Now that we are waiting I will share my story about the Marantz system I just acquired.
Guy posted a rack full of stereo equipment for sale for 50 US dollars. I bought it. Here is what I got,
Marantz 2240B - Works perfectly. two display bulbs burned out. Looks perfect.
Marantz 5220 Cassette Deck - Works perfect - No problems found. Looks perfect.
Pioneer H-R100 8 track recorder/player - Works perfect - Looks perfect
BIC 960 Turntable - Works perfect - Looks perfect
(2) Altec model Five speakers - Work but need refoamed. Looks 9 out of 10.
I think I got my moneys worth.
Guy posted a rack full of stereo equipment for sale for 50 US dollars. I bought it. Here is what I got,
Marantz 2240B - Works perfectly. two display bulbs burned out. Looks perfect.
Marantz 5220 Cassette Deck - Works perfect - No problems found. Looks perfect.
Pioneer H-R100 8 track recorder/player - Works perfect - Looks perfect
BIC 960 Turntable - Works perfect - Looks perfect
(2) Altec model Five speakers - Work but need refoamed. Looks 9 out of 10.
I think I got my moneys worth.
Not sure if it is possible BUT I usually look to see if their is anything that could have caused the problem to start with and I did find something later this evening. I had read somewhere that one channel of this amp has the polarity inverted from the other. Having said that .......... I was plugging audio cables into the inputs of this amp this afternoon and noticed that every time I jiggled a plug, I would get the usual input hum you get when there is no ground. So just out of curiosity I took a look at the input solder joints with a 10x magnifying glass and sure enough there was a crack in the copper strip right at the joint. I made a repair and that problem is gone. Just wondering if it could have contributed to this problem.
Yeah this thing works great as it functions properly and the sound is clean but it does lack a little. Sounds a little flat to me but my main system is four NAD 2600A amps, a NAD 1700 preamp and a NAD 6300 Cassette deck which is one of the best sounding decks I have ever heard. And I am comparing that to the three NAK Dragons my little brother used to have. I also have a TEAC 3340S that I rebuilt and an Akai GX-747. All going into four JBL L100T speakers. That 5220 lacks a little and I am not sure if that is normal or if there is something I can do for it.
This one might could be available in the future. What is the voltage where you are? This is 110vac.
Hi Terry,
I believe that the 5220 has HF EQ inductors that can be tweaked. What it really needs is a calibration I would guess.
Nakamichi cassette decks are by far and away the best cassette decks ever made. Following that would be Studer - Revox, then Teac - Tascam. I did warranty service for all of them. For open reel, Revox, then Tascam and Teac. Akai never had a reason to exist, they used permalloy heads ("glass heads"). These do wear, but even worse, they saturate very easily. I calibrated a lot of cassette decks and open reel products and was known for that work, then I transferred to CD player and DAT machines. DAT machines have a very high cost of ownership, so I never actually owned one.
Tascam's last R-R, the BR-20 was really nice, a done up 52 really. I sold that a couple years ago.
It should be noted that all those machines I listed had their mechanisms manufactured by the company whose name is on the machine. Other brands (NAD for example) had their mechanisms designed and built by an OEM. Not their own products. I think Pioneer made their own too, and maybe a few others.
Most Nakamichi decks were out of calibration after being serviced. The high frequency calibration (azimuth) tape was defective. We were one of the few shops that figured that out. If aligned properly, and tape made on one Nakamichi would play back perfectly on another. We aligned the actual head gaps to a standard. If some of you noticed that the Nak heads were fully adjustable in free space, it because we put the recorded track exactly where it was supposed to be. No one else did that. The three head transport was set up just like an open reel machine.
Finally, the Dragon wasn't the top of the line. The 1000ZXL and 1000ZXL Limited (presentation machine) were easily better than the Dragon (gave one to my parents, they still have it). It's too bad most Nakamichi tape machines were not set up well by the various shops that were warranty depots for them.
-Chris
I believe that the 5220 has HF EQ inductors that can be tweaked. What it really needs is a calibration I would guess.
