Marantz confirmed to me that they have no ability or suggestions in regards to slowing down the tonearm when lowering the cue lever. Bummer.
I re-lubed the cue lever with new silicone oil and I believe it cured the dropping issue. It was along time ago but I'm pretty sure I just used the TurntableBasics silicone: Silicone Damping Fluid For Tonearm Cueing Mechanisms, Damping Troughs and Monopivots I've since found I have to do it yearly on the Jelco lifters that VPI previously used. Again, it was a long time ago but I'm pretty sure I just cleaned out the lifter with alcohol and poured in some new fluid, there wasn't really much disassembly, it's completely open from the bottom. I don't remember if I removed the cueing device from the tonearm or just removed the whole tonearm. You might have some also have some luck if you call or email Musical Surroundings.
Have you been able to rotate the feet? Mine are stuck and I'm afraid if I force them they will break. I cannot even figure which part of them rotates. Maybe they are not adjustable in new models? Anyone has experience with this? Thanks!
IMO the whole base under the TT should be leveled. If we adjust the TT level only, the motor remains seating on not leveled surface, and the pulleys' groove will not be inline with the table's plane. Not a big deal as the belt will compensate for that, but not ideal.
Good point, I never thought of that. That might explain why my belt occasionally drops a mm or so suddenly.
Probably. When I adjusted the whole rack instead of TT only, the belt moved noticeably higher on the table.
I too am unable to rotate the feet. Is there a certain way to do it...like pushing up and twisting or is it just a straight twist?
Lol; " ... I've read ...". Don't bother reading/believing anybody that says anything negative about this fantastic table/arm/cartridge. pj
I've contacted Marantz technical service through my dealer, and they assured me that the feet shoul rotate... So I dared to apply more force on them... and I succeeded! They were really tightened, but now all three rotate freely
I forgot to say, it's just a straight twist (counterclockwise if you want to unscrew it), and it's the entire foot which rotates, leaving a gap between the bottom of the plinth and the top of the foot.
Buyer beware; I know nothing about this seller... But seller CoolCat are offering on Amazon Marketplace a new Marantz turntable for sale for $995 + $16.49 shipping. Amazon.com: Buying Choices: Marantz TT-15S1 Reference Belt Drive Turntable with Cartridge (Transparent White) Unlikely an authorized Marantz dealer, so keep that in mind. For an authorized Marantz dealer, I'm still seeing that IQ Home Entertainment has refurbished ones available on Amazon for $1,199. That's a great deal, too!
I bought my TT15 in the same condition as your's - with a bent cantilever on the Virtuoso. I replaced it with an LP Gear Vivid Line stylus. The process was pretty simple and I think it sounds great.
To revisit an earlier post that I deleted (too long, too rambling) on this thread.... I ended up finding a Marantz TT-15S1 for really cheap, less than half what they seem to go for new. It was an open box or a return or something, and the Virtuoso stylus was broken/missing, but I read up on replacing it with an AT95 stylus and thought I'd take a chance. Everything arrived in more or less decent shape (more below), though the Virtuoso was rattling around in its box, and I was worried it would be internally damaged. But, after a surprisingly easy swap with a basic, $35 AT95E stylus, it appears to be playing just fine. The sound quality seems... pretty good! Questions: --I'm going to try a higher end AT95 stylus, probably the ATN95SA from LP Gear. If forum research is to be believed, the regular AT95E stylus is (unsurprisingly) a downgrade from the stock Virtuoso, and the ATN95SA is a decent upgrade (?). Anyone have experiences with either on the Clearaudio cart? (Thanks, rbmitch2 for your thoughts) --The one thing I haven't been able to replace/repair thus far (though I think it will be fairly easy) is the second ground wire, which runs from the base of the spindle/bearing housing. It arrived with the connector torn off, and I don't have the soldering equipment/skills to repair. I ordered a generic, Technics-style replacement, though not sure if it will fit? After playing a few records, I'm not noticing any hum from not having the second ground wire hooked up, so perhaps it's not necessary. What's the idea behind the second ground, anyway--to kill any static buildup from the spindle? Notes on the Marantz thus far (if of use to anyone else considering this