Ive killed my Marantz amp

Laughing Gravy

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Well wounded it. Long time lurker first time poster. Hello one and all.
Ive tried to clean my 20 year old Marantz PM6010SE and accidently broke the connector to allow me to switch between record player and cd. I can only play records now.
I run it through 20 year old Eltax floorstanders and have a 20 year old double cd player and recorder , again marantz.

Ive enquired at the local hi fi specialist store about a repair and service and he tells me we are unlikely to source a spare part and the cost of service would be almost as much as buying a new one.

Is there a way to run the cd player without plugging directly into the amp.

Am I flogging a dead horse and should I just buy a new system?

Ive got a grand ready to go, I believe the floorstanders are "budget" at best and besides my wife hates them.

Hearing is going, a combination of old age and sticking my head in the Bass Bin at Sabbaths concerts, so dont need anything too high end.

Any recommendations for a nice usable system of amp, cd and speakers.

All advice gratefully received.
LG
 
If it has an Aux or Tape input, connect the CD player to one of those.
Thanks but that wont work. I think its stuck on record player only. This is the part I snapped....
marantz.jpg
 
Not exactly clear on what you have done ..and what you mean by connector . But there are multiple inputs available on the rear of the unit called Aux, Tuner ,Tape CD, CDR and outputs as well. Now any of these inputs goes directly to the same internal electronics as does the CD, ..and the output of the internal Vinyl preamp . However if you have damaged the input selector switch .. which would have been difficult if you were just cleaning, then all bets are off.
There will be people suggesting that you bin the lot and get something new.. Well I am not one. Amplifiers have not really improved much in 20 years, and the specs on that Marantz are more than reasonable. Fashions in loud speakers have changed and thinner maybe taller ,but with clearer high frequency response is now in vogue. The only problem is that these newer ones are less efficient, and need to be driven with more powerful amplifiers.
My suggestion is find out whether other of the input connections work with the CD , and use a little of the money saved to get an audio streamer ..the now Obsolete Chrome Cast Audio is a cracker at the prices , and maybe look at speakers..
 
Thank you for your help. A luddite replies . The black strip was attached to the white plastic, which fit inside the blue mechanism. This is/was turned by the selector on the front of the unit. its this which need fixing. So I cant select anything else. Sadly. Im amazed that amps havent progressed that much. If I can find a work around then maybe I will persist. Any recommendations for speakers to put this and the chrome cast audio with, If I can source one?
 
A simple request sir.

As you seem to keep your stuff for a considerable time, then at least you’ve had excellent value from your hifi.

I’d say it’s all due replacement.

There are several ways to go about it.

This is the simplest, least expensive way of getting a great quality budget hifi. I think you’d enjoy it.


For something rather special but that gives your budget a bit of a slap, then this including the CD player is something to seriously consider.


In between there are any number of combinations.

If you’re happy with used then even more options become available.
 
Ps, does your wife hate the Eltax because they are floorstanders or because they are biggish floorstanders.
 
Alternatively.


(Also in walnut or black)

And cheaper here, but black only.


coupled with this pair you’ll have very good, very modern hifi.


 
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Is the Rotel a big step up from the cambridge. Would the difference be noticable? I know its an impossible question to answer, in fact I dont know why I asked but I mean which would you go for?
 
It’s all to do with cash. And how much you’d like to spend.

For instance, a good compromise would be the two CAs (amp and cd)
And the Missions from PeterTyson.

And there’s this combination with the Missions.



I think you’d enjoy the CAs with the Missions.

But, if you can stretch to it then I’d buy the Rotel pairing and the Missions.

It’s a suitably impressive improvement over the CAs and as a once in a decade, or even 20 year buy, it’s very hard to beat indeed.
 
Here’s a couple of useful reviews to give you an idea of what your cash can buy.



You might notice that the Rotel is one of a very few amps that actually doubles it’s output from 8 ohms into 4 ohms. A prodigious amp indeed.

Serious hifi for not too horrible a wallet hit.
 
