So this is what vintage audio is about - LOVE my new Marantz 2230!

So I've had this "Time Machine" for a couple of days now and it's only getting better. Wife has turned it on herself twice and plays her 70's singer/songwriter playlists that match the time period of the 2230 perfectly. She just stepped out to meet our friends for dinner and cocktails. I'm joining them in a bit, but thought this was a perfect time to "clean out the carbon" on a couple of Led Zeppelin classics. Well, volume knob is only at 11am and the walls are shaking in a rather nostalgic way. Let's talk about tone controls...I know I shouldn't have the Loudness on at high volumes, but it just sounds meatier. Oh wait, a bad recording with some screeching highs - that's what the high filter button knocks out. LOVE this thing. ****, that kick drum just rattled the windows. Kinda what Bonham was trying to do, methinks. Anyway, couldn't be happier and this may be the most liberating piece of gear I've purchased. Makes me break out all my old favorites, with all of their recording flaws gracefully handled. Just like all those 70's systems I grew up with. Want to break out the latest perfect Analogue Productions 45 pressing, fire up the tubes and go to the next level. Now I can relax on all my favorites that the big system is too revealing of. Bliss.

OK, now I'm seriously late to cocktail party....C'est la vie!

 

I have a 2235b that I got last year, and I've been really happy with it. It was running hot initially, which I had to have fixed, but it's an awesome receiver.

 

They are nice receivers from the period- looked good and sounded good. The receiver market eventually started competing for who had the most switches, buttons and controls- some looked like a 747 cockpit. The Marantz, though no longer the same company that Saul Marantz and Sid Smith had when they produced those legendary tube pieces, still stood above a lot of the competition back in the day. (I'm speaking about the market as it existed when these were new). Have no idea what it would take to get one to spec now. I owned one briefly back in the early '70s. They were often sold with Advents, which, as I recall, weren't terribly efficient.
A lot of solid state from that era- very early '70s-- was rough sounding-- we thought we were getting more resolution and lower distortion than tubes, but the magic wasn't there. These pieces overcame that- they certainly didn't sound like tube gear but were musical. I haven't heard one in years. Would make a nice foundation for retro period system-- just curious, if anybody has gone to the trouble to restore one, what did it take?

 

I brought my tired Sansui 9090 to a local Macintosh tech, and it cost me around 300 to bring it back to factory spec. He replaced close to 30 parts in addition to cleaning all pots and switches, DC offset, etc...

I couldn't be happier, it sounds fantastic. Every thing the OP describes, plus detail and amazing soundstage width and depth, and this is coming from a former Spectral gear owner.

Does it technically sound as good as my Spectral gear? No, but I enjoy it more, and can listen all day without fatigue at reasonable levels.

 

That's very reasonable.

 

I find it interesting to compare hi-end systems with less ambitious 2nd systems- often, the ease of use, assuming that it commits errors of omission, rather than commission (e.g., lacking some detail) make it the system you use more. In some ways, having the high end system makes you appreciate it all the more.

 

I thought so. I've since found a guy that will recap the whole thing for around 600, and re-veneer for 100 more.

Not sure what to do when something acts up down the road. The Mac tech didn't believe in a full recap, he says the vintage piece loses its character, but there's something to be said for the reliability of basically a brand new 9090 in an old case...

 

I like your cabinet. How wide is it? I need something similar as i prefer a horizontal layout.

 

I love those Marantz. Bomb proof.

 

I went through a slew of 70s receivers and can say that they all offered a certain level of quite enjoyable sound.I kept only three a Sansui 331,Sherwood s7100a and a Sony 7065.The Sony is going to get a restore as my perception was it was the best sounding of all the units I had not to mention the best looking.

 

My mostly vintage rig.

I've paired the 9090 with Ohm C2's, Ohm L's and Dahquist DQ20's. In my small 11x12 room, the Elac UB5's sound the best. These 500 dollar speakers are a match made in heaven with the 9090. They punch way above their price.

