OMG, MY DREAM AMPS...... Pair of Marantz Model 2's

[Clipped and Shorn]

Makes you realilze what a steal Mark's P-Cats were. Being even more rare, I can see them going for 10K+ down the line.

Z'nX

Marks preamps were/are kickasss for sure. Craigs VRD's are a darn good match up to Marks Pre's. Don't know what I'm gonna do if my BBExtreme goes bad.

And the Pcats are even a better match!

and darn impressive to look at as well.

... still don't quite understand what the meter does on those 'rantzs

-ZnX

[CaptnBob]

The meter, besides looking way cool, was to let you adjust the tubes. One position let you to set the bias, another the AC balance, and finally DC balance. A nice feature, as it let you use mismatched tubes, and would give you a heads up on imminent tube failure, as would hearing the amp mechanically hum when it was warming up.

When I first got mine, I'd adjust the bias every day. Not really necessary, but fun, kind of like tuning up your new sports car.

The adjustment points originally came with little plastic caps, but they tended to melt. On the 8 and 8b, the adjustment points were moved a bit farther away from the tubes.

The Marantz 2 is a fine amp, but I think nowadays, as far as sound quality goes, well, you can buy a lot of first rate amplification for $7,000 that's not full of half-century old components.

[Clipped and Shorn]

Interesting, thanks. I bet they sound amazing in that vintage way.

Mark's pCats have on board "metering" for bias in the form of red, yellow, and green lights, which you adjust until both channels are green. For my upgrades on other vintage Eico and Heathkit tube amps I installed improved bias controls which do allow for matching up odd tubes, but that, of course, still requires an external meter. I assume there is something similar on the VRDs (?).

-Zeno 'n Xeno

The meter, besides looking way cool, was to let you adjust the tubes. One position let you to set the bias, another the AC balance, and finally DC balance. A nice feature, as it let you use mismatched tubes, and would give you a heads up on imminent tube failure, as would hearing the amp mechanically hum when it was warming up.

When I first got mine, I'd adjust the bias every day. Not really necessary, but fun, kind of like tuning up your new sports car.

The adjustment points originally came with little plastic caps, but they tended to melt. On the 8 and 8b, the adjustment points were moved a bit farther away from the tubes.

The Marantz 2 is a fine amp, but I think nowadays, as far as sound quality goes, well, you can buy a lot of first rate amplification for $7,000 that's not full of half-century old components.

[NOSValves]

IMHO VRD'S, Pcat and BBX's are never going to gain value like something as rare as a pristine pair of Marantz Model 2's... Different era and different circumstances surround these items... The same can be said for some McIntosh pieces..

Mark and I are very small cottage industry type companies.. Marantz and McIntosh were and still are legendary.

With that said gear from Mark and I retain there value much better then most currently made tube and SS gear. I'm sure after we are dead and gone it may rise a bit but expecting it to gain 20X its original price IMHO is unrealistic. It would be flattering though.

For instance the Paragon 12 and 12A that Mark built in the early 70's were pretty lengendary for there time ... what do they go for today... maybe $400

[CaptnBob]

Should you really buy stereo stuff as an investment? You should buy it because you like the way it sounds, because it "speaks" to you. One of the reasons I sold my Marantz amps was I got convinced they would never go any higher ($800 for 4 2s, 2 1s, and a 6) and I was more than doubling my money. Sheesh! I really wish I'd listened to my heart instead of my pocketbook (and my friends!.)

Of course, this doesn't apply to "targets of opportunity" like the $30 McIntosh at the auction, or the $20 Cornwalls at the yard sale ...

[jacksonbart]

Do you dream in color?

[Marvel]

The Marantz 2 is a fine amp, but I think nowadays, as far as sound quality goes, well, you can buy a lot of first rate amplification for $7,000 that's not full of half-century old components.

With no disrespect for Mark and Craig, I would much rather work on the Marantz. If the magic smoke comes out of one of Mark's pieces, it may mean a pcb repair - usually far more ugly and harder to do than wire and sockets...

Mark's and Craigs gear demands respect because it is really, really good, so I hope they take this the right way. []

Bruce

[NOSValves]

Bruce,

The current version of my amps have no circuit boards in them for the very reason you mention. I switched a point to point turret board in place of the small circuit board. Even with the originals that used one small circuit board the chance of a failure on the circuit board is very slim.. It's just not an area where failure is common. Fixing a VRD's is and always will be very easy. Any Technician or DIY'er with reasonable electronic skills could easily figure it all out.

Craig