Lifted traces, recapping everything??? I know who these guys who "bring them in for service" are, they are the con-jobs that literally dig up these units in dumpsters, or the local dump...why and how do you think these units have rust all over them? An owner of these units probably paid real monies once & are not going to abuse such devices by placing them in poor environments.
This is about a 1973 unit & a simple visual inspection with a magnifying glass will tell you...does it have swollen or leaking capacitors, any cracks on solder joints, particularly those joints which may encounter any physical stress, any marks on the PC board showing darkening as in overheating, resistors showing heating, the board underneath. If you want, get the power-supply caps checked, see how close they are to their rating, (EG, 13,840 microfarads for a 15,000 microfarad noted capacitor).
Now, to suitable speakers...if you want to stay within the era of this Marantz, all the big names made great stuff at that time & while the "Bigger is better" still applies, the concept of the tall skinny "tower speakers" had a couple of advantages, (little floorspace area, drivers brought up close to ear-level)...
In my case, I combined vintage drivers with the modern tall skinny towers. Some 20+ years ago, I built a two-way DeApollita design (two woofers with a single tweeter a specified space between the two woofers)...Well the woofer foam eventually rotted away rendering them useless. As I used a full one-inch MDF wood, glue & screws thruout...I found a vintage pair of Infinity Qb drivers and crossovers...the originals used lousy wood and construction, the woofers used rubber surrounds so they will last uncounted years, measured out the internal volume of the originals vs. what I had in my tall skinny tower enclosure, it was a plus or minus match...the driver spacing & location of the Infinity Qbs rather unique....obviously still Infinity. 320mm wide, 220mm deep, 1250mm tall.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Rick...
This is about a 1973 unit & a simple visual inspection with a magnifying glass will tell you...does it have swollen or leaking capacitors, any cracks on solder joints, particularly those joints which may encounter any physical stress, any marks on the PC board showing darkening as in overheating, resistors showing heating, the board underneath. If you want, get the power-supply caps checked, see how close they are to their rating, (EG, 13,840 microfarads for a 15,000 microfarad noted capacitor).
Now, to suitable speakers...if you want to stay within the era of this Marantz, all the big names made great stuff at that time & while the "Bigger is better" still applies, the concept of the tall skinny "tower speakers" had a couple of advantages, (little floorspace area, drivers brought up close to ear-level)...
In my case, I combined vintage drivers with the modern tall skinny towers. Some 20+ years ago, I built a two-way DeApollita design (two woofers with a single tweeter a specified space between the two woofers)...Well the woofer foam eventually rotted away rendering them useless. As I used a full one-inch MDF wood, glue & screws thruout...I found a vintage pair of Infinity Qb drivers and crossovers...the originals used lousy wood and construction, the woofers used rubber surrounds so they will last uncounted years, measured out the internal volume of the originals vs. what I had in my tall skinny tower enclosure, it was a plus or minus match...the driver spacing & location of the Infinity Qbs rather unique....obviously still Infinity. 320mm wide, 220mm deep, 1250mm tall.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Rick...
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(1) I don't understand your point. To rebuild a 45 year old receiver correctly you need to strip it down to its bare bones and rebuild it. And, guess what, you still get lifted traces on PC boards on receivers that have lived in air conditioned comfort all their lives. Vide the tuner section in my Marantz 2325 or the rear balance slider in my Marantz 4415. Last year I found a very good guy near me and I had four vintage receivers, an integrated/tuner pair and now a preamp/tuner being rebuilt. It wasn't cheap, but given they're mine, they'd better be done right.
Not only that, as he rebuilt them, I specified they should be rebuilt to factory OEM specs, not "modern" specs... no LEDs, no replacement power transistors (hard to do in one of those DC coupled, High Speed Sansuis from 1977, but we found them...), etc.
(EDIT: not to mention the fascinating conversations in his shop and looking at some really cool units.... I think I need a Luxman integrated now... ).
So, stuff like lifted traces will happen even to the best cared for units. it's called AGED.
(2) What really pisses me off is the hackers on the Internet selling "mint" receivers that have been "looked at by my technician and have LED lights"... and then they want an absurd price... like $3000 for a '74 Marantz 2325.... the truth is that so long as an Audio Research D125 with new caps and tubes sells for half as much as a vintage, "mint" 2325, you know its a hussle.
(3) OP- I know you really want the Marantz, for its looks. But, honestly, a nice Audio Research D70 MkII and a simple preamp (DIY B1 Korg) will sound FAR, FAR better than that old Marantz. And will cost about 1000 bucks. You can always take out the tube cage from the ARC and admire the thermionic glow. Just keep your fingers off it, there's 440VDC in there and YOU might glow if you touch it. ;-)
(4) Speakers in '72. I really don't think they made such great speakers as a rule of thumb. Most were boomy. Some were good, Quad ESL, Klipsch, Spendor, LS3/5, but all had some serious shortcomings in some areas. In the US, the likes of Infinity and ADS had not yet hit the field. Thiele-Small equations were released around '71 and had not yet made an impact on the industry.. so it was a crap shoot. And then the Japanese made speakers with those carved wood grills... remember those? Oh, forget the JBL L100s. I never, still don't, like it. It was "West Coast Sound"... bloated , loose bass, uugh!