 

I had a 90090db and 8080db and 890db.The 9090 and 890 were my daily drivers for about five years.It was very difficult to move them out but the newer Yamahas just offered so much more versatility and a remote and not mention clean power.I actually sold all my big 70s receivers and kept a few smaller.I like your setup with the Sansui as the centerpiece.

 

Thanks man. Did you get the 9090 brought back up to spec? The reason I ask is because I auditioned the Elacs on a Yamaha AS-801, and my Sansui had way more meat on the bones. The Yamaha sounded thin in comparison. Could be my room and gear though...

 

No I didn't.I was running it as is for a few years.I think I outgrew the style and sound of the 70s receivers,that and the fact there there was really no competent techs here after a bit into my 70s receiver trip.I got a taste of the early 2000s Yamahas in a RXV800 and really liked it pushing( like really pushing) my vintage speakers.After I got a Yamaha RXV1 and RXZ9 there was no looking back.As much as I liked the 70s receivers for years I likened it to going from a 1978 Camaro Z28 to a 2005 totl BMW.I kept a few 70s units for lower level listening as I liked the warmer sound at lower levels unlike the high powered Yamahas.

 

Wish you could have got at least one of them brought back up to spec. The 9090 really came back to life when I got it done.

The reason I brought it in in the first place is because it started sounding kind of dull and lifeless. Kind of sounds like yours was in the same camp.

I think a lot of people are hearing tired caps and mistaking that for the vintage sound. Brought back up to spec better units will sound a bit more warm than modern units, but that was the sound they were going for in those days, and I personally dig that sound.

 

My 890db had a really good midrange.Some music has never sounded better than on the 890.There is a degree of regret in selling and I thought long and hard but I like where I'm at now.Sansui was my favorite make but to each their own as I just found the newer Yamahas more to my liking.A Sansui will always be welcome here again.

 

First generation Blumentein passive subs with Dayton amplifiers in matching bamboo boxes.

 

60" x 18" x 30". Wife bought it on Overstock. Works well. I've used two of the drawers to put my power blocks in to help clean up the look.

 

I love the blue-green dial and the gyroscopic tuning wheel. They are warm, sweet, and forgiving. Perfect for a nice retro second system.

My Doctor had one in his office for years. I remember being a little sad when I went for my check up one day and it was gone.

 

Get a Marantz 2325 that's been restored/recapped (probably a little over 1K) and be prepared for bliss. I have a restored Marantz 19 (Last hand made model made) coming in to do battle vs the 2325 in the next week for King of the Hill status. I use JBL Studio Monitors at present but will be hooking up my Devore Fidelity O'96s to both. I wonder how THAT will sound. I think people forgot how good the TOTL 70's Marantz/Pioneer/Sansui stuff sounds when its brought back up to spec....or better.

 

I buy and sell vintage audio all the time. My secondary listening system in my home office is made up entirely of used vintage audio except for the speakers. The thing I like about it is that I can change things out regularity and experiment with the sounds I can get and the cost is very minimal. Most of the gear I buy used I buy when I find a good deal. If I want to swap it out I simply sell it - most of the time for at least what I pay for it

That said, sometimes I find pieces that I just can't part with so they go into the storage closet in my office. The most difficult thing about this for me is keeping the wifie from going into that closet to see exactly what there is there lol.

 

You've got three VERY nice pieces there . I had a deal working for a 7065 but it fell through when the seller backed out of shipping it. Bought an unserviced Realistic STA-2100 instead that I'm using as my "boathouse boomer" for now - trying to figure out if I want to get it serviced or just flip it for something else

 

Thanks,the Sony comes up on eBay occasionally at pretty decent prices compared to what Marantz units do.I think on top of very good sonics it was the best looking receiver ever made(w/wood case).

 

The 6065 and 7065 were very pretty receivers, but I'd have to go with the Kenwood model 11 as being the best looking of the 70's pieces

 

Very nice looking units.I had a Eleven GX.It didn't last too long with me as I also had a Kenwood 9400 at the time(gone also).Nice centerpiece/conversation pieces.