Thoughts on the Marantz TT-15S1?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by TheRavenPoe, Mar 26, 2017.

  1. Vinyl Addict

    Vinyl Addict Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA

    I printed and laminated it. I also used an x-acto knife to cut the spindle hole.
    Sticking it to an old record is a great idea. I just may do that.
     
  2. Fifth-Chord

    Fifth-Chord VG+

    Location:
    Columbus, OH
    500Homeruns likes this.
  3. Musictravelfun

    Musictravelfun Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Fan of the site - 1st time poster - NEW owner of the TT-15s1 and love it!

    I finally sent back a Fluance RT85 because of continued issues with the manufacturer, support, and distortion issues that they could not resolve. Made the big jump up on cost to the Marantz TT15s1 and my only regret is that I didn't do it 2 months ago.

    Thanks to the awesome contributions on this forum from the good folks here. It made the whole journey a lot more satisfying and enjoyable :)

    Quick observations (in no special order):
    1. This looks amazing in most lighting, but lit from underneath, it's memorizing. Friends and family now want one! See pics.
    2. The cuing lever is a little quick on the draw - no sliding right as a few others reported, but I'd like a little slower decent.
    3. Directions were clear - set up not bad at all. While more complicated than the Fluance RT85, it really bonded me with the turntable and its operations. This is a musical instrument so a little care initially (and in maintaining it) will pay off over the years.
    4. Thanks again to the great suggestions here, I found just the right size rubber cup coaster the fits nicely under the motor solving 2 issues: drift/movement and height which keeps the belt a bit higher on the platter.
    5. Adjusting the legs can set the motor lower; I just adjusted/leveled the isolation platform to spec and never had to mess with the feet (they are hard to turn initially, so do this before assembly not after).
    6. Dead quiet motor and beautifully balanced platter. With the motor isolated you have to really look at the TT to see that it's actually working. I put a tiny USB LED lamp behind the motor pulley which helps visually see the TT is on.
    7. I used a remote power supply to activate both the motor and LEDs. Works great!
    8. Just ordered the AT Safety Raiser (AT6006R) to help extend the stylus life and avoid the inevitable rush to the TT after the last song ;-)
    9. AudioLab did a great job getting me a factory-fresh unit at a decent price (they double-boxed it for shipment). Arrived in great condition and is latest build.
    10. I ordered a dust cover from our local plastic fabricator and really like the results. 1/4" clear acrylic with a rolled front edge, open back, and polished side edges. About $175 all in and I could pick it up without having to worry about shipping.
    11. Last but certainly not least - the SOUND is amazing! Detailed clear, clean presence, yet not cold or thin. The bass is not over emphasized like some TTs I listened too yet comes through exactly where you expect it in the song. Yes Virtuoso Wood V1 has a very delicate stylus, so we handle it with great care.

    You have to ask yourself why the Marantz TT-15s1 has been selling so well and getting such high marks even after 10+ years of being in the market (with no big changes to the original specs). It is because this is both an outstanding turntable and a tremendous value. Initially they were sold out online and retail after the holidays (some locations even listed it as discontinued), then new inventory showed up at many locations around the US so apparently it's untimely demise was either re-thought by Marantz/Clearaudio or just a misunderstanding.

    PS, I dumped Flickr so not sure I can post pics, happy so send em though. Happy listening!
     
  4. Yes. Agree with all of this. Amazing value. Now get a Mani preamp, and set it to 48db gain, and play Clairo's Immunity loud! I got the JnB ebay cover, spent $20 or so extra for a full cover including the back part, with room for the cables. It comes with 8 3m round "nubs" which allow easy and careful setting and removing, and looks great!

     
  5. Musictravelfun

    Musictravelfun Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Seattle

    [​IMG]
     
  6. cgnavarro

    cgnavarro Member

    Location:
    Pamplona, Spain
    Hi, I'm new but I've followed your discussion about Marantz with max interest. I'd want to upgrade my TT and this was one of my options. Now I have a Teac TN300 (with cartridge AT95) and a Parasound Z-Phono as preamp previous to a Denon AV receiver connected to Monitor Audio Silver 6 (for AV I use also a Monitor Audio Silver (Center) +KEF C30 (as back surround + a Klipsch SPL100 SW).

    Other options (in the price range of 1200-1700 €) would be:

    Clearaudio Concept
    MoFi Superdeck
    Thorens 309
    Project The Classic Evo
    Rega Planar 6

    I lije analytical sound (in fact I usually listen also to SACD records)

    Any advice would be welcome

    Thanks!
     
    stenway likes this.
  7. sound chaser

    sound chaser Senior Member

    Location:
    North East UK.
    I've always done this, I thought you had to! :).
     
    drew phillips likes this.
  8. FalseMetal666

    FalseMetal666 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Does anyone know if Clearaudio provides arms for this table that don't pass QC for their own stuff? E.G. arms that don't pass bearing tolerance QC, but are still very good, get kicked down to Marantz.

    I only ask because buying a Clearaudio Satisfy arm by itself is ~$1,300 and the TT-15S1 goes for ~$1,500. Seems too good to be true...
     
  9. dolsey01

    dolsey01 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    The arm is the standard Satisfy arm with the Aluminum arm tube. No different. Very common for manufactures to inflate the cost of Tonearms compared to complete turntable packages. They pretty much all do it.

    Still kicking myself to this day for selling my TT15 for the price I did since I'm in the market for a Linn compatible mounting tonearm.
     
