where's the Marantz RC2000 MkII replacement?

Jules

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The Marantz RC2000 MkII remote has been discontinued a while now, and mine is getting very tired with sticking buttons.

If I could get another new one I would, but it seems the only (hard button type) replacement is the RC1400 which looks to have fewer buttons and appears to be a cheap cut-down version.

I've been waiting for Marantz to bring out an 'upgraded' version of the RC2000 MkII for ages, but it looks like they've abandoned hard buttons in favor of touchscreen models.

I have an RC9200 aswell which is tremendously poweful, but I prefer the RC2000 MkII for general operations.

I think there'd be a big demand for a hard buttoned remote like the RC2000, but able to control even more devices, be lighter and use fewer batteries.
So come on Mr Marantz, where is it?
 
Actually, the stable-mate of the MX-700, the MX-500, is closer to the original RC2000 mk2. The MX-700 takes the whole concept the next logical step with PC-editing facilities and many more hardware features but it does leap in price accordingly.

They've both been around for ages and have been recently been overhauled again as the MX-800 and MX-600 respectively, which both offer the same features as the original MX-700 and MX-500 as well as built-in RF support (and different colours!).

HTH
 
Niether of those has anywhere near the same number of buttons.
They'd be a step back from the RC2000 MkII.
 

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You are, of course, both correct, but like I said previously we're talking of the closest alternative, not an actual replica. However, having said that, the following might be of interest.

I recently had a brief e-mail conversation with Hank Eisengrein of URC regarding, what I believe to be, a shortcoming of the Home Theatre Master range; the lack of fixed Red, Green, Yellow, Blue colour buttons.

Although included on some OEM remotes the head designer of the HTM range felt they make remotes look "toyish" and consequently didn't want to use them on a perceived "up market" product; arguably a true champion of aesthetics over functionality. In response I highlighted the fact that these buttons are now becoming more main stream and the lack of them was the deciding factor in my buying a Pronto RU-950 rather than an MX-700. Point taken, the message was passed on, though whether any action will be taken is obviously moot. The point at issue, however, is the way in which this conversation came about.

It was due solely to a "throw away" quip I made on the RC HTM forum. Apparently this forum is regularly scanned by those at URC. As such, my advice is that you get over there; make some constructive comments; you never know your luck.
 
Lack of the r,g,b,y buttons is exactly the problem I'm having choosing a universal remote - my Pace Twin makes extensive use of them, and not wanting to go to a touch screen, leaves little option...good call.
 
Jules, know what you mean about the hard buttons on The RC2000 MK2 - they're so useful. I've also been looking for an alternative but so far no joy.

As regards the 'sticking buttons', this can be quite easily fixed by brushing meths quite liberally onto the keypad, pouring away the excess and leaving to dry for an hour. Done this with mine and it fixed all the sticking keys. You can also take the remote apart and clean the underside of the keypad and the contact points (the amount of gunk in there is quite disgusting!), but this is a bit more hassle than the meths method.
 
wouldn't meths remove the button labels and generally ruin the finish?
I don't fancy taking it to pieces. I once did this out of sheer curiosity on an old remote, and couldn't get all the bits back together.
 
Jules,

Maybe you should give the Harmony SST659 a try.

It looked interesting and fairly flexible although I haven't had first hand knowledge of programming one.
Build and feel was good, plus it had all the usual Macro facilities.

I believe you can download the sofware from their site.

www.harmonyremote.com
 
Still no contest.
The harmony doesn't even have hard keys for each device that it controls. That makes it as cumbersome as a touchscreen without the power.

Nahh... Perhaps I should knock up a design and send it to Marantz.
 
guys I've been looking at the Sony VL1000 recently, and although it may not be as good as a marantz rc2000 it can be had on ebay for £24 from america. The only thing that puts me off is the postage, $35 for 5-7 days delivery, or $19 for 2-3wks.

Seems to have had some quite good reviews, labelled hard keys like the marantz and the price is great. Plus it looks nice :)

Anyone fancy doing a sort of powerbuy thing to reduce postage? If we could get 5 of us together we could split postage and it would be less than £30 each!
 

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