Phono Classic Restored, Marantz PH-1 Phono Stage

Those 4 nondescript looking feet at the bottom are actually made of the same die-cast metal alloy as the side cheeks. It adds to overall weightiness of the unit

Front & back panel of the Marantz PH-1 phono stage, in some countries, Marantz called it the PH-22 phono stage, with a 230V power supply system

In 1991, Marantz introduced the Music Link series of half sized audiophile quality components to the Japan market, in view to accommodate the new lifestyle of coping with smaller, yet ever increasing property prices. The Japanese economy was at it's peak at the time, just before the bubble burst a few years down the road. Some studio apartments or SOHO as they are called these days, in Japan of that era could be only slightly bigger than my 12ft x 10ft audio cave! It was something that most young working adults could afford in the mega expensive cities of Japan. Expensive properties aside, these young working people also wanted high quality music in their daily lifestyle, right?

The Music Link series comprises of a jewel like top loading CD player, phono stage, pre-amp, and mono block amplifiers as shown below. Some Japanese Yuppies even going as far as having 2 pairs of mini mono block amplifiers to bi-amp their bookshelf speakers! As you can see below, Marantz even have an optional, sold separately matching component rack to house the whole system on offer.Obviously, now you're aware that the Marantz Music Link series concept components are JDM only. And possibly some small volumes were sold in Germany where these well built, Champaign gold finished units were well loved.  

Top loading Marantz CD-23, Music Link series CD player, very nice!

The whole Marantz Music Link series, from clockwise: Marantz SC-22 preamp, MA22 mono block power amp, PH-1 phono stage, & Marantz DAC-1, which is self explanatory. There is also a dedicated rack, designed to match the Music Link components.

Now with the introduction of  Marantz Music Link series finished, let's go back to my story. I have been Linn LP12 sick for some time now, and missing it a lot more after listening to a newly acquired unit in a buddies system. The Linn LP12 sound just stuck in my mind and nailed heart for good. The agony went on for days and months. I was kicking myself in the ass every time I thought about that silly decision to let my original LP12 go to a buddy. I knew I would just have to sulk it in and get another Linn LP12 unit one day soon.

Having those thoughts were very dangerous liaisons indeed, as I only have a simple system that consisted of a CD player, turntable, preamp with built phono stage & power amp. How would I connect the eventual Linn LP12 in the system? An extra phono stage was the obvious and only answer........

As soon as those thought crossed in my mind, this dinky Marantz PH-1 popped up on our favorite local hifi classifieds. It was not cheap and had to work with a 100V step down converter(this is a Japan Domestic Model, remember?), but then again, good things no cheap, and cheap things no good either! right? In many ways, I am very much like those Germans who like their hifi finished in matte Champaign gold, hmm..........

A Goggle search reveals this dinky PH-1 phono stage is still a prized collectors item in Japan and that it had a pair of MC step up transformers built in for MC input............. now this is where it really got me interested! Not only that, the MC gain stage is up to 68 db, which is more than enough for even the lowest of MC cartridge outputs. I contacted the seller, but he could not demo the unit, since he had already let gone his turntable, but he assured me money back guarantee if the Marantz PH-1 didn't work, and even threw in the voltage step down tranny that he was using to sweetened the deal. And so I took a chance.....

The over view inside, note the side mounted potted 100V power supply transformer, too bad I can't get an 230V equivalent of the same size!

I went home and proceeded to hook up the PH-1 to my existing Kuzma Stabi turntable since I didn't have a Linn LP12 yet. I connected all the power cord & interconnect , power up and the blue indicator light didn't turn ON! I called the seller and he was surprised when I told him the unit was not working. I told him the indicator light didn't turn ON, he was puzzled and asked "What indicator light?" After a long explanation, he realized what I was going about, and he told me that he never saw any indicator light ON from the very first day he brought the unit back from Japan, but he assured me once I put on an LP and spin it, I should be hearing it! I did just that and it sang.........., the Marantz PH-1 sang!

This tells me 2 things, first the noise floor of the Marantz PH-1 is absolutely non-existent, zero, zilch! It was dead quiet like as if it was never turned ON, but only fact that it was turned ON! I was really impressed. The next issue is not so positive, it means I have a dead LED indicator that needs replacing. 

