The marantz pm6004. Overrated, faulty or needs breaking in?
Hi everyone,
so, I bought a brand new marantz pm6004 from richer sounds the other day at the reduced price of £239. Quite honestly, I am amazingly disappointed, and thought I would consult the hifi gurus here for any pointers before I possibly return it this weekend.
First things first, I did demo it at the shop. What baffles me is that it was demoed with the monitor audio bx1's and actually sounded surprisingly got good on them. I have the bx2's and expected to hear an even better result, however I was greeted with a very dissapointing sound.
Through source direct mode, there is barely any mid range. Sure, things sounded a bit more detailed, but there seemed like there was a massive chunk of the soundstage completely missing. It felt amazingly stifled, as though I was playing a badly compressed mp3 (which I wasn't by the way). When I switch the loudness button on, it solves the lack of midrange, but then the bass seems way too overpowered, undefined and sloppy and the whole detail that was good in source direct mode goes out of the window.
My previous kit was an old rotel from the early 90's that had been gifted to me and apparently cost between £200 and £300. In comparison, the rotel sounded miles better, however I wanted a new amp because there was a problem with the left channel which would cut out every now and then. The rest of my kit that I have transferred to my marantz is a project genie 1.3 with ortofon red cart, and the monitor audio bx2's. admittedly, I don't have a dac for my iPod yet, however, it sounded a lot better dac less on the rotel than the marantz. I just don't understand why everything sounds so bad on it. I honestly feel like the marantz is holding the rest of the system back.
i am currently letting it 'break in' at the moment, but do not really believe that an amp benefits from such a process, and am therefore not expecting any impressive results.
Can anyone help me on this? Am I missing something or doing something wrong? Does it sound like it is faulty or like it needs 'breaking in'? Or am I being amazingly picky for a £299 piece of kit reduced to £239.
I don't know about your unit, but when i was in the market to buy a new amp i've demo the yamaha AS500 and didn't like it, and i ask my self: where is the sound that What Hi-Fi describes...?
But you liked the Marantz on the demo, therefore give it some time to burn in, leave it on 24/7 for 3/4 days.
The other issue might be the cable, are they new? Are you using banana plugs?
There are equipments that are sensitives to that kind of change, the Brio r is, I don't know if the Marantz is... It might be...
What sort of volume are you playing it at?
Rooms have a very large effect on sound.
A Rotel costing £200-£300 20 years ago would have been pretty good so I would not expect a 6004 to be any better. The 6004 has a rep for being a bit lightweight for its Watts rating, if you are having to use the loudness button sounds like an NAD maybe better.
I'm not sure about the Marantz in particular, but I believe amps in general do benefit from a spot of running-in.
Cambridge Audio for example, recommend on the packing box at least 36 hours continuous play for its new 851A. I believe Naim also recommend a certain period (can't remember how long) for its amps.
I have the PM6004 with none of the symptoms you describe and it was fine straight out of the box. I did audtion it with the MA speakers and thought it was fine but the speakers themsleves somewhat lacking in certain respects (which is why I went with Kef in the end).
It is of course possible that you have a faulty box, although Marantz have always been known for good quality control. Try some of the things others have suggested!
Chris
PS I wasn't aware it had a Loudness button! It wouldn't occur to me to press it.
If I were you it would be going back. For you to notice such a difference I can't imagine that there isn't a problem with it. Burning in of things like amplifiers is more about you getting acclimatised to the sound than the amplifier actually getting any better.
Even with you acclimatising there is always going to be a niggle in the back of your mind that will never go away. Richer have always been an honourable company in my dealings with them and in strict legal terms you have every right to swop or get your money back as it isn't 'satisfactory'.
I trust that you will succeed in finding a satisfactory replacement.
Being of satisfactory quality is not the same as 'are you satisfied with it' but I agree going back to richers is sensible and that they are likely to be helpful whatever the precise legalities of it.
I don't think you have any legal right to a refund, unless you bought online or by mail order then distance selling rules would apply. If not happy best to take it back and see what they can do for you.
for me I wouldn't have neither the BX2 nor the PM6004.Dont find any of those particularly good. The amp is good with treble and midrange, not with bass, the speakers lack midrange ( a lot of it).
Personally I would take it back and ask if you can audition it again with their bx1's. If it still sunds as good as you remember then sell your bx2's. 
You may have already done this, but I would run in your speakers a lot first before deciding. I doubt the BX2s would have such good midrange as Dali's for example but its should be perfectly good. The other thing you should look into is getting a source - like a CD player to get the best out of your system. An ipod simply is not that good as a source IMO. But I see you have vinyl as well so not to worry.
for me I wouldn't have neither the BX2 nor the PM6004.Dont find any of those particularly good. The amp is good with treble and midrange, not with bass, the speakers lack midrange ( a lot of it).
Do you really think the BX2 lacks midrange ? I own them and IMO it's one of the most balanced speakers I've ever heard.
Hi guys, thanks for all of the very helpful replies. I'm taking into account everything you are all saying. I'll give a proper reply later when I am back home as I am currently on my break at work. At the moment, I think my mind is swinging towards taking the pm6004 back to richer sounds. I know they have a 7 days returns policy for non faulty items, but anything that has been opened or used will be subject to a 'handling fee'. Quite honestly, as long as its no more than 10% then I don't mind. As I said, I will make a proper reply later. Thanks so far!
Ha da quick search and have seen 10% fee mentioned but this maybe reduced if you buy another item for similar price. I would talk to the manager, see what they can do.
Being of satisfactory quality is not the same as 'are you satisfied with it' but I agree going back to richers is sensible and that they are likely to be helpful whatever the precise legalities of it.
I agree Ben but the particular circumstances here fit very well with the practical application of the relevant legislation.
To OP,10% handling fee is something you should not agree to and I am sure that if you are only mildly forceful Richers won't press it,
sounds more like a mixture of amp/speakers and more importantly how they interact with your room. Personally I don't buy the whole running in thing for amps.
Have you tried moving your speakers around, see if that makes any difference?