Thoughts on the Marantz TT-15S1?

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

  1. riverrat

    riverrat Senior Member

    Location:
    Oregon
    Not sure.
    He also says this "I was mostly curious to find another new replacement, and I like the carrier with its stylus guard."
     
  2. riverrat

    riverrat Senior Member

    Location:
    Oregon
    How does one go about getting this price?
    I didn't see any sale or discount available, maybe it expired or something
     
  3. Davey

    Davey NP: Hania Rani/Dobrawa Czocher ~ Inner Symphonies

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    You just enter the discount code, it is updated each year, though the OC9XML is listed as out of stock right now along with most of the other popular cartridges ... Audio Technica VM540ML. I love it!!!
     
    riverrat likes this.
  4. riverrat

    riverrat Senior Member

    Location:
    Oregon
    Thanks Davey.
    I've been quite happy with my TT15S1. Really like the sonics and the looks of it.

    But I REALLY miss the ability to swap different carts/headshells in and out. I have an older AT440MLA, an even older AT155 and a couple others that I haven't tried on the TT15. The cart mounting wires on the TT15 are a huge PIA, above and beyond having to realign the cartridge.

    So I'm starting to think about replacing the TT15 with a table where I can swap headshells. Either one of the new Technics, or perhaps a Polytable.
     
    sound chaser likes this.
  5. Davey

    Davey NP: Hania Rani/Dobrawa Czocher ~ Inner Symphonies

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    The Marantz with the Clearaudio Satisfy arm and direct wire cable does get rid of at least 24 connections between the cartridge and preamp compared to the Technics, but there usually is a price to pay for convenience, and often it's worth the price, especially in this case if you want to use a variety of cartridges. The Marantz (and VPI, Clearaudio, Rega, Thorens, and most modern tables with fixed headshells) isn't really geared toward that type of user.
     
    PooreBoy, formu_la and motorstereo like this.
  6. kirt1965

    kirt1965 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    New Mexico
    Will the TT15 support the SH or SL versions of this cartridge? How big an improvement are these over the ML?
     
  7. Davey

    Davey NP: Hania Rani/Dobrawa Czocher ~ Inner Symphonies

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    Not sure exactly what you mean by "support", but the OC9X cartridges are all the same, just different stylus shapes and color of the anodyzing. Whether any is an improvement over the other is up to the user, I think the pricing is based on other factors. I only have the ML version.
     
  8. kirt1965

    kirt1965 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    New Mexico
    Robust and detailed: Those are the words I would use to describe the improvement by repacking the Virtuoso with the AT-OC9XML. I had asked whether the TT15S1 could support an MC cart. motorstereo (12/17/20) said that a Clearaudio Stradavari MC cart is good on his Satisfy tonearm. Davey recommended on the same day the AT-OC9XML.

    I replaced my Virtuoso with the OC9XML and I am more than pleasantly-surprised. Robust: better bass with no bass amplification. Detailed: better voice separation and soundstage. All my albums sound new. And FWIW a new TT15S1 comes with the Virtuoso in its original factory-sealed box. That has value.
     
    riverrat and Davey like this.
  9. riverrat

    riverrat Senior Member

    Location:
    Oregon
    Tempting.

    The only hesitation I have (aside from coming up with the $$) is that in switching to an MC cart I'd lose the ability to easily swap in a new stylus.
    Don't all MCs need to be retipped by the factory, at considerable expense? How long would the OC9XML last before needing this?
     
    kirt1965 likes this.
  10. Davey

    Davey NP: Hania Rani/Dobrawa Czocher ~ Inner Symphonies

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    Well, Audio Technica does have an exchange program so considering the AT-OC9XML was available direct for $466 (not sure yet on the 20121 discount offers), the cost of ownership isn't very high if you factor over 1000 hours or so of play time and the exchange program. Probably about the same as a quality MM cartridge (though AT doesn't offer any MM carts at this performance level anymore), where the replacement stylus is basically the price of the cartridge.

    But good MC carts are always gonna come with some extra expenditures, people have to decide for themselves if it is worth the added cost in money and convenience. Some of the popular highend MM carts are also approaching the $1000 mark now, such as the Nagaoka MP-500, with the Ortofon 2M Black not far behind, so in that context the AT-OC9XML is one of the highend bargains now, just gotta be a little careful in tonearm matching since it is fairly high compliance.

