Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

Hooked up the SR5013 today and I would say the extra power was definitely worth it. I’m still pushing it to 60% of the dial but the clarity and separation are miles ahead. It’s hard to say because of the stark difference but I think the NR1609 was suffering from distortion at these levels because the sound seemed far more harsh (in comparison). This feels like it is plenty loud and clear but still very smooth, open, and clean like you can still talk around it. It may also be due to some combination of the HDAM units in this one as well as the more advanced MultEQ room correction. All in all I am pretty happy with it and looking forward to a Christmas weekend and New Years without kids to really sit with it (Perfect Sound Forever @bfly)
 
Well shit. AFAICT Accessories4Less is only selling defective units. This one just intermittently shuts off and won’t come back on for awhile. It’s probably a protection circuit but the display lights don’t indicate that per the manual. I checked all speaker wires and there are no shorts. I sat the thing out in the open so ventilation could not possibly be the culprit and it still happens.
 
I pulled all speaker connections off and just let it sit and it still shuts off. I tried a different power cord and outlet too.
 
AnthonyI said:
Is this the one you have? Have you tried it with Pure Direct enabled to avoid all the AV circuitry?
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That’s the one. Right now, I have it sitting with nothing connected but the power cord, on a completely unused circuit in the house and it cycles off an on every couple of minutes. I switched to Pure Direct per your suggestion and it continues to power cycle itself.
 
debianlinux said:
That’s the one. Right now, I have it sitting with nothing connected but the power cord, on a completely unused circuit in the house and it cycles off an on every couple of minutes. I switched to Pure Direct per your suggestion and it continues to power cycle itself.
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I guess the odd part is it worked fantastic for a good 3 hours and now it’s just screwed.
 
AnthonyI said:
That totally blows, it's going off on the internal safety, but something she is not right. I would be contacting them again unfortunately :(
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At this point I am really hesitant to take anything else from this vendor. Are they typically reputable? I understand they are selling factory refurbs but at this point it seems like they are just bouncing legitimate returns instead of making any necessary diagnostics or repairs. 30% off retail is nice if it actually works. I started considering spending up to get a new unit but then again, if Marantz QC is this abysmal maybe I should be looking at another brand altogether?

I will say the sound coming out while it was working was really fantabulous.
 
debianlinux said:
At this point I am really hesitant to take anything else from this vendor. Are they typically reputable? I understand they are selling factory refurbs but at this point it seems like they are just bouncing legitimate returns instead of making any necessary diagnostics or repairs. 30% off retail is nice if it actually works. I started considering spending up to get a new unit but then again, if Marantz QC is this abysmal maybe I should be looking at another brand altogether?

I will say the sound coming out while it was working was really fantabulous.
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I've know a handful of people purchasing from them without issue, but I don't think anyone's 100%, maybe just bad luck.
 
I got the great idea to try a firmware update. The unit had been off the mains for a while. The update ran for quite some time, around 10 minutes, and I thought maybe a fix was in. Then it power cycled off. This leads me to believe something internally is overheating and it takes a bit once it has really cooled to get up to shutdown temps. At any rate, the unit has been shutdown for at least 15 minutes now and hasn’t come back to life which is seriously disheartening. The update was around the 80% mark so it may be completely bricked? The other thought I had was maybe the update routine bypasses safety shut offs and whatever was being protected actually burned out hence why it is completely dead now.
 
So I have about $1,000 to spend on some new equipment. I for sure need a new TT. So that’s item 1 on the agenda. I’m looking to stay in the $500-$700 range. What would you guys recommend? I was thinking either the Fluance RT85 or Pro-Ject Debut Carbon SB Esprit. Any other suggestions? And after I get the TT squared away what is the next piece you would drop money on?

I was thinking probably a new phono preamp? I have a Sony receiver and some shelf speakers that I think I can get by with for a little while longer. But my current preamp is about as crummy as it gets. The Rega MK3 caught my eye but I’m not sure what kind of sound I want or how different preamps effect it.
 
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radiodead said:
So I have about $1,000 to spend on some new equipment. I for sure need a new TT. So that’s item 1 on the agenda. I’m looking to stay in the $500-$700 range. What would you guys recommend? I was thinking either the Fluance RT85 or Pro-Ject Debut Carbon SB Esprit. Any other suggestions? And after I get the TT squared away what is the next piece you would drop money on?

I was thinking probably a new phono preamp? I have a Sony receiver and some shelf speakers that I think I can get by with for a little while longer. But my current preamp is about as crummy as it gets. The Rega MK3 caught my eye but I’m not sure what kind of sound I want or how different preamps effect it.
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How about the Rega P3 with Elys cart? what cart does does the Pro-Ject come with?
 
radiodead said:
R

I think the Rega P3 is a littttttle more than I want to spend on a TT. I’d like to have a little leftover to get a decent/nice preamp.
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Ah okay, I just checked prices again and can see that’s the case, in the UK they are £600ish. When I listened to pro-ject decks I didn’t like the ortofon red - to me felt too clinical so I’d definitely try and get a listen first and clearly the blue is a better option of the two in terms of spec.
 
radiodead said:
So I have about $1,000 to spend on some new equipment. I for sure need a new TT. So that’s item 1 on the agenda. I’m looking to stay in the $500-$700 range. What would you guys recommend? I was thinking either the Fluance RT85 or Pro-Ject Debut Carbon SB Esprit. Any other suggestions? And after I get the TT squared away what is the next piece you would drop money on?

I was thinking probably a new phono preamp? I have a Sony receiver and some shelf speakers that I think I can get by with for a little while longer. But my current preamp is about as crummy as it gets. The Rega MK3 caught my eye but I’m not sure what kind of sound I want or how different preamps effect it.
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The Debut Carbon has got a nice following around here as well as the Fluance RT85 at their price points, I would add the Pioneer PLX1000 (Direct Drive) to that list, but keep in mind it doesn't come with a cart and would put this at the top end of your budget once picking up a cart. That being said, I think you'll be happy with any of these decks ;)
 
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