TT): --I'm pretty happy thus far, esp. for how cheap I got it. Many on this forum steered me toward the 1200-GR, and I'm really glad I got the Technics. I'm loving its solidity, easy of use, and super solid speed stability. But, after also researching the Marantz, I remained curious and figured it would be a good way to play around with a decent quality belt drive and further educate myself about TTs and set up generally. So far, so good. I figure, too, that if I step up to a higher quality belt drive in the future, I can port over the Satisfy tonearm (which goes for far more than what I paid for the whole turntable) or use it as a second arm. Pluses: Plinth and platter are well made, heavy, and very cool looking. Arm seems solid, too. Cues nicely, moves smoothly. Some have noted that the motor is easy to shift and bump up against the plinth, but thus far, it's staying put for me. An elegant looking, well-made TT on the whole. Possible minuses: --Balancing the arm seems less intuitive than other TTs I've owned (Debut Carbon, Music Hall Ikura, 1200-GR). Because the Satisfy arm tends to get caught up on the little circle of rubber that serves as its latch, it's difficult (for me anyway) to tell if it's floating or not. Anyone have any pointers here? I think I got it in the ballpark of being balanced before I dialed in the tracking force, but it's rather hard to be sure. Perhaps the solution here is simply to get a tracking force scale? --As others have reported, the belt can be finicky to install and can slip off the platter. After a few frustrated attempts, I ended up flipping over the platter and installing it the other way round--there's no indication which side is up--and that helped the belt ride a little higher and stay on. (Is there a right side up?) Generally, the belt seems to ride a little low on the platter, but a quick look at Google Images shows that this is true for others who own the Marantz. This is perhaps not the TT for folks who do a lot of switching between 33 1/2 and 45, but maybe the belt will stay from now on and not get all fouled up with the oily spindle like it did on my first, argh, ten attempts. Oh, and the belt takes a couple seconds to catch when you start the motor, but after that plays just fine. You can hear the faintest motor noise, but it quickly disappears under the music. These are small minuses on the whole, and they seem far outweighed by the many pluses. Thus far, this strikes me as a lot of turntable for the money. Next to the Ikura, which I had for a couple weeks, its speed stability seems notably better, and it's build quality inspires more confidence. Next to the Technics, it suffers slightly in comparison, but the Technics is more expensive.
Can't you rotate the tonearm more toward the outside edge of the plinth so there is more room between the latch and platter? You should still be able to float it above the platter with no record, but digital scales are very cheap now too.
Yeah, it's tight space-wise. The arm is quite close to the platter. But I think I more or less got it and will check/tweak with a scale. Perhaps a dumb question: If I'm using a scale, do I still need to balance the arm?
Hello all, First and foremost, thank you to everyone for your recommendations and insights regarding the TT 15S1. I'm new to the forum and reborn to vinyl. Basically I went from vinyl to cassettes to CDs to digital then CDs and digital. About the end of March I added vinyl to the mix and bought a Rega Planar 1 which directly contributed to the the purchase of about 100 new and used albums and a cleaning machine. After about 3 weeks I was ready to upgrade so I started research and came across this thread. I ordered my 15S1 new from Amazon, yeah I paid full price, received in 2 days (today), completed setup by the manual (mostly) then played an album I listened to earlier in the day on the Rega. One word about the sound pouring from the tip of this stylus, "Authoritative". I don't know audio "tech speak" but I do know when I hear music and its lifelike as if I'm at the venue and Supertramp is on stage 30 ft away. Notes: 1. I happened to get the box from the pallet shipped from Marantz to Amazon that had the packing list, 8 units were shipped to Amazon on 4/12/19. 2. The cartridge is Clearaudio Vrituoso Wood #19249, there is a "V" above the stylus, color ebony, and the manual in the cartridge box is for MM V2 cartridges. 3. Belt on pulley sputters on take-off but catches up in a second or two. (I used 2 pennies (~3.1 mm) to set gap. 4. The 15S1 is fed to a Yamaha A-S801 and output through a pair of Revel F206 floorstanders. Once again, thank you everyone.
