This joint needs some more vintage hifi

PreCd · November 2013

mhardy6647:

All good information for me to think about and thank you posting all that you have. I am always open to opinions and suggestions especially those with experience. You are correct about the 5U4 tube. I do not know the advantages/disadvantages of modding the unit to 6L6s but saw where Eico documented the mod. Right now I think a cap replacement program is in order and then go from there. The unit sounds decent but as the gentleman mentioned in one of the links you posted I do want to retain the current physical size of my home. Cap replacement it is!

As for that tube socket in the back I wondered about that too and am surprised to see that yours does not have it. It does not have any connections but did at some point in time. Weird.

Sometime soon I am going to have to plug my Grados into the added headset jack to cop a listen. Interesting little amp and should occupy a piece of my time this winter.

mhardy6647 · November 2013

The ST-40 and ST-70 are sort-of below the radar; I think due to their...umm... idiosyncratic cosmetics.
If the 6L6 conversion was a documented modification, it should be fine. Sorry I besmirched it without grounds! :-)
I don't have an innards shot of the ST-70 handy... but I do have an outards shot ;-)

EICOST70nEPI110C by mhardy6647, on Flickr

Fongolio · November 2013

A couple of years ago I fully restored a ST-70. New caps, new resistors, loudness mod, along with several other performance mods. The end result was a great sounding unit that I've used daily since. I just blew an original Westinghouse/Eico output tube and am looking for an original but may try some of the new 7591's mentioned above. Here's a link chronicling the rebuild. http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?111045-Eico-ST-70-vintage-tube-integrated-amp-restoration-upgrade&highlight=Eico

mhardy6647 · November 2013

Yes, I should've included that link, too! :-)

Mikey081057 · December 2013

Plugged these into my VR3 LSi 9's and they sound really sweet...Using the pre out of the Marantz 2252B.... The M80 has power to spare and is one sweet sounding amp paired with the Marantz.

Mikey081057 · December 2013

Better pic without my fat head blocking light..

250 Watts (8 ohms) from 20 to 20,000 Hz at no more than 0.003% Total Harmonic Distortion
290 Watts (6 ohms) from 20 to 20,000 Hz at no more than 0.007% Total Harmonic Distortion
330 Watts (4 ohms) from 20 to 20,000 Hz at no more than 0.02% Total Harmonic Distortion
Auto Class A Operating Range, 8 ohms, 30 Watts
Dynamic Power per channel (IHF) 1 khz
8 ohms/6 ohms/4 ohms/2 ohms 380W/480W/640W/850W

scottyboy76 · December 2013

Fat head, nice gear.

Mikey081057 · December 2013

scottyboy76 wrote: »

Fat head, nice gear.

Head like a spackle bucket

TNHNDYMAN · December 2013

Mikey081057 wrote: »

Better pic without my fat head blocking light..

250 Watts (8 ohms) from 20 to 20,000 Hz at no more than 0.003% Total Harmonic Distortion
290 Watts (6 ohms) from 20 to 20,000 Hz at no more than 0.007% Total Harmonic Distortion
330 Watts (4 ohms) from 20 to 20,000 Hz at no more than 0.02% Total Harmonic Distortion
Auto Class A Operating Range, 8 ohms, 30 Watts
Dynamic Power per channel (IHF) 1 khz
8 ohms/6 ohms/4 ohms/2 ohms 380W/480W/640W/850W

Nice amp. I just sold a M80 and a M85. Still have one M80 and a M70 as well. They have their issues, but when working they definitely have some balls. Love the meters myself.

boston1450 · December 2013

Attachment not found. couldnt see a tuner without a amp. New addition today

sounds very nice too

Mikey081057 · December 2013

Sweet i love the yammy look... please add pics when they are lit up too!

cnh · December 2013

nbrowser wrote: »

awwwww shucks...all this vintage ****...seriously...went back to the used audio store I got my amp from to take a gander...and got a rather large paycheck coming on the weekend has be seriously considering a vintage Marantz 22XX receiver and getting on my hands on a pair of vintage Polk Monitor 5 bookshelf speakers with PRs...just for gits and shiggles...would LOVE an old system to soothe the soul to...

Lots of synergy there! Polk Monitors and 22XX Marantz series.

Nice Yammie pair, Randy! That old look is so "clean" and "timeless". It almost reminds me of what D.T. Suzuki defines as the characteristics of Zen and Japanese Culture in the book of the same name! A fine addition to any literate library!

Enjoy.

cnh

Mikey081057 · December 2013

With all this vintage Marantz talk, my brother ( in Texas) is boxing up tonite a very nice 2385 that he snagged for me at an estate sale...Can't wait to see it... his Iphone pic shows it to be in nice shape and it is fully functional... He knew this was the one I wanted since we were kids, and scooped it up for me. He won't tell me how much until I see and hear it... I am needless to say STOKED and should see it soon... I will post pictures when I can.

cnh · December 2013

Wow! A 2385! Not a lot of those around and they usually cost an arm and a leg.

Please do post pics. I know what you mean about wanting a piece. For me, since I didn't know about the HIGH POWER units back then, "any" Marantz would have done. I settled on the 2265 below (decades later) which is pretty incredible pushing some Monitor 10As.

