Which bits go first on vintage Marantz electronics?

[ex brickie]

At Christmas I got myself a lovely 70s set up of Marantz 1070 amp, 125 tuner and 5220 cassette deck - all for the princely sum of £55 combined. I gave it a good clean up and wired up a pair of JPW mini monitor speakers.

The sound is all very pleasant and as a third system in the house wasn't looking for the ultmimate in hifi (although this set up cost £800 new in its day). However, the warmness of the system may be masking something I feel as the detail isn't there. In another room I have an 80s Sansui 517 tuner wired up to a Kenwood 3020SE amp and Wharfedale Diamond 7s and it is much livelier. I put the more modern W'dales on the Marantz system but still lifeless.

Of course this might just be the character of the system and to be honest as a bedroom system I don't want anything particularly bright.

Does anyone have experience of these components to comment on whether this is their character sound? And which bits in side go first which could have an effect on the liveliness of the sound. At low volumes the left channel is a bit slow to pick up but at anything above that all seems well

 

[cubastreet]

A recap is usually a good start to breathe life back into old gear.

 

[Paul Dimaline]

for starters, AudioKarma is the place to be for vintage Marantz.

As for the sound I think it depends what your after and where your priorities lie. I certainly think that the vintage Marantz sound is on the full and warm side but you should definitely not find any lack of detail....its just that the detail is not rammed down your throat (or ears!) as seems to be so prevalent nowadays. I find that voices in particular are reproduced in a very natural yet atmospheric way. Bass lines are certainly full and fruity, similar in presentation to early Linn Sondeks in fact but again this should not mask detail elsewhere.

But....most of these amps are at least 30 years old and very few, certainly the models at the lower end of the range, will have had any kind of service work done on them. There are an awful lot of electrolytic caps inside, on the pre amp section as well as the power amp side, I doubt there are many Naim amps out there of this age with original caps inside.....

Recapping one of these amps is not for the faint hearted, I once had an old Trio amp and counted something lie 40 odd electrolytics in there, many of which require sub boards removing to gain access to them. The thing is you wont ever hear what these amps are capable of unless you do recap it. Look here for some helpful info. From what I have heard the 1070 is a pretty well regarded amp so is well worth doing in my opinion. I have still not listeded to mine yet, I'll try and plug it in and let you know what I think.


Paul.

 

[Emmanuel Tapia]

Once you recap, you ruin the sound. It's no longer vintage, is it ? Maybe the Marantz gear is not for you. Maybe it sounded slow and sludgy back in the 70's, when it was new.


bye

 

[ex brickie]

Thanks for all the tips Paul. The recapping idea sounds fraught!

I started plugging and unplugging things, trying all the knobs and switches and would you believe I've opened up the sound a bit! One of the culprits is a Dolby button - not on the cassette deck but on the tuner! I'd never taken any notice but it has made a difference. It is still warm and full - but very pleassant for it. Now a bit more open and less cloudy too. Perhaps I should count my blessings now rather than fiddle with it!

 

[ex brickie]

Paul

You seem to try different bits of vintage kit - I have a Sansui 9900 tuner (fab look and sound) but for some reason the output level knob does nothing. On my Sansui 517 tuner it does the trick. It isn't a major problem as it is set at a reasonable level but if easy to fix it might be worth doing. Know anything about these before I post another thread? Cheers

 

[Paul Dimaline]

Once you recap, you ruin the sound. It's no longer vintage, is it ? Maybe the Marantz gear is not for you. Maybe it sounded slow and sludgy back in the 70's, when it was new.
bye

Yeah, it was quite common practise for Marantz to use 30 year old, dried up out of tolerance caps when building these amps.

Paul

You seem to try different bits of vintage kit - I have a Sansui 9900 tuner (fab look and sound) but for some reason the output level knob does nothing. On my Sansui 517 tuner it does the trick. It isn't a major problem as it is set at a reasonable level but if easy to fix it might be worth doing. Know anything about these before I post another thread? Cheers

Cant comment on the Sansui, I'm a Marantz man!! However, there is a Sansui page on AudioKarma as well as a Marantz page.

One common and relatively easy to fix problem on the Marantz are dirty switches. These are not sealed so most will have 30 odd years of dirt in them. As the signal go's all around the houses in these amps they all need attention...the tape monitor switch was the offending item on my PM4.

Warm and euphoric yes, slow and stodgy most definitely not, you just need a good 'un.

There is a manual for the 1070 here that should have a service manual and schematic with it.


Paul.

 

[stevec67]

Once you recap, you ruin the sound. It's no longer vintage, is it ?

You mean it's no longer worn out. Elec caps don't last for ever. If I buy a vintage Rolls Royce and it has worn piston rings, do I carry on using it, burning oil and down on power, because "it's vintage"? No, I replace the worn out items with new ones and restore it to original specification.

The "not vintage" only applies if I start adding go-faster parts.

I wouldn't spend a fortune on this TBH, don't let your enthusiasm run away with you. There are piles of other stuff around for pocket change, I recently got a lovely Creek tuner for a tenner that's staying in my system for a while, at least till I find space on a shelf for the Troughline. I would check the caps aren't actually leaking and contact spray all your switches and pots. That should help. After that I'd be choosing which caps I wanted to replace, if any.

 

[ex brickie]

Thanks for the link Paul. When I got the Marantz gear I was very lucky as it had all the original price list, brochures and manuals inc schematics with it. In those days they were very nicely put together manuals too.

I don't think I'll be doing much with the caps. I'm intrigued by the Sansui tuner output knob though as dirty pots often crackle but still do something. Mine's dead as a door nail!