See the 12V bulb in the housing located behind the front panel?

Time for a little DIY action since I am also a little curious about what's beneath all that very nice matte Champaign gold finish? I took a quick observation on the dismantling points of the copper coated chassis, with die-cast  side cheeks and the 4 feet. The first thing I noticed was the weight of quite a few kilos for such a dinky half sized component. The Marantz PH-1 can be said to be built with pride inside out, as you can see from all the naked pictures here. All parts are either audiophile approved where mattered, or straight industrial standard which are made for long service life. Once the chassis is opened up, we can see the power supply section on the left side which is partitioned by copper coated plate for shielding, the pair of MC step up transformer on the right, and the actual, MM phono gain stage board right in the center of the box. The thru hole PCB board quality is excellent for 90's era audiophile grade product, but will be bettered by today's typical SMD type high end PCB. For DIY-able repairs, I always prefer the 90's type thru hole PCB boards. SMD PCB boards may have some sonic and appearance advantages, but will be almost impossible to DIY repair!

The actual MM gain stage section of the Marantz PH-1

I easily removed the so called LED or what looks like an actual light bulb, located just behind the front panel power ON indicator housing. I went to Jalan Pasar electronics street in search of the replacement, which was identified as a 9V bulb by the spare parts vendor, who ask me if I am repairing an old TV or radio? He said "this bulbs have been obsolete about 15 years ago, I only have a few pieces left. Once I sold them, they are gone forever!" After I hearing that, I bought 2 extra bulbs to spare. They cost 3 times the price of a 5V LED. No wonder these bulbs are obsolete! 

Upon return I tried to power up the bulb with a 12V battery, the ones you used to power your Smart Tags! The bulbs light up with a warn yellow glow of a regular house hold bulb, but 1 or the 3 pieces blew up in smoke as soon as it lighted........ And so I begin to solder the bulb's connecting wires to the power supply PCB, test power ON, and perfect! And I still have a spare working bulb, just in case for the future. With that I closed the chassis and it was time to hook the Marantz PH-1 to my system again.

The pair of nicely potted MC step up transformer as seen from top! 

The MC gain set to L(only 2 settings available, L or H) and played around with the Equalizer setting I to IV by playing an LP on my Kuzma Stabi turntable. The gain was enough for the 0.4mv output of the Benz LP cartridge and the equalizer setting I seems to sound the best of the four.

After days of playing with the Marantz PH-1, I am again reminded of the late Ken Ishiwata's signature voicing here. The highs are lush, very laid back with just enough mid range lift to maintain the magical female vocal presence in play. The bass is soft in texture, but yet each note clearly defined. On the whole a very relaxing kind of sound that is typical of JDM hifi product tuning. However, I am still mesmerized by that total absence of noise, be it hiss or any other form. The softly polite sound of the Marantz PH-1 stands in total contrast to the built in tube phono board of the Aesthetix Janus preamp, which is big scaled, bold and very hard driving, which made it perfect for rock, blues & club music in general.

Now with the Marantz PH-1 ready and waiting, it's only a matter of time the Linn LP12 joins the party. Stay tuned, while I take my time to warm up the Marantz PH-1 phono stage.

Today's version of the Marantz Music Link series which is simplified to consist of a CD player, and an integrated amplifier with head amp built in. It's called the Marantz HD-CD 1

Fun With Cassettes!

Some of my cassette tape collection, from clockwise: Maxell XLII-S60, Sony UX-S90, BASF Chrome Extra II 90, TDK MA-XG90, TDK SA-X 90, Maxell XL II-90.

Since restoring my Teac V-670 cassette deck, I've been having much fun exploring my whole cassette collection again. As shown above are just a fraction of my collection of mixed tapes with I recorded with the Teac V-670 deck. I still have a small collection of original pre-recorded tapes back from the 80's till 90's period.

With this post, I will share just how each tape type typically sounds like and their inherent characteristics:

Type I - Normal: This is the most commonly used tape, and usually comes as standard when you buy original pre-recorded tapes. Quality can vary a lot with Type I tapes and sound performance can go from pretty hissy to good overall. For my minimum sound quality requirement, I think the TDK D series Type I cassette is a good place to begin with. The TDK D series tape offers a good balance between hiss noise level to overall recording clarity in sound. Typically Type I tapes do not stand re-recordings well, unlike the Type II Chrome & Type IV Metal tapes, which can be re-recorded over at least 2-3 times.

