Vintage Marantz receivers (1 Viewer)

[John M Miller]

This isn't exactly home theater, but I'd like to know what you guys think of how vintage 1970's Marantz receivers sound. I've been looking at the auctions on ebay and these puppies are

[Edited last by John M Miller on July 16, 2001 at 03:40 PM]

 

[Gerard Martin]

I purchased a Marantz model 2275
about six months ago and find its
sound warm, rich, powerful
bottom line it puts the class of
2001 receivers to shame. Ebay
has a good selection however it
pays to look for one that has been
reconditioned, they cost more you
get more. Look atwww.classicaudio.com for receivers
value andwww.classic-audio.com/marantz/mindex.html for general marantz information. For two channel stereo
Its as good as it gets. Good luck.
------------------
Jerry

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

John,
My first piece of stereo gear was a Marantz 1030 integrated amp with 30 watts per channel; only cost about $150 at the time. I was a “newbie” then and bought the Marantz soley because I loved its styling (still do!).
Little did I know what a great piece of equipment I was getting. That old Marantz gear was awesome, very clean, and the build quality was top-flight. There was virtually no crosstalk between the inputs, something very few receivers today can claim, even the most expensive ones. (Back then audible crosstalk was regarded as an indication of poor quality.) I’ve had several other pieces since then, all higher powered and more expensive, but the little Marantz was the sonic equal of them all in delivering clean and uncolored sound.
Marantz had unusual and useful features as well, like pre-out and main-in jacks, midrange controls, the ability to switch either channel to mono and send it to both speakers. All these features were on my little amp, and it was next-to bottom-of-the-line. The receiver in the picture, for instance, is probably a bottom-of-the-line model (or at least near bottom-of-the-line), since it has only 38 watts per channel (if memory serves, you can tell the power rating by the last two digits in the model number). Yet note that this it offers a very unusual feature: independent left and right controls for bass, midrange and treble!
I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone offer proof, but I’m sure the power of the old Marantz gear was under rated. My 1030 was a heavy little sucker! I eventually replaced it with a 100-watt Pioneer integrated amp, and incredibly, the Marantz could give the Pioneer a serious run for the money for maximum loudness. It was as if the 1030 was putting out double its modest 30 watts.
By the way, I think the particular piece you’re looking at is from the late ’70s, probably ’78 or ’79. I personally think these were the best looking receivers Marantz ever made. The older models were awfully attractive, featuring the same blue back-lit lettering against a black background. Switching to the brushed silver background was the icing on the cake, the difference between beautiful and stunning.
I’ve seriously considered picking one of these babies up on e-bay and using it as the foundation for my computer sound system.
Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[John M Miller]

Yeah. I'm absolutely in love the 2238b with that blue background on the silver plate. I too am going to use it with my computer, so I won't need any sort of surround sound stuff. Thanks much!
------------------
Fellini's Le Notti di Cabiria
Link Removed