[nofacemonster]

Hi everyone, with help of modern technology i turned my good ol' marantz in to bluetooth by using UGREEN bluetooth adaptor. it works well and but there is a little problem which i've been trying to fix yet failed.

Problem is whatever i played through UGREEN bluetooth is not loud compared to others like Blu ray Player and the inbuilt FM Tuner. To get the sound loud enough i have to crank the volume higher in the amplifier.

I have a feeling that the loudest settings of the bluetooth adaptor is not enough for Marantz receiver. There is a PHONO IN of the amplifier and it is explained that PHONO in goes via a preamp. So i plugged it there yet the sound seemed all muffled and crippled.

Any idea what i should do? Do i need to buy a preamp as well

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Hi everyone, with help of modern technology i turned my good ol' marantz in to bluetooth by using UGREEN bluetooth adaptor. it works well and but there is a little problem which i've been trying to fix yet failed.
Problem is whatever i played through UGREEN bluetooth is not loud compared to others like Blu ray Player and the inbuilt FM Tuner. To get the sound loud enough i have to crank the volume higher in the amplifier.
I have a feeling that the loudest settings of the bluetooth adaptor is not enough for Marantz receiver.

The BluRay and the FM tuner are likely outputting 2volts or slightly higher. If your BT adapter is battery-powered it might output less than 2v.

There is a PHONO IN of the amplifier and it is explained that PHONO in goes via a preamp. So i plugged it there yet the sound seemed all muffled and crippled

Phono might be a phono input direct from a TT, ie, the receiver has its own phono preamp. That's like hooking up the line out of a digital source into the input to the line output of a TT/phono preamp. Look for another input.

Apart from Phono input the only difference in the other inputs (in case this was pre-CD and therefore nothing labeled as "CD") would be if it was "Direct" (bypasses EQ or amp's built in preamp, ie, by preamp here I mean the volume control, not the phono line out circuit). You can hook it up to the Tape In.

Any idea what i should do? Do i need to buy a preamp as well

Using a preamp to boost the signal is going to be 1) expensive and 2) redundant since your receiver has its own preamp (ie volume control/gain stage, not the TT line out circuit).

If it still sounds muffled (and not just lower in volume) when hooked up to the Tape In, diagnose the problem - try that BT receiver with any other amp. It might be what's broken.

 

[nofacemonster]

The BluRay and the FM tuner are likely outputting 2volts or slightly higher. If your BT adapter is battery-powered it might output less than 2v.




Phono might be a phono input direct from a TT, ie, the receiver has its own phono preamp. That's like hooking up the line out of a digital source into the input to the line output of a TT/phono preamp. Look for another input.

Apart from Phono input the only difference in the other inputs (in case this was pre-CD and therefore nothing labeled as "CD") would be if it was "Direct" (bypasses EQ or amp's built in preamp, ie, by preamp here I mean the volume control, not the phono line out circuit). You can hook it up to the Tape In.




Using a preamp to boost the signal is going to be 1) expensive and 2) redundant since your receiver has its own preamp (ie volume control/gain stage, not the TT line out circuit).

If it still sounds muffled (and not just lower in volume) when hooked up to the Tape In, diagnose the problem - try that BT receiver with any other amp. It might be what's broken.

First of all... thanks a lot for all the help Protegemaniac. The bluetooth receiver i bought off from the ebay was a branded one and it seemed like good quality. I just added a picture of it. It is not battery powered, i power it with a Sony Phone charger which seemed to give out 5V 850ma DC. I am gonna try a different power adapter and see since it never came with a power adapter.

The Marantz receiver i have has a CD IN as well as Tape IN.... i tried the tape in and it really didn't sound any good. So i am currently using the CD IN. I just have to increase the volume dial more than quarter to reach a desired level of volume where built in FM tuner and Blu ray player (Plugged to VCR) does sound same volume in little below quarter.

Yes! i will try hooking up the bluetooth receiver to my sharp boombox and see how it goes. i will post when i find a solution. Thanks again.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

The bluetooth receiver i bought off from the ebay was a branded one and it seemed like good quality. I just added a picture of it. It is not battery powered,

This is the only one on the website that looks exactly like that one.


If I'm correct then it's one of two things.

