Vinylphile Magazine : Equipment Reviews

Marantz • TT-15S1 Integrated Turntable

By Rich Teer | October 19th, 2010

Part of the fun of being a vinyl lover is that we can mix and match the components that make up our source, especially as one looks at higher priced gear. Not only do we get to pick what turntable we want to use, we can also choose which arm and cartridge to use. Some combinations work better than others, and not everyone likes to play around trying different things, so an equally valid approach is that of the integrated turntable. Integrated turntables include an arm, and quite often (up to a certain price point), a cartridge.

An advantage of buying an integrated turntable—especially to vinyl newbies—is that much of the guess work has been removed: the manufacturer has presumably chosen an arm and cartridge that have good synergy with the turntable and each other. One example of such an integrated turntable is the Marantz TT-15S1, which was released back in 2006. Unlike the digital world, where a four year old product would probably be consigned to the scrap heap for being past its “best before” date, analogue products tend to have a longer shelf life (for example, the venerable SME Series V tonearm was released in 1986, yet it is still widely regarded as being one of the best available).

What we have for review here, then, is a mid-priced integrated turntable and cartridge.

Technical Description

A joint development between Marantz by Clearaudio (and manufactured by the latter for Marantz in Germany), the TT-15S1 could be likened to a Clearaudio Emotion on steroids. It features a 20 mm thick satin white acrylic plinth, which is supported by three large polished aluminum feet. With the exception of felt pads on the bottom of its feet, the TT-15S1 has no suspension so it should be placed on a fairly well isolated platform, especially on suspended wooden floors.

The plinth has a hole in the back left corner, through which the shaft of the standalone AC synchronous motor appears. When placed correctly the motor doesn’t touch the plinth, reducing transmitted vibrations. The motor has a captive AC lead and a power switch (speed selection is performed manually by moving the silicone drive belt from one pulley wheel to the other).

The main bearing is made from hardened and polished steel in a sintered bronze housing, upon which the 28 mm thick acrylic platter is placed. Users may optionally place a felt mat on top of the platter, in which case the height of the tonearm must be set appropriately using the supplied spacer.

Talking of which, the TT-15S1’s tonearm is a variant of the Clearaudio Satisfy, with an anodised aluminum arm tube. It features handmade Swiss vertical and lateral bearings made from sapphire, Clearaudio Direct Wire for an unbroken signal path from the cartridge pins to the phono stage, and an elegant magnetic anti-skate control.

Finally, the TT-15S1 comes packaged with a Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood MM cartridge (the top-but-one entry in Clearaudio’s MM cartridge line up), and a Souther Engineering plastic record camp (the Souther Clever Clamp).

One of my pet peeves with most modern turntables is that they don’t include a dust cover—even a soft vinyl one—and the TT-15S1 is no exception. I appreciate that dust covers can have a deleterious effect on sound quality, but in my opinion there’s no excuse for turntable manufacturers not including a removable dust cover, especially at this price level.

Setup and Listening

My review sample came preassembled, but reading the manual suggests that assembly is fairly straightforward and should only take a few minutes. Of course, adjusting everything so that it is just right will take a bit longer! Using the supplied counterweight as a shim, setting the arm’s height is easily and accurately done. Adjusting the tracking weight is easy too, but I found the accuracy of the counterweight’s markings to be somewhat lacking. It’s accurate enough to get the VTF in the right ballpark, but I highly recommend the use of a digital stylus force gauge to accurately set the tracking weight.

After checking all adjustments and setting the VTF to the recommended 2.2 g, I placed the TT-15S1 on my Target turntable stand and played it for a couple of dozen hours before starting my serious evaluation. I reviewed the whole ensemble (TT-15S1 turntable, Satisfy arm, and Virtuoso Wood cartridge) as a unit because that’s how most purchasers will experience it.

Most of my auditioning was performed without the optional mat.

Once set up, the TT-15S1 is easy to use. Just select the correct motor pulley for the desired speed, place the record and clamp on the platter, turn on the motor, place the arm over the desired part of the record, and lower the cueing lever. The latter is damped so that one can’t accidentally lower the cartridge too quickly, thus avoiding potentially damaging it. One operational quirk I should mention, though, is that I found it beneficial to give the platter a little spin just before turning on the motor, especially when playing 45s. There was a fair bit of juddering due to the silicone belt slipping when I started the motor at 45 RPM, although everything settled down within a second or so. Nothing serious, then, but something to be aware of.

