tables mentioned have.

I think the Pioneer is the most sensible (strongest motor, you can adjust the speed, I feel most confident about it's longevity although the original Rega has an amazing l
track record in this department). And yes, I think the Pioneer can keep up with (and beat out in some departments) a lot of the turntables in the $1000 - $1500 range.

If you are talking new, then I would seriously look at the Rega and the Pioneer before grabbing the Marantz. I am not a fan of how either look, but sound durability-wise they will be hard to beat.

 

Used VPI Scout. Don't let the unipivot tonearm scare you off.

 

I'll see how VPI responds to my current issues with one of their products. Depending on their answer, I'll either consider upgrading to one of theirs or just boycott them altogether. By principle, I just can't encourage a company which refuses to stand behind their products. That's, of course, if they don't address and fix the issue.

If they do, I'll consider a Scout, but I don't know what a unipivot arm is or why some people are turned off in using them.

 

Univpivot can suffer from sloppy bearings. They can offer low friction but not so great stability (depending).

If you are looking at a VPI, I STRONGLY suggest checking out my table, the Wax Opera Consonance. Opera is a Chinese company producing high quality components. They worked with Well Tempered Labs to create a wonderful, minimal turntable. They worked out things with their unipivot design to eliinate problems that can happen with unipivot arms. If you go with the new WTL cartridge (based on the Nagoaka BUT apparently with improved in the areas in the highs).

The combo of TT and cartridge will put you at $1500 and the cartridge is like a more musical, less clinical but is as detailed Ortofon Black.

cyber100sigature »

Totally Wired - Opera Consonance Wax Engine Turntable »

TLC Phono Cartridge » Well Tempered Lab »

 

I have one. With the right cartridge, the Marantz sounds superb. The problem is with the arm, imo. The magnetic anti-skate is wishful thinking if you follow the instruction book. It has to be adjusted precisely to work properly. There have been reported problems with the motor, though Marantz has upgraded the motor a few years ago. Some arms also pull outward when lowering the cue lever, even when the TT is level. That's a problem I had with mine.

 

For $1500 check out the Polytable built by analog guru George Merrill.

 

Bingo!

How dare you, calling my PolyTable basic!
This turntable is incredible!

I'm messing' with you, Dave. You know, I love my PolyTable. Good luck folks, finding another table that sounds this good, & this solid for the $$$.

 

Getting into vinyl requires a lot of time and trouble. For me the audio rewards are worth it. But why bother expending all that energy/money if you're deliberately going to deny yourself the best sound you could get? Might as well just stick with CDs. I would encourage you to consider raising your $400 limit to $1000-ish (if that's not impossible from an economic standpoint) Good luck!

 

GKH is right there's not a better deck out there for this price. I'm kidding you got one those big Jelco arms hardly basic I know and I removed the word lmao. Hey, I'll send you a pm sometime tomorrow...

 

What do you think about AT-440mlA for the the PLX?

 

In roughly the same ballpark, there's also the Music Hall Ikura, which isn't a bad table for $1,195.00, and gets fairly nice reviews.

 

I'm sure it would work and track well but I'm not a fan of the 440mla. I have one on my SL1200. I find the top end to be pretty rough and bright and the overall sound a touch on the thin side. That said it's short comings are balanced out by the technics short comings. So, it would probably be a good match in the long term.

 

I read somewhere that it's the mlB that is bright, and the mlA is supposed to be more balanced and neutral, with pleasant bass. You disagree? - I'm not arguing, just gathering info, as I'm leaning to the PLX as my next buy, and evaluating cartridge choices, too. The mlA is a Micro-line, so, theoretically should extract more info from the grooves than the 2M Bronze's Fine line. I also like the ability to just remove the head-shell to swap cartridges, rather than mess with fine cartridge adjustments on one-piece arms.

 

The price of the TT-15S1 used to be $1600 and a few years back they lowered the price to $1500, it was never a grand.

 

I used the Marantz table many years ago and still have it. I think it's a great table for the price - the fact that it is still available all these years later leads me to believe that purchasers have been largely satisfied over the years.

As I recall, it performed very well on my Roksan test record. It was a solid tracker (I used the stock MM cartridge at 2.8 grams). I don't recall any problems with anti-skate or tonearm adjustment.

The only cautionary note is that I would not buy the table unless you are very careful with your equipment. The cantilever on most Clearaudio carts extends quite a bit further than other cartridges and can be damaged by shirt sleeves, etc. Also attaching the four pins from the turntable to the cart can be painstaking. If you are clumsy or impatient, it would be very easy to accidentally rip those wires.

Those two caveats in mind, I do think it is a very good value for the price.