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Marantz Receivers

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Posted on March 30, 2001 at 21:16:36
Teejay


 
Being a double dumb ass, I hadn't realized this forum existed, so I must apologize for doing a redundant post from one done in General the other day. I'm trying to secure a nice (yet nicely priced) 70s Marantz and there are just so many models. A couple of questions for anyone who feels like answering:
(1) Of those models I've looked at I find myself being drawn to a 2220B and a 2238B, largely because of their condition. Is that cool, or are there a couple of other models in the low power range to really be looking for? (I guess I'm looking for a lower powered unit to save money, weight, and juice);
(2) Between the all siver faceplates and the blue jobbies, does one tend to look better in the flesh as you look at it day after day,month after month? (They both look cool to me and maybe the answer is to get one of each) Thanks!

 

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Re: Marantz Receivers, posted on March 30, 2001 at 22:39:01
BobP


 

2252 was the best seller at the time, $200 when new

Worth looking for.

 

Re: Marantz Receivers, posted on March 31, 2001 at 15:54:31
gpalazz


 
Sonically, the 2230 (30w/ch)is hard to beat. This reciever pushed my Maggies surprisingly well considering their low efficiency, good bass and mids with a sweet high end. The phono and power amp sections can be separated, both are excellent. The higher powered models are also good but have a harder solid state sound compared to the 2230.

Regards ,
gpalazz


 

Re: Marantz Receivers, posted on March 31, 2001 at 19:55:48
Brian Levy


 
I'm partial to the brass faceplates series, myself. A great little receiver was the 2215. The 15watts per channel was vert conservative and the sound this unit has is smooth, detailed and not frequency biased. A few different routes also to look at is the 1060 amp with say a 112, 120, 125 tuner. Also, a little noticed item, the model 24 tuner/preamp with a 15 or 16/16b poweramp.

 

Re: Marantz Receivers, posted on April 11, 2001 at 23:42:46
hoghead


 
My father recently gave me his almost mint 2238b. It has the optional walnut case, and looks great. I find it has plenty of power to run my JBL-L150A's cleanly with any type of music. I also tried it with some inefficient AR speakers, and te Marantz had no trouble pushing those either. Your Marantz should give you many hours of listening pleasure.

 

Sold a lot of these things...., posted on April 13, 2001 at 23:15:58
David


 
I liked the 2230 series most. The later ones 2252 were not as well engineered and followed many other vendors like Sony and JVC in going to lower discrete parts counts and more ICs which is what really started doing them in, sonically, although output power levels rose. For an integrated amp, I always liked the 1060 (30W/side). Nice panel layout, well engineered and simply laid out inside. Easy to work on, too. Watch out for the power recitifiers, though. They were mounted upside down on a small board underneath the chassis and they used to cook the boards. Not a major problem to re-jigger, though. I wonder what changes some of the new diodes might make....

Warning: Stay away from the Quad stuff. We had many returned because the amps became unstable when they went into clipping running in 2 channel modes. This was because the bridging mechanism was that good and they didn't like wildly fluctuating speaker loads. Still all of them were pretty to look at in a dark room - like the old Mac stuff.

The earlier models in production as the Marantz name was sold to Superscope and production moved from NY to LA are really nice. I know of a local stereo boneyard that has a couple of the preamp/tuners and a Model 24(?) tuner only in their stacks. Email if you're interested....

Cheers,

David

 

For comparing models..., posted on April 14, 2001 at 09:14:37
Gannet


 
...you should check out the Marantz Classics website, link below. There has also been a lot of discussion of your exact question in the archives of the Vintage Gear board on Audio Review. I suggest a search.

As a gross generalization, the consensus seems to be that the earlier and lower-powered a piece it is, the better it is likely to be sonically. In addition, the later (mid-70s+) pieces tend to be opamp-based, as someone else pointed out, and that can cause not only sonic degradation, but real difficulties with repair.

Check eBay for prices, quite a lot of this stuff goes through. IMO, be willing to pay a premium for condition. The stuff is cheap, varies widely in condition, and repairs add up fast. So it makes sense to insist on the best examples available.

 

Re: Marantz Receivers, posted on April 18, 2001 at 12:00:48
HPK


 
Aaahh yes I owned for many years the Marantz 2330B, wonderful over all units at 120 per ch. Drove my Kef 105.4 nicely. What I really miss about this unit...is the tuner portion, what a great sounding and performing tuner it was and is!

The only hassles where pilot lights burniong out...fixed that with a bridge rectifier, dropped the line voltage to the lights by 1.5v. Had to replace the sterio indicator light...special bulb. Also have heard that the speaker protection relays caused some problems although I never experience any in over 18 years.

Yes check out the Marantz vintage web site, lots of good info and contacts!


 

Re: Marantz Receivers, posted on May 7, 2001 at 13:54:10
fly97


 
Wow i bought a 2220b a ago at a garage sale,figured it was a gamble if it worked,but it was only 10 bucks,so....got it home and it worked great!saw one at a flea market a little different,(had a dubbing jack)
for $120...thought that was expensive since i paid 10....then i did this search,and found rave reviews,and i guess i just got a great deal!!

 

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