Marantz prices are up,up,up!!!!!!

Nothing more to add from me, but I love both Marantz and McIntosh. Both have those nice blue glow...and Mc gear has gone crazy as well, especially any amp with meters. The MC2505 has doubled in price over the past few years...
 
I have a 2385 I been wanting for some time before. When I got it, it was a fixer for around $450. Now, it's not for sale. I also wanted a Pioneer SX-1980 and was planning to buy it when it drops to $500 but NEVER happened. I ended up paying $3200 with a malfunctioning power supply board. I had enough money at the time and figure I better just get it before it reaches even higher. That's not for sale either or I'll probably never get another.
 
Back in 2008 & 09 I was working out of state and making good money. After the market tanked, prices on ebay plummeted. I would sit in my motel room at night after work and ended up buying several Marantz receivers, and other 70's vintage pieces with the intent of rebuilding them and reselling when I retire. I'm almost at that point now, so I've been pulling out some the stuff I bought back then which has been stored in one of my buildings for 10 years or more. Problem is I had forgotten what I had up there. First one that came out of a box was a 2270, then a 2275, then a Yamaha CA-1000, then a Dual model 721 turntable. I've gotten these all rebuilt over the past year so far. Fortunately, when I bought this gear, I only bought things in good physical condition (not necessarily working correctly). On the bench now, is a second 2270 that I'm in the process of working on. Hopefully, when I start selling some things pretty soon, my efforts will have paid off.
 
I may not have always made the best choices in life but one thing is certain, I did make the right choice back in 1974 when I purchased new, a Marantz 2270 ($389) with Walnut Case ($29), a Thorens TD160 TT ($152), and in 1975, a pair of Alison Two Speakers ($598). After 44 years, I took some pics after some minor repairs and shined up the wood with Howard Feed-In-Wax. Needless to say, my vinyl record collection from the 60' and 70's includes most of the major groups of the day. Enjoy.
 

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Price indeed have gone up. Paid $350 for a 2252. Liked how it sounded in my friend's record store. Had to have it. Though I thought it was high at the time. Bought a 4270 from an AKer for $300 that took the place of the 2252 in my bedroom. About a month ago I made an offer on a 2270 for $500. Sold as is. Wasn't packed particularly well and bent the front lower panel which I bent back. Hard to see. In the Eprey pic all the lights work except the signal strength meter. It arrives with all lights out except one. Fixed that. Last the power switch cover was gone leaving the black switch underneath.functional but ugly. Had it on the bedroom system, worked great for a week. Put the 2252 in its place. When working the 2270 had a warmer sound. I am very pleased with it tied to my JBL L26s. Took the 2270 to the bench. Upstairs I had distortion on the left channel. Reversed speaker hook ups to make sure all was well with the L26s. While I had the Dual unhooked I replaced a crabby audio cable and cleaned the contacts on the arm. That's all good. The 2270 likes my bench. Has worked well for a week. Never has acted up in a week it been down there?? Did pull the front off. Hit the controls with contact cleaner again just to make sure I had not missed anything. Was suggested the speaker relay might be acting up. Nothing there. Kinda hate bringing it up as they weigh a ton. Now if I can catch it conking out on the left side? I do have another 4270 in my livingroom that works well but sits most the time. Good news was it was free. It may find its way to my sleeping quarters. Glad I have what I want now. All my Dual's (4) have also gone up too. Did get 2 Sanyp 2700 Quad receivers for $100 each. With the Maramtz stuff moving around I have one hooked up a my bench amp. The little guy sounds pretty good. But that another story.

Eric
 
Hi all. I've been away for a bit distracted with life issues. I've noticed lately on the buy and sell sites here in Ontario Canada that Marantz units aren't up for sale near as often as they were a year ago and the pickings are slim. When the odd one does come up the asking prices are lower as well and they don't sell near as quickly as they once did. In fact it seems the prices are adjusted down over the duration of the ad in order to sell it. Is this a trend others are noticing as well or maybe it's just in my neck of the woods.
 
Hi all. I've been away for a bit distracted with life issues. I've noticed lately on the buy and sell sites here in Ontario Canada that Marantz units aren't up for sale near as often as they were a year ago and the pickings are slim. When the odd one does come up the asking prices are lower as well and they don't sell near as quickly as they once did. In fact it seems the prices are adjusted down over the duration of the ad in order to sell it. Is this a trend others are noticing as well or maybe it's just in my neck of the woods.

When selling locally on Craigslist, I have always priced it much lower than eBay sold prices, and they still sat for a few weeks. Local demand is lower than the eBay audience, so you'll just need to be patient. It only takes one buyer. Maybe that's why some local flippers keep renewing their ad for Marantz 2270 at $1000, looking for the next victim! :)
 
In the SF Bay Area people want prices for their Marantz gear that is ridiculous.

Prices they ask would be for a completely recapped unit with new everything. Instead they put in some lamps, polish the knobs, squirt the controls and say it's been "serviced" etc. But a lot these units have been for sale for close to a year or more without the slightest drop in price so maybe the market has peaked? We will see.

Last Marantz piece I bought recently off the local CL and I paid a fair price on the higher side but it was a working unit although it needed a lot of updating. I knew it would be worth it and it was a receiver I had been looking for any way so I had to pay the Marantz tax to get it. The sellers original asking price was in the stratosphere but I negotiated him down after it did not sell.

Uninformed sellers look at eBay asking prices and think they can get the same $$$ without checking the sold listings which are a little more down to earth in some cases.

But the days of $50 2325's are long gone unless you are extremely lucky and the planet's align up just right for you.
 
