Now it's starting to click, thanks to my vintage Marantz 2230 and my CRS+

evhudsons

I got rid of my avr in order to get a new one. So instead of having several days of no music I hooked up my Marantz 2230 to my SDA CRS+. I had been using my Marantz as a phono preamp.

Wow.......


Wow..Oh my!

Pure bliss! Such simplicity, no subwoofer hooked up, just my Marantz and my crs. That thing has some real juice, as much almost as my dedicated amp. I might try hooking that up tonight just to see the difference but it was so clear, so defined, and I finally heard what must be referred to as "image weight". There it was, right in front and all around me. I have a new avr that just showed up today and I was going to sell my Marantz. Not now, not ever. I think I'll start my 2channel rig as soon as I can acquire another SDA, maybe 1c's. But really, now I understand why folks have one system for home theater, and another for 2 channel.

It was as if my system went "ahem", cleared the throat, and started to get past just warming up and really sing. This, from a 30 year old receiver that hasn't been upgraded? I know most of you already know these things, but it was going over my head until now.

What the heck am I going to tell my wife????? Kidding, she'll just just roll her eyes and plop down to listen to my next change. For now I'll have to stick with the AVR setup for lack of more rooms and speakers, but I'll be working on a 2 channel for the first time.

wow.

tonyb

Cool, what your hearing is the better power supply in those old receivers. They can sound pretty darn good. If you ever get a chance to pick up some of the older integrateds from Marantz or Sansui, give those a whirl too. Enjoy your new found love.

audiocr381ve

evhudsons wrote: »

I got rid of my avr in order to get a new one. So instead of having several days of no music I hooked up my Marantz 2230 to my SDA CRS+. I had been using my Marantz as a phono preamp.

Wow.......


Wow..Oh my!

Pure bliss! Such simplicity, no subwoofer hooked up, just my Marantz and my crs. That thing has some real juice, as much almost as my dedicated amp. I might try hooking that up tonight just to see the difference but it was so clear, so defined, and I finally heard what must be referred to as "image weight". There it was, right in front and all around me. I have a new avr that just showed up today and I was going to sell my Marantz. Not now, not ever. I think I'll start my 2channel rig as soon as I can acquire another SDA, maybe 1c's. But really, now I understand why folks have one system for home theater, and another for 2 channel.

It was as if my system went "ahem", cleared the throat, and started to get past just warming up and really sing. This, from a 30 year old receiver that hasn't been upgraded? I know most of you already know these things, but it was going over my head until now.

What the heck am I going to tell my wife????? Kidding, she'll just just roll her eyes and plop down to listen to my next change. For now I'll have to stick with the AVR setup for lack of more rooms and speakers, but I'll be working on a 2 channel for the first time.

wow.

I've been advocating SDA's with vintage Marantz for awhile now and got a lot of push back of people saying there is much better gear out there or that I haven't heard my SDA's until I got a better setup. Several pieces of gear have come and gone since (Carver TFM-45, Onix Melody SPIII tube integrated, Adcom GFA-545, Emotiva XPA-2) and I'm telling you, there is something special about vintage Marantz and SDA's! I had the 2245 and it was a fantastic match for my 2BTL's. I haven't hooked up my current Marantz integrated with the new Clarity Caps in the crossover's. I wonder if still sounds special.

Congrats on discovering a current piece of gear! lol

sda2mike

take it easy, volume-wise on your marantz...they have have power and do sound great...they just don't have wells of power and don't like low impedences...you'll likely see this as you get more enthusiastic with the sound and volume control...i've been a marantz fan for a long time, btw

audiocr381ve

sda2mike wrote: »

take it easy, volume-wise on your marantz...they have have power and do sound great...they just don't have wells of power and don't like low impedences...you'll likely see this as you get more enthusiastic with the sound and volume control...i've been a marantz fan for a long time, btw

Duh. I didn't say it would bring the house down. Both pieces I've owned have had the balls to go as loud as I can stand even at a modest 45wpc and now 75wpc, btw.

sda2mike

i was referring to the op's post...

quadzilla

I run my 2.3 TLs on 45 watts, and that's plenty. It's as much about gain as it is about watts.

evhudsons

True, I did notice that, but it sounded so freaking good at moderate levels there was no desire to go louder, but it had enough to obviously go much higher. I certainly don't want to damage my newly upgraded speakers, but they sound so incredible with that Marantz! There was nothing old sounding at all. I looked today and there are folks that will fix these up, but maybe now is the time to learn to solder. I did it as a kid, but that was many moons ago.

evhudsons

Why does an unupgraded receiver sound so good with my sda's, but a brand new high end receiver doesn't? There is just more to hear with the Marantz. If it's the power supply, is that the main difference between low and mid receivers today and the actual high end receivers? I had a Pioneer elite but it was not the sc series which have a different power supply.

