Marantz CD-7
Dear all Hi-Fi Enthusiasts:
I would like to share a very bad experience I have had with all of you and I hope to get your honest oppinion about it.
A few months ago I googled Marantz CD-7, because I had heard so many superlatives about this famous player and I therefore desperately wanted a chance to be the owner of this ancient, but very natural player. Apart from this I had once heard a Philips CD-560 with the normal Philips TDA1541 converters and I remember it to be very smooth, soft and natural in its sound. Anyway one of the links was actually for a CD-7 for sale in Germany and I was just thrilled to actually be able to find this very rare player for sale at all. I have seen two or three up for sale, but did not have the money to buy them at the time. anyway I contacted the owner and he was very nice and offered to take it off the web as well as off his personal sales-list in his shop (He sells PA-Gear down in Frankfurt), since this was his own private player. He even offered to send it up to his shop in Hamburg, Germany, so it was much easier and a much shorter distance for me to travel to get it (I live in Copenhagen, Denmark). Well everything was fine and there was only (for me at least) a minor formality, which had to be cleared with the owner before final sale. That minor formality was that since he had not sent me any photos of the INSIDE of the player, so as to show the inside of the player, thus that the buyer could verify that everything looked and seemed in good and original order, (especially the Philips TDA1541A S2 (Double Crown) converters). The reason for wanting to see the inside, was because IF the unit had been modified or more directly said downgraded, such that for example the Double Crowns had been switched to Single Crowns or even just to the regular TDA1541A's, then you guys know as well as I that not only would the unit not play as well as the original, but should I ever decide to sell it someday, YOU KNOW, that that player wouldn't be worth HALF the price of an original. It would be different if say it was a used new model like for instance the SA-7S1, because then at least it would be possible to modify it back to its original state from Marantz themselves, since they would have all the necessary parts used for this model available on hand or at least in stock. But for this extremely rare model, the CD-7, it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to get a hold of a pair of genuine TDA1541A S2 (Double Crown) converters and not even Philips themselves, I believe, have ANY of these vintage converters in stock. THEREFORE I simply asked it it was possible to either have some tools ready when I arrived in the shop, such that I or the shops staff, could open the lid, such that I could, at least to a certain degree, verify that the converters where there, having printed out some the excellent photos posted on the Philips/Marantz website as a verification-tool. So when I suggested this to the owner, He got COMPLETELY offensive, asking me why I wanted to do this now and what was the reason for all of this. I tried to explain to him why, as I explained to you guys above and that it was nothing personal toward him, but since I payed the full asking price for the item (3000 euros), I believed I was entitled to ask this small favour. He exploted at me saying: "WELL YOU DON'T SPLIT A CAR OPEN AND TAKE EVERYTHING APART, BEFORE YOU BUY, DO YOU???". I REPLIED: "WELL YOU DON'T BUY A FERRARI EITHER, WITHOUT LOOKING UNDER THE HOOD FIRST, DO YOU???" and then he continued to say that this sale could go either to ways.
1) Either I would open it and If I MADE EVEN THE SLIGTEST SCRATCH IN THE PROCESS OF OPENING IT, THE SHOP WOULD IMMIDIATELY ASK FOR THE 3000 EUROS AND I WOULD AUTOMATICALLY HAVE BOUGHT THE ITEM!!! I then pointed out to him, that if he had read my mail correctly I said that I/WE as in his staff TOGETHER could open it, such that I would not be solely reliable for any damage done in the process, which I as he got more and more hostile obviously changed so that his staff ALONE would open it, so that I would not be reliable at all.
2) the item was opened and if something was found not to be original or not the way it should be, He would STILL not even go down in price at all, he would only not force me to buy the item (Which I obviously would not have done!!!)
I then told him, that I did not like his threatening tone and that I was a paying customer, working my ass off 14 hours a day 7 days a week, just to be able to pay him his asking price, but then I also believed, that I was entitled to check and see, what exactly I was buying. By the way, if the item was as he said it was (that is 100% original), then what was all the fuss about??? Just unscrew those four or six screws of however many it would take to open it, look to confirm that everything was okay (WITHOUT TOUCHING ANYTHING OF COURSE!!!) AND THEN PUT THE LID BACK ON AND THEN EVERYTHING WOULD HAVE BEEN FINE!!! (I have seen photos of it and it seemed in mint condition, only, as I said, I have just not seen any inside photos of the item).
Instead the next day he had written a mail saying that he could not have respect for CRAZY INDIVIDUALS, to qwote him exactly, who wanted to take everything apart and that I could either buy the item as it was or I could not buy it at all, as simple as that. I was simply STUNNED guys!!! I couldn't believe he called me CRAZY!!!!!! He then continued to say that in his 30 or so years of having to do with PA-gear, he had NEVER encountered and individual who asked for this. I then answered him, the thing I just said about the Ferrari and said that if he thought that a guy would buy a used ferrari WITHOUT looking under the hood, before he put the money on the table, then I was sure that people would call him crazy before they called me crazy. I then said lastly that I would go along with not opening it in the store, but that I WOULD open it once I got home and if ANYTHING was not the way it was supposed to be or if anyrthing was wrong or missing and if he then did then not IMMIDIATELY return my money, then I would write to every single forum and web-site I could find and tell the truth about him and his product. This morning then he had written, that He was NOT going to sell his CD-7 to me and that I should NOT contact him ANYMORE. By the way I had just bought the train-tickets the day before and he knew that (100 euros).
My question is to you guys simply: Am I completely out of character here????? Since the CD-7 is a vintage player and since the Double Crowns are almost impossible to find, am I not entitled to verify that everything is genuine inside as well as out?????? Please tell me if I am wrong here, because I cannot tell you how much I had looked forward to getting this player and to me at least, this guy is in my oppinion is a bastard of proportions...Am I wrong here??? Is what I am asking completely Out of the ordinary??? I have asked my local Hi-Fi-dealer, which is the dealer of Audio Note and Marantz among other brands and he doesn't think I am crazy, as a matter of fact he does the same thing all the time he says and he asks the owners THEMSELVES to open their units, so that he doesn't get blamed and becomes liable in the process of opening it.
I am sorry if this message is very long and confusing, but I am really just very very sad, cus' I had just looked so much forward to listening to and aquiering this player. And so obviously since I am not buying his player anymore, then I would like to let it be known that i am STILL looking for a Marantz CD-7 and so if ANYBODY IS SELLING OR KNOWS OF ANYONE WHO IS SELLING THIS PLAYER, THEN PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I HAVE BY THE WAY LISTED A "POST TO WANT IT NOW" ADD ON EBAY WANTING THIS PLAYER, WHICH IS ON THIS WEB-SITE:
http://wantitnow.ebay.co.uk/Marantz-CD-7-High-End-CD-Player_W0QQadidZ160304871885
Thank you everyone for reading this. Hope you can understand my frustration and sadness.
Sincerely Stax DMA-X2.
