Marantz 8B Amp

[Tony T]

I was offered a very nice Marantz 8B tube amp for a very good deal although, I was told by the owner I will need to purchase tubes as some of them are not working. My questions are;

 

Has anyone ever owned one of these? If so, what's your listening experience?

 

With "quality" tubes, what would a person expect to pay for full replacements? Price range perhaps?

 

Now I realize there's a great many different preferences on tubes. My problem is, I'm just diving into the tube arena and I haven't a clue of actual values yet.

 

Thanks for any help

[jimjimbo]

@thebes

[ClaudeJ1]

4 hours ago, Tony T said:

I was offered a very nice Marantz 8B tube amp for a very good deal although, I was told by the owner I will need to purchase tubes as some of them are not working. My questions are;

 

Has anyone ever owned one of these? If so, what's your listening experience?

 

With "quality" tubes, what would a person expect to pay for full replacements? Price range perhaps?

 

Now I realize there's a great many different preferences on tubes. My problem is, I'm just diving into the tube arena and I haven't a clue of actual values yet.

 

Thanks for any help

Had the exact one on my Khorns about 30 years ago. Great Amplifier. Paul Klipsch also told me so.

[dubai2000]

Have not used mine for some time - but a great amp indeed!

[Guest wdecho]

Common tubes, EL34, 6CG7,6BH6, easy to find and not expensive. Usually the only ones that need replacement are going to be the output tubes, EL34 which are many brands and flavors.  If iron is good, which is most likely, and price is right I would jump on it. Quality old tube amplifiers only increase is desirability and price with time. Worth a capacitor refreshing before use by qualified individual. One for sale on Ebay right now in Lithuania without tubes. Lots of interest and bids with 2 days left for reference. Found all this info on amp with short Google. 

 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Marantz-8B-Audio-Tube-Amplifier-without-tubes/223017798158?hash=item33ece58a0e:g:UAIAAOSwqDhbIknF

[TubeHiFiNut]

One of the best classic amps - in my opinion, of course.

 

Outstanding on Klipsch Heritage and Quad ESL57s alike.

 

Definitely one of my amps that isn't going anywhere.

[thebes]

I got mine for $50 in the deal of a lifetime. It's been my main amp for over a decade.  I swap it out from time-to-time but always come back to it.  I'm not sure how I'll do it but I plan to to take it with me when I go.

 

It weighs 60lbs so be careful hauling it.

 

I've had mine recapped and the power supply beefed up a  bit, but that really wasn't necessary.  The power caps are basically unobtainable so replacements would have to go underneath.  Nosvalves has done all the work on mine and he's great at tube amps.

 

You many not need any of that right away, though. Replace the all the EL 34's, use early EH's if you can find them.  Better yet would a quad of NOS Mullards, but that's expensive.  They don't even have to be matching pairs, because each tube is biased individually.  You can also change the sound by playing with different small tubes, particularly the 6CG7's. Try for matched NOS pairs.

 

The sound is accurate, detailed, excellent soundstage and coherent across the listening spectrum.  Pairs very well with Klipsch heritage.

 

You can not lose money should you ever need to sell. 

 

Before you fire it up with the new tubes, pull off the bottom and check for any obvious leaks from the caps, particularly the power caps.  If you have a variac I'd warm it up starting at about 90volts. Set the bias at full household voltage.  Instruction on how to bias are available online, or PM me and I'll email them to you.  There is also a fairly simple way to convert these to in triode mode but I've never tried it.

 

Have I mentioned I got mine for $50.

 

Here's a link to the thread about that happy, happy day:

 

 

[Deang]

Buyer beware on these -- because of age. Things "not working" may not be tube related.

[sunnysal]

8b were probably one of the best amps designed by the great Sid smith, only the model 9 monoblocks were considered better.  It wasn’t called the golden age of audio for nothing! Buy them and don’t look back, you might want to have them looked over by a competent tech first though...let us know how this turns out, warm regards, tony

[Gilbert]

On 6/15/2018 at 6:49 PM, Tony T said:

I was offered a very nice Marantz 8B tube amp for a very good deal although, I was told by the owner I will need to purchase tubes as some of them are not working. My questions are;

 

Has anyone ever owned one of these? If so, what's your listening experience?

 

With "quality" tubes, what would a person expect to pay for full replacements? Price range perhaps?

 

Now I realize there's a great many different preferences on tubes. My problem is, I'm just diving into the tube arena and I haven't a clue of actual values yet.

 

Thanks for any help

 

That's a piece of junk, don't buy it...... just let me know who's got it, and I can take it off his hands so he doesn't have to suffer. I'm all about helping people heheheh

[sheltie dave]

I would grab a good quad of EL 34s, the 6bl6s, and the 6cg7s, march over to his house, install the new tubes, and test the sucker out. It is one of a few “forever” amps, so you don’t allow a reasonable one to float past you without some effort.

 

if it is in the Midwest and you are not going to buy it, let me know. I have a friend who is jonesing for one.