Is it worth getting my Marantz pre-amp fix or buying a new one

Cos

Cos

Audioholic Samurai
This AVP is only 4 years old, right? Sold in 2016?

Too bad you didn't use a Chase Amazon Visa CC, which extends any warranty by 1 additional year, so it would have been a 4YR warranty.

Then you could have filed a claim with Chase.
I have a Citibank card that give me 2 years beyond factory warranty, and trust me, some of the companies they use are not the best. I am in the process getting the Keurig water pump in my $3500 GE fridge and I actually drove down to their warranty company's office after 1 month of no replys. Bottom line it's getting fixed, but those extended warranty companies that support credit cards are a pain to deal with in my experience.
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
I have a Citibank card that give me 2 years beyond factory warranty, and trust me, some of the companies they use are not the best. I am in the process getting the Keurig water pump in my $3500 GE fridge and I actually drove down to their warranty company's office after 1 month of no replys. Bottom line it's getting fixed, but those extended warranty companies that support credit cards are a pain to deal with in my experience.
I haven't filed any claims over $200 each. :D

But I have filed 4 different claims from $175-$200 each and have gotten 4 checks. So my claim success is 100% (4/4) so far.

But again, nothing over $200.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
If you are not building a new house, how much would it cost to install (retrofit) a whole-house surge protection?

Yeah, I think most people don't have Whole-House Surge Protection or even know about it.

When I built my new house, I had to emphasize several times to my builder and electrician that I absolutely require whole-house surge protection. Otherwise, they would not have done it.

Like you said, most of these AVPs and AVRs are so complex these days. Any significant component failure will usually require purchasing a new AVP or AVR.
The cost of new/old construction will be the same. The bigger issue is separation of meter/entry point and the electric panel. If the two are close you can get away in a single phase home with a unit like this and the unit can be placed inside. That was the case at our lake place. The total cost with installation should be around $300 to $350.

On the other hand, if like in our new place the panel is a long way from the meter, then you need an outdoor rated unit at the meter. That is what I did here as the panel is in the utility room which is upstairs and on the other side of the house. Here our 'basement" is upstairs. There is nothing below ground. I have had enough of basements in this part of the world. So you would need a unit like this. That would get you into the $700.00 range. Well worth it.

However this should be combined with a Smart fast acting UPS. These will shave and increase voltage to keep voltage tightly controlled and switch to battery if the line is out of spec.

I have a UPS in the bottom of the three AV room racks, and one in the family room system and our in wall system. They power everything except the power amps. They power the whole IT system, Ethernet/cable modem, router, patch bay and hubs. Since bringing up the IT infrastructure over three months ago now there have been zero glitches and zero need for reboots.

I had an alarming incident at the lake a while back. It was on a national holiday of course. I noted that the voltage shave light was on on all four of my UPS units. (I had four there, but five here). So I checked the voltage and it was up to 139 volts. So I went off grid as I had a generator there and do here. I phoned the power company, who at first thought I was a nut job. However I convinced them there was a problem. By the time the power company got here the voltage had climbed to around 180 volts. A regulator at nearby County road 39 had gone rogue. If it had not been for those UPS units I, and a lot of others would have had enormous damage and may be fires.

My third level of protection is a whole house 30 HP generator. The former one was a lovely vintage Wisconsin/Kohler RMY V4 unit. This one is new, and a Cummins V2.
The cost of doing this has really come down. So in severe electrical storms it is my practice to take the residence off the grid. However the main reason for that is that I have issues where I can not be left without power.

I do think whole house surge protection and UPS units are well worth it. I think together they can probably prevent a lot of equipment failures. It is not just surges you need protection from but transient and not so transient line variations. I would bet that my investment in protection has paid for itself a few times over.

Lastly if your voltage stabilizer/controller does not have batteries, it is not adequate.
You would be surprised how often they show either lowering or increasing voltage and at times switching to battery when there are no storms or anything untoward going on.
 
Verdinut

Verdinut

Audioholic Spartan
This AVP is only 4 years old, right? Sold in 2016?

Too bad you didn't use a Chase Amazon Visa CC, which extends any warranty by 1 additional year, so it would have been a 4YR warranty.

Then you could have filed a claim with Chase.
I strongly doubt that any product warranty would cover damage caused by a power surge.
 
I

Ih82lose

Audiophyte
I have the same problem with my Marantz 7702mkii. Video and audio went out on the HDMI first. I could still get audio to pass over analog and fiber optic inputs, then that went a couple months later. No known surges, just stopped.

Did anyone here ever get theirs repaired or get an estimate?
 
Verdinut

Verdinut

Audioholic Spartan
I have the same problem with my Marantz 7702mkii. Video and audio went out on the HDMI first. I could still get audio to pass over analog and fiber optic inputs, then that went a couple months later. No known surges, just stopped.

Did anyone here ever get theirs repaired or get an estimate?
Your 7702 Mk II is a 7 year old processor. It is not worth spending money for repairs. It would cost quite a bit getting it fixed, but most likely, replacing parts will not be available.
I suggest that you get a good Denon AVR with pre-outs to drive your power amps. Currently released pe-pros are way too expensive and some Denon AVR preamp sections have performed better than pre-pros which sell for a lot more. I don't know how many channels you are using in your current setup, but if you don't need more than 9 channels, the the Denon AVR-X3700H is my recommendation if you can grab one. I am using one in its preamp mode and I'm quite satisfied with it.

