I bought a complete Marantz Slimline system in blue around 1998 because I liked how they looked and operated. Unfortunately looks aren't everything and compared to my previous system, the top-of-the-line stereo from Philips from 1987, the amplifier didn't sound that good. Also I was told by the salespeople that there was a dual cassette deck with a DCC recorder, but that never showed up (Philips had discontinued DCC in 1996; the DCC Museum has proof that it existed but we're not sure if it ever made it to market). I eventually ended up with this cassette deck, a CD/MiniDisc combination, an amplifier/receiver and a Dolby Surround decoder. When I emigrated from the Netherlands to the USA, I had to let it go unfortunately.
I feel your pain not having this any more. I would love to have such a system. I myself regret not having kept some of the stuff I've passed on over the years, but space and budget constraints and all that.
If I'm not mistaken, Matsushita Panasonic released DCC onto the market as they had gotten onboard with Philips, whereas Sony went the mini -disc path. Typically the manufactures were split into between the two different camps. One DCC drawback was that it wasn't random access and please forgive me if I'm wrong.
That's a wonderful machine! There are a couple of aspects to it that "feel" a bit similar to Philips DCC and CC decks. Could there be a link? Well done, I wish you a lot of joy and luck using this device!
Yes, there is a link. When this deck was made in late 90s, Marantz was owned by Philips. And there was Marantz DCC decks made in the 90s. I'm sure this one has a very similar transport to the DCCs, that were also tray loading.
@@michaelturner4457 That is nice, yes it was in details such as the tray-loading mechanism, as well as the pinch roller-assembly, the overall plastic finish, the exact potentiometers and the 3,15K speed adjustment and not least the loading problem it initially had. Of course these similarities don't have to be exclusive, but the combination of all the small things gace me that feel. Thanks for knowing and sharing your info!
@@hermanmunster3358 That sounds familiar, I didn't realize this initially, but I do remember replacing belts and cogs that were interchangeable for the CDM-4 mechanism in early 90's CD players.
Really nice deck I have a Yamaha mini system with surround speakers a mate was going to take to the trip this has a slot loading cassette deck I think it is motorised been a while .
@pwrestoration yes completely. My deck has exactly the same issue with the loading mechanism. If you just touch the cassette as it loads it drops in and works if you don't, it ejects again. Belt slips right at the end of the loading procedure. Ordered a couple of multi size belt packs. Hopefully will cure it. Then to set speed and azimuth. Thanks for this video, certainly saved me some time!!! Cheers.
4:16 probably those screws are not copper. copper is not hard enough to be screwed. they are brass. brass is more yellow-golden but copper is more red-brown. also brass is harder.
Just picked up an SD1020 slim from ebay and it has the exact issue your 2020 has. The belts are all fine but I can't get the head to engage like you can.
That is a nice unit but I do have concerns with a premium deck having the same lack of plastic covering over the mains input section the same as the cheap units I worked on, plus I couldn't see a position on the board for a fuse-holder, which might be handy where the voltage selector part might be populated and someone set the switch in the wrong position? .. I got bitten by such exposed terminals once, when working on a CD player.
@@pwrestoration240 vAC is very unlikely to do you any harm at all unless you deliberately wire yourself to line and neutral. Most houses have RCDs so any leakage to ground will be stopped in less that half a cycle.
@@pwrestorationI do understand that. But it's not a dual capstan tape mechanism. Very different from a closed loop dual capstan arrangement. Only one is engaged at any one point in time. The two are never engaged simultaneously.
Интересный аппарат, хотя и простенький ЛМП. Вообще маранц хорошие вещи делал. Есть сд проигрыватель маранц 90ых года, отменный аппарат, работает до сих пор, все диски читает.
Definitely the thinner belts. A lot of the time companies will cheap out on some components and not others.. standard 2mm square drive belts seem a silly way to do it, especially when they're so essential to opening the front panel and seating the tape! 🙂
@@pwrestoration I understand that...the rubber belts are an issue with every vintage deck. But still I think that it was a combination of loose belt, combined with a lack of proper (lithium-based) grease on parts that need to slide over each other in particular. Simply trying to operate the deck might have proven to be enough for the moment, but the problem could very well return when the deck is once again not used for years. The old grease will become sticky again. Glad you got it running, though!
