Marantz TT-15S1 owner's thread

Denophile:

I just got a Marantz TT-15S1 yesterday. I checked AVS Forum here to ask my own question. But first let me reply to yours.

I have a Musical Fidelity A308 integrated amp, and Revel Performa M20 speakers. I am using the phono pre-amp built into my amp.

So far, I have found the sound from this combination to be quite nice. I have not observed the sound becoming horribly distorted, except in one case, if I set the cartridge force too high, on the inner track of an LP near the end, it can distort on really loud parts. I reduced the tracking a bit and it got better.

From your description it sounds as though some aspect of your tonearm alignment, tracking force, etc, is not "locked down" so to speak, and is slipping. Could it be when you installed the tone-arm assembly into the base of the turntable you didn't tighten it and the entire assembly is sinking into the base slightly? Just a random guess mind you, but I agree your problem doesn't sound like it is the pre-amp or any other part of the system.

Now, two questions of my own:

1. The stylus / cantilever coming out of the cartridge on my system appears to "bend" a bit toward the inside of the LP as it sits installed on the system. I am not familiar with this cartridge but from pictures, and experience with other phono cartridges, I'ld have thought it would extend straight out. Has anyone else noticed this issue?

2. Any time I try to install the anti-skate screw, even with it screwed all the way out to provide absolutely minimal anti-skate adjustment, it occasionally causes the tone-arm to swing back out and even scratch my record a bit. This is disturbing. If I remove the anti-skate it seems to work fine. As I understand it, when the Anti-skate is set correctly, you should get a nice centerred image. In my case, w/o the screw installed, images are spot on, Sound is great, Any other experience with this? Are some LPs more in need of this than others, etc?

Thanks for any help.

I had issues with my tone arm on the Marantz TT-15S1 model. I sent the entire unit back to the dealer and was told it was a manufacturer defect with the tone arm. I was shipped a new TT.

Is your tone arm wood? I was sure my original tone arm was made of wood. Now that I've had a chance to look, the replacement TT's tone arm appears to be aluminum.

My original cartridge was a virtuoso ebony (all black in color) and now it is black and silver wood.?

My motor started running in reverse occasionally and I just replaced it through the dealer 2 days ago. The replacement motor seems to run a little slow now.

I obviously will need to address this with the dealer. Has anyone else had issues.

Littje ... yes my stylus on my TT-15S1 does the same thing. I have had no more luck than you concerning the ant-skate screw. Doesn't seem to do much.

I bought my TT15S1 a year ago. After listening to it for sometime, I realized the channels were out of phase. I rechecked the cartridge connections and they were as the manual showed. So on a hunch, I reversed the wires on one channel. And sure enough, the sound was full, with proper soundstage.

So Denophile, the dull sound you had might be for the same reason, the internal wire connection in the tonearm might be out of phase.

I purchased a TT-15s1 just a few days ago and I seem to be having some of the same problems as some of you. First my tonearm seems to be made of black wood and the cartridge appears to be the black ebony Virtuoso. I purchased this in Dec. 2012. When I read the description it said it came with an aluminum arm and an ebony and wood cartridge. Perhaps mine and some of yours is an older model? I had the problem where the tonearm swings to the right but was able to fix this by practically removing the anti-skate screw however when I raise and lower the tonearm using the Q leaver the tonearm shifts ever so slightly to the right. It shifts slightly right when I lower and again when I raise. I find this to be a real nuisance because I can't lower the arm to the same location where I lifted it. Are any of you having this problem? Also none of the parts seem to fit properly. The white screws do not fit into the pulley and the cartridge doesn't fit into the litz wire plugs. I had to take a small pair of cuticle scissors and gently widen the plugs and then take an old cartridge and use it's prongs to make it fit.

I've had my table for about 4 months now. I love the way it sounds and looks. However, I can relate a similar experience with the tone-arm and needle position moving when you raise and lower it the lever. If anyone finds any solutions to this problem, please post them here!

I just received my TT15 yesterday and also noticed that the tonearm moves to the right when using the cueing lever. I'm thinking that something with a little friction placed on the cueing arm should stop it. I'm going to see what I have around, maybe some velcro or just a tiny strip of rubber.

Edit - I found a old leather skin for my iphone that would be perfect cut to the shape of the tonearm lifter, I'll try it this weekend and update.
Edited by sdolen - 3/1/13 at 7:12am

Sounds like your anti-skate is set incorrectly.

It was just the whole cueing assembly was a little tilted, all better now. I'm still having some issues with the cueing lever sticking sometimes, I hope that irons itself out. It seems the silicone grease they pack it with inside has gotten a little sticky over time. I'd dis-assemble it and repack it but it's under warranty so I'll wait and see.

So far I really like this TT, I'm using a Grado Sonata with it and it's very detailed, almost to the point of sounding a little dry compared to my Music Hall MMF-7 but what sold me was listening to a cut and when it faded out and went into the lead out groove, it was dead silent. I think my Music Hall had a more euphoric sound to it, where the Marantz seems to be more neutral. It does run a few tenths fast so I'm hoping once the belt stretches a bit that it will slow down. That might be contribute to the dryness I'm hearing.

The big question is, will curiosity get the best of me and make me open up that still sealed Virtuoso cartridge. I was hoping to sell it but I have that little evil half telling me, what if it's better than the Grado?