- WRITTEN BY DENOM
Having nostalgic memories of your father’s or even grand father’s old turntable/gramophone? Are the 33 1/3 & 45 RPM records that they played still around and in your possession? If the answer to both is yes, then look no further than the Marantz TT5005, to be the gateway to relive those fond memories. The fact that right out of the box, it comes completely assembled, is completely automatic and has a built in phono pre which necessitates one to just plug in the relevant wires, put on a record and press start! The Marantz TT5005 is the perfect plug and play turntable that is ready to play your records.
Unboxing:
The Marantz TT5005 came packed in cardboard boxes covered in plastic foam wrap+plastic covers, with foam type packing at the top, bottom and sides. The quality of the packing indicates that they can be re-used for 2-3 times at the most which is adequate for most.
Appearance:
The Marantz TT5005 comes in a matt black plastic plinth with an aluminium platter, white color platter mat and an acrylic dust cover on hinges, which can be disconnected from the plinth if required. All basic and of quality that is barely there, but then at the price its available, this is the most that can be expected. The tone arm has no cue – in lever, is extremely basic and is preset with an attached MM cartridge. It has a built-in phono pre-amp, so will work with any amp or receiver that has an RCA Aux Input. Automatic tone-arm operation returns the arm at the end of each side, and selecting the speed is done by a button rather than by manually moving the belt on its pulley. The cartridge is a denon DSN82 which is available on line through various sites.
Build Quality: 3 Stars
Specifications:
Motor: DC
Drive System: Belt
Bearing: Metal
Operation: Automatic
Speed: 33-1/3 & 45 RPM
Stylus (MM)
Stylus Model: DSN82
Belt: Rubber
Rated Output: 2.5 mV / 1 kHz
Frequency Range: 20Hz-20kHz
Maximum Dimensions (W x H x D) in mm: 360 x97 x 357
Weight (KG): 2.8
Performance:
We tried a variety of gears along with the TT5005, namely:
Amplifiers:
Marantz 6006
Exposure 1010
Exposure 3010V2 Pre Exposure 3010V2 Power
NAD356
Klipsch Power Gate
Marantz M-CR610
PS Audio GCC100
Cables:
Speaker:
Taga TAVC-14
Nordost White Lightning
Interconnects:
Nordost White Lightning
Speakers:
TAGA Platinum B40SE V2
Mission MX-3
Heco Victa Prime 302
Heco Victa Prime 202
HiVi Jam & Lab 8
Amphion Helium 410
The procedure to play your music records via the TT5005 is very simple. You put on a record on the platter, select the desired speed by pressing the Speed button on the left side of the platter, close the dust cover & then press the Start button on the front ride side of the plinth. The plinth starts revolving and after about 5 seconds the tone arm moves in the direction of the record and quite abruptly drops the stylus onto the record! The music begins. Likewise when the last track on the particular side of the record is over, the tone arm moves upwards and goes back to its resting position, after which the platter stops revolving signalling the need to either change the side of the record or replace it with another one. During any point of time, one can press the stop button next to the start button which will result in the tone arm lifting up from the playing position on the record and moving back to its resting position as described above. We put on some records that we were not afraid to sacrifice as we feared the worst would happen. Our fears were amplified (pun intended) by us not realising that the phono pre can be disabled by a flick of the switch under the platter, in case one connects the TT5005 via the phono pre input of an amp/receiver having the said feature. The sound was heavily distorted and quite incoherent. We smugly smiled that our fears were proved correct. On downloading the manual, we realised our mistake, flicked the switch in the off position and started off once again. Everything fell into place post doing so and the music played rather nicely. We also connected the TT5005 to the AUX inputs of the amps with the built in phono pre of the TT5005 switched on to see how the sound changed with the built in phono pre of the TT5005 in action. It was very clear that the gain with the built in phono pre of the TT5005 was higher than the ones built in the amplifiers we used and also that it is a bare budget phono pre doing only what it was intended to do. No shame in that and certainly it did not shame itself in any which way. One must ensure to play clean records else the pops & crackles will be amplified to a great extent which puts off most people who are new to the vinyl fold.
Verdict:
For only Rs.16000/-, one is given a very easy entry into the world of Vinyl. The TT5005 is the perfect plug and play turntable that is ready to go, straight out of the box. If you’re looking for a quality brand of turntable that’s easy to use, then the TT5005 is ideal. A little larger than a record itself, the Marantz TT5005 is more compact than most turntables and so easy to place. The low profile lid keeps the dust out and helps keep the design simple. The TT5005 is a solid performer and recommend it to people who want to explore the world of Vinyl and what it has to offer or to those who have been bequeathed with a tidy number of records from either their fathers/uncles/grand fathers or other relatives who used to play their music in this format. The TT5005 is what you call a ‘get your feet wet in analogue’ type of turn table that will not only teach you the basics of a turn table in a fuss free manner but also prepare you to have the appetite, will and patience to take the analogue direction in a long term manner.