Hehe!! Front panel is made from pure plastic!! Bolts only looks like made from copper but they are pure steel. Yes looks very fancy. Have too this stuff.
Looks like a tank or beauty from the outside, but from the inside its really standard. Even the cassette mechanism looks a bit after market, not from a high end deck., If it works, ok, but I have a Sony TC-KA5 and 7 ES (5 is JP voltage) and they even from the inside look special.
Hi I don't have a website but I do sell the odd thing - I have a few decks on eBay now. This marantz will go up eventually. www.ebay.co.uk/usr/pw.restoration
I've just bought the amp and a CM1040 CD/MD combo unit from a few years later with a non-functioning front panel, so I'll be on to that spring washer ASAP! I've recently got back into minidiscs, they are such a great format - crystal clear sound, and indestructible in my ragtop MG.
This was cool.. I have an Akai cassette console that is super cool but has a laundry list of issues. I took it apart to attempt fixing and learning something new lol.. its built like the lunar lander..so yeah It lives as a basket case now..hopefully I can get it all fixed..just going to take me a century of learning lol.
Cant you fill a tape with some royalty free music, just so we can have a listen of your finished repairs? Its a bit of an anti climax watching the video all the way through, and then not even being able to hear the finished result. Nice deck btw!
I've got this and the Cd player in my attic in the original boxes. I bought mine around 2001 with bw601 speakers. I still use the speakers in my bedroom with a Yamaha but I no longer use the marantz. How much did you pay for it?
Marantz went through a bit of a phase by using copper chassis in their higher end stuff, more notably their Ken Ishiwata signature edition Amps and cd players. A lot of copper in there, supposed to be good for shielding / earthing etc. they used copper screws too, so just reminds me of their fancy amps. I have a video featuring the KI PM66 amp, wayyy back 🫶
From someone who does electronics and use to repair lots of tape decks this unit is junk and cheap. One pro audio person would touch this, the deck is cheap and the electronics are basic. Also belt drive rubbish so wow and flutter is not great on this machine. Just cheap plastic rubbish inside, nothing special at all. Not better than a basic tape deck only looks from outside, but I think it looks like junk and hate to put this on an oscilloscope to see how junk it is.
So what you're saying is.. you're not a fan 😅 If you watch the video, I do put it on a oscilloscope and and it's absolutely solid as a rock - better in many respects to a lot of higher end machines. Maybe you would be surprised!
@@pwrestoration no it’s not, the scope show you lining the heads up not wow and flutter, that’s a difference test altogether. 12.5khz is not good for a good deck, should be much higher. No I’m not a fan sorry. Company like that should have done better, shows you they lost they way in the end of the 90s.
@@michaelmitchell8218the stated specs of this Marantz are actually upto 15khz for type 1 ferro tapes, and upto 19khz for type 4 metal. Which I think is pretty good. The 12.5khz was specified for checking the head alignments. Wow and flutter spec is 0.1%. While not the best, but is still better than any cassette deck made today. Because they all use the same cheap chinesium Tanashin clone mechs.
@@michaelmitchell8218 Well, kind of. I also use the scope by watching how the two waves interact (tape path) and also watching how they raise and lower in volume (wow and flutter). I do this over a lot of tones from 400hz up to 20khz, a lot of which is off camera as to be honest it's boring to watch! I do have a proper W&F meter and I do use it, but I am limited in viewer retention and also what people wish to watch. I do agree that the quality is not as it perhaps once was with Marantz, I have a video covering one of their '7 Fonts' cassette decks. But hey, that's consumer electronics for ya! (Incidentally my main Amp is currently a Marantz PM6006 UK Edition and it's lovely) Xx
Cassettes can sound superb if you're in possession of a truly high quality cassette recorder player. I agree that the format is now deprecated but it was never bad.
Thanks, my channel has gone crazy in the last week. I'm not sure if somebody shared my videos or if someone is just watching out for me but every sub is appreciated ❤️👍
Lovely unit. And from a time when Marantz were supposedly much more cheaply built. Looks perfect inside now.
