macman007
Mcintosh..Made In USA
Hello folks, getting ready to take my 1200 offline for some maintenance and tuning. Its been on the bench once for relay board caps and diodes back in '09, along with Deoxit and Faderlube, the normal stuff. Now on it's 46th birthday I'd like to do something special.
Catrafter and I spoke and he recommended Vishay Axials where appropriate, film caps in the audio paths. What about other diodes resistors and transistors? it's been so long that I've owned this thing I can't remember what it sounded like out of the box, but I remember big tight bass liquid mids and smooth detailed high's with gobs and gobs of power.
I'd like to do the necessary stuff, especially the electolytic's on the power board, and since the main filter caps are healthy I'm leaving them alone for now. Some speak of upgrades to the phono and tone/10X/preamp boards. this is where the slope gets slippery. While I am comfortable changing 'lytics and sourcing direct replacements albeit with 25% added capacitance and 10% voltage (where available) sub'ing film caps in the audio path's, replacing transistors and diodes/resistors in key points is something I need a consensus on. Other that a straight recap, part for part as such, what do the rest of you Marantz fans and techs recommend. not much around on the 1200, I'd like to do a continuing thread with post's and photo's so the next people behind me and others can benefit from your suggestions and my trailblazing.
While McIntosh tends to have ton's of info in this department, Marantz seems to be a bit more obscure especially where the 1200 is concerned. The idea here is less about hot-rodding and more about super tuning the Integrated, taking what the engineers designed and making it better with modern off-the-shelf parts.
The Phono stage is of particular concern here, as I spin mostly LP's and listen to analog on this system ( AMT 1C's, KAB'd Panasonic 1200, Pioneer RT909, Marantz 115 ) , as well as record. So to recap ideally i'd like to:
-Recap the power supply and related aged electolytic's that with age need replacement
-Replace caps in the audio pathways with film caps where critical
-Recap/improve the Phono Stage. Some mention resistors and transistors/diodes but no mention of why
-Recap/improve the 10X and Preamp-Tone boards, certain transistors, diodes or resistors if necessary
-Recap and improve where necessary the power amp boards (OEM Power transistor pairs are still in place) any recommended semis or resistors
-Anything I may have missed and is suggested
-Replace components caps semis and so forth to give the unit longevity and better than out-of-the-box performance. Paying attention to whatever the unit should have based on age and performance expectations
-Anything else perceived as a weak link in the unit's design; once a consensus is reached, nothing not rooted in common sense, and certainly only what is necessary and appropriate.
This unit once completed will continue to serve me as long as I have ears. Bear in mind I'm doing all the work myself. While confident I could pick my own parts and areas to concentrate on, I'd rather stay on a conservative tried and true path. This is in regards to part type and manufacturers brands, I don't need anything overly expensive or esoteric, where the perceived improvements are more imagined than actual. I'm only interested in doing things that can be heard, not seen on paper. Certainly a reasonable budget makes sense as well.
If you have a list that you go by or have gone by all the better. I will be double checking everything on the boards and the service manuals before ordering and installing any component parts.
Not my first time doing repairs or updates, these days I have a little business doing what we're speaking of here, but more on analog tape machines, speaker repair, you name it. I don't do Tuners or Am/Fm sections in Receivers however, I have a local guy with major experience and all the gear and training to do them for me, if necessary I just don't have the experience or comfort level with 'rolling components' for optimal sound and quality or the overall experience with Marantz gear to know where and why to make changes for optimal results. I'd prefer to blaze a tried and true path if possible..you'll see me a lot over Tapeheads these days, or on the Steve Hoffman Forums, always reading, always learning..
I did the same thing with the AK CNC-based Muffsy phono pre, and that has turned into something very special with the help of Skrodahl a member here you may know of..results so far are stellar to say the least~!
Anywho, all comments or suggestions are appreciated and welcome!
Catrafter and I spoke and he recommended Vishay Axials where appropriate, film caps in the audio paths. What about other diodes resistors and transistors? it's been so long that I've owned this thing I can't remember what it sounded like out of the box, but I remember big tight bass liquid mids and smooth detailed high's with gobs and gobs of power.
I'd like to do the necessary stuff, especially the electolytic's on the power board, and since the main filter caps are healthy I'm leaving them alone for now. Some speak of upgrades to the phono and tone/10X/preamp boards. this is where the slope gets slippery. While I am comfortable changing 'lytics and sourcing direct replacements albeit with 25% added capacitance and 10% voltage (where available) sub'ing film caps in the audio path's, replacing transistors and diodes/resistors in key points is something I need a consensus on. Other that a straight recap, part for part as such, what do the rest of you Marantz fans and techs recommend. not much around on the 1200, I'd like to do a continuing thread with post's and photo's so the next people behind me and others can benefit from your suggestions and my trailblazing.
While McIntosh tends to have ton's of info in this department, Marantz seems to be a bit more obscure especially where the 1200 is concerned. The idea here is less about hot-rodding and more about super tuning the Integrated, taking what the engineers designed and making it better with modern off-the-shelf parts.
The Phono stage is of particular concern here, as I spin mostly LP's and listen to analog on this system ( AMT 1C's, KAB'd Panasonic 1200, Pioneer RT909, Marantz 115 ) , as well as record. So to recap ideally i'd like to:
-Recap the power supply and related aged electolytic's that with age need replacement
-Replace caps in the audio pathways with film caps where critical
-Recap/improve the Phono Stage. Some mention resistors and transistors/diodes but no mention of why
-Recap/improve the 10X and Preamp-Tone boards, certain transistors, diodes or resistors if necessary
-Recap and improve where necessary the power amp boards (OEM Power transistor pairs are still in place) any recommended semis or resistors
-Anything I may have missed and is suggested
-Replace components caps semis and so forth to give the unit longevity and better than out-of-the-box performance. Paying attention to whatever the unit should have based on age and performance expectations
-Anything else perceived as a weak link in the unit's design; once a consensus is reached, nothing not rooted in common sense, and certainly only what is necessary and appropriate.
This unit once completed will continue to serve me as long as I have ears. Bear in mind I'm doing all the work myself. While confident I could pick my own parts and areas to concentrate on, I'd rather stay on a conservative tried and true path. This is in regards to part type and manufacturers brands, I don't need anything overly expensive or esoteric, where the perceived improvements are more imagined than actual. I'm only interested in doing things that can be heard, not seen on paper. Certainly a reasonable budget makes sense as well.
If you have a list that you go by or have gone by all the better. I will be double checking everything on the boards and the service manuals before ordering and installing any component parts.
Not my first time doing repairs or updates, these days I have a little business doing what we're speaking of here, but more on analog tape machines, speaker repair, you name it. I don't do Tuners or Am/Fm sections in Receivers however, I have a local guy with major experience and all the gear and training to do them for me, if necessary I just don't have the experience or comfort level with 'rolling components' for optimal sound and quality or the overall experience with Marantz gear to know where and why to make changes for optimal results. I'd prefer to blaze a tried and true path if possible..you'll see me a lot over Tapeheads these days, or on the Steve Hoffman Forums, always reading, always learning..
I did the same thing with the AK CNC-based Muffsy phono pre, and that has turned into something very special with the help of Skrodahl a member here you may know of..results so far are stellar to say the least~!
Anywho, all comments or suggestions are appreciated and welcome!
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