I don't have to see you to know that you have a smile that wraps around your entire face!

Enjoy it!

cnh

Mikey081057 · December 2013

cnh wrote: »

Wow! A 2385! Not a lot of those around and they usually cost an arm and a leg.

Please do post pics. I know what you mean about wanting a piece. For me, since I didn't know about the HIGH POWER units back then, "any" Marantz would have done. I settled on the 2265 below (decades later) which is pretty incredible pushing some Monitor 10As.

I don't have to see you to know that you have a smile that wraps around your entire face!

Enjoy it!

cnh

It's on it's way... I will post pics for sure...I go to 3 or 4 estate sales a year, and never come up with anything really good... He comes up with stuff all the time...Not necasarily hi-fi stuff but lots of collectible stuff

There is a Marantz/Polk synergy for sure.

boston1450 · December 2013

Attachment not found.

mhardy6647 · December 2013

is that a CR-1040 or a CR-2040; I am not an expert on the "40" series to be able to tell a priori...

txcoastal1 · December 2013

Nice piece of .........Vintage

Mikey081057 · December 2013

nbrowser wrote: »

Eh just an idea is all DSkip, see if the place I got the amp from can hook the Polk Monitors they have up to the Marantz 2252B they also have for an audition, see what the combo sounds like...then go from there.

I have my 5B's hooked to the 2252B now, and I can say that they never sounded better. They are a little light on the bottom end compared to "newer" 3 way speakers, but nothing that a sub can't cure for sure... I upgraded my tweets to the RDO-194's and just might have Trey make me a set of crossovers and do a bit of a refurb on them.

boston1450 · December 2013

mhardy6647 wrote: »

is that a CR-1040 or a CR-2040; I am not an expert on the "40" series to be able to tell a priori...

thats the 1040. I actually have the 2040 hooked to a pair of sda2b's & it does the job fine:)

Mikey081057 · December 2013

nbrowser wrote: »

Good prices or no ? Canadian store, local to me so no shipping, the 2252B and the Polks in question...

http://www.iavscanada.com/product/marantz-2252b/

And

http://www.iavscanada.com/product/polk-audio-monitor-speakers/

Just looks ripe for a vintage set up...and a perfect waste of Christmas bonus money lol

Don't know how it translates to U.S. $ the 2252 might be a few bucks high, but if it it is fine shape and serviced, not a bad price.

Go for it... It is a nice match...

boston1450 · December 2013

Attachment not found. ....3-350.00 U.S. TOPS on a mint one

boston1450 · December 2013

nbrowser wrote: »

Good prices or no ? Canadian store, local to me so no shipping, the 2252B and the Polks in question...

http://www.iavscanada.com/product/marantz-2252b/

And

http://www.iavscanada.com/product/polk-audio-monitor-speakers/

Just looks ripe for a vintage set up...and a perfect waste of Christmas bonus money lol

The Marantz are built like tanks & pair nicely with Monitor 5 7 10's. You wouldnt be disappointed at all

boston1450 · December 2013

Why the sub?

boston1450 · December 2013

Ive have run 5jr+ 5a peerless 7b 10b's & still cant run bass dial all the way. I was running a Velodyne & ditched it because i never needed it. That was me though. There are lots of powered subwoofers you can run your speakers thru like i did if you wanted to

...mine is 2 channel listening only....FETISH ISNT A BAD THING

cnh · December 2013

Depends on how the pre-outs on the Marantz are wired. If you have to disconnect the pre-outs from the INS on the Marantz then you would disconnect the pre from the amp section and only the sub would receive the signal.

Since most Polk subs have Line level inputs and outputs, that might be the best way to add a sub. Wire the Marantz to the L/R line level in and run wires from the OUTS to the L/R speakers then use the subs Low Freq knob to set the cut off to the mains?

cnh

Polkersince85 · December 2013

Here's one for you Marantz fans.

http://www.shopgoodwill.com/auctions/Vintage-Marantz-2130-Quartz-Locked-Tuner-Scope-14947308.html

PreCd · December 2013

My Vintage audio gear. 1986 GFA-545. 1987 SDA2As converted to 2Bs.

PreCd · December 2013

Thank you sir. That room is about 10' wide and 20' long and a rug would do some good. Have not thought of that and thanks for mentioning it.

DSkip wrote: »

How wide is that room? Good lookin' setup. Thought about a rug?

PreCd · December 2013

Yeah it could be better but it beats the listening room I used to have. Not square. Not rectangular. We used our imagination when we built that one. This room is much better and at least gives me a optimum point in a room where I can place myself in order to take advantage of the SDAs. Next step is to place some bass traps in the corners and hit the reflection point at the ceiling just in front of the gear. That should help quite a bit I would think.

Great to have the vintage gear. We had family and friends over a month ago for a birthday party. I took some of the young ones in there and played one of the tracks that shine on the SDAs. Their mouths hung open and could not stop the compliments. When asked how they could have that sound I said fork over 5 bills and you will be close to having it too. $200 for some SDAs. $200 for a GFA-545. And I am running a $99 battery powered Bottlehead tube preamp. They would be close. Anyways some of the younger generation does not know what they are missing by not having a vintage 2 channel rig.

This joint needs some more vintage hifi

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