Nakamichi cassette decks are by far and away the best cassette decks ever made. Following that would be Studer - Revox, then Teac - Tascam. I did warranty service for all of them. For open reel, Revox, then Tascam and Teac. Akai never had a reason to exist, they used permalloy heads ("glass heads"). These do wear, but even worse, they saturate very easily. I calibrated a lot of cassette decks and open reel products and was known for that work, then I transferred to CD player and DAT machines. DAT machines have a very high cost of ownership, so I never actually owned one.
Tascam's last R-R, the BR-20 was really nice, a done up 52 really. I sold that a couple years ago.
It should be noted that all those machines I listed had their mechanisms manufactured by the company whose name is on the machine. Other brands (NAD for example) had their mechanisms designed and built by an OEM. Not their own products. I think Pioneer made their own too, and maybe a few others.
Most Nakamichi decks were out of calibration after being serviced. The high frequency calibration (azimuth) tape was defective. We were one of the few shops that figured that out. If aligned properly, and tape made on one Nakamichi would play back perfectly on another. We aligned the actual head gaps to a standard. If some of you noticed that the Nak heads were fully adjustable in free space, it because we put the recorded track exactly where it was supposed to be. No one else did that. The three head transport was set up just like an open reel machine.
Finally, the Dragon wasn't the top of the line. The 1000ZXL and 1000ZXL Limited (presentation machine) were easily better than the Dragon (gave one to my parents, they still have it). It's too bad most Nakamichi tape machines were not set up well by the various shops that were warranty depots for them.
-Chris
Do try and make 100% certain that these are genuine because we see and hear of so many remarked and fake parts these days
Its impossible to say with certainty but personally I would doubt that as contributing factor. I've seen many many transistors fail in this way (high B-E voltage) over the years and curiously they always seemed to be Japanese devices of a certain era. This was in the days of working on TV's and VCR's and so on. The BC/BD/BU type devices didn't seem to fail in this particular way for some reason (lol, they usually just failed short circuit).
Your Marantz system sounds like a good find
The 2SA1111 are Matsushita and the 2SC2591 are Mitsubishi. There are some Panasonic pairs out there for sale that are supposed to be the replacements but I am always real cautious about using non oem replacements. Yeah I know. Sometimes there is no choice.
I just replaced all the hitachis in my TEAC 3340S with Fairchilds. They work great. Very clean sound.
I just replaced all the hitachis in my TEAC 3340S with Fairchilds. They work great. Very clean sound.
I thought the MJE's (post #62) might be worth a look.
If you were itching to test the amp then dare I suggest the common MJE350 (PNP) and MJE340 (NPN) which are often used as drivers in high powered amps. They are a little underated current wise (if you were pushing the amp to its limits under sine wave testing) but they are very useful devices for testing in situations like this. B and E are reversed compared to the T0220 package devices... nothing a little careful forming of the leads can't fix though.
Availability is always the practical problem for more exotic parts unfortunately.
The Sanken 2SA1668 and 2SC4382 are very highly regarded and are specifically designed as driver transistors for high powered amps.
If you were itching to test the amp then dare I suggest the common MJE350 (PNP) and MJE340 (NPN) which are often used as drivers in high powered amps. They are a little underated current wise (if you were pushing the amp to its limits under sine wave testing) but they are very useful devices for testing in situations like this. B and E are reversed compared to the T0220 package devices... nothing a little careful forming of the leads can't fix though.
Availability is always the practical problem for more exotic parts unfortunately.
The Sanken 2SA1668 and 2SC4382 are very highly regarded and are specifically designed as driver transistors for high powered amps.
Hi Terry,
Look at Digikey or Mouser and use their parametric function to sellect a group of devices that might work. I would recommend you go for voltage, current and case style for starters (and "in stock" of course). Use a range for current and voltage. Do not select anything in case you don't understand what the options are.
You need practice with this, so pick some out, then ask someone here if they are suitable. Mooly has suggested a few. You can look those up.
-Chris
Look at Digikey or Mouser and use their parametric function to sellect a group of devices that might work. I would recommend you go for voltage, current and case style for starters (and "in stock" of course). Use a range for current and voltage. Do not select anything in case you don't understand what the options are.
You need practice with this, so pick some out, then ask someone here if they are suitable. Mooly has suggested a few. You can look those up.
-Chris
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