Post your stereo system!

mrussel1 said:

dudeman said:

I'm loving the 2275 so much, I'm considering selling my 2245. That's something I never thought I'd do. 

CDs, records, FM radio.....it doesn't matter. Everything just sounds "right" with that thing. 

The only thing I might consider adding is a standalone CD recorder. Those seem to be increasingly difficult to find in good shape, though. 

What do you mean by a cd recorder?

They are stereo components, usually look like a single disc CD player but they record the input signal to CDs.

Not terribly common or popular anymore. The idea is to be able to record vinyl albums on to CDs for playing in a car, for example. 

Modern tech has pretty much rendered them obsolete. I just like the idea of being able to make recordings, insert track numbers and such, without having to use a computer. 

mickeyrat said:

she's in for service.... 8-10 weeks

Probably a good call having it checked out. Those units are totally worth preserving and hearing it revived should be a good experience.

mickeyrat said:

dudeman said:

mickeyrat said:

she's in for service.... 8-10 weeks

Probably a good call having it checked out. Those units are totally worth preserving and hearing it revived should be a good experience.

assume it was the shop owner, marantz guy, was excited to see it.

general cleaning, testing of all circuits, upgrade to cool blue led, repair or replace headphone jack, possible replacement of speaker relay.

asked what I paid. semed surprised, said its what he considers retail for that model. 

He had a 2230 refurbed for sale at 625? maybe 675. That was the receiver actively playing music in the shop. Amongst prob 15 others on that side of the store. Sounded fantastic.....

That's awesome!

There is just something about those Marantz'. I never seem to get tired of listening to them. Pretty amazing to be running electronic gear that predates myself, too!

They really knew how to build stuff to last back then. 

mickeyrat said:

dudeman said:

mickeyrat said:

dudeman said:

mickeyrat said:

she's in for service.... 8-10 weeks

Probably a good call having it checked out. Those units are totally worth preserving and hearing it revived should be a good experience.

assume it was the shop owner, marantz guy, was excited to see it.

general cleaning, testing of all circuits, upgrade to cool blue led, repair or replace headphone jack, possible replacement of speaker relay.

asked what I paid. semed surprised, said its what he considers retail for that model. 

He had a 2230 refurbed for sale at 625? maybe 675. That was the receiver actively playing music in the shop. Amongst prob 15 others on that side of the store. Sounded fantastic.....

That's awesome!

There is just something about those Marantz'. I never seem to get tired of listening to them. Pretty amazing to be running electronic gear that predates myself, too!

They really knew how to build stuff to last back then. 

predates? wtf. thanks for making feel or reminding me how old I actually am. My unit built 6-3-1977. I would turn 8 the following month.. I was already really jazzed about its sound pre- tune up. cannot wait til , well june 3rd marks 10 weeks....
cruising through audiokarma. ran across a dudeman7 thread. that you?

haha. Mine is dated 1971 on the back and I was born at the end of 72.  

mickeyrat said:

mrussel1 said:

mickeyrat said:

dudeman said:

mickeyrat said:

dudeman said:

mickeyrat said:

she's in for service.... 8-10 weeks

Probably a good call having it checked out. Those units are totally worth preserving and hearing it revived should be a good experience.

assume it was the shop owner, marantz guy, was excited to see it.

general cleaning, testing of all circuits, upgrade to cool blue led, repair or replace headphone jack, possible replacement of speaker relay.

asked what I paid. semed surprised, said its what he considers retail for that model. 

He had a 2230 refurbed for sale at 625? maybe 675. That was the receiver actively playing music in the shop. Amongst prob 15 others on that side of the store. Sounded fantastic.....

That's awesome!

There is just something about those Marantz'. I never seem to get tired of listening to them. Pretty amazing to be running electronic gear that predates myself, too!

They really knew how to build stuff to last back then. 

predates? wtf. thanks for making feel or reminding me how old I actually am. My unit built 6-3-1977. I would turn 8 the following month.. I was already really jazzed about its sound pre- tune up. cannot wait til , well june 3rd marks 10 weeks....
cruising through audiokarma. ran across a dudeman7 thread. that you?

haha. Mine is dated 1971 on the back and I was born at the end of 72.  

actually would turn 9 in July of that year.  Reading threads on audiokarma and am anxious for this to get done. I WANT IT NOW!!!!!! Sooo looking forward to spinning some of my shit. Just did Rush Time Machine through the Onkyo. Geddy's monster fucking bass would absolutely soar through the 2275

The waiting sucks, for sure. I'm really excited for you to get your 2275 back. That is one seriously magical piece of equipment. 

mrussel1 said:

dudeman said:

mickeyrat said:

mrussel1 said:

mickeyrat said:

dudeman said:

mickeyrat said:

dudeman said:

mickeyrat said:

she's in for service.... 8-10 weeks

Probably a good call having it checked out. Those units are totally worth preserving and hearing it revived should be a good experience.

assume it was the shop owner, marantz guy, was excited to see it.

general cleaning, testing of all circuits, upgrade to cool blue led, repair or replace headphone jack, possible replacement of speaker relay.

asked what I paid. semed surprised, said its what he considers retail for that model. 