    Got one of the Positive Feedback Writer Awards at the end of 2020 too ...

    Audio-Technica AT-OC9XML $549

    Audio-Technica's AT-OC9XML Moving Coil Cartridge gets my third and final 2020 Positive Feedback Writer's Award continuing the value proposition theme. The AT-OC9XML is an insane value at only $549. With 0.4 mV with an aluminum body, a Microlinear stylus with a nude square shank this cartridge is a stunner that easily trounced a $1200 Dynvector 20X2L providing more body, better natural musical tone, a wider soundstage, and substantially more fleshed out dynamics.

    I can't say enough good things about the AT-OC9XML, it's an exceptional cartridge and an exceptional value. If someone blindfolded me, played a record using this cartridge and asked me to assign a value based strictly on what I was hearing I would guess $1200 to $1500 without hesitation. My AT-OC9XML is installed on the VPI Cliffwood mentioned in the award above but it would be just at as home on VPI Scout, Prime or the like, its that good.
     
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2021
  11. kirt1965

    kirt1965 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    New Mexico
    Davey; I'm considering upgrading to the SL. Your thoughts? Incidentally converting the TT15S1 from the Virtuoso to the AT is a piece of cake. The needle height is within 0.1 mm of the original so no need to adjust tonearm. Factory-fixed cartridge angle reduces alignment to overhang. And we've already established how well it works on the TT15S1 with the Satisfy tonearm.
     
  12. Davey

    Davey NP: Hania Rani/Dobrawa Czocher ~ Inner Symphonies

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    My only experience with the special line contact stylus is on the AT-OC9/III, and I prefer the sound of the newer AT-OC9XML with the microline stylus in direct comparison... Post Pictures of your Cartridges (MC, MI, MM, Exotic and not so much) ..., but I really have no idea if the preference is due to the stylus or some of the other changes. I don't really think the SLC stylus shape is an "upgrade" over the ML, it is just one of a few variations on the original line contact designs in the 70s and 80s. The special line contact as currently used by AT is ground with a rectangular shank to reduce tip mass (other fine line variations typically use a square shank). It's pretty difficult to directly compare the two in a listening test (and also pretty expensive) since there is so much variation between cartridges, even of the same type.

    The best test I've seen done is in the review of the VM760SLC at Audio-Technica VM760SLC Phono Cartridge Review - HomeTheaterHifi.com in which he compared the ML to the SLC stylus using the same cartridge body. It's a good read, and gives many of the pros and cons of each, but hard to draw any solid conclusions. I've been using the Namiki MR stylus and boron cantilever for many years now in the Benz Micro cartridges and now in the AT, so I don't have any real desire to change, though as mentioned, I did pick up one of the OC9/III cartridges a few years ago before they were discontinued, they were practically giving them away at the time so hard to pass up. So I always will have that as a backup. It is the same stylus they used on the old ART9, and still use on the ART9XI, as well as the flagship ART1000, so they seem to think it's the best. Not sure who supplies it these days, there aren't too many sources for stylus/cantilever assemblies anymore.

    So would you trade in the ML for the SL, or have them both at the same time? That would be an interesting opportunity for a report on any obvious differences you hear, but hard to swap quickly while maintaining the exact same geometry on the Clearaudio arm, I did it using my Micro Seiki with removable headshell, and two of the identical shells, each cartridge separately aligned to same geometry before my test. So only had to tweak the tracking force between listens.
     
    kirt1965 likes this.
  13. kirt1965

    kirt1965 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    New Mexico
    I'll stick with the ML for the time being. A year ago I chose the 2M Bronze over the Black because some reviews indicated that the Black, to some, is unpleasant compared to the Bronze. I'm getting the same feeling about the SL in comparison to the ML. I have a little noise with my new phono stage so I'll work on that perfection next. And two more words in comparing the 9XML to the Virtuoso: Night and day. That's not a direct comparison since the Virtuoso used the MM phono stage of my Marantz PM8006. But that combo felt fantastic until I got the 9XML and a separate phono stage. Night and day. So I was asking you to guide me to an MC which I could compare to the Virtuoso MM. You did that and answered my curiosity about the advantages of an MC. Thank you. And just in case anyone might object to this conversation concerning cartridges, it pertains to the ability of the subject turntable to support an MC cart.
     
