krew Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 I just got some Khorns. How would a vintage Marantz sound on these? There are plenty on ebay.Would it be as good as the HK430 or do I need to wait on one of them'430'to show up? thanks Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 My recommendation for an H/K 430 is as a great S/S bang for the buck deal on a limited budget. It is not the end-all to power sources, but, rather a very nice total package at a very minimal(currently, anyway) investment. An added bonus is that it is a very good S/S match for Klipsch Heritage series speakers...something MANY S/S items, both old and new, are NOT. Myself, I prefer the H/K "X"30 receiver series over comparably powered Marantz models of that same era...IOW in a listening comparison between a 25wpc Marantz and an H/K 430...the 430 sounds better to my ears...quieter in backround noise, etc. Generally, one pays much higher prices for a comparable Marantz S/S receiver than for an H/K of that series on the used market, too! Marantz has a large vintage following, thereby driving up the used prices, whereas these H/K models tend to be sleepers with not nearly as large a following...likely due more to name recognition than anything else. It seems that over the past dozen years or so, many folks into vintage S/S have the belief that Marantz in general is something that no other makes can compare to...but that is NOT the case in reality...it never WAS! Marantz and H/K both initially made their reputations in the tube equipment market, with both of them offering up tube items that were highly praised. With the additional fact that Marantz's founder, Saul B. Marantz, is considered by many one of the "audio greats" as he had designed and built many of the earlier tube models himself...that adds more "glory" to the Marantz legend. Fact is, though, that by the time of the early 1970's, Mr. Marantz had already left the company bearing his name and had moved on to other endeavors under another banner! So, from that time forward, Marantz-branded S/S products, although great for their time, were already flying under a banner supported by past glories. That being said, if you prefer the sound of the Marantz S/S models, and can afford them, then by all means get one! In the end, after all, it is YOUR ears that make the final judgement, NOT mine or anybody else's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 Nice post Andy. Again, the nice thing about the HK is the low power and so no doubling up of transitors. If I had K-horns -- I wouldn't run them with more than 25 watts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horonzak Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 The early Marantz equipment was designed by Sid Smith. And sounds great on Khorns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptnBob Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 A combination I was always fond of - and one you don't hear much about anymore - was the Harman-Kardon Citation 11, 12, and (I think) 14. The preamp was a little noisy to use with Klipschorns, but you got a 5 band equalizer (a brief pause for the purists to boo) a power amp with dual-mono construction and enough power for good dynamics, and a decent tuner. H-K was trying to get back into the respectable side of high fidelity with these units, so they didn't cut too many corners. They certainly sounded better to me at the time than their more famous contemporaries like the Crown IC-150/D-75 or Marantz 3300/250 combinations. One caveat - I understand the later Citation 11s sound better than the earlier versions. Somewhere I have the serial number where the change occured, and I'll try to track it down and post it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 anything from marantz made in the 60s is gold with me! you do need to freshen them up with new caps but they sound great! but you really need to go with tubes...how about some 8Bs and a 7C? now that would be great with your k-horns! if you have the bucks a 9 and 7C combo would be one of my dream combos. regards, tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 I agree with Tony. If you're going to go with Marantz, go with the tube stuff. It should sound splendid. Later, Marantz (the solid state years) (early 70's?) was sold to Sony/Superscope & turned to s***. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krew Posted March 4, 2003 Author Share Posted March 4, 2003 Thanks for all the replies guys. For now I will keep my eyes peeled for the HK430. I was just asking about the Marantz because there are so many of them on ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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