He had a 2230 refurbed for sale at 625? maybe 675. That was the receiver actively playing music in the shop. Amongst prob 15 others on that side of the store. Sounded fantastic.....

That's awesome!

There is just something about those Marantz'. I never seem to get tired of listening to them. Pretty amazing to be running electronic gear that predates myself, too!

They really knew how to build stuff to last back then. 

predates? wtf. thanks for making feel or reminding me how old I actually am. My unit built 6-3-1977. I would turn 8 the following month.. I was already really jazzed about its sound pre- tune up. cannot wait til , well june 3rd marks 10 weeks....
cruising through audiokarma. ran across a dudeman7 thread. that you?

haha. Mine is dated 1971 on the back and I was born at the end of 72.  

actually would turn 9 in July of that year.  Reading threads on audiokarma and am anxious for this to get done. I WANT IT NOW!!!!!! Sooo looking forward to spinning some of my shit. Just did Rush Time Machine through the Onkyo. Geddy's monster fucking bass would absolutely soar through the 2275

The waiting sucks, for sure. I'm really excited for you to get your 2275 back. That is one seriously magical piece of equipment. 

I don't know if this is factually true, maybe you do.  But I was talking to my local high end retailer last week and I was telling him that, for the most part, when I switch between the Marantz and the Mcintosh, I can't tell much of a difference.  The sound signature is very similar.  It is world's apart from the old Pioneer as an example.  He said that the early 22xx's were still designed by Saul Marantz and that they had a sound like the Mcs.  I guess I couldn't really argue that, but have you hear people describe it that way before?

Definitely. Around here, Marantz is commonly referred to as the "Poor Man's McIntosh".

Strictly speaking of solid state power amplifiers, a properly designed amp should allow the input signal to sound the same at the output side, only louder. In other words, an amp should not color the sound on its own. 

We all know from experience that most, if not all amps add their own signature, but it should be subtle. Not at all as dramatic a change as swapping speakers, for example. 

So, to compare amplifiers from reputable companies with skilled engineers, I would expect that they would sound pretty similar. 

Preamps and sources? Totally different story. In my experience, much of the signature sound of say, Marantz, Sansui and Pioneer comes from the preamp topology and the tone stacks that each of them use.

One of the coolest things about the Marantz 2275 is that you can remove the tone controls from the circuit with a switch on the front panel. The difference between the two settings is pretty drastic, even with the controls set flat. 

mrussel1 said:

I agree the amp stage should be neutral.  It's about clean power.  I may end up selling my mcintosh solid state amp and replace it with a tube amp, keeping my existing preamp. I think at that point I will have very different sounds between the Marantz and Mc. 

To further your point, at one time I did a test where I just used the Marantz as a pre amp, and connected it to a Parasound Halo amplifier I have.  I could not hear a difference between using the Marantz amp and the Halo.  So the sound sig is in the pre-amp I'm sure.  

For sure.

Aside from frequency response and S/N ratio, damping factor and slew rate are important metrics for amps, especially if you're playing them loud or pushing a lot of low end.

Tube amps aren't necessarily great at reproducing loud transients or recovering quickly from heavy bass hits without distortion, but that distortion (sag) is usually pleasing to the listener.

Having a good solid state and a good tube rig should give you the best that each has to offer.

I'm excited to see what you end up with!

dudeman said:

One of the best things I've come across for good, vinyl sound quality is a record cleaning machine. I picked up a busted Record Doctor, got it running and I've been going through my collection with it.

I had records that were noisy from day one and that thing has actually made them enjoyable. Some of the older pressings that hadn't been taken care of very well were pretty much unlistenable. After a good vacuum cleaning with that machine, most all of them are sounding pretty good! Of course it won't repair damage but it gets all kinds of shit out of those grooves.

I'm sure some of you already know about these things. As a recent convert to RCMs, I have to say that I'm impressed. Just wish I had found out sooner!

My wife bought me an Okki Nokki about a decade ago and it is great.  It's a must have if you collect older copies.  If you only buy new,  you can get away with the hand method,  that works.  But older vinyl needs vacuuming.  Totally agree. 

Is it mid May yet?

mrussel1 said:

Every few years I get antsy and start tinkering.  Today I made a change.  I've been collecting gear for 20+ years and sometimes it sits. In this case,  my Poineer sx750 has been in a closet for several years.  My Marantz has been on the 3rd floor where I used to hang out when my kids were young.  Two are out of the house now,  so I hadn't used the Marantz in months.  
So then I had an epiphany.  I decided to insert this little amp  selector into the chain.  It allows 2 amps to connect to one (or two) sets of speakers.  And fortunately my phono stage has both balanced and unbalanced outputs. 
So now I can choose whether to listen to the more refined,  neutral and revealing McIntosh setup, or the looser and warmer Marantz. The latter is better for records that may not be as well engineered or pressed.  
Got it all up and running today and enjoying the Marantz again.  
I also put the Pioneer up on the third floor and it's connected to my Pro-ject and some big B&W towers.  So nice to have that drier sound again too! 

Pics..

Awesome setup you’ve got there and a great idea with that amp/speaker splitter unit.