landmanmj

i was under the impression running a preamp with the integrated wasnt going to make a difference, is that wrong?

Given the nature of phono stages - the amount of gain in the signal path - there's always going to be some level of hiss or white noise. Of course some are quieter than others, but crank it up the volume enough and stick your ear to the speaker and chances are you'll hear something ... even if it's faint. As long as that noise isn't interfering with the music at normal listening levels, you'll be just fine. It's hard to tell you any more without hearing it for myself, but it doesn't seem like it's affecting the enjoyment of your system.

Having said that, as much as I love vintage equipment, I'm a big proponent of people upgrading to a standalone pre-amp. There's a lot of great vintage amps with nice, enjoyable phono stages, but a even a new, moderately priced preamp (Cambridge Audio 640p, Musical Fidelity V-LPS MKII or the Hagerman Bugle, for example) is going to be an upgrade in sound quality. Unless your amp has been serviced / recapped, you've got components inside that probably aren't performing as well as they were 30-40 years ago. Capacitors, transistors, op-amps, resistors, etc etc ... it's quality stuff inside your Marantz, but they still tend to wear down over time.

As to your original question about upgrading your amp, if you like the Marantz 1060, look for another Marantz integrated higher up in the food chain as Slinch mentioned.

I'm also a big fan of vintage Luxman amps. Sansui, Yamaha and even Sony made some great stuff in the 70s. You can do lots of research here ...

http://www.thevintageknob.org/

http://www.classic-audio.com

And let me just throw out one more idea; I don't know what speakers you're using, but maybe consider spending your money on a more efficient pair? It will take much less power to make a speaker with an efficiency of 94 db SPL (Sound Pressure Level) get loud than one with an efficiency of 88 db SPL.

Basically, your Marantz certainly isn't a beast or anything, but it shouldn't have any problem making an efficient pair of speakers get sufficiently loud. Your speakers may say 120 watts, but that's the limit. More than likely, they're probably rated at something like 15 RMS min - 120 RMS max.

At the end of the day, I guess it just depends on how big your back yard is!

the noise is definitely noticable at a higher volume, you dont have to stick your ear to the speaker to hear it. im using 120w sony speakers, which sound suprisingly good considering i was going to go with a piar of klipsch. ill probably start tracking down a marantz with a bit more juice

Yes it is wrong. You can run a separate preamp through you're integrated amp and it wil make a difference.

a difference as far as increasing output?

yeah ive only used it for phono, you know what i mean? when the volume gets to a certain point you can hear this noise coming through the speakers, kinda hard to explain what it sounds like, but i dont hear it until i get the volume a little past halfway, then i can turn it down a little and its gone, so im wondering if its from the amp not having enough power for the speakers

It has nothing to do with amp power or speakers. It has to do with the preamp. So you can get another phono preamp or a whole new integrated.

i was under the impression running a preamp with the integrated wasnt going to make a difference, is that wrong?

nice. ordered

Getting this sound quality with more power will cost you a lot, you're looking at $500 minimum. Unless you decide to go vintage again. From the Marantz line you can find models 1120, 1150, 1180 and 1200 for up to $350, while the top two models (1250 and 1300) would cost you a few grand. You can calculate the output power from the model name, you take away the first "1", then split the remaining number in half. That's the power per channel. Those would naturally be the closest to your 1060 sound-wise.

For newer equipment, I'd recommend something from top of the line at Cambridge Audio. You can find a used CA 840A for a bit over $500, while the 740A sells for maybe $80 less. Both amazing amps, with heaps of power. If you'd like to stay with Marantz, nothing below the PM8003/8004 is really worth looking at. I have no idea what they'd go for on the used market, but I'm guessing no less than $600. There are also some really good offerings from NAD, a 370 sells for around $400, and the newer 755BEE should go for roughly the same. A used Rega MIRA would set you back $50 more. Though the Rega lacks power in comparison with others.