This is where it all begins! Type I Normal tape.

This is common pre-recorded cassette you can buy.

Type II - Chrome: From here on, things start to get interesting. Sound quality goes up a whole new level of clarity, much lower noise floor, increased band width and better bass response. With certain tape brands on the higher range like TDK SA-X series you could actually hear "airiness" in the recordings! The TDK SA_X series Chrome tapes were my reference at this level. There is a wide range of Type II tapes at various price levels. My favorite Type II tape at the time was the BASF Chrome Extra II series because I felt it offered the best price to performance ratio. It was fairly affordable, yet sounded very good, only down side is Wow & Flutter was slightly higher with this tape. At one brief point in the 80's, you could actually by original pre-recorded music on Type II tapes(available in limited titles only). 

This is where things get serious, Type II Chrome tape.

You can still get original pre-recorded Type II Chrome tapes if you want near audiophile sound quality. 

Type IV - Metal: Now we are at audiophile level recording tapes, where tape his is almost non existent, almost CD like band width & clarity, and with solid bass quality. If you've got a 3 head tape deck, it would be most beneficial to use Type IV Metal tapes for recording. With a 3 head tape deck, you can instantaneously hear the playback quality of your recording as you record. One thing is for sure though, there are NO cheap Metal tapes out there, with some costing nearly 2/3 of the price of an original pre-recorded CD, the TDK MA-XG 90 comes to mind. However that TDK MA-XG series tapes are built to a whole new different standard of quality. The tape it self is really housed in a metal shell, sandwiched in low resonance resin full window panel on both side. The tape reel itself is made of ceramic material! Now that's fanatical attention to quality! And sure, the TDK MA-XG series Metal tapes are THE BEST sounding tapes your money can buy, EVER! CD recordings made on Type IV tapes offers CD level sound quality, but retains the mid range texture of best analog source, it's really the best of both worlds! TDK MA series Type IV tapes offer the value for money, as they can sound very close to the much pricier MA-XG series, at half the cost. Guess what? I just saw a brand new TDK MA-XG 60 tape on sale in Ebay, with a bidding start of USD $99.00!!!

The ultimate cassette experience, Type IV Metal tape, a must have if one is using 3 head recording decks.

I am glad I had taken the path to restoring my Teac V-670 tape deck. The last sold cassette was in year 2001, just barely 20 years ago. Now, the cassette revival is real and very happening!

JBL, Mark Levinson, Lexicon have arrived at AV Designs

I received a bunch of brochures from AV Designs on the new product lines from the Harman stable that they are bringing in. The range is extensive, comprising of models from JBL, Mark Levinson, Revel and Lexicon, covering both Hi Fi and Home Theatre.

Among the lot, I spotted the JBL L100 Classic loudspeakers (above) and Mark Levinson No 5805 Integrated Amplifier (below).

 

See whether I'll get to listen to them in my own man-cave and write about them one day. 

For more details, contact AV Designs 03-62411237.

https://www.avdesigns.com.my/contact-us/

Another Classic Revival, Teac V-670 Cassette Deck

The Teac V-670 Cassette Deck, sitting below my Aesthetix Janus pre-amp.

I've been playing with cassette decks since the 70's, as it was my first music medium experience, when it comes to hifi. Vinyl medium experience came a good decade later, followed by CD medium experience after that. There's something nostalgic about a cassette player since my student days. Back then, to make a mix tape for someone with songs you think they would like, to show how much you cared for that person. Not to mention the Sg Wang hey days in the 80's where one could walk in to any of the many music stores and ask for a mixed tape be made for you. You simply select the song on their available song list and choose the tape type(Type I, II & IV) you wanna record on to. The tape Type I means normal or standard tape, Type II means Chrome tape & Type IV means Metal tape. Chrome & Metal tapes means hi-end in the cassette world.