  14. kirt1965

    kirt1965 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    New Mexico
    I went and splurged for a phono stage preamp that I don’t think I will need to upgrade. It’s just incredible how much better the MC cart-preamp combo sounds. Albums that I’ve had for more than 50 years sound as if I had never heard them before. Yeah, that much different. So overall the TT15S1 can handle the AT-OC9XML and probably better. Prior to this “experiment” I doubted the superiority of the MC cartridge in comparison to the Virtuoso. Not any more.
     
    motorstereo and FalseMetal666 like this.
  15. captouch

    captouch Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    Which phono stage did you buy - just curious.
     
    riverrat likes this.
  16. PooreBoy

    PooreBoy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lake City, TN
    About a year ago I sold my TT15S1 and went back to a vintage turntable. I first purchased a JVC QL-Y55F and I just wasn’t satisfied with the sound. Something was missing. So I sold it an purchased a JVC QL-7. It has a great dd motor an excellent tonearm, and I was extremely satisfied with the way it sounded.
    And then I made the mistake of re-reading these posts, and I ended up ordering another TT15S1 a couple of weeks ago.
    I didn’t even bother getting the Virtuoso cart out of the box, and instead installed the AT33SA that I had mounted on my JVC.
    I realized that the TT15S1 is just on another level. The silence between tracks and during the quiet passages is truly remarkable.
    And the AT33SA just took it to another level. Mind you it sounded great on the JVC, but on the Marantz I’m just in awe of the way it sounds.
    So, I guess you could say I’ve returned to the flock with no intentions on leaving.
     
    kirt1965, sound chaser and captouch like this.
  17. 12" 45rpm

    12" 45rpm Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    Anyone else find the motor too noisy? I can hear it a few feet away when listening with headphones. I don't think there is anything wrong with it. It sounds like my wooden audio rack is amplifying the motor noise.
     
  18. Vibrolux_Reverb

    Vibrolux_Reverb Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Orleans, LA
    Ive never once heard the motor. It is dead quite.
     
    formu_la and sound chaser like this.
  19. IllinoisCheesehead

    IllinoisCheesehead Forum Resident

    Location:
    Illinois
    Dead quiet for me, too. I can't hear any motor noise standing a foot away.
     
  20. PooreBoy

    PooreBoy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lake City, TN
    Make sure that the motor isn’t touching the sides of the plinth. On certain surfaces the motor can slide. That vibration would get picked up by the cartridge.
     
  21. riverrat

    riverrat Senior Member

    Location:
    Oregon
    Yes, this.

    Buried in this thread (I think) are a couple of posts where I suggest using a circular piece of sticky mesh cabinet drawer liner material- the stuff that keeps dishes from sliding around- underneath the motor. It really helps keep it in place, and also raises the belt a bit on the platter.
     
    12" 45rpm, PooreBoy and motorstereo like this.
  22. motorstereo

    motorstereo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ct.
    Dead quiet motor here to. In my case I cut the tiny outer ring off my plinth so it wouldn't touch the motor. This also gave me room to encircle the motor with stick on lead wheel weights for a bit more stability.
     
  23. kirt1965

    kirt1965 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    New Mexico
    MP100 Read Michael Fremer's review on analog.com "68 Years Later, McIntosh Launches Its First Stand-alone Phono Preamplifier"
     
    captouch and motorstereo like this.
  24. 12" 45rpm

    12" 45rpm Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    Think I figured it out . I removed the motor and noticed one of the six little plastic feet had come off. As a result the motor was making direct contact with my audio rack. This was amplifying the motor vibration noise. I glued the broken off plastic foot back on.

    I also cleaned up some dust and stuff from the spindle . Now it seems much quieter. Though if I put my ear right next to it I can hear a faint ticking sound. I guess that is normal.
     
    PooreBoy likes this.
  25. bholz

    bholz Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I came really close to buying this table, but ultimately chose to buy a KAB modified Technics (tone arm, fluid damper, KAB OM-40 cart). I already had an old Technics SL-DL 5 linear tracking table that sounds good enough to use as a backup or for needle-drops.
     

Share This Page

molar-endocrine