The first record I played was Mike Oldfield’s wonderful Tubular Bells [Virgin Records V2001]. Many background details were easily discerned, but a thin aural haze prevented me from listening into the record as much as I can on my (admittedly much more costly) reference front end. Surface noises (hiss, ticks, and pops) were slightly exaggerated, resulting in a background that wasn’t as silent as it could be.

Bass was fine for the most part, although it’s a little bit light in the lower regions, especially when large dynamics are called for. For example, the bass drum in the CSO’s rendition of Prokofiev’s Lt. Kije [Classic Records/RCA Victor LSC-2150] lacks a bit of weight and doesn’t move as much air as it should: at realistic sound levels you should be able to feel the drum in your chest more than I experienced. I admit, though, that this might be an unrealistic expectation from a front end that’s on the right side of $2,000. Another example of the bass lacking some weight is the foot stomping in Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s Who Were You Talking to from their 1987 album, Shaka Zulu [WEA 925-582-1].

The midrange was well reproduced, male and female voices faring very well, although sibilants were slightly exaggerated (Rain, Rain, Beautiful Rain from Shaka Zulu is a good example of this).

The treble is light and airy, with some slight softening at the top end. This softening can be heard in the celeste on the second movement (Romance) of Lt. Kije, and the triangle and sleigh bells in Troika (the fourth movement). Offsetting this small deficiency is the portrayal of the air around such instruments: you really get a sense of the acoustic space in which the instruments are playing.

Talking of acoustic spaces, I must mention how well the TT-15S1 images. It does a great job in the retrieval of ambient clues with respect to the space in which the recording took place. The soundstage isn’t vast (it is narrower than the best I’ve heard, but still projects an image outside the speakers’ boundaries), but the imaging within it is superb. The aforementioned tracks from Shaka Zulu illustrate this admirably: one can clearly hear the individual singers, stretched out in an arc. Another, perhaps better, example (because it is a more difficult test) is that of the “Nasal Choir” humming bits (the “Nasal Chorus”) in Tubular Bells (at about the same time as the honky tonk piano): what usually comes across as a semi-congealed mass of humming is revealed as several distinct individuals, each humming in their own location. By this I mean that although one could hear the individuals humming and drawing breath previously, it sounded as though they were all in the same position.

Recorded details are reproduced fairly well, except when things start getting busy. When a lot is going on (say, for example, towards the end of side one of Tubular Bells), a bit of congestion sets in and some details become harder to discern.

The preceding paragraphs describe what I heard using the turntable sans mat. I’ve never been a big fan of felt mats, especially in areas prone to static. However, being thorough in this review demanded that I at least try the included mat. By placing the stylus on a still record and tapping various parts of the plinth and the stand’s top plate, I was able to determine (or otherwise) the efficacy of the mat. After repeating this experiment several times, I can confidently state that the mat does have a positive effect on damping the sound of tapping. Score one for the mat, but what about actually playing a record?

Using the mat necessitates raising the arm (using the supplied shim), to compensate in the change of VTA due to the mat’s thickness. It is therefore possible that I had set up the arm very slightly differently, but I did notice a small, but worthwhile improvement when using the mat. Most notably, backgrounds were a bit blacker (i.e., the surface noise is less pronounced), and a subtle sheen or haze that was previously present was now absent (or at least much reduced).

Verdict

The Marantz TT-15S1 is closely related to the Clearaudio Emotion, so one can easily argue that it comes from a somewhat distinguished pedigree. Fortunately for potential purchasers, with sound quality that is pretty good overall (especially when the mat is used) and build quality that is also good, the TT-15S1 lives up to its pedigree. If looks and decor are important to you, the TT- 15S1’s striking white acrylic finish will be a refreshing change from the usual black. All things considered, if you’re looking for an integrated turntable at or around this price point, the Marantz TT-15S1 is well worth considering, and certainly worth an audition.

Specifications

Description Belt drive, unsuspended integrated turntable.
Speeds 33.3 and 45 RPM ±0.2%.
Signal to noise ratio 80 dB.
Channel separartion 30 dB.
Weight 8.9 kg (including tonearm and motor).
Serial number of unit reviewed MZ000538000600.
Price $1,499.
Warranty Five years non-transferable (30 days on cartridge and stylus).

Manufacturer

Marantz America
100 Corporate Drive
Mahwah, NJ 07430-2041
USA
(201) 762-6500
www.marantz.com

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