EndersShadow

evhudsons wrote: »

Why does an unupgraded receiver sound so good with my sda's, but a brand new high end receiver doesn't? There is just more to hear with the Marantz. If it's the power supply, is that the main difference between low and mid receivers today and the actual high end receivers? I had a Pioneer elite but it was not the sc series which have a different power supply.

Its mostly the power supplies and transformers in the older gear. They are heavy beasts and wattage was rated more conservatively. Just look at the wattage of a AVR like the Onkyo 606, its like 30 lbs but supposed to be able to power 7 speakers to like 100 watts. Then look at your Marantz. Its 2 channel only, less wattage, but I bet you a dollar it weights as much or more than that Onkyo.

george daniel

old school watts/power .

masonsmitty

sda2mike wrote: »

take it easy, volume-wise on your marantz...they have have power and do sound great...they just don't have wells of power and don't like low impedences...you'll likely see this as you get more enthusiastic with the sound and volume control...i've been a marantz fan for a long time, btw

yep, Mike is right...my SDA2As with the 1250 start to 'pop' at around 45% volume...and I've tried this volume with numerous different source materials. Either way, plenty loud, and very well defined even at those volumes....

any my 1250 is 125wpc of Marantz goodness

dragon1952

evhudsons wrote: »

I got rid of my avr in order to get a new one. So instead of having several days of no music I hooked up my Marantz 2230 to my SDA CRS+. I had been using my Marantz as a phono preamp.

Wow.......


Wow..Oh my!

Pure bliss! Such simplicity, no subwoofer hooked up, just my Marantz and my crs. That thing has some real juice, as much almost as my dedicated amp. I might try hooking that up tonight just to see the difference but it was so clear, so defined, and I finally heard what must be referred to as "image weight". There it was, right in front and all around me. I have a new avr that just showed up today and I was going to sell my Marantz. Not now, not ever. I think I'll start my 2channel rig as soon as I can acquire another SDA, maybe 1c's. But really, now I understand why folks have one system for home theater, and another for 2 channel.

It was as if my system went "ahem", cleared the throat, and started to get past just warming up and really sing. This, from a 30 year old receiver that hasn't been upgraded? I know most of you already know these things, but it was going over my head until now.

What the heck am I going to tell my wife????? Kidding, she'll just just roll her eyes and plop down to listen to my next change. For now I'll have to stick with the AVR setup for lack of more rooms and speakers, but I'll be working on a 2 channel for the first time.

wow.

Congratulations...you're now officially on the hot rails to Hell.

reeltrouble1

Most excellent evhudsons. Modern day AVR's are a compromise to convenience over sound quality. Older Receivers such as yours were designed to play music, I suppose I should more correctly say they are capable of handling a musical signal without altering it along the circuits path. Today's AVR are mostly focused on HT issues and a few gimmick digital sound processors for their music setting. The are built with lesser electronic parts, op amps, capacitors, power supplies and circuit design are used in comparison to gear like your Marantz. Enjoy your system and your knew found experience. Nothing like using a machine to play music that was designed to do just that whether it is a receiver, preamp, CD player, amplifier or Turn Table.

RT1

schwarcw

reeltrouble1 wrote: »

Most excellent evhudsons. Modern day AVR's are a compromise to convenience over sound quality. Older Receivers such as yours were designed to play music, I suppose I should more correctly say they are capable of handling a musical signal without altering it along the circuits path. Today's AVR are mostly focused on HT issues and a few gimmick digital sound processors for their music setting. The are built with lesser electronic parts, op amps, capacitors, power supplies and circuit design are used in comparison to gear like your Marantz. Enjoy your system and your knew found experience. Nothing like using a machine to play music that was designed to do just that whether it is a receiver, preamp, CD player, amplifier or Turn Table.

RT1

Amen RT1!!

I am a little partial to Marantz:cool:









Rock On!!!!

audiocr381ve

sda2mike wrote: »

i was referring to the op's post...

My apologies!

tonyb

Carl, thats a beautiful stack there pal, I'm envious. Don't take that the wrong way either.:cheesygrin:

sda2mike

man! that's some bewtific collection! keep vintage alive!

cnh

The 2230 is one of the most valued of the lower powered Marantz models, some say it has one of the warmest sounds of the vintage Marantz receivers, period! All I know is that my 2265 must weight at least 35+ lbs., and most of that weight is in the transformer in the middle of the unit! Although I am "not" partial to vintage Marantz. This unit sounds "phenomenal" with my Monitor 10As (an almost perfect match, sound and power).

Enjoy!


cnh

indyhawg

Congrats on the discovery of how great vintage audio sounds. I am still kicking myself for selling my vintage Sansui a couple years back.

evhudsons

Thanks guys! My wife is now a fan too. I just got my record washer and was washing records, spinning them on the Marantz directly to the crs. Our deal had been for me to sell it in order to get a newer avr that will allow her to conveniently control the home theater projector, tv, ps3, cd, tape, phono, in door speakers, outdoor speakers, etc...
She is a believer at this point, and can perceive subtle changes as well as the bigger changes. The Marantz 2230 has now been officially adopted into the family.

