cjgeraci Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 In here McIntosh gets a lot of love - and rightfully so. However, I also wanted to give out props for the older Marantz gear. Some believe that some of the Marantz stuff is overhyped at times, but I just wanted to tell that some of this stuff is really pretty good. As some of you know, I recently stumbled across some "stuff" including a Marantz 8B tube amp, and it has now become a wonderful part of my system. Belles are on the way, probably to be run by my Peach and either the Mark IIIs or the Marantz 8B. Therefore, I was looking for another pre to run my RF-7s (or move them to the Classe). I think I've found it. Another find in all of the stuff was a Marantz 7T, a late 60s solid state preamp that was the successor to the famous tubed 7C. In various forums, some have said that the 7T actually sounds better than the 7C, and while I cannot confirm that (having never heard a 7C), I can confirm that the 7T sounds pretty %$^&! good. This morning, I listened to my RF-7s from the Jolida CD to the 7T to the Rotel 1080. Moderate noise floor, but excellent sound at very high decibel levels. Since I am keeping my RF-7s for extreme volume rock/jazz duty, this 7T could do the trick. In here we often applaud nice tube gear and great solid state stuff. Some vintages 7Ts are still coming up on Audiogon and e-bay for very reasonable prices, and I wanted to throw in my two-cents worth on this pre/pro. Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 I own a marantz 7T and I have to agree that they are fabulous preamps for the money. I owned A BUNCH of preamps at all different price levels before settling on the 7Ts (I even tried no prweamp and a passive volume control and switch combo). The 7T´s combination of great sound and control flexibility are hard to beat, add to that a true audiohpile implementation of tone controls and you have a killer package. I must mention that I had most PS and signal path caps replaced and noticed a significant improvement in overall transparency and better frequency extension, if you have not done this you will really be amazed what a few new caps and resistors can do to your 7T! warm regards, tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted December 1, 2004 Author Share Posted December 1, 2004 Thanks, Tony. I knew you would weigh in on this. I'm guessing that the resistors and/or caps have not been replaced on this unit. If I cannot find anyone locally to do this, would you recommend someone? Does anyone else have any recommendations? I know Craig rebuilds a variety of things, but is this something he might freshen up? Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptnBob Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 A few Random Thoughts... The 7-T is a bit brighter than a 7-C, and little less dimensional but a fine performer none the less. I'm a bit surprised about the noise floor - mine is pretty quiet. If you get it cleaned up and gone over, you should be very happy with it. Be careful cleaning it, though, as Marantz put a lacquer over the faceplate to protect the lettering and the wrong kind of cleaner - acetone for instance - will cloud or remove it. I know my 7-C doesn't like long cable runs to the amplifiers, or high output moving coil cartridges - these are not problems with the 7-T. If you'd like a manual, I think I have one I could copy for you - I'll have to go check. The 8b and the Belles are a match made in Heaven. The 7-T works well with the combination too. A Mac MX-110 would also be an excellent choice. I wonder who you know who has one of those... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted December 1, 2004 Author Share Posted December 1, 2004 Thanks, Bob, I appreciate the thoughts. Yes, I think I know just who that person is. With respect to combinations, at this point, I'm guessing what will end up driving what, but I am going to try every single combination I can think of -with respect to the Belles, the RF-7s and the Vertical Cornwall. Yes, based on what I have heard from the 8B so far (Cornwall, RB-75s), I think it will end up driving the Belles. It is a fantastic sounding amp so long as you are not asking it to drive a demanding and "picky" speaker(i.e. the RF-7). I will certainly try the 7T/8B combination with the Belles, and if that works out well, the Peach could move back to the RF-7s. And the Mark IIIs could also move back to the RF-7s after a nice rebuild. If you could put your hand on a copy of a 7T manual, that would be greatly appreciated. Overall, its very nice to have a variety of options. Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 I wonder where good ol' Boomer is. Santa Clause has enough Marantz in his house to start a dealership. Even from back in the day, I always thought Marantz gear stood out because of their trademark gold metal finish. Maybe it's just a misconception on my part, but I have always been under the impression that they fell somewhere between where the highest-end Denon left off, and the lowest-end seperates began...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebse2a3 Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 cjgeraci I agree with you that the 7C and 8B are great sounding I repaired a 7C preamp for a friend and the build quality was the best I have seen from the 1960s. After repairing it I tried it with my Khorns and the combination was just a wonderful match and I also found the Tone controls really helpfull with some Music. I really hated to let it go but I couldn't afford it at the time he was able to sell it to a guy in Japan for $2200. My friend also has the 8B and its the best sounding EL34 amp I've heard. Very natural sound to me. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 In noting systems, McIntosh is my choice because I live within 4 hours of the Company and Mcintosh was the name here. That said, I believe Marantz to be a strong Competitor, if not superior in some areas. I would give a vote to Marantz. It is kind of understated here. I'm not sure if it's Marantz owners not wanting to part with their components or a lower number of units produced. I agree that Marantz does not get its just due. dodger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 vintage amplifier restoration in missouri are great guys. the two bills (the owners/tech are both named william) are honest and talented guys. they will not sell you magic caps and silver wires, but they will restore your vintage Marantz (they also do great Mcintosh work) and even mod it lightly if you wish. They respond quickly, quote fairly and send great documentation of the process (pics and bags of old parts). http://vintageamplifierrestoration.com/ I had read an interview in stereophile years back with sid smith where he mentions the things he would do to the 7T (and 7C) today if given the chance, mostly modern caps and resistors in the signal path and a little more filtering and "umph" in the PS. best of luck, tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted December 1, 2004 Author Share Posted December 1, 2004 (Gulp) - $2200 to Japan? Wow, considering that some 7Ts have gone for about $250 recently on Ebay, that is incredible. That being said, I think the value of the preamp should rise as people rediscover it. Natural sounding. Those are the terms I was looking for - with respect to the 8B. It just draws you in - even at very low volumes. There is something to having quality first watts - even in a PP. Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted December 1, 2004 Author Share Posted December 1, 2004 Tony, thanks for the tips on Vintage. Sounds like a winner to me. Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted December 1, 2004 Author Share Posted December 1, 2004 ---------------- On 12/1/2004 5:40:06 PM nicholtl wrote: Even from back in the day, I always thought Marantz gear stood out because of their trademark gold metal finish. Maybe it's just a misconception on my part, but I have always been under the impression that they fell somewhere between where the highest-end Denon left off, and the lowest-end seperates began...? ---------------- That's probably true with respect to much of their 70s (and later) integrated stuff. Marantz has made some nice integrated stuff that gets you in the shouting realm of separates. However, we are talking about different animals here. The Marantz jewels are some of the 1950s-1960s separates: amps, preamps, and tuners. Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Unfortunately Carl now I will have to send a hit squad for you, you broke the vintage marantz owners sacred creed "do NOT tell anyone about how great (and reasonably priced) are the 8b and 7T"...we keep the prices down by letting everyone bid up scott, mcintosh and...(biting my lip trying not to laugh) dynaco...regards, tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted December 1, 2004 Author Share Posted December 1, 2004 ---------------- On 12/1/2004 6:13:45 PM sunnysal wrote: Unfortunately Carl now I will have to send a hit squad for you, you broke the vintage marantz owners sacred creed "do NOT tell anyone about how great (and reasonably priced) are the 8b and 7T"...we keep the prices down by letting everyone bid up scott, mcintosh and...(biting my lip trying not to laugh) dynaco...regards, tony ---------------- That's funny - AND DULY NOTED. Time to get more plugged into the Marantz community. A caveat. While that certainly applies to the 7T, I'm not so sure about that applying to the 8B anymore. Some of them are starting to go for insanely high amounts. Does not really matter to me, however, because mine is staying put on the top shelf of my rack for a long time. Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 ---------------- On 12/1/2004 6:19:25 PM cjgeraci wrote: ---------------- On 12/1/2004 6:13:45 PM sunnysal wrote: Unfortunately Carl now I will have to send a hit squad for you, you broke the vintage marantz owners sacred creed "do NOT tell anyone about how great (and reasonably priced) are the 8b and 7T"...we keep the prices down by letting everyone bid up scott, mcintosh and...(biting my lip trying not to laugh) dynaco...regards, tony ---------------- That's funny - AND DULY NOTED. Time to get more plugged into the Marantz community. A caveat. While that certainly applies to the 7T, I'm not so sure about that applying to the 8B anymore. Some of them are starting to go for insanely high amounts. Does not really matter to me, however, because mine is staying put on the top shelf of my rack for a long time. Carl. ---------------- Um, ah, I forgot to mention that the Marantz equipment is not really, uh, worth the, uh, investment. The Dynaco is more known and uh, should be going for um, 3 times the price. McIntosh - aren't they uh, computers? Yeah, that's the ticket, computers, not good, not good. dodger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptnBob Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 What the hard-core types refer to as "New York" Marantz were considered McIntosh's only serious competition for the "best there is" in the fifties and sixties. After Saul Marantz overextended himself financially developing the 10 and 10b tuners, the company was bought out by Superscope and production moved west, first to California and then to Japan. Since then the Marantz name has appeared on a variety of components, some very good, like the 2200 series of receivers, and some flat out embarrassing. (I'd name names, but it's Christmas, after all.) One of the nice things about early Marantz is the styling - even the earliest pieces don't look as dated as, say, a McIntosh C-8 or A-116. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAKO Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 The NEW Marantz SC-7 S1 will nock the sox off the old Mod 7 & 7T ...But be prepared to spend $6,999 to hear one. The new version of the Marantz 9 monoblock amp Is also... The Marantz MA-9 S1 going for 6,999 each . Beautiful light gold finish riveling the old units. And the sound sweet and silky but enough oomph to kick butt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khorn58 Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 i always though Mcintosh was a deal compared to vintage Marantz. I see the model ( selling for near 10 gtrand a pait on ebay ect. The model 5 are about half that. I say the words been out there for a long time. Klipsch and Marantz were used together In the 59 worlds fair Stereo demo in Brussles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 I had a 7C and MC240 setup last year but the prices for the 7C were so outrageous I ended up selling to a guy in Taiwan for $2300 (much more than I paid a couple months earlier). Also sold 2 MC240s last year. The 7C was a great sounding unit. Never heard the 7T however. I hope it works out for you. I passed on an 8B earlier this year. It was very clean and I could've had it for $1300(?)- hard to remember. I really didn't need it though. Anyone know the going rate these days for an 8B in good condition? Just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted December 1, 2004 Author Share Posted December 1, 2004 Gary, here's what Capt. Bob posted earlier this month in response to the same question: "Last time I looked, 8bs were selling in the $900-$1,200 range, with really pristine ones pushing up towards two kilobucks. The reissues start showing up around $1,800 to $2,600." Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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