There's a variety of them that hit eBay now and again. I know they're functionally stripped down, use PCBs rather than point-to-point wiring, are made with cheap Chinese components,and don't look a whit like a Marantz, but there's a chance I might be able to touch one in real life, unlike a real 7.

Has anyone actually bit the bullet on one of these? Impressions?

I don't think i've ever seen a marantz clone, but I will keep an eye out on ebay for one.

So, lemme see if I've got this right: they don't LOOK at all like a Marantz 7, they aren't BUILT anything like a Marantz 7, they have fewer FEATURES than a Marantz 7.

So, why do you call them a Chinese Marantz 7 clone??

Yer pulling our leg, right? :pistols:

I think they use a PCB with pre-made traces to emulate the model 7.

"Clone" is not the right word for those things. They're far from the original. But I'm also interested if anyone has tried one of those Chinese Marantz 7 things.

if u wanna have the real thing buy one!!!! how sad to even think bout buyin a not even close clone.

There are several Kits of parts based on the line amp circuit of the Marantz 7 line stage available from either Hong Kong or China. Most with good to very good components, most with regulated power supplies and dc filaments as well.
But the Marantz 7 circuit, I found, has a dominant mid range that may only well paired with the Marantz 9 power, otherwise, pairing with other power amps will find that the system lacking bass.
Clone, definitely is not

I think they use a PCB with pre-made traces to emulate the model 7.

How'd you find the info? Let's have a looky see.

How'd you find the info? Let's have a looky see.


Here is one of them... They have Mac boards as well... :scratch2:

http://stores.ebay.com/DIY-Gene

Where's the iron?

How'd you find the info? Let's have a looky see.

All you have to do is go to Ebay and search Marantz 7 and a number of them will pop up. A lot come up down below in the Ebay stores section. I think most of them just use the "Marantz 7" name in their title and say dumb things like "based on the famous Marantz 7 tube preamp..." I doubt they follow the circuit too closely from the little I looked at them. They don't don't use the same tubes for instance?

i believe they have "music angle" carved into the wood face also

last year it was the matisse cicut they were copying

I have one of these "Music Angle" Units. I am no audiophile, but I have a nice 100w pc power amp and this thing sounds pretty sweet as it's pre.

I have a friend who works with tube gear all the time and he took a look inside. His opinion was that the unit was well made, used good components and was good value for money.

I have had it for 2 months now and it's been a revelation when it comes to listening pleasure for me.

I can take some pics of the insides if anyone is interested.

I'd be interested to see what sort of passives (caps, e.g.) they used, so, yes, please do post some looks at the innards if you're so inclined.

I have one of these "Music Angle" Units. I am no audiophile, but I have a nice 100w pc power amp and this thing sounds pretty sweet as it's pre.

I have a friend who works with tube gear all the time and he took a look inside. His opinion was that the unit was well made, used good components and was good value for money.

I have had it for 2 months now and it's been a revelation when it comes to listening pleasure for me.

I can take some pics of the insides if anyone is interested.

Yes! Pics would be very nice as I was thinking about picking up one of those myself. :yes:

thanks

Anyone have purchased these clones finally?

A while back a friend of mine bought one and i asked him to bring it over for a listening test.
I allso looked under the hood and i think it's build good.
The components used are allso good quality.

I connected it to the model 500 and can give only a positive comment on the Chinese guy.

The re-issue 7c are a little more reasonable the original....

I don't think those Chinese PCB things can actual sound like a 7c.... Personally a refurb 7t will be a lot closer.....


jlk

A while back a friend of mine bought one and i asked him to bring it over for a listening test.
I allso looked under the hood and i think it's build good.
The components used are allso good quality.

I connected it to the model 500 and can give only a positive comment on the Chinese guy.

What ever happen to your 7c ? Or was it an 8b that you came across?

jk

The 7 and 8B are still here, no worries. ;-)



http://i36.tinypic.com/ddz40.jpg

The 7 and 8B are still here, no worries. ;-)



And me still liky....

Some are labeled "Music Angle" and some are "Music Angel".

I considered buying one until I noticed that they couldn't even spell the bloody NAME consistently on the faceplate.

dead thread walking

I was using a couple of Fishers, a 1000A, all restored...then I bought a set of Dared VP20's.

I always thought the Sansui would be hard to beat, but the Dareds did it. When I found the right valves for it, it really got sweet.

The Music Angel may not be a Marantz, but I would not be afraid of the Chinese gear. A lot more inexpensive, and you may like it better.

