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Marantz 1060 : complete overhaul

Small update :
I've given the amp its blue light back, a blue led.
Also I replaced C401 / C402 (the green Yamato 0.22 films) with Jantzen Superior Z-caps.
It is difficult at this point to say how the Jantzens improved the sound or if they did at all..... I've been messing with amps and sources a bit much :biggrin:
(I was given a Rega Apollo with problems, but the problems are gone / fingers crossed / , and I have an Almarro A318B on loan for a while...)

And those caps are a little big for that position really, but they are pretty light so they are staying in place quite well on their own legs !

Next will be the phono pre...but when I can't say....

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Ok, I finally finished the 1060, last thing was the phono board (electrolytics + tantalums + 2sc458). The tantalums measured 2.2 and 2.3 uf, they should have been 1 uf ! At least that's what the schematic and parts list show ! I hope I was right using 1uF Wima MKS2....
Also I reduced the brightness of the blue led, it was too much. went from a 4.7 kOhm dropping resistor to a 18 kOhm !
The "jumper" leads are now much shorter than on the photo....
I've now gone all single core wires for interconnects and speaker wire (the older DNM cables) and also for the mains power. I believe a good cable is the simplest cable :)
And since the speaker wires are quite thin I run them bi-wiring, and it makes bi-amping easy when I feel like it...
I also made some simple shelves to organize things and make swapping units easier.
The Rega Apollo and the 1060 make a very nice pair. With some recordings the Rega can sound a bit "hollow" with my PM8005, but the 1060 gives it a bit more body.
Altogether the sound is now very very very nice ! very balanced and airy, very nice from the very lows to the very highs !

Ok, I know, the screws on the back panel should be black. I will change them when I get some. When I got the amp the screws were rusted Allen hex bolts....

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Small update...
I was a little worried that I could not adjust the DC balance before the coupling caps to half the main supply voltage. (see post N° 25)
I did not have an oscilloscope, but that was fixed today, with the arrival of a 1987 Leader LBO-522 :)
So the first thing I did was check the clipping symmetry, using my phone's function generator, 1kHz sinus wave.
I had to use it through the phono input (with the volume down on the iPhone of course) so I could get enough gain to start clipping.
Here are the shots of the 2 channels, what do you think ? looks pretty good to me, but then again that's the first time I go through this procedure...
That's how I had it adjusted, it turned out to be right somehow :), or so I hope...

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Very nice! Ive done two of these myself. one I replaced all the resistors with 1% metal films. Both sound great. I like how you mounted the speaker terminals.
With the cap and transistor upgrades these really are very nice sounding amps. Not bad for second from bottum price wise offering.
 
Absolutely amazing! I am in the middle of my first rebuild of a 2230 and a 1060 is next. I have some big plans for it including black powder coating of the frame and other structural pieces. This is going to be a better than factory reproduction. My personal lifetime unit. Your rebuild is extremely helpful. Love the comment about girly pics. Sad but true.
 
Fitz Loustin said:
Absolutely amazing! I am in the middle of my first rebuild of a 2230 and a 1060 is next.
Click to expand...

Thank you ! I have a 2230 somewhere next for a restore....stamped date is 8 days before my birth date, and I bought it as a present to myself for my last birthday :)

Fitz Loustin said:
Love the comment about girly pics. Sad but true.
Click to expand...
Was was this about ? Can't remember now :idea:

I have a minor problem with this 1060, at around 2 o'clock volume (much above what I ever use !!) I get some oscillation, comes in the form of a squeal from the speakers. Not below that volume and not above. I'll have to see where it come from at some point. I guess from my new power amp board with all new transistors with too high a passband ?
 
It was a comment made by Airtime previously in the thread. Just about fell out of my chair when I read it. Looking at vintag rebuilds has become more exciting than girly magazines.As far as any technical help I'm new to all this but learning with the help of runningdog and his rebuild kits which have made it such an effortless, well kind of effortless, journey into my first refurb.. that and all the knowledgeable people on audiokarma and some good people on YouTube.
 
Back to the clipping picture... using the phono inputs you may be clipping the phono circuit. You'd know if lowering the volume pot doesn't stop the clipping. Either way it looks fairly balanced. FREE tip of the day: By adjusting the drive level down a hair until it's barely clipping you can get a bit finer of an adjustment but not much.
 
rBuckner said:
using the phono inputs you may be clipping the phono circuit. You'd know if lowering the volume pot doesn't stop the clipping.
Click to expand...
The phono pre definitely wasn't clipping, the volume from the iphone was very low, and lowering the 1060's volume stopped the clipping.
And yes I did notice that you want basically as little clipping as possible to be able to make a fine adjustment. But I like free tips anyway :beerchug:
 
Bert 1100 said:
The phono pre definitely wasn't clipping, the volume from the iphone was very low, and lowering the 1060's volume stopped the clipping.
And yes I did notice that you want basically as little clipping as possible to be able to make a fine adjustment. But I like free tips anyway :beerchug:
Click to expand...
Cheers then! :beerchug:
 
Nice job! I see you left the fat brown films on the phono board. Some people replace these. I tried it with one of the 1060's I have and wound up putting them back in. They just sound better to my ears. I've recently passed on some of my Marantz gear but the 1060 is one of the keepers.
 
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