(5) Did you consider replacing the surrounds on those drivers? Given I keep things for the long haul, I have replaced the surrounds for several speakers. The factories often keep them around or know someone/somewhere where they are still making equivalents ( here it helps to buy stuff "made in the USA", "made in Canada" or "made in the UK". If it's "made in China" might as well consider those drivers disposable.
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Like above, agree that your speakers need to be good, or any amp will sound poor.
And if you do a statistical analysis, you will find that the Japanese made equipment to much tighter specifications, and better quality than their competitors, at a much lower price, and the Europeans just faded away, along with most Americans.
Just check the voltages on old sets at the marked testing points, you will realize what I mean, as the Japanese components were famous for their quality, particularly capacitors and semiconductors.
As a cross example, GM was building engines at 5x to 10x the tolerances of the Japanese, which meant the Japanese engines were more fuel efficient and more reliable, and lasted longer.
British engines were the worst, in my experience, so were Deutz for that matter.
So an old European set is just nostalgia stuff, and I think of it as not really worth the hassle, but to each his own.
Do report back to this forum once it is received and put into service.
And if you do a statistical analysis, you will find that the Japanese made equipment to much tighter specifications, and better quality than their competitors, at a much lower price, and the Europeans just faded away, along with most Americans.
Just check the voltages on old sets at the marked testing points, you will realize what I mean, as the Japanese components were famous for their quality, particularly capacitors and semiconductors.
As a cross example, GM was building engines at 5x to 10x the tolerances of the Japanese, which meant the Japanese engines were more fuel efficient and more reliable, and lasted longer.
British engines were the worst, in my experience, so were Deutz for that matter.
So an old European set is just nostalgia stuff, and I think of it as not really worth the hassle, but to each his own.
Do report back to this forum once it is received and put into service.
Aaahh, but I thought Tandberg was good and Telefunken had the best name ( we had a tubed short wave / AM / FM radio when I grew up... sometimes you could tune to the Luftwaffe. ).
Then you got these gems...
I already said the OP should be satisfied.
Also agree with above, Soviet hi fi and camera gear was world class, at par with their competition.
But like many threads here, the posts end up in quute a different direction...
Also agree with above, Soviet hi fi and camera gear was world class, at par with their competition.
But like many threads here, the posts end up in quute a different direction...
Yes, on the other hand we can open another thread because there is a lot to say and it is a very interesting subject.
There is another advantage to buying a Marantz or Pioneer receiver of that vintage - there is a mountain of service info out there for them, and almost every part is available.
There are better sounding options for less money, but that blue glow is lovely to look at 🙂
There are better sounding options for less money, but that blue glow is lovely to look at 🙂
You just confirmed my steadfast opinions about superficiality and product specifications, thank you. 😉
Like all products, popularity and desire are strongly linked to marketing, widespread hype, and impressive appearance.
And in addition, pricing.
A classic example is McIntosh equipment.
Just because something is expensive, snazzy-looking, and advertised as something deluxe, or in this case "high-end", herd mentality grows with it, making it some sort of Holy Grail, or the "pot of gold".
And after 45 years of both professionally selling and servicing 10's of thousands of audio products, I've gotten enough hands-on and ears-on experience to see through all the hype and beliefs that continue to this day.
It's true, people, and even creatures in the wild, have a built-in nature motivated to something attractive, and my preferences are not immune to that.
However, a lot of people are driven by this and not so keen on "what's behind the curtain".
There is a Hindi song that goes 'Choli Ke Peechhe Kya Hai" (What's behind the blouse?)
The answer is ...'It is my heart'
😊
Appearances can be superficial, Marantz did not make most of the electronics inside, the semiconductors, cabinet knobs, capacitors, switches and so on were all bought out parts.
And the circuits were not unique either.
The Marantz company survives as a boutique brand, a bit like Rolex, whose owners also own the Swatch brand, which makes very much lower end watches. Swatch has the volumes, and I think Omega, Rado and some others were also owned by the same company.
Rolex watches are unique in some ways, the 'Oyster' design, I think is one, so a little justified on that. But the price.....
Dunhill also went from cigarettes and related stuff to sunglasses, and many other things...another fancy brand.
But like I said, the man wants it as a reminder of his childhood, and hopefully will receive it in good condition physically, and it should also pour out his choice of music after connection.
Then mission accomplished for him.
The answer is ...'It is my heart'
😊
Appearances can be superficial, Marantz did not make most of the electronics inside, the semiconductors, cabinet knobs, capacitors, switches and so on were all bought out parts.