MHO,
Chas

I have had them removed from ebay a couple of times for misleading adds as they stated Marantz name as in built by. I notice now they are more careful. Calling this a clone is like stating your Geo is and escalade.

I kind of like the term, "Music Angle." <grin>

Do a search for "Marantz amp" and look for red in the thumbnail pics.
The first time I saw that I thought somebody painted a Marantz.
Not that there's anything wrong with that...;)

OK, only took 20 months to get some pics. Had the setup apart for a clean, and since someone had been on the thread recently, thought I would take some pics for you all.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3658/3548717358_a30a6de2fc_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3642/3547905185_fa51442672_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3602/3547903455_240cec4051_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3547/3547901773_e882cb5f1f_b.jpg

Case is very solid and the connectors are of a decent quality. I have had the amp for 2 yrs now without any issues and to my untrained ear it still sound superb.

Money well spent for me, an audiophile might disagree.

Another internal pic on their EBay ad ...

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/MA-Ref-Marantz-7-Modified-Class-A-Valve-Tube-Pre-Amp_W0QQitemZ270390040943QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_Def aultDomain_0?hash=item270390040943&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A1|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1| 293%3A1|294%3A50#ebayphotohosting

Voltage: 110V - 240V AVAILABLE
Weight: 13kg
Dimensions: Length 470mm x Height 370mm x Depth 110mm
Frequency Respond: 10Hz ~ 40KHz+/-1dB
Input voltage: 100mV - 2000mV
Signal/Noise Ratio: 89 dB
Vacuum Tube: 6z4 x1. Amplify tube 12AX7 / 6N4x2, 12AU7x1
Supply Voltage: AC110V / 60Hz or 220V / 50Hz
Power Consumption: 45W
Input Jack : 3 Groups

Impressive,much more goodies in there than the mid 90's pioneer amp I
opened up last week.How is the sound? will it push big 12" woofers?
How does it compare sound wise to say a 2215 or 2220 or is it more
in line with a t-amp? wpc?

Impressive,much more goodies in there than the mid 90's pioneer amp I
opened up last week.How is the sound? will it push big 12" woofers?
How does it compare sound wise to say a 2215 or 2220 or is it more
in line with a t-amp? wpc?

I can't compare the sound beacuse I have only really ever had one decent set-up and this is it.

I run it with a 100wpc power amp - made by McLaren of New Zealand in the early 80's - these power amps have a fearsome rep. I also have a pair of vintage Pioneer CS811a speakers.

The sound, to my untrained ear, is fantastic. I first noticed the separation of instruments. I can easily hear each instrument and voices stand out superbly.

Below 20% of volume the strength of this setup doesn't show. I work from home, so when no-one else is around I can crank it up to 30% and really hear the benefits. It is an especially nice setup for well produced music. Classical, acoustic and jazz all sound superb. It does a great job with classic rock - which is where my listening usually lies.

One thing I have noticed is that it makes you really appreciate music that has been really well recorded and produced. Fleetwood Mac and Supertramp both sound brilliant - both bands I would previously have considered too middle of the road for me. It is the separation of the instruments that has changed my perception of these recordings.

Sorry I can't be more help. My experience doesn't let me give you a technical rundown on the sound quality. My experience suggests that for US$200 these amps are a good buy.

The build quality also looks as though that any future problems will be easy enough to repair as the PCB work looks pretty good.

Hope that helps.

Mine says "Music Angle" on the front and "Music Angel" on the back - but IMHO a Chinese electronic engineer's skills cannot be measured by his command of a language that he hasn't been brought up with. I'd hate to be judged by my command of mandarin.

Give one of these a try - I reckon you'll get most of your money back pretty quickly on EBay if it doesn't suit you.

Very weird. The pics here .. http://www.hi-end.on9mart.com/cart/Music%20Angle%20-%20Marantz-7.html

Show 2 different PCB setups???

http://www.e-audio.net/servlet/Detail?no=11

More internal pics here.

Good price too.

I've got a Music Angle (Angel) Pre Amp I bought from a guy in the U.S. for about 2 C-notes, sounds pretty good, its hooked to my Carver m1.5t. Sounds ok to me running through my JBL L65's.

That picture shows some quality work. :thmbsp:

I have a Meng integrated tube amp that sounds incredible. Get complements all the time. Looking at buying another of a different model.

