Gilbert Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 There is near perfect looking 10B that I'm considering purchasing, and would like to hear if anyone knows of a 10B Guru-Repair-Specialist. The unit is original, and the owner claims that it works flawlessy, but I'd want to have it completely gone through anyway. At 40years old, it just can't be working flawlessly. I'll also post this on the Audiokarma forum to see if anyone there know's a who's who for vintage Marantz tuners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcmusic Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Gilbert you might try Mike Zuccarro of California I have his web site link some where, or Tim White from the Audio Classic's web site. Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilbert Posted February 25, 2007 Author Share Posted February 25, 2007 Gilbert you might try Mike Zuccarro of California I have his web site link some where, or Tim White from the Audio Classic's web site. Jay Thanks Jay, you just shook the cob-webs loose. Richard (Dick) Sequerra was the name I was trying to remember, you came close enough to jar it free from my head.... Thanks. Hopefully, he's still tinkering with this stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Don't touch it if it works. They hardly ever break down and the only things that normally do, are the optocouplers and they can be bought on ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBryan Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 There is near perfect looking 10B that I'm considering purchasing, and would like to hear if anyone knows of a 10B Guru-Repair-Specialist. The unit is original, and the owner claims that it works flawlessy, but I'd want to have it completely gone through anyway. At 40years old, it just can't be working flawlessly. I'll also post this on the Audiokarma forum to see if anyone there know's a who's who for vintage Marantz tuners. Gilbert, I just asked the same question in another thread. I have a 10b and there appear to be 2 distinct opinions about how to go about fixing them. One side thinks that - like any other tuner, the 10b ages and needs to be freshened up a bit. The other side feels that unlike the other tuners, the 10b was built under special conditions (the alignment was done in an oven to mimick the heat of the tuner at operating conditions) and aside from replacing the 'opto-couplers' that have a tendancy to fail after a few decades, the alignment is best left alone and the tuner can be brought up to spec by simply replacing the weak tubes. I'm somewhere in between in that I heard great improvement when I checked and replaced the weak tubes but I also feel that caps and the opto-couplers will need to be replaced eventually. There's a guy that builds new OC's and sells them for @$100 on eBay. I bought a set just in case. Its a great tuner when its running well and if you have a few decent FM stations left in the area - its a real treat! Of course, the over-compressed/EQ'd mega stations sound just as bad on the 10b as they do on any other nice tuner and the digital/HD broadcasts will eventually doom all analogue tuners but I'm hopeful that there's a few good years left. Good luck with your 10b and please let us know how it works out for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audible Nectar Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Not much help on the discussion, but I just read Guy's signature, and I'm LMAO....that's CLASSIC[:'(]. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilbert Posted February 25, 2007 Author Share Posted February 25, 2007 Don't touch it if it works. They hardly ever break down and the only things that normally do, are the optocouplers and they can be bought on ebay. Thanks Guy, and JB. I appreciate all the help I can get, and I know & respect your knowledgable opinions. I will likely play with it for a few months, and then (if necessary) send it off to Dick (if he replys to my email favorably) and have all the tubes replaced with vintage NOS'y tubes. I'll leave the cap changing decission up to hime. I'm just anal about having my gear (vintage or otherwise) in tip-top condition. Here's a link to his website.... http://www.sequerra.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott0527 Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Richard Modaferri at Audio Classics. Has done more than 100 10B's in the last 10 years. Attached is a quick pic of the write up he sends back with the repair. If you can read it, you can see he "seems" to know his 10B stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott0527 Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 ...and includes a test chart. I've not see this kind of back up description on tuners I've had repaired by other people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilbert Posted February 25, 2007 Author Share Posted February 25, 2007 Richard Modaferri at Audio Classics. Has done more than 100 10B's in the last 10 years. Attached is a quick pic of the write up he sends back with the