Marantz 4415 Tape Out Issue

[Aristotle]

I have just acquired a Marantz 4415 which is supposed to be in "mint" condition. It has a working SQA-2B decoder. So far all the functions appear to work except for the following:

1. In any 4 channel more (Discrete, Vari-matric, SQ), the rear "tape out" issues nothing EXCEPT when the input selector is set to AUX. So I cannot get the rear SQ phono channels via the tape out. The speaker output on the other hand works as I would expect.

2. Nothing comes out of the "tape out", front or rear, when receiving 4 channels via the "Tape In" connections (and the Tape Monitor toggle is on). The speakers do output all 4 channels.

Is this by design, or is this "wrong" ?

If by design, how can I use the Marantz 4415 to RIP SQ LP's?

If it is wrong, anybody know who can service these things in the greater Toronto area?

Thanks.

 

[Quadzilla]

It is by design. The thinking at the time was that you did not have to record discretely. You could just make a stereo (cassette or other tape) copy of the LP and then decode it using the SQ decoder.

My Sansui QRX-6500 would output the decoded 4 channels, but my (newer) QRX-7001 will not. Seems like a leap backwards, since the decoder section of the 7001 is better. To my knowledge, there is no way to do what you want to do with a Marantz.

 

[Aristotle]

Thanks - I guess I have to rethink my setup.

 

[atrocity]

2. Nothing comes out of the "tape out", front or rear, when receiving 4 channels via the "Tape In" connections (and the Tape Monitor toggle is on).

If the tape out worked with the monitor engaged, you'd be sending the deck's signal back to itself, then back to the receiver, then back to the deck...etc. Wouldn't be pretty!

 

[Aristotle]

Not really. Tape 1 -> 4415 -> Tape 2.

...where Tape 1 is 4 channel line output from computer
...where Tape 2 is a powered 4.0 speaker system.

I'm assuming that "Tape In" is a "Line In", just like ("Aux") and "Tape Out" is just "Line Out".

Am I wrong?

 

[Aristotle]

Thanks - I guess I have to rethink my setup.

I've just ordered a NE-774V from DavidNavone.com, which is "designed to connect the speaker level output of a factory type deck into the pre-amp level of an equalizer, xover, or amplifier."

I wont be surprised if the signal quality is slightly degraded, but I do expect it to be good enough for my little setup.

See http://www.davidnavone.com/cart.asp?24&cat=7

I'll try to remember to post the outcome when I get it.

 

[atrocity]

Not really. Tape 1 -> 4415 -> Tape 2.

...where Tape 1 is 4 channel line output from computer
...where Tape 2 is a powered 4.0 speaker system.

I'm assuming that "Tape In" is a "Line In", just like ("Aux") and "Tape Out" is just "Line Out".

Am I wrong?

"Tape Monitor" usually means "The source being recorded [e.g., Phono] goes out the TAPE OUT jacks, into the recorder, then back in the TAPE IN jacks." This was *extremely* useful back in the days of analog recording with three-head tape decks: You could literally hear the signal off the tape a fraction of a second after it had been recorded, which let you know how well the recording turned out without having to rewind the tape and play it back later in real time.

When playing back an already-recorded tape, you'd switch on the tape monitor and the other source (phono, FM, whatever) would still be sent to the TAPE OUT jacks, but you wouldn't care.

What you're talking about is more of a dubbing function, which some nicer receivers also had...and maybe that's exactly the situation you're describing and I'm just confused. Again.

 

[Aristotle]

"Tape Monitor" usually means "The source being recorded [e.g., Phono] goes out the TAPE OUT jacks, etc.

Thanks atrocity, I did not know that.

 

[Mr. Poobah]

Well, phooey. We thought we might have had an answer for you in that we thought your Marantz 4415 was similar enough to the 4400. In the 4400, the Selector switch outputs are fed to the Dolby Noise Reduction switch (a built-in feature allowing for recording Dolby to a non-Dolby source or removing a Dolby source while recording) and the Tape Out jacks to the Mode switch. We then realized the 4415 doesn't have the Dolby selection switch. We're not sure how they configured your Selector switch outputs. The Tape Out jacks to the Mode switch should still be the same, though. Do you have the owner's manual? They're relatively easy and cheap to acquire either hard copy or on cd via eBay or multiple on-line sites. Marantz was usually pretty good in spelling out exactly how to set your receiver for any of it's configuration capabilities and identifying the respective signal paths. Good luck!

 

[Aristotle]

Well, phooey. We thought we might have had an answer for you in that we thought your Marantz 4415 was similar enough to the 4400.

Thanks for the effort. I actually went through every combination of selector/mode settings and could not get the "phono in" to come out the "rear tape out" anyway, anyhow.

I'm still waiting for my NE-774V from davidnavone.com to convert the speaker output to a line level. If that doesn't produce satisfactory results, I may just record the stereo signal and playback that way. It would be interesting to see if a digital copy of an SP-encoded stereo signal would be properly decoded by the Marantz - I know of no reason why it would not.

 

[Aristotle]

Do you have the owner's manual? They're relatively easy and cheap to acquire either hard copy or on cd via eBay or multiple on-line sites.

Thanks for your help Mr. Poobah.

I do have a copy of the service manual.

The 4415 owner's manual is actually a hard find. I inquired about an listing posted by wolvestrading. I got no reply, and the listing mysteriously disappeared from ebay. The only website which claimed to have it was manualuniverse.com (in PDF format). I bought it, but when I followed up, the owners manual disappeared from their site and they emailed me a PDF of the service manual instead.

I just purchased a hardcopy of the 4415 manual from ebay seller audioarchives, and they seem to be legitimate.

My advice to anyone looking for a manual is to avoid anyone selling copies in electronic format, they don't seem to be on the "up and up". PayPal protection only applies to tangible goods, although some victims have reported that PayPal has refunded them anyway.

 

[Mr. Poobah]

Yow! Sorry you had to go through all those hoops to find a legitimate source. Thanks for the warning!

 

[Aristotle]

I've just ordered a NE-774V from DavidNavone.com, which is "designed to connect the speaker level output of a factory type deck into the pre-amp level of an equalizer, xover, or amplifier."

I got the unit and just tested it with my Sansui QRX-9001.

I'm no expert, but it sounds great. I can't detect any degradation, just have to be careful with the receiver's volume control.

As for actually using a the Marantz 4415 receiver for a line out source, I've acquired a 400-B demodulator - problem solved.

Once again, thanks for the help.

 

[georgeursache]

hello

could you help me with a 4415 owner's manual in pdf format ? i saw one hard copy on ebay but is quite expensive to get from US to Europe. thank you