I bought a complete Marantz Slimline system in blue around 1998 because I liked how they looked and operated. Unfortunately looks aren't everything and compared to my previous system, the top-of-the-line stereo from Philips from 1987, the amplifier didn't sound that good.
Also I was told by the salespeople that there was a dual cassette deck with a DCC recorder, but that never showed up (Philips had discontinued DCC in 1996; the DCC Museum has proof that it existed but we're not sure if it ever made it to market). I eventually ended up with this cassette deck, a CD/MiniDisc combination, an amplifier/receiver and a Dolby Surround decoder.
When I emigrated from the Netherlands to the USA, I had to let it go unfortunately.
I feel your pain not having this any more. I would love to have such a system. I myself regret not having kept some of the stuff I've passed on over the years, but space and budget constraints and all that.
Ah I bet the cd / minidisc combo was quite a nice unit, especially it was the same size as this. Handy to have both just tucked away inside there!
If I'm not mistaken, Matsushita Panasonic released DCC onto the market as they had gotten onboard with Philips, whereas Sony went the mini -disc path. Typically the manufactures were split into between the two different camps. One DCC drawback was that it wasn't random access and please forgive me if I'm wrong.
Amazing deck, never seen one of those before. Not a true fan of drawer decks, but i wouldn't mind this as a playback deck alone.
Well it'll be up on eBay possibly this weekend, if you want it, drop me an email! It won't be expensive!
That's a wonderful machine! There are a couple of aspects to it that "feel" a bit similar to Philips DCC and CC decks. Could there be a link? Well done, I wish you a lot of joy and luck using this device!
Yes, there is a link. When this deck was made in late 90s, Marantz was owned by Philips. And there was Marantz DCC decks made in the 90s. I'm sure this one has a very similar transport to the DCCs, that were also tray loading.
@@michaelturner4457 That is nice, yes it was in details such as the tray-loading mechanism, as well as the pinch roller-assembly, the overall plastic finish, the exact potentiometers and the 3,15K speed adjustment and not least the loading problem it initially had. Of course these similarities don't have to be exclusive, but the combination of all the small things gace me that feel. Thanks for knowing and sharing your info!
Marantz CD players of that era were virtually identical to their similarly priced Philips counterparts too, at least internally.
@@hermanmunster3358 That sounds familiar, I didn't realize this initially, but I do remember replacing belts and cogs that were interchangeable for the CDM-4 mechanism in early 90's CD players.
Really nice deck I have a Yamaha mini system with surround speakers a mate was going to take to the trip this has a slot loading cassette deck I think it is motorised been a while .
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing!
Its the Belt in the Drawer Drive.
Same Prblem as with a lot of CD-Players i have fixed.
Ottimo lavoro e bel registratore!
I hadn't realised until now that I need one of these
Going on eBay this weekend if you want to email and buy it cheaper!
@@pwrestoration bad timing for me I'm afraid, but good luck with the sale
Just bought one off fleabay for £39. Got a tape jammed in it. Hopefully get it sorted over the weekend.
Hope this helps!
@pwrestoration yes completely. My deck has exactly the same issue with the loading mechanism. If you just touch the cassette as it loads it drops in and works if you don't, it ejects again. Belt slips right at the end of the loading procedure. Ordered a couple of multi size belt packs. Hopefully will cure it. Then to set speed and azimuth. Thanks for this video, certainly saved me some time!!! Cheers.
I remember lot of strange cassette player mechanisms in high end shops. They were amazing
Hopefully I can find more!
4:16 probably those screws are not copper. copper is not hard enough to be screwed. they are brass. brass is more yellow-golden but copper is more red-brown. also brass is harder.
It's copper plated steel. Much like a penny.
Just picked up an SD1020 slim from ebay and it has the exact issue your 2020 has. The belts are all fine but I can't get the head to engage like you can.
I think that the head engage was controlled by a separate motor? Check there's no gear slippage and that belt in particular is tight.