1. Low voltage output for the battery

2. Your battery has barely any charge, causing distorted output apart from low voltage.

i power it with a Sony Phone charger which seemed to give out 5V 850ma DC. I am gonna try a different power adapter and see since it never came with a power adapter

Try leaving it plugged in without using it for a couple of hours - if it is indeed battery powered then you'll at least get the battery nearly full and see if it can work properly. At the very least, even if the output is low, it shouldn't be distorted, unless the amp is starting to clip trying to compensate for a weak input signal.

If it doesn't, see what other USB adapters you have lying around that kick out over 1000mA.

The Marantz receiver i have has a CD IN as well as Tape IN.... i tried the tape in and it really didn't sound any good. So i am currently using the CD IN. I just have to increase the volume dial more than quarter to reach a desired level of volume where built in FM tuner and Blu ray player (Plugged to VCR) does sound same volume in little below quarter.

If it is actually battery-powered then it might have had a lower charge when you tried it with the Tape In. In any case try charging it or using a 1000mA or preferably 1500mA USB adapter.

 

[labrat]

First of all... thanks a lot for all the help Protegemaniac. The bluetooth receiver i bought off from the ebay was a branded one and it seemed like good quality. I just added a picture of it. It is not battery powered, i power it with a Sony Phone charger which seemed to give out 5V 850ma DC. I am gonna try a different power adapter and see since it never came with a power adapter.

The Marantz receiver i have has a CD IN as well as Tape IN.... i tried the tape in and it really didn't sound any good. So i am currently using the CD IN. I just have to increase the volume dial more than quarter to reach a desired level of volume where built in FM tuner and Blu ray player (Plugged to VCR) does sound same volume in little below quarter.

Yes! i will try hooking up the bluetooth receiver to my sharp boombox and see how it goes. i will post when i find a solution. Thanks again.

Your Bluetooth adapter is a cheap one, almost the cheapest available in eBay!
And it is battery powered, but you can probably run and charge it simultaneously
A USB charger with 1 A output should be sufficient to maintain charging of he battery while you also run the adapter.
With a fully charged battery any poor charger will not be the reason for low output signal before the battery is run down!
There is little info to be found, output voltage is not mentioned, but it is not unusual to have different output levels from various equipment.
So if the sound is clean and undisturbed, just too low, there probably is no fault with this unit.
If you want better output, try a Chord Mojo in fixed Line Out mode.
But the price will be higher!
And it has no Bluetooth input.
Or if you can still find the Brookstone Big Blue audio portable amplifier and Bluetooth DAC on sale, that will give you a high output signal to your Marantz receiver..
This one have Bluetooth in.
And the PHONO input on you amplifier is not meant for a line audio signal in, besides it also have an RIIA equalizer to make the signal from the turntable cartridge correct for playing off.
Seems you have to "upgrade", or be satisfied here!

 

[nofacemonster]

Your Bluetooth adapter is a cheap one, almost the cheapest available in eBay!
And it is battery powered, but you can probably run and charge it simultaneously
A USB charger with 1 A output should be sufficient to maintain charging of he battery while you also run the adapter.
With a fully charged battery any poor charger will not be the reason for low output signal before the battery is run down!
There is little info to be found, output voltage is not mentioned, but it is not unusual to have different output levels from various equipment.
So if the sound is clean and undisturbed, just too low, there probably is no fault with this unit.
If you want better output, try a Chord Mojo in fixed Line Out mode.
But the price will be higher!
And it has no Bluetooth input.
Or if you can still find the Brookstone Big Blue audio portable amplifier and Bluetooth DAC on sale, that will give you a high output signal to your Marantz receiver..
This one have Bluetooth in.
And the PHONO input on you amplifier is not meant for a line audio signal in, besides it also have an RIIA equalizer to make the signal from the turntable cartridge correct for playing off.
Seems you have to "upgrade", or be satisfied here!

Thank you for the reply. Somehow i have contacted the manufacturer via ebay... the place where i bought the bluetooth adaptor. They say it is not rechargeable, it needs to be plugged while at use. That's what says in the manual as well. I've seen few other vendors selling same product (don't know if they are fake) which clearly says it is rechargeable. But mine i bought straight from Ugreen flagship store in Ebay, and i believe they are the official people for this device. Today i bought a 2A Samsung Travel charger to try it on my bluetooth adaptor to see if it makes any difference. I will post the results later. Yes! thank you for recommending me those dacs and chord mojo, they are too far beyond my reach financially and also availability.