And the circuits were not unique either.
The Marantz company survives as a boutique brand, a bit like Rolex, whose owners also own the Swatch brand, which makes very much lower end watches. Swatch has the volumes, and I think Omega, Rado and some others were also owned by the same company.
Rolex watches are unique in some ways, the 'Oyster' design, I think is one, so a little justified on that. But the price.....
Dunhill also went from cigarettes and related stuff to sunglasses, and many other things...another fancy brand.
But like I said, the man wants it as a reminder of his childhood, and hopefully will receive it in good condition physically, and it should also pour out his choice of music after connection.
Then mission accomplished for him.
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You want blue lights?
Get a few multi color LED strips, with a remote which allows colors to be tuned.
About $5 here for a 10 meter strip, supply and so on.
Amp not needed, and you can go from purple to sky blue...as per your favorite blue....
Get a few multi color LED strips, with a remote which allows colors to be tuned.
About $5 here for a 10 meter strip, supply and so on.
Amp not needed, and you can go from purple to sky blue...as per your favorite blue....
My Technics system CD, Receiver, Cassette, all have blue flourescent display lighting too.
But behind the closed cabinet rack door made of smoke-tinted glass, the components themselves are invisible, except for those glowing displays.
The resulting effect is fine, I don't need to see snazzy components, I want snazzy sound.
...and if a device is still working satisfactorily, there aren't too many good reasons to subject it to the madness? of unconditional parts replacement.
If you buy a 20-year-old, well-kept car with a mileage of 80,000 km, you don't necessarily have to replace all the engine bearings prophylactically and disassemble it down to the last screw to ensure that every single part is still within the specified tolerances.
Of course, this is also a question of one's own philosophy.
After more than 40 years, the end is of course much closer than with a new device. But it is quite possible that old elcos and other parts are still in a sufficiently good condition for some additional years of use.
One reason to replace the lighting of such receivers with leds if the original one is defective is the heat it emits, which causes the plastic cover to become brittle. But that's not a must either.
If you buy a 20-year-old, well-kept car with a mileage of 80,000 km, you don't necessarily have to replace all the engine bearings prophylactically and disassemble it down to the last screw to ensure that every single part is still within the specified tolerances.
Of course, this is also a question of one's own philosophy.
After more than 40 years, the end is of course much closer than with a new device. But it is quite possible that old elcos and other parts are still in a sufficiently good condition for some additional years of use.
One reason to replace the lighting of such receivers with leds if the original one is defective is the heat it emits, which causes the plastic cover to become brittle. But that's not a must either.
I think you got the system for the sound, not the lights....unlike what others seem to think as a priority!
He said pro active (preventive) maintenance, as outlined above.
NOT parts replacement as if it were a car, do this or that every so many miles (or km).
The other issue is that miniature filament lamps without bases, as used in some equipment, are almost impossible to obtain in good quality, it is NOS or take a chance.
And those with bases are mostly automobile stuff, 12V/ 24V, may not suit the item you need it for.
At least LED is a viable option, but now people are complaining about too bright LEDs!
He said pro active (preventive) maintenance, as outlined above.
NOT parts replacement as if it were a car, do this or that every so many miles (or km).
The other issue is that miniature filament lamps without bases, as used in some equipment, are almost impossible to obtain in good quality, it is NOS or take a chance.
And those with bases are mostly automobile stuff, 12V/ 24V, may not suit the item you need it for.
At least LED is a viable option, but now people are complaining about too bright LEDs!
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Too many variables to be so affirmative, whether for cars / motorcycles / tractor etc etc or for electronics.
some components of some devices of some brands of a certain age are critical and others are not, same for the mechanics.
One thing is certain, whether in mechanics or electronics, some elements age even if they are not used and some can be brought back to life but others cannot.
I knew a filament bulb maker, asked him for 4 units 6V lamps without base, I used them in a Cosmic deck in the 80s.
VU meter lamps, Cosmic is a defunct Indian brand, the founder had worked at B&O before coming and starting here in Baroda, where I live...
Closed 30 years or so ago.
Yes, you can reduce the voltages to suit by using a series resistor, but I feel LED is a better option anyway if you need to replace filament lamps.
Can use 2700K (warm white), easy to get.
VU meter lamps, Cosmic is a defunct Indian brand, the founder had worked at B&O before coming and starting here in Baroda, where I live...
Closed 30 years or so ago.
Yes, you can reduce the voltages to suit by using a series resistor, but I feel LED is a better option anyway if you need to replace filament lamps.
Can use 2700K (warm white), easy to get.
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When the time comes to replace burned-out lamps, I usually replace them with LEDS with dropping resistors and perhaps needed DC conversion.
Same goes for meter lamps - LED's are the way to go.
Actually, the LED glow is different... the incandescent lamps provide a more uniform glow across the bezel.