repair. If you can read it, you can see he "seems" to know his 10B stuff. Thanks Scott, and I do have Richard Modafferi's contact info. He did a stellar job on my MR71's, and I intended to use him as a back-up plan, should the other Richard decide not to touch the unit. By the way, that was a nice score you made on that vintage Marantz gear. I saw the pic's on the AK forum, sweet dude, very nice score and I'm glad that gear is staying in America. Also, as if I haven't asked you before,... if you ever plan on thinning out your herd of Marantz gear, please keep me in mind. Right now, thanks to Guy L., I have the hot's for a pair of Model 2 amps, but for now, the 10B is at the top of the list. See Ya!!! EDIT: I was able to read your attached comments from Richard M. A very nice touch indeed. Ricard M. did a similar test-output sheet on my MR71's. Saved them in the filing cabinet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 I have Marantz 10 (pre-10B) that someone really fouled up trying to fix the aliggnment years ago--long before I bought it. I had Zuccaro look at it about 10 years ago and he said "forget it" and so it sits looking all pretty and useless. And Mike knows these things COLD--he's the best tuner guy on the west coast. My advice? If it works well, just ENJOY it. If it doesn't, send it to someone who REALLY knows these beasts--Mike and Richard and certainly on that short list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilbert Posted February 25, 2007 Author Share Posted February 25, 2007 I have Marantz 10 (pre-10B) that someone really fouled up trying to fix the aliggnment years ago--long before I bought it. I had Zuccaro look at it about 10 years ago and he said "forget it" and so it sits looking all pretty and useless. And Mike knows these things COLD--he's the best tuner guy on the west coast. My advice? If it works well, just ENJOY it. If it doesn't, send it to someone who REALLY knows these beasts--Mike and Richard and certainly on that short list. Allan, I thought using silver based soldier was the trick to correcting the problem associated with the model 10. It's an expenisve repair, but certainly do-able (?). There's a local speaker repair shop here, and the guy has a Model 10 (Serial No. 1), that was reportedly Dicks personal tuner. The unit seemed to worked fine. I didn't spend much time listening to it, but the owner cranked her up for me to sample, and it did sound very clean. EDIT: Here's the one I'm eyeing...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilbert Posted February 25, 2007 Author Share Posted February 25, 2007 Just dug this up while surfing the web... MARANTZ 10B and 20- The 10B is the most famous tuner ever made and it's also the best sounding that I have ever heard, or am aware of, if it is properly aligned and optimized. Its sonics strengths are an unprecedented naturalness, a huge soundstage, excellent separation of instruments and superb retrieval of low-level information, including "dynamic contrasts". The bass reproduction is its main weak point. It is also not quite as "refined" or as "sensitive" as some of the finest modern transistor models listed here; the Day Sequerra, McIntosh, Tandberg, Yamaha. Unfortunately, the 10B costs a lot of money and it is also very difficult to maintain. A serious FM enthusiast should always have an excellent backup tuner when investing in a 10B. The Model 20 was an economical, solid-state version of the 10B and it also had an oscilloscope. It has very good sound and is also very well built. The later Marantz tuners did not sound as good. 10B CAVEAT- Potential purchasers of the 10B should always find out about the current condition of their photocells. Why? They almost always eventually "break down" and are critical for both the muting control and the mono/stereo switching to work properly. They are difficult and expensive to replace (around $ 400). I've heard that they can be "bypassed" if necessary, but this is a labor intensive job, and will also be expensive. Further Information A reader, from Germany, sent me this letter with some of his observations and what could be some important information concerning the Marantz 10B tuner. After some minor editing: "(I) read your comments about the Marantz 10B tuner. I had several of them, and love it. The Scott 4310 and 310E are as good, but different. The 10B sounds more like a beautiful pentode amplifier with NOS KT88s, while the Scotts (not the 350's) sound more like SE triode amps. I had once a NOS (From Angela Instruments) Fisher FM 1000, that was wonderful as well. Marantz 10B Photocells: This is actually a minor problem: They leak usually, because they are not properly closed anymore. They let light in then (sorry for my bad English). All that needs to be done is to carefully open them and laquer them newly. That's all, and then they work fine again. No need to get new ones." Personal Note- I'd love to hear the Scott 4310, but they are real difficult to find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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