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1970s Marantz vs Pioneer receivers

ex brickie

ex brickie

pfm Member
im on the lookout for one of these and will look at any mid to higher end models - but must be a blue display to match other Pioneer equipment.

Any owners out there who can advise on relative qualities? I can pay anything from £300 to £750 (maybe more for a fully refurbed model) . I don’t need huge power as it is a medium size room and efficient speakers. I don’t need fancy functions. Emphasis on a decent tuner and general sound quality. Only other source will be a reel to,reel

Any recommendations out there? Advice on whether the extra price brings significant sound quality improvements (after all these years) is also very welcome

Thamks
 
I think generally you will pay more for the equivalent Marantz. They look prettier. As for SQ...I dunno?
 
I sold a Marantz '2238BL' last year, which sounded (suprisingly) good (especially as it still had the origional caps), the best feature was their 'Gyro touch' method used for tuning, very smooth. It looked gorgeous with a big blue display and meters, with a red 'stereo' light, and was well worth replacing all the fuse type bulbs for the LED equivilents.

I think it sold for around £250, which seemed about right, but I remember there were several listed with BIN prices in excess of £600.
 
Marantz and Pioneer have a subtle difference in 'house sound.' It's subtle, and preference is a matter of taste, but a generalization might be, if you like it more loud go Pioneer, if you like it more soft, go Marantz.

True vintage aficionados hate LEDs, but that again is a matter of taste.
 
I have a few of these - Pioneer SX535 & SX737, plus Marantz 2225, 2245 and 2250B.

If you already have Pioneer kit from the mid 70s then the SX737 is a nice unit. Great build, good for about 40wpc rms, nice 4 gang tuner and very open/serviceable internals. Nothing unobtainium in the circuit and it runs cool.
It uses toggle switch gear in place of the push buttons on the more expensive Pioneer units - a bonus as the latter are open backed and need frequent cleaning.

Marantz carries a cost premium and the build is a little better (superb v the Pioneer's excellent). Sound is fine on all of them - usually competitive with mainstream amplifiers of today and better than the boutique.
 
Neither Marantz nor Pioneer, but the Tandberg 2075, 2075 mk2 and 2080 are as good as anything receiver-wise.
 
Hi Robert

That’s is helpful - thanks. The sort of input I’m looking for.

In your experience of the Marantz receivers was there much sound quality improvement as you went up the range (aside from extra wPc power)?

I agree re the toggle switches - there is something pretty solid about those.
 
ex brickie said:
Hi Robert

That’s is helpful - thanks. The sort of input I’m looking for.

In your experience of the Marantz receivers was there much sound quality improvement as you went up the range (aside from extra wPc power)?

I agree re the toggle switches - there is something pretty solid about those.
Click to expand...
Many say the opposite about Marantz sound quality--that the higher wattage units aren't as good as, say, a 2230.
 
ff1d1l said:
Neither Marantz nor Pioneer, but the Tandberg 2075, 2075 mk2 and 2080 are as good as anything receiver-wise.
Click to expand...

Yep. I use a Tandberg TR-2055 in my workshop and very good it is.

I disagree that there is even such a thing as "house sound" beyond very similar models. Kit designed 5 years apart would have different designers, different circuitry and different parts no matter which company made them and it isn't possible to design gear to have a specific sound.
 
Marantz 4240

https://classicreceivers.com/marantz-4240

marantz-4240-front.jpg


Sorry Guy, not offered for sale. just an item that came my way when the shop I worked in as a sevice engineer wouldn't buy it because one of the 4 channels didn't work.

I bought it for £20.

Simple fix, blown fuse replaced in faulty channel. :)

Pretty ain't it?

I use it as a pre-amp / tuner driving my Radford STA25/3. :)
 
^ Perks of the service industry, Knowledge is power.

I am sure Arkless and most others in the trade have many similar stories?

Purchased 23 years ago, I saw it as a rescue project + I didn't need four O/P channels working as a stereo pre-amp.

The Radford STA25/3 cost me £50 from the same era as a part exchange trade for some junk the seller wanted to buy, ie a remote controlled amstrad rack system. :rolleyes:

Tis another world today what with e-prey.

I hope you get lucky with what you seek.

Please come back and share the story with us.
 
Darmok said:
^ Perks of the service industry, Knowledge is power.

I am sure Arkless and most others in the trade have many similar stories?

Purchased 23 years ago, I saw it as a rescue project + I didn't need four O/P channels working as a stereo pre-amp.

The Radford STA25/3 cost me £50 from the same era as a part exchange trade for some junk the seller wanted to buy, ie a remote controlled amstrad rack system. :rolleyes:

Tis another world today what with e-prey.

I hope you get lucky with what you seek.

Please come back and share the story with us.
Click to expand...

Oh yes....;)
 
ex brickie said:
Hi Robert

That’s is helpful - thanks. The sort of input I’m looking for.

In your experience of the Marantz receivers was there much sound quality improvement as you went up the range (aside from extra wPc power)?

I agree re the toggle switches - there is something pretty solid about those.
Click to expand...

Very little difference in sonics between my 2225 & 2250 unless you push the former hard where it sort of soft limits and compresses a little before clipping. The power supply is a lot smaller so not unexpected. Tuner in the 2250 is a little better sounding but a lot more complex. The 2250 looks amazing inside thanks to all the board shielding cans, though truthfully I think the benefit is more visual than sonic :)
 
I'm still looking. Each day something interesting pops up on ebay - but some crazy prices out there - especially for the monster size receivers. I don't need that sort of power.....and I'm not happy paying close to or above £500 if it hasn't been re-capped already

I'm still ogling the pretty Marantz receivers...…….. watch this space

Happy to hear others' observations...
 
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