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Im amazed that amps havent progressed that much.
Well, amplifier technology (the amplification part, at least) is very mature with its principles laid down many decades ago. Even when I was young (and today I'm, erm, not young), amps could provide plenty of power and fast transient response, with a very flat frequency response and extremely low distortion - and there aren't many ways you can improve on that.

I guess the one big exception is the development of Class D amplification, but the main benefit there is higher output from cheaper and much smaller units.

Oh, and to get on topic, yes, I know that kind of selector - turning the knob turns makes it pull on something running through the centre of the black strip (I think), and that does the switching at the other end. I've seen them on other Marantz amps. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to fix them.
 
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Thank you for your help. A luddite replies . The black strip was attached to the white plastic, which fit inside the blue mechanism. This is/was turned by the selector on the front of the unit. its this which need fixing. So I cant select anything else. Sadly. Im amazed that amps havent progressed that much. If I can find a work around then maybe I will persist. Any recommendations for speakers to put this and the chrome cast audio with, If I can source one?
So this is part of the selector knob?. I see a metal shaft on the front. Does that rotate with a pliers and allow you select the CD option? ...and If so your problem is mechanical and can be sorted by a visit to a hardware shop ,and probably a tube of araldite and some iron mongery..
I wasn't saying that there have been no developments in amplifiers ..there are but very few which affect the performance of circe. 1999 Good quality Class AB amplifier. In general the trend is towards more streaming options the ability to use digital sources ,and more power to handle less efficient speakers. You see the cost of an amplifier is the mains transformer , and the panelwork. The Electronics are relatively cheap.
But of course, when the bug hits to upgrade .. ..it is hard to resist.
 
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The attached photo might help, which I've marked. The knob on the front turns and pushes/pulls a strip inside the black plastic thing, and that in turn operates the switch mechanism that you can see on the board at the back (the horizontal board underneath it, for anyone interested, is the phono stage).

If I couldn't get the fiendishly tricky plastic parts back together, I'd look to replace the switch itself - maybe with wires to a simpler switch mounted somewhere on the case.

marantz.jpg
 
The attached photo might help, which I've marked. The knob on the front turns and pushes/pulls a strip inside the black plastic thing, and that in turn operates the switch mechanism that you can see on the board at the back (the horizontal board underneath it, for anyone interested, is the phono stage).

If I couldn't get the fiendishly tricky plastic parts back together, I'd look to replace the switch itself - maybe with wires to a simpler switch mounted somewhere on the case.

View attachment 1538736
Thats about it. But it had some small metal piece which fell off when I put it back together.

I lack any sort of electrical common sense , but there is no lack of misplaced confidence so I will have go at fixing it tomorrow.. Then when it is completely ruined I will be on the phone to a supplier for a new system. Looking at my original photo maybe I "simply" need to connect the black strip to the white connector.

May I take the opportunity to thank everyone for their advice and input today.
You are all very kind and I an very grateful.
 
Welcome to the forum @Laughing Gravy :)
If you only need to use the CD input, couldn't you try manually pulling the bit of plastic/metal until the CD input is selected?
 
Thats about it. But it had some small metal piece which fell off when I put it back together.

I lack any sort of electrical common sense , but there is no lack of misplaced confidence so I will have go at fixing it tomorrow.. Then when it is completely ruined I will be on the phone to a supplier for a new system. Looking at my original photo maybe I "simply" need to connect the black strip to the white connector.

May I take the opportunity to thank everyone for their advice and input today.
You are all very kind and I an very grateful.
The good news is that for this one you don't even need electrical common sense.. The problem is mechanical. The switch is a 2 pole 4 way switch .. as the switch contacts are pulled or pushed along, there are 4 inputs on each of two independent circuits for Left and Right and they switch one or other of the 4 inputs to the Two input channels of the amplifier. The ground or return connection is common to both inputs and outputs.
If it were my problem, I would attempt to reassemble the switch, and use an adhesive . If that failed ..and I am messy with adhesives, I would get a two pole 3 way switch ..the type of thing which was always available in Maplins , drill a hole somewhere on the front of the box, and take wires back to the PCB and solder them in. It is a bit of a kludge ,..but it would work fine for the next 20 years.
 

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