  10. I have a TN-300 too, had it for about a year, moved it to my office, and now have a TT15S1 at home. Both are great for the price points. I love the TT15S1. Never owned any of the 5 you mention below. Did consider a Rega Planar 3/6/8 at one point, but for US buyers, the value for quality just isn't there, IMHO. I still recommend the TN-300 to my friends who want a budget < $200 table, and of course the TT15S1 to anyone who wants a great $1400 table that needs absolutely no upgrades, looks great, and sounds fantastic. I guess I did get an acrylic cover for $200 on ebay, and am using a Schiit Mani phono pre. My amp is a PM7005 Marantz with phono pre equal to I'd say the Mani on 42db gain, but I use it at 47db gain, speakers are LS50 black editions. budget 14ga speaker cable and budget interconnects. Have no need for upgrades at this time, other than maybe trying another phono preamp maybe later in the year or trying different stands/room treatments.

     
    cgnavarro and sound chaser like this.
  11. Vinyl Addict

    Vinyl Addict Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA
    I didn't bother with an acrylic cover. I had a piece of faux silk stitched up to drape over the TT-15S1
     
  12. 12" 45rpm

    12" 45rpm Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    Anyone know what is the mass of the tonearm? I want to use this calculator to see if a Grado cartridge is a good fit:

    Resonance Frequency
     
  13. Davey

    Davey NP: Portishead ~ Portishead (1997)

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    Thoughts on the Marantz TT-15S1?

    Effective mass isn't specified by Clearaudio, but it's been reported by distributors to be in the 9gm range, so in the upper low mass range, as you'd expect with the minimal headshell design. I have the carbon fiber version with a Benz Micro Wood SL and resonance measures 10Hz, same as calculated with that effective mass.
     
    Last edited: Mar 19, 2020
    IllinoisCheesehead and 12" 45rpm like this.
  14. warp2600

    warp2600 Forum Addict

    Location:
    Hungary
    9.5 grams
     
    12" 45rpm likes this.
  15. riverrat

    riverrat Senior Member

    Location:
    Oregon
    Calling all TT15 owners...I'm guessing most of you have your cartridge aligned according to the factory instructions.

    But is anyone using or have opinions regarding Baerwald, Lofgren and Stevenson alignments on this table?

    The reason I ask is that I just bought a Feickert alignment tool via the classifieds here, which allows for any of the three. Being new to any kind of "advanced" or more precise cart alignment - which for me means something beyond just eyeballin' it or following Marantz' instructions - my learning curve will be steep, and starting from the bottom..
     
    Last edited: Mar 27, 2020
    bluejimbop likes this.
  16. sound chaser

    sound chaser Senior Member

    Location:
    North East UK.
    I recently used the Rega Stevenson version courtesy of a kind forum member pointing me in the right direction, and found out that it was set up correctly initially anyway.
     
    warp2600, Vinyl Addict and riverrat like this.
  17. Davey

    Davey NP: Portishead ~ Portishead (1997)

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    As you may imagine, there's been a lot of info and opinions posted in this thread already. The Clearaudio Satisfy is specified for Baerwald (Lofgren A) alignment, which is probably close to what you get with the pins installed in the cartridge mount plate on the TT-15S1, though you can use whichever one you like best. May have to remove the pins for some alternate alignments, my Satisfy doesn't have pins installed ... Thoughts on the Marantz TT-15S1?
     
    warp2600 likes this.
  18. riverrat

    riverrat Senior Member

    Location:
    Oregon
    Thanks for pointing me to those posts.
    The Feickert is probably overkill, but I appreciate easy to use, accurate tools and don't have the best head for technical matters.
    It will be interesting to see where I landed with my initial setup..
     
  19. Davey

    Davey NP: Portishead ~ Portishead (1997)

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    The Satisfy arm has a divot at the pivot center point so should be easy to setup the gauge, no guesswork.
     
    riverrat likes this.
  20. IllinoisCheesehead

    IllinoisCheesehead Forum Resident

    Location:
    Illinois
    FYI, the Marantz instructions for the included Virtuoso Wood cart are wrong. They place the cart too far forward in the head shell. I confirmed this with Marantz support a while back. Overhang should be 17mm regardless of the cartridge used. I use Löfgren A/Baerwald.
     
  21. Baerwald here, haven't even tried the others.
     
    riverrat likes this.
  22. bouda

    bouda Active Member

    Location:
    New England
    Looking to upgrade my TT and considering the Marantz from all I’ve read. One question I have, my current turntable you can easily swap out the head shells if I want to use a different cartridge for mono.

    Is there any easy options for doing this with the Marantz?

    Thank you in advance.
     
  23. GoldprintAudio

    GoldprintAudio Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lexington, NC
    The Marantz has a fixed head shell, so you can't really swap them out.
     
    Strat-Mangler likes this.
  24. bouda

    bouda Active Member

    Location:
    New England
    Thanks for the quick reply. So what is best option, say if I listen to 2014 Revolver on the Marantz with a NAD 3020 (original without the mono button)? What do others do? I know there is the Y adapter trick, but inconvenient to keep switching that out.

    Is the mono sound that much better with a mono cart? Just getting into vinyl so appreciate any suggestions.
     
  25. GoldprintAudio

    GoldprintAudio Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lexington, NC
    I think it really comes down to how many mono albums you have, and how important having an actual mono cart is to you. If you have just handful of mono albums, you can always just play them with your stereo cart.
     

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