You are right, convenience over sound quality takes too much quality away. The AVR is a lightweight compared to the Marantz. Even out of the wood case it's extremely heavy. My tuner meter light is out on the receiver, so I'm googling now how to fix it. I think it looks like a fuse.

That's a fantastic collection, I certainly see now why people have the love for the Marantz.

I just got a soldering iron set, and will look up what I need to get it upgraded. This rabbit hole branches out quite a bit doesn't it!

If this is the beginning stages of audiophilia, look what I'm becoming!

evhudsons

I found this site that explains changing the bulbs and such for the Marantz:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=130906&highlight=relamping

It's not the 2230 but I think close enough

evhudsons

I helped my wife out by installing a Polk Audio garden atrium system at their house. I ordered it because it was Polk, and it sounded fantastic! In talking with her client, we are now friends, and he and his son are really getting into the Audio as well. As a gift, he is giving me his quad system Marantz. He can't remember exactly which one it is but either way he wants me to have it along with his vast collection of vinyl records.

It looks like I'm going the old school Marantz way, and it's not just OK, it's great!

Schwarcw, do you have any pointers or hints for refurbishing the old Marantz's?

nspindel

Any refurbish generally starts at the same place, as long as the unit is not "broken" and in need of a specific part. Caps. The better you use, the happier you'll be.

sda2mike

nice intro to vintage marantz! the quad is more complex internally than the 2 ch variety...go to audiokarma.org and get some info about your model #'s...cap replacement would be one of the 1st thing you'd want to do..

evhudsons

Here's a link to a refurbishing of a Marantz 2230:

http://www.irebuildmarantz.com/restoration/2230.html


I'm not sure about doing the led's, I think I'll stick with stock on that one. Any suggestions for good caps you might use?

nspindel

I have such fond memories of vintage audio. Growing up my dad had a Harman Kardon SR-900 receiver, circa 1964. Looks like there's one for sale here:

http://www.theaudiostudio.com/Used/used_receivers.htm

And the manual is online here:

http://www.harmankardon.com/resources/Brands/harmankardon/Products/ProductRelatedDocuments/en-US/OwnersManual/HK-Strat-SR900Bom.pdf

Hmmmmm......

sda2mike

i heard the elna is still available..that was oem...panasonic is popular..i just got a 2220..i'm going to practice on that one, then rebuild my 2270..if you post your cap question at audiokarma, some really knowledgeable folks will respond...

evhudsons

It's funny, I got the Marantz because of glancing at a local Craigslist on the same day I was shopping online for a phono preamp and thought why not get a proven preamp in the old Marantz for the same or less cost than a new phono preamp adapter. When I picked it up the guy looked at me funny, smiled and asked if I was an audiophile. I'm still not sure of the answer if asked again, but I would have to say i'm on that path. Now I know why he asked. He's still down here, so I might tell him what this has lead to!

My wife has washed and cleaned most of our records now, and we've been really enjoying bringing them back to life.

Thanks for the tip on audiokarma, I've already found a lot of info there.

ken brydson

100_5110.jpg

DSkip wrote: »

The Marantz 2216 I have was the best sounding piece with the M10's/RTA-12's. I think all Polks from that era shine w/ the Marantz power behind them. The Sansui 1000A sounded good with them too, but its too bass-heavy. I'm hoping a spruce up/new tubes will clear that up some.

2252B running RTA8t's in my office rig. Great pairing...

schwarcw

tonyb wrote: »

Carl, thats a beautiful stack there pal, I'm envious. Don't take that the wrong way either.:cheesygrin:

sda2mike wrote: »

man! that's some bewtific collection! keep vintage alive!

Thanks for all the nice comments folks! I enjoy these pieces.

evhudsons wrote: »

Schwarcw, do you have any pointers or hints for refurbishing the old Marantz's?

If the component is working, I would just thoroughly clean the insides. Use a cheap make up or blush brush that you can buy for about $1.00 at any drug store, some canned air. Use some Deoxit on the pots and switches. Replace the burned out light bulbs.

nspindel wrote: »

Any refurbish generally starts at the same place, as long as the unit is not "broken" and in need of a specific part. Caps. The better you use, the happier you'll be.

If the unit is working, I would personally shy away from replacing the caps. It depends what you want to do with the piece. If you plan to use it every day, playing it hard and often. Then I might go down that road. I would do some research before recapping the board. Some caps may actually change the sound characteristics. If you want something to look nice, plug and play, and not invest a ton of money.

I've had real good luch just cleaning Marantz units and playing them. If it's not broken, don't fix it. You could spend a whole lot of money and end up very unhappy and spent a lot of money.

Real old tube equipment, different story.

Just my opinion, YMMV.