That is a nice unit but I do have concerns with a premium deck having the same lack of plastic covering over the mains input section the same as the cheap units I worked on, plus I couldn't see a position on the board for a fuse-holder, which might be handy where the voltage selector part might be populated and someone set the switch in the wrong position? .. I got bitten by such exposed terminals once, when working on a CD player.
Unfortunately you're right, exposed 240 is very common
@@pwrestoration240 vAC is very unlikely to do you any harm at all unless you deliberately wire yourself to line and neutral. Most houses have RCDs so any leakage to ground will be stopped in less that half a cycle.
It's not a dual capstan mechanism. Only one of the pair is engaged depending upon which was the tape is running.
Well, it has two capstans..
@@pwrestorationI do understand that. But it's not a dual capstan tape mechanism. Very different from a closed loop dual capstan arrangement. Only one is engaged at any one point in time. The two are never engaged simultaneously.
Wow that's gorgeous!
Интересный аппарат, хотя и простенький ЛМП. Вообще маранц хорошие вещи делал. Есть сд проигрыватель маранц 90ых года, отменный аппарат, работает до сих пор, все диски читает.
Being a bit old, I can hear up to 12.5kHz (left ear) and 11kHz (right ear). My boys (22yo and 19yo) can hear up to 17-18kHz.
I'm due a hearing test at work and dreading it, but it would be nice to know my limit!
How old are you both if I may ask ?
I think the issue here was dried up grease on certain spots.
Definitely the thinner belts. A lot of the time companies will cheap out on some components and not others.. standard 2mm square drive belts seem a silly way to do it, especially when they're so essential to opening the front panel and seating the tape! 🙂
@@pwrestoration I understand that...the rubber belts are an issue with every vintage deck.
But still I think that it was a combination of loose belt, combined with a lack of proper (lithium-based) grease on parts that need to slide over each other in particular.
Simply trying to operate the deck might have proven to be enough for the moment, but the problem could very well return when the deck is once again not used for years.
The old grease will become sticky again.
Glad you got it running, though!
A nice and quite unique looking deck, but I always prefer black HiFi kit. I guess this would probably lose some of its charm in black though.
I'm with you on that one, it's wierd - silver just screams the year 2000 to me. It's kind of retro but not retro enough to be cool yet haha
Hehe!! Front panel is made from pure plastic!! Bolts only looks like made from copper but they are pure steel. Yes looks very fancy. Have too this stuff.
That's weird, mines metal!
I bought this, the cd player and the amp from eBay and when it arrived it was mostly smashed.
Looks like a tank or beauty from the outside, but from the inside its really standard. Even the cassette mechanism looks a bit after market, not from a high end deck., If it works, ok, but I have a Sony TC-KA5 and 7 ES (5 is JP voltage) and they even from the inside look special.
Hello, what do you use as spectrum analyzer software?
(and with a sound card?)
Thank you
Hello I use spectroid for android
No extra head for auto-reverse, it just flips, crazy.
Do you have a website.. im from ireland and also do you sell any of ur work?
Hi I don't have a website but I do sell the odd thing - I have a few decks on eBay now. This marantz will go up eventually.
www.ebay.co.uk/usr/pw.restoration
I loved these!
Very cool! I have a pioneer 5 cassette tape deck I thought was the coolest until I saw this! Now I want one of these.
It might just be up for sale for a steal! If you're interested, drop me an email 👍
I have the minidisc deck from marantz for £25 from eBay. Looks exactly the same
I've just bought the amp and a CM1040 CD/MD combo unit from a few years later with a non-functioning front panel, so I'll be on to that spring washer ASAP! I've recently got back into minidiscs, they are such a great format - crystal clear sound, and indestructible in my ragtop MG.
What a Nice pice! Great Job,!
magnificent!
This was cool.. I have an Akai cassette console that is super cool but has a laundry list of issues. I took it apart to attempt fixing and learning something new lol.. its built like the lunar lander..so yeah It lives as a basket case now..hopefully I can get it all fixed..just going to take me a century of learning lol.
