Marantz and Carver receiver?

I picked up a beautiful Marantz 2285b with wood cabinet today and have been playing around with it today and have a few questions.I bought a Carver system in the late 80's and still have it today and it sounds wonderful,very crisp and clear,much more so whith my VPI Scout with Ortofon Blue,absolutely love it.I hooked that table up to the Marantz and kinda seems a little muffled,no where as clear as the Carver.Is it because of the technology difference between the two and would a external pre amp fix the problem.When I hooked the CD player up to it it wasn't as clear as the Carver.Would a good cleaning on the inside of the Marantz work?Any other suggestions?
Before I get flamed the Carver is all I have had for 20+ years and just recently have been interested in the more 70's equipment.It may be I just don't know how to use all the adjustments on the Marantz!
Thanks
Ronald

 

Hi Ronald,

As you tried two totally different Sources and got the SAME result.........

Maybe it's just a case of the Marantz simply not being as good as the Carver!!!!

You could try giving it a bit more time..........it may have been out of action for a while and improve with use.

While you're at it............acquaint yourself with all it's settings and clean all the connections with something like De-Oxit.

If SQ doesn't improve enough after that ...............beautiful wood or not................I'd give it the boot!!!

 

Thanks Linger63
Going to go to radio shack and get some Deoxit and give it a good cleaning tomorrow,I really hope it works.
Thanks

 

Picked up an old Superscope integrated and a Pioneer receiver recently both from a friend and in good condition. The Pioneer sounded more muffled than the Superscope where I thought it would be the other way round. I guess it just depends sometimes!

 

I don't want to worry you but the old Marantz (state-of-the-art 70s tech BTW) may have something going bad inside that's affecting the SQ. It should sound just as crystal-clear as the Carver. I'd personally keep the Carver anyway if I were in your position because as you state you love its sound and has been reliable so far.

 

I plan on keeping them both,was wondering if there was an easy fix(cleaning,etc,).I bought the Marantz to build another system in a spare room.I plan on getting in there and giving it a cleaning,I picked up some Deoxit today.I played it for a couple of hours last night and it seemed to warm up a little.Going to give it some time.If there is something that I need to get fixed do you guys recommend anyone?
Thanks

 

What Carver item are you talking about in this thread?

 

You should consider having a tech check out the Marantz and repair as needed to bring it back to spec. I have Vintage Marantz and Sansui from the 70's-they need to be restored before use IMHO.

 

Did the Marantz was recently serviced?

 

They just sound that way. A complete rebuild might bring back some energy but it's totally not worth it. Hey, they look kool if you are into '70s stuff. Better to get a new unit if you want a sonic upgrade. The vintage stuff will mainly take you on a tour of flavors with stops by a variety of operational issues. A well built new or much more near new amp will deliver better sound and reliability.
-Bill

 

I cleaned the rca's last night but didn't open it up yet to do the pots.Listened to for about an hour last night and it sounded a lot better.The guy I bought it from on CL said it has been survived.

 

Everything works and man does this thing have some power!

 

Survived?
A rule for vintage receivers or amplifiers, never try them with your beloved speakers
A high DC offset can kill your speakers.
Do you have a multimeter?
Procedure to check the DC-offset
Multimeter in DC mode lowest range as possible
Hook your mutimeter on the left speaker terminal from your receiver
No volume
Select a source: Tape/aux (do not use the phono source)
Engaged the speaker circuit, A or B according the terminal choosen.

Switch you receiver on, and let it warm.
Check your multimeter, after 20 minutes you should read 0 mv, if your are around +10 or -10 mv, that's OK, if you are above you are in trouble.

Repeat for the other canal.

 

Auto correct!

 

Thanks marantzbe

 

I do have a multimeter,going to check it when I get home,thank you

 

You're welcome.

 

I stumbled upon this vintage (circa 1979) Marantz TV commercial, around the 1:23:30 mark of this video. Is your Marantz 2285b receiver featured in it?

(Try to ignore the horrible videocassette audio artifacts on this video.)

"Marantz: Good for your system"



Craig.

 

Tried to find it but it was over an hour of the Andy Kaufman Fun House!

 

It's "around the 1:23:30 mark of this video." The video is about 1:28, so it's when there is around 5 minutes left in the video.

Craig.

 

That's crazy,I don't think that's a 2285b

 

You should have asked exactly what was done to the Marantz. Serviced can mean a fuse was changed or it can mean it was completely rebuilt. If it was really "serviced" the tech would have cleaned the pots, jacks, etc. already. However, just cleaning those items is not going to transform the sound of the receiver.

In my experience and in general the Marantz house sound is best described as musical, which some find dull. As for Carver gear, I've never heard a SS piece that I wanted to hear again and I've heard just about all of them. His tube gear on the other hand is fantastic.

Anyway, as you have been used to a certain sound for 20+ years, you need to give yourself some dedicated time with the Marantz, then after a few weeks or month go back to the Carver. I'd be surprised if you preferred the Carver after that.

 

I have been listening to the Marantz everyday for a couple of hours and it has been sounding great.Is it possible for it to sound better the more it is played or it has grown on me?I have left it hooked to my main system in the living room.Im really liking it.
Thanks

 

I still have a Marantz 2238B that I bought new back in the 80's. Still sounds great, never had it "serviced". Only thing I ever had to replace was those fuse-style bulbs that light up the AM/FM dial.

 

I definitely think you need time to adjust to the sound of a new component before you make a judgement about it. Some times the better gear doesn't jump right out at you, and the gear that grabs you on first listen may get on your nerves after a couple of weeks. Sound quality is a tricky and ephemeral thing to evaluate.