I had many Sony Walkman units as a student, and when I finally had enough money(I worked part time as a student), I splurged on a 3 head tape deck to reward my self. It was a Teac V-670 that you see here, bought in 1988! Yes, this tape deck is 32 years old.  Like everyone else back then, Nakamichi decks were the rage, and the still rock to this day. Budgetary concerns means I have to consider other brands, such as Teac, which is still good as they have good representation in the professional side of things.

Inside the Teac V-670. Note the plastic molded chassis instead of the usual 2U metal. Left side top is the power supply and transport mounted to front panel, on the whole right side is the power supply regulators and audio circuits. 

As a student and later as an young working adult, I had much fun with cassette deck. As a student, I made many recordings for my Walkman use and also mixed tapes for my friends, and when working, I made many CD & turntable recordings for my car stereo. You see, I still feel cassette was the perfect medium for people on the move. Of course that role now is done by our smartphones!

As car CD players became the standard, my Teac V-670 deck was boxed up in storage. I never saw it again until 2018, when I packed up to move. Seeing this cassette deck brought back much memories, but all I could do at that point is to box it up again and wait again for another opportunity to unbox. And by the end of 2019, that opportunity came calling, as I was setting up my hifi again.

I check the deck condition and it powered up, must basic functions still works, but only barely. So I decided to get it serviced, do a little DIY, so to speak. Upon opening up the chassis, the first thing spotted was four leaky caps in the power supply section of the main PCB board. I proceed to pull up the PCB board from the main plastic chassis, to extract the old caps, clean up the brownish oil stains off the PCB with IPA, then proceed to insert and solder the new caps in to it's original place.

See the laeky cap stains on the PCB board?

All cleaned up and caps changed.

Next up was the transport section of the cassette deck. The whole transport assembly was removed from the back off the front panel with 5 Philips screws. the transport is a 2 motor design, one for the tape pulley, the other for the rubber capstan. The are 2 rubber belt that drives from motor to pulley to the capstan idler gear. All the dried oil in the transport was cleaned and re-greased. Now everything was re-assembled, and ready for the final stage.

The 3 head, 2 motor transport module awaiting removal.

Working on the idler gear & pulley and rubber belt replacement.

Since I didn't have the calibration equipment required to do the fine tuning job, I sent the Teac to bro Azeem at Cheras. Azeem is a fine lad I met on FB, and have since helped me in other hifi restoration projects. With a Wow & Flutter test tape. the cassette deck hooked up to an oscilloscope, the fine tuning of Wow & Flutter can be completed.

Wow & Flutter test tape.

Wow & Flutter of both Left & Right channels.

Now both channels are well aligned.......

After the Wow & Flutter tuning is complete, we proceed to play some pre-recorded tapes. The cassette deck never sounded so wonderful! I brought the Teac home, hook it up to my system, and have been playing tape after tape since. Like the wonderful turntable, there's still much life left in cassette as a format. However, the big question is can the cassette revival be as strong as the vinyl revival? Only time will tell.

Test play with pre-recorded tape in progress.

This 1988 Teac V-670 cassette deck is an UK model I am told, hence there's very little information about it on the internet. As far as I know, the V-670 is the entry level 3 head tape deck with HX-Pro certification & Dolby-C noise reduction filter. As an entry level 3 head, 2 motor tape transport design, it does sport some cost saving features compared to it's similar looking flagship V-870 model. The whole chassis is plastic molded rather than 2U steel or copper coated. The transport is 2 motor only compared to the 3 motor V-870 model. And the Eject button mechanical, rather than a motorized solution. The V-900 sport extra recording adjustment parameters and also an IR remote.

As a cassette playback and recording medium, the sound is very good, despite it's obvious budgetary design compromises. It playback & records best with Type II Chrome & Type IV Metal tapes, so investing is high quality blank tapes pays off! My favorite high end tape is the all aluminium bodied TDK MA-XG series. In 1988 MYR price it was a cost of nearly 50 bucks a piece! For comparison a common branded Type I Normal rated tape would retail about MYR 8.00-10.00 a piece. I did most of my recordings from either a CD player or turntable as source, utilizing the Dolby-C noise reduction for a super quiet background. I would playback without using the Dolby-C though as I preferred the airier sound without the Dolby masking effect.

With this restoration, I can again enjoy many years of fun with cassette tapes!