If you want to buy something brand new, there's little chance you'd get the wanted power in this price range without it sounding like crap.

awesome thanks for the help. ill definitely stick with vintage and more than likely marantz, i love the sound and everyone that uses marantz seem to say the same thing

I used to love my 1060, perfect bedroom integrated. Anything more than that, it was a little weak. You said background noise... in what input? Phono or all? If its phono, you could always buy a better preamp.

yeah ive only used it for phono, you know what i mean? when the volume gets to a certain point you can hear this noise coming through the speakers, kinda hard to explain what it sounds like, but i dont hear it until i get the volume a little past halfway, then i can turn it down a little and its gone, so im wondering if its from the amp not having enough power for the speakers

yes it does look lovely and it sounds incredible but its only pushing 30 watts, my speakers are 120 w speakers, dont get me wrong if im just jamming it inside the house it sounds fantastic, but being as how its summertime and im doing alot of grilling outside and like to rock it while washing cars, id just like something pushing a bit more juice so i can turn it up loud enough to hear it while im messing around outside without the extra noise

currently running a marantz 1060 integrated amp. sound is amazing, but hoping to find something with a similar sound but a little more power. sounds excellent with volume up to about half, but once you get over halfway im getting alot of back ground noise. does anyone have any recomendations? thanks

ordered. excited for this

got my shipping confirmation, this looks awesome, cant wait to spin it

when mine gets here if its not purple, ill hit you up if no one has snagged it, im a sucker for purple vinyl

great album. glad i got in for a red copy

i havent got this yet and forgot about it completely! thatll be a nice gift. Id like to have it on purple too

nice. picked up a couple

very nice. like those better than the other pressing

ordered, dug the shirt so i went for the package

hell yeah. in for ignite

hold on, are we sure we wanna see nudes of this one? anyone know what she looks like?

a pussy is a pussy is a pussy.

i hear ya but still, there is plenty of pussy out there that i sure as shit dont wanna see

And she's bound to have some big ol' titties right? What else would she be spending the profit on?

a massive collection of dildos and lube?

Mixed feelings on this. The bitch has a point, but she's still a bitch.

Nudes will settle it I think.

hold on, are we sure we wanna see nudes of this one? anyone know what she looks like?

I hope they messed up your quantity so that your sales fall through.

that would be epic, but unfortunately douchebags usually get rewarded so im sure her order will go through fine, and those of us getting bent over will just be sore while she is selling them on ebay

doubt hot topic has the time to worry about that kind of stuff

they don't need to put time into it i'm sure there's some kind of computer code that could be set in the web store to prevent people from doing it before they even get the chance to hit submit order

okay maybe time wasnt the right word, why would they care? they are a large company, no one would give a shit if some douche bought 65 tshirts, they are making their profit, which is what they set out to do to cover their massive expensives. they are still selling them for 20 bucks a pop so it doenst matter to them whether 1000 people buy a copy or a gigantic tool buys 1000 copies. same result to them

doubt hot topic has the time to worry about that kind of stuff

I understand defending your company and I normally have no problems with it or you, but when they screw up they should admit to it. No valid reason has been given and no cancellation emails have been sent out to those people. Since your'e affiliated with HT you are a spokesman. I've seen apologies from you which is completely unnecessary and more so respectable, but I haven't seen you address the issue. Sound familiar, RJ Travis?

and im one of said people who got their order in within 4 minutes og it goin up and look sto be getting screwed, and im not pissed about it, no sweat ill get one, and certainly not blaming travis, implying that he is at fault in anywas is retarded

hahahaha right, Im just like RJ.

What do you want me to say about this whole thing? I told everyone on the board when this had actually sold out. There was some kind of issue with getting it pulled off the site once it sold out so many extra orders were placed after it had sold out. They told me they are trying to sort out all the orders and that once they did an email would go out to people who are getting their orders canceled. Im the music buyer, I have no control over what happens with the website.

I give out tons of info to people on this board about how to get the records they want. I have never once "hidden" from anything that has happened with HT vinyl. Mainly cause I have no reason to cause HT does things the right way and does right by our customers. Obviously things will happen from time to time, not everything will run smoothly 100% of the time. Some people are getting their orders canceled for this release but guess what...Im making 2000 more so those who missed out dont have to resort to buying shit off ebay from people like you who are just looking to profit at the expense of others. Now please go away.

iplaywitlights, you should be nicer to Travis. He indirectly makes you a ton of money.

hahaha. awesome