Marantz 2270 Engraved Survey

dgunnr, in your analysis, have you seen an appreciable difference in pricing that would indicate that the silver or champagne is more valuable than the later s/n's. Ie: are the engraved silver faced units more expensive due to rarity? (1970 Barracuda barn find in original condition)
Due to rarity of the Silver engraved units I really can’t say. I did know there were even Silver engraved units until approximately 5 years ago. My research started maybe a couple of months before appearing on this thread. Every new unit tracked completes the puzzle a little bit more!
 
Someone is now the owner of s/n 4788 with case that was briefly on ebay as a $400 BIN, couldn't verify the faceplate color due to the lighting but it looked champagne. If it wasn't local pickup only I would have bitten.
 
There are also some other changes I have noticed in the 2270's (and probably exists in other models)
1. There was a notch put in the large knobs (see pics)
2. Speaker terminals went from all black to red and black for + and -ve.

Does anyone know when these changes were made?
2270 no notch.JPG 2270 with notch.JPG
 
Just dropped by to bump this thread, to mention that my 2270 has a gold lacquered 'engraved' faceplate, but my S/N is 22316, and that is way past 5000. Though I've read elsewhere it may be Canadian model. I got it off ebay 10-12 years ago.
And IIRC, the seller was in either, Detroit or Cleveland, so it being Canadian wouldn't be too outlandish a possibility.

Though the geography isn't all that conclusive, really, as I'm in NJ, and I've picked up a few pieces of Canadian gear here, locally, as well.

***By the way, all Marantz 2270 Engraved Faceplate units had gold antioxidant chassis. The non-engraved standard faceplate units had silver chassis.
Also, to my knowledge, the engraved units did not have the Marantz logo on the plug. All engraved units also had all black speaker terminals. Rumor has
it that the engraved units did not have diffusion paper behind the two meters.
 
Someone is now the owner of s/n 4788 with case that was briefly on ebay as a $400 BIN, couldn't verify the faceplate color due to the lighting but it looked champagne. If it wasn't local pickup only I would have bitten.

That would be me. On a lark I emailed the seller who listed "local pickup only" and said would you be willing to drive to your nearest UPS store and drop it off? I will handle it from there? He said OK. Worked out OK but UPS got me for $110 to ship it to Iowa double boxed etc. But it did arrive intact and safe, although produced no sound. It is actually a SILVER face engraved. Leaked filter caps, corroded loose caps in PS etc, have been through all that and it is now sounding really good. Was thinking of keeping it in my small collection but may put it back on eBay as I have a 2285b coming that I could not pass up!!
 

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***By the way, all Marantz 2270 Engraved Faceplate units had gold antioxidant chassis. The non-engraved standard faceplate units had silver chassis.
Also, to my knowledge, the engraved units did not have the Marantz logo on the plug. All engraved units also had all black speaker terminals. Rumor has
it that the engraved units did not have diffusion paper behind the two meters.

My 2270 #4788 silver engraved face has the black only speaker terminals and NO diffuser paper for the meters. I had never seen that before, took all that apart during cleanup and when I popped the metal meter case off the meters, no paper, nothing. The blue of the plastic meter housing is what transmits the blue color when lit up. I put in soft-white LEDs posted a photo above.
 
My silver engraved 2245 is a Canadian model with a serial #61835 it's all original so I'm not sure about units with serial numbers under 4000 being the only engraved ones ?
Maybe it's a Canadian thing lol


I picked up an all original engraved 2270 today - serial number 60077. It's glossy silver. Re-lamped it, cleaned it up, and tuned up the amplifier section (other than a few mV DC offset, adjustments were still pretty much bang on!) Power switch is arcing so it will be replaced soon.

Side by side with a brand new unit fresh out of the box, you would be hard pressed to tell the difference.

There is a label on the bottom with its own serial number from Electrohome Ltd. who I believe was the Canadian Distributor of Marantz.

It also has the "Canadian Model" fuse block attached to the right heatsink.


EDIT: This may be Champagne (was glossy champagne a thing?). It's hard to tell until next to a silver Marantz.

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Wow. That thing is in beautiful condition. Congrats! I thought the engraved faceplates were stopped somewhere around S/N 5000. I suppose this one has a high serial number because it’s Canadian and they likely did their numbering differently. Whatever....it’s a real looker!:thumbsup:
 
Not sure what to think about the Canadian models. Case in point there is another Canadian model Silver engraved on ebay right now with 60,023 verse yours with 60,077. However, on that unit there is a tag next to the serial that states "S 2659" (Number 2659) which is exactly were the Silver engraved US are. Did Marantz have some extra engraved face plates that they distributed much later in the production run? I have no idea. Someone from Canada who was a Marantz seller please chime in. Also the Canadian engraved models have the red and black inputs which do not occur until much later (30,000+/-) in the US models. To me it just does not make sense but you cannot ignore it either. So we will just keep track of the US units till we figure it out lol.
 
Also the Canadian engraved models have the red and black inputs which do not occur until much later (30,000+/-) in the US models. To me it just does not make sense but you cannot ignore it either. So we will just keep track of the US units till we figure it out lol.


Nope. My 60077 has all back speaker jacks. Mine also has the additional tag with S 2659. It's a Canadian Standards Association tag - and not really anything to do with Marantz serial numbers.

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Ok thank you for the update. I wish a Marantz person from that era could add some insight. The all black inputs on the back further clouds things because all the US models went with the red and black inputs long before 32,000. The Canadian serial numbers are very strange indeed for several reasons. What does you date stamp on the chassis say (with the metal case off look on the right top corner behind the "Stereophonic Receiver" on the face plate.
 
I just picked up 2270 S/N 1464. It is champagne engraved, has no diffuser paper behind the tuner meters, and has the golden chassis. However, this one appears to be a multi-volt model. How many champagne engraved multi-volt 2270's are out there?

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Also, I want to point out another detail item unique to the early units. All of the jacks in the back are secured by silver rivets instead of black screws.

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And here's a comparison pic just for fun. The top unit is very late serial number U471054. Both of these will be getting restored in the near future.

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Another odd little "tell" is the position marking on the knobs. The late model has the black groove extended into the face of the knob while the early version does not.
 
I just picked up #1348. It's probably technically champagne color but this one has more of a rose tone than other champagne Marantz pieces I've seen.
Engraved face, black terminals, sticker inside the cover. No surprises.

Kind of afraid to even power it up, was found in a pile in the back room of a long-defunct electronics repair business, cover half removed, with a heavy coat of dust. On the upside, save for two slightly bent knob shafts, everything is intact and in very good aesthetic condition. Really wishing I knew even the first thing about electronics repair!
 
Nice grab Eric! If you don't have a "dim bulb tester" AKA a "DBT", search on it here in AK and build yourself one to power it up first. It will be easier on the large filter caps too as a bonus.

If it has issues and you need a tech the two closest that I can think of are AK members 'blhagstrom' and 'tarior'. I'd let either of them work on my gear!
 
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