 
Last edited:
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
My 7702mkii does come on, lights up, but no picture or no sound, i have done a reset on it, does not even play sound on the tuner. Had to replace my projector and blu ray player also. I have a rotel 1585 powering it, with b &w speakers CM 10's. I was hoping it would cost under 400 dollars,
It's likely that you lost the HDMI board and this is another reason to demand a new way to shove video around the system. HDMI has been problematic since its inception and they don't care.

Where are you located?

Also, since you think this happened because of a surge, check EVERY electronic device you own- if you find that you lost more but don't know until days/weeks/months have passed, you won't be able to go to your insurance or the power utility and have them cover your loss. Ask your neighbors, too- if more people lost electronics, you may be able to make a group claim.
 
A

Audiguy3

Enthusiast
I Had a power surge on my 7702mkii and it went out on me and was thinking about getting it repaired but is this the best case scenario or just getting a new preamp all together. Has anyone had any experience getting Marantz products repaired
I had a lighting strike and a voltage surge did my 8805 in. I sent it off for repair with success. I now have surge protectors on the gear and my ethernet switch feeding it
 
P

PENG

Audioholic Slumlord
I had a lighting strike and a voltage surge did my 8805 in. I sent it off for repair with success. I now have surge protectors on the gear and my ethernet switch feeding it
To increase the level of protection, you should also install whole home surge protection. For under $200, it is a good additional insurance.
 
A

Audiguy3

Enthusiast
If you are not building a new house, how much would it cost to install (retrofit) a whole-house surge protection?

Yeah, I think most people don't have Whole-House Surge Protection or even know about it.

When I built my new house, I had to emphasize several times to my builder and electrician that I absolutely require whole-house surge protection. Otherwise, they would not have done it.

Like you said, most of these AVPs and AVRs are so complex these days. Any significant component failure will usually require purchasing a new AVP or AVR.
I am getting quotes now. My best fried was quoted $450
 
A

Audiguy3

Enthusiast
To increase the level of protection, you should also install whole home surge protection. For under $200, it is a good additional insurance.
Getting quotes now thanks. I also forgot that appliances like refrigerators have lots of electronics as well as HVAC
 
P

PENG

Audioholic Slumlord
Getting quotes now thanks. I also forgot that appliances like refrigerators have lots of electronics as well as HVAC
My top choices:

Amazon.com: EATON CHSPT2ULTRA Ultimate Surge Protection 3rd Edition, 2.38" Length, 5.25" Width 7.5" Height : Electronics

Siemens FS140 Whole House Surge Protection , Gray (amazon.com)

The Siemens is better but I went with the Eaton for the much lower price. I also use surge protectors locally at the devices so I think the Eaton is more than good enough.

Both should be easy to install assuming you have the popular kind of distribution panels.
 
little wing

little wing

Audioholic General
I know from prior post, surge protectors do very little in the way of protection, but what about something like this ?
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
I know from prior post, surge protectors do very little in the way of protection, but what about something like this ?
Useless, because it is in the wrong place. With surge protection you want to prevent the damaging voltage spike getting into you home's electrical systems. So protection needs to be at the entry point of your electrical service to your home. That is not a negotiable point, but what is required for protection. This also protects, fridges, furnace, stoves, washers driers, AC and everything expensive you can think of. These days, there are "chips with everything". So you have to design accordingly.

Lastly that unit cost more than having whole house surge protection installed.
 
little wing

little wing

Audioholic General
Useless, because it is in the wrong place. With surge protection you want to prevent the damaging voltage spike getting into you home's electrical systems. So protection needs to be at the entry point of your electrical service to your home. That is not a negotiable point, but what is required for protection. This also protects, fridges, furnace, stoves, washers driers, AC and everything expensive you can think of. These days, there are "chips with everything". So you have to design accordingly.

Lastly that unit cost more than having whole house surge protection installed.
Point taken, thank you. I will look into whole house protection at the entry point. My house was built in 2008, so hopefully it won't be too costly. But what you say makes plenty of sense.
 
little wing

little wing

Audioholic General
IMO, that Panamax product is overpriced. I use an APC H15 power conditioner that cost less made by a firm which supplies large companies:

I actually have this. I bought it 5 years ago at BB. I paid a little over $300. I think there was some sort of sale going on at the time. But I don't think the regular price was over $600.. It blows my mind that it's over 6 bills right now. Ridiculous..
 
Verdinut

Verdinut

Audioholic Spartan
Useless, because it is in the wrong place. With surge protection you want to prevent the damaging voltage spike getting into you home's electrical systems. So protection needs to be at the entry point of your electrical service to your home. That is not a negotiable point, but what is required for protection. This also protects, fridges, furnace, stoves, washers driers, AC and everything expensive you can think of. These days, there are "chips with everything". So you have to design accordingly.

Lastly that unit cost more than having whole house surge protection installed.
Except that when you live in an apartment, whole house protection is out of the question.
 

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