And i must mention there are no disturbances, the audio sounds clean and only slightly lower in volume compared to the BLURay player (playing same mp3's and music) and built in FM tuner. If nothing else works i guess i have to make peace with whatever the current setup gives.

 

[nofacemonster]

This is the only one on the website that looks exactly like that one.


If I'm correct then it's one of two things.

1. Low voltage output for the battery

2. Your battery has barely any charge, causing distorted output apart from low voltage.




Try leaving it plugged in without using it for a couple of hours - if it is indeed battery powered then you'll at least get the battery nearly full and see if it can work properly. At the very least, even if the output is low, it shouldn't be distorted, unless the amp is starting to clip trying to compensate for a weak input signal.

If it doesn't, see what other USB adapters you have lying around that kick out over 1000mA.




If it is actually battery-powered then it might have had a lower charge when you tried it with the Tape In. In any case try charging it or using a 1000mA or preferably 1500mA USB adapter.

Thank you for your valued reply. Today i am going to try it with a 2A adaptor and see if it makes any difference. The bluetooth adaptor i have clearly says it is not rechargeable and needs to be connected to power at all times while at use. Yes i've seen what you found but this adaptor i bought from Ugreen manufacturer from their own store in ebay. They also told me it is not rechargeable. I have also seen other vendors with simillar rechargeable BT adaptors and i have no idea if they could be fake. I will post my results once i had enough time to try them on. Thanks a lot!

 

[nofacemonster]

This is the only one on the website that looks exactly like that one.


If I'm correct then it's one of two things.

1. Low voltage output for the battery

2. Your battery has barely any charge, causing distorted output apart from low voltage.




Try leaving it plugged in without using it for a couple of hours - if it is indeed battery powered then you'll at least get the battery nearly full and see if it can work properly. At the very least, even if the output is low, it shouldn't be distorted, unless the amp is starting to clip trying to compensate for a weak input signal.

If it doesn't, see what other USB adapters you have lying around that kick out over 1000mA.




If it is actually battery-powered then it might have had a lower charge when you tried it with the Tape In. In any case try charging it or using a 1000mA or preferably 1500mA USB adapter.

This is where i bought it...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/UGREEN-V4-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Thank you for your valued reply. Today i am going to try it with a 2A adaptor and see if it makes any difference. The bluetooth adaptor i have clearly says it is not rechargeable and needs to be connected to power at all times while at use. Yes i've seen what you found but this adaptor i bought from Ugreen manufacturer from their own store in ebay. They also told me it is not rechargeable. I have also seen other vendors with simillar rechargeable BT adaptors and i have no idea if they could be fake. I will post my results once i had enough time to try them on. Thanks a lot!

You need to use a higher current USB adapter if it doesn't have its own battery. At minimum, you very likely need around 1000mA, although a 2000mA smart charger (ie it will only spit out however much the chip on the other side says it can take up to the max rating) will be a safer bet if you have to buy one (at the very least, you can fast charge your other devices with it), that way if it needs more it can get it, otherwise it won't break either.

if you have a laptop with a low voltage processor but not running USB-C yet check the charger specs. My Lenovo has 19v and 5v output on a single USB port depending on what the chip on the other side (ie the chip on the device being charged) tells it to output.

 

[nofacemonster]

You need to use a higher current USB adapter if it doesn't have its own battery. At minimum, you very likely need around 1000mA, although a 2000mA smart charger (ie it will only spit out however much the chip on the other side says it can take up to the max rating) will be a safer bet if you have to buy one (at the very least, you can fast charge your other devices with it), that way if it needs more it can get it, otherwise it won't break either.

if you have a laptop with a low voltage processor but not running USB-C yet check the charger specs. My Lenovo has 19v and 5v output on a single USB port depending on what the chip on the other side (ie the chip on the device being charged) tells it to output.

I tried giving it a bigger better power supply but doesn't make any difference so i gave it up and be satisfied with how it sound. For information this is the setup i own. (Without the remote control)