Suspect by how it sounds it’s a belt or a position sensor
Cant you fill a tape with some royalty free music, just so we can have a listen of your finished repairs? Its a bit of an anti climax watching the video all the way through, and then not even being able to hear the finished result.
Nice deck btw!
Point taken, I'll do just that 👍
@@pwrestoration Nice one 👍
I've got this and the Cd player in my attic in the original boxes. I bought mine around 2001 with bw601 speakers. I still use the speakers in my bedroom with a Yamaha but I no longer use the marantz. How much did you pay for it?
I think it was £20, and to be honest even fixed and serviced fully it's in the £45-£60 ballpark. They don't bring a lot which is a suprise!
Why do they use copper screws?
Marantz went through a bit of a phase by using copper chassis in their higher end stuff, more notably their Ken Ishiwata signature edition Amps and cd players. A lot of copper in there, supposed to be good for shielding / earthing etc. they used copper screws too, so just reminds me of their fancy amps.
I have a video featuring the KI PM66 amp, wayyy back 🫶
Greetings, what name on eBay? Thanks mate
Same username, pw.restoration. I sell stuff here and there but get in touch if there's anything in particular you're looking for.
Nice..talk about clean as a whistle..
Up on eBay next weekend I think! One in one out
You can still use this machine by purchasing a bluetooth cassette tape and you can play any songs from your smartphone or tablet! ❤❤
Wahh not for me thanks, although I've never tried one! Maybe in 30 years I'll be servicing those instead 🦎
quick music search qms
This meca block is the quite the same than the Teac R-H 500 and 300 ! Good job otherwise.
bad I didn't hear the music
I'm on it, constructive criticism actioned! 😅
It looks like a plastic box.
It looks like a plastic box.
From someone who does electronics and use to repair lots of tape decks this unit is junk and cheap. One pro audio person would touch this, the deck is cheap and the electronics are basic. Also belt drive rubbish so wow and flutter is not great on this machine. Just cheap plastic rubbish inside, nothing special at all. Not better than a basic tape deck only looks from outside, but I think it looks like junk and hate to put this on an oscilloscope to see how junk it is.
So what you're saying is.. you're not a fan 😅
If you watch the video, I do put it on a oscilloscope and and it's absolutely solid as a rock - better in many respects to a lot of higher end machines. Maybe you would be surprised!
@@pwrestoration no it’s not, the scope show you lining the heads up not wow and flutter, that’s a difference test altogether. 12.5khz is not good for a good deck, should be much higher. No I’m not a fan sorry. Company like that should have done better, shows you they lost they way in the end of the 90s.
@@michaelmitchell8218the stated specs of this Marantz are actually upto 15khz for type 1 ferro tapes, and upto 19khz for type 4 metal. Which I think is pretty good. The 12.5khz was specified for checking the head alignments.
Wow and flutter spec is 0.1%. While not the best, but is still better than any cassette deck made today. Because they all use the same cheap chinesium Tanashin clone mechs.
@@michaelmitchell8218 Well, kind of. I also use the scope by watching how the two waves interact (tape path) and also watching how they raise and lower in volume (wow and flutter). I do this over a lot of tones from 400hz up to 20khz, a lot of which is off camera as to be honest it's boring to watch!
I do have a proper W&F meter and I do use it, but I am limited in viewer retention and also what people wish to watch.
I do agree that the quality is not as it perhaps once was with Marantz, I have a video covering one of their '7 Fonts' cassette decks. But hey, that's consumer electronics for ya!
(Incidentally my main Amp is currently a Marantz PM6006 UK Edition and it's lovely) Xx
Just let people enjoy things, Karen.
All these post 1991 cassette recorders have a poor head quality.
I wouldn't say that's the rule!
Head overload and distortion figures were published all those years ago.
Cassettes are crummy. That makes this player crummy.
Cassettes can sound superb if you're in possession of a truly high quality cassette recorder player. I agree that the format is now deprecated but it was never bad.
Sure
Subscribed 20231123 1:54pm.
Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃
Thanks, my channel has gone crazy in the last week. I'm not sure if somebody shared my videos or if someone is just watching out for me but every sub is appreciated ❤️👍
I bet that player was damn expensive back in the day