I could tell just by looking at the plates on those tubes, that it will not sound very good. A few years back, I had build a few Marantz 7 circuit from scatch, and was using Telefunken tubes with point to point wiring. They sound just great. I was using super regulated 12 volts on the filament, and no reglation on the B+ at all. But I was using a choke on the high volyage B+ though. From trial and errror, I found the with regulated B+, the sound was a bit too hard for my taste, so I opted to use just choke and high value caps instead. In those chinese 12AX7s the plate is so tiny, they look more like the high frequency 6DJ8 tubes. From my expereience, I never found the 6DJ8 tube to be very smooth. Yes, it does hit you on the first 15 min. of listening, but after about one hour, you get so tense, that for sure you will need a few drinks to calm you down.

I have what might be a couple of dumb questions about this unit. First, there are 3 inputs but there appears to be 4 input toggles on the front. (CD, AUX, TAPE, VIDEO) What does the 4th one do? Second, where is the power on/off switch? Thanks.

I have what might be a couple of dumb questions about this unit. First, there are 3 inputs but there appears to be 4 input toggles on the front. (CD, AUX, TAPE, VIDEO) What does the 4th one do? Second, where is the power on/off switch? Thanks.

First off read my signature. There is no Video input. I run my Blue Ray to the Tape, works great. They probably planned to use it at one time. The control to the far left is Off/On/Off. No tone or balance controls but a good pre amp doesn't need them. Less is more. Mine sounds amazing.

I have seen several of these from one supplier. Sadly there is no way to verify that it is the same circuit as the Marantz 7's linestage. Surely it doesn't have the tone controls and phono stage the the 7 had.

IIRC, it is a board. It is missing tubes, chassis and a power supply all the way back to the power cord.. But the prices are not good but not bad. So someone else should have to try it first.

This is strictly a line-level preamp that "looks" like a Marantz. There's been
a number of PCB designed around the Marantz 7 but none that I've seen
are any more than the line level side.

There's an earlier board, LS-7B, that uses 3 12ax7s and 2-5687 (for power)
and the one in the picture uses 2 12ax7s and a 12au7 (MLS-7L).

The 12au7 is probably used as a cathode follower and is probably better
suited than the 12ax7 for output impedance and drive current.

In any case, the line stage of most preamp designs back in the
day, were mostly 12ax7 in cascade and if high-end, added a CF.

You could call all of these Marantz 7 designs.

These PCBs out of China are very well made and can be ordered
by Ebay from Hong Kong. Some of them come assembled and
just need a case, switches, RCAs, and a transformer.

BUT, BEWARE, the circuit designs may be unstable, incorrectly
designed, or simply dangerous to use. If you have the knowledge,
these PCBs can be nudged back from the brink with very careful
attention to design parameters.

regards
Bob

This is strictly a line-level preamp that "looks" like a Marantz. There's been
a number of PCB designed around the Marantz 7 but none that I've seen
are any more than the line level side.

There's an earlier board, LS-7B, that uses 3 12ax7s and 2-5687 (for power)
and the one in the picture uses 2 12ax7s and a 12au7 (MLS-7L).

The 12au7 is probably used as a cathode follower and is probably better
suited than the 12ax7 for output impedance and drive current.

In any case, the line stage of most preamp designs back in the
day, were mostly 12ax7 in cascade and if high-end, added a CF.

You could call all of these Marantz 7 designs.

These PCBs out of China are very well made and can be ordered
by Ebay from Hong Kong. Some of them come assembled and
just need a case, switches, RCAs, and a transformer.

BUT, BEWARE, the circuit designs may be unstable, incorrectly
designed, or simply dangerous to use. If you have the knowledge,
these PCBs can be nudged back from the brink with very careful
attention to design parameters.

regards
Bob

Usually the sellers feedback will tell the story. I would beware of sellers with low feedback or high negative feedback numbers more so than where it comes from. Many high dollar top end audio dealers have their products manufactured in China and other countries. Then some of the builders take these designs and slap a different name, box, or both on them and sell for much less. Happens with almost everything made now days. Amps, guitars, flat panels for TV's etc. I have a 42" SVA from China, same SVA that makes computer monitors. It has a Samsung panel in it. I got it cheap back when the plasma's were very high dollar. Still works perfectly. Just one example.

I can tell you this pre I have has been owned by three American's, I'm the third, and it sounds and works perfectly. Better than most pre amps I've heard in my 47 years.

I would say go by what people who own them more so than people making generalized claims, mostly base on where it is made or what name they refer to it by. Emotiva is a Chinese made brand. A company in TN with a sales manager named Vincent Chen. Good quality control and components are what makes good sound. Not meters, test gear, and who and where it is made.