There is a segment of would be owners who can afford today’s prices and don’t mind paying for a vintage receiver. I do see many complaints from flippers who are being priced out of the game. I don’t have much sympathy for those people. There is a good reason these items are still valuable 40-50 years after they were manufactured. Just one look at these audio items and they still speak of quality.
 
I still have the receipt from 1975 when I bought my 2275. I paid $452.97 for the unit with the wood case. Inflate forward to today and that's $2118. They went through a period of depreciation over the years, followed by a rebirth.

Edit: And I still have the 2275 and the wood case. Still sounds nice.
 
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If only I had kept the piles of silver Marantz that have come through the door over the years.
That’s a common refrain. How many times have you heard us old codgers say, “If only I had kept that ___________(fill in the blank with any 60’s - early 70’s era muscle car.)?:eek:
 
That’s a common refrain. How many times have you heard us old codgers say, “If only I had kept that ___________(fill in the blank with any 60’s - early 70’s era muscle car.)?:eek:

Copy that. The only M receiver I regretted selling was a 2285 (non-B).
 
Beyond the baby boomers and nostalgia there's the rest of the story. I began buying Marantz gear in 2003--just because I wanted my vinyl back and needed a phono stage for my Yamaha. I bought a refurbed 1060 from a guy named Jeff on Ebay. He was a retired Marantz tech on the east coast. Vietnam dude. I plugged the 1060 pre amp into the yamaha and listened to vinyl again. But it didn't sound quite like it should. About a year after buying it, i decided what the hell and hooked it up directly to the Boston Accustic towers that acted as my mains. And then I remembered my 4060 that I had bought in hs in 1976. I was in love. And I wanted even more power. So I found Jeff on ebay and asked what else he had--the man specialized in 1060's, but he offered to rebuild what ever I found. And he did. My older children and their friends fell in love with the gear. Units came in, others went into storage in the basement. Along the way I acquired DC 170 for my oldest along with a 3300 to drive it, Advent speakers and a Marantz TT. For my daughter I started her out with a 1015 and a thoren's 165 and a 105B. When she left for college that got upgraded to a 1060 and Altec Lansing speakers. She also has a 104 sitting here when she gets an apartment large enough for it. the two oldest are 31 and 27 now. Their stereos, as I predicted, were extremely popular in college dorms. For my youngest, he awaits the find of a 105B. His 1060 and 104 are in the basement packed away. For now he has the Yamaha in his bedroom. I have a 1060, 104 and 105B in my bedroom. at a older friend's house on loan is 1122DC, 105B and a set of AR 3axs. In my basement is a 1200 awaiting refurbishment, a rebuilt 1120, a spare 240, perhaps the oldest surviving (rebuilt) 250 in existence and a fisher integrated tub amp and tube tuner awaiting mild refurbishment. that 250 took along time to refurb--germanium diodes. Yes, there's a work around for them. But I wanted true. I found a stash of them in an old radio store in london. I actually called the guy and asked him if he still had any. he did. I bought em all and they sit in my top dresser drawer.

In my listening room is a 240 and a 250 used to vertically bi amp a set of JBLs and a Heathkit 1640 powering two subs. It took years to gather it all--sniping off ebay the best units I could find. No one around here sells the stuff on craig's list or anywhere else. I love how much my units have gone up in value and I love that I have shared it with my children and they in turn hundreds of college kids all up and down the east coast into Maryland (she's at Johns-Hopkins now). Pure love by all who hear it.

I did this because I really wanted Marantz's TOL gear made then--at 25 grand for a stereo with mono amps. And then I found out that the whole line was based upon the SS designs from the 70's and 60's. Well--why not just buy the source, have it rebuilt and enjoy it as is? Besides, Marantz vintage gear belongs in the MOMA. It is some of the finest industrial art ever made. So beautiful, like fine jewelry. And that's what drives it--love and lust. Just like when it was new. Except now, thanks to die hard boomers like us, it has found a whole new generation. Saul would be proud. And MacIntosh--well, they still look like Marantz wannabes.
 
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In the late '70s Marantz was considered pretty good, better perhaps than Pioneer, one could argue whether Yamaha was better sounding, but in any case it was not even in the same room (in my local stereo shop) as the McIntosh or Conrad Johnson stuff. Really upper mid-level, ... pretty much like a Corvette, not a Ferrari.

I like the comparison to muscle cars, because I agree that it is very similar. When my generation got to the point where we had extra money, we started to buy things that we couldn't have when we were younger, muscle cars! The Ferraris were always worth money (Conrad Johnson, McIntosh), but Mach 1s and Z-28s from the 60s were being crushed in junkyards. Hell, I met a guy at an auction that rescued an LP-400S Mura from a junkyard!

Dream on. In 1975 Marantz was the most expensive gear in the world. Just because they made lower priced units so ordinary people could know their sound, does not mean they were not at the top in their TOL gear. Have ever even seen a 500? Heard one? see what they go for? Marantz and Mac were always in the same room at the boutiques. I know--I was there. Mac was people who liked the sterile sound of their SS. Marantz was those of us who liked how Saul and co. made SS circuits that mimicked tube gear w/o the hassles of tubes--hence the name "Solid State" which, IIRC, came from Marantz in the first place. Solid state meaning no need to constantly tune the tubes. High Fidelity Magazines from the 70's are online. Go read and weep at the reviews. Marantz was still getting high fives in the late 70's. In the early 70's, the 250 took the prize for best SS amp in existence.
 

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The term "solid state" - used in technical literature at least as early as 1951 - preceded Marantz (the company), which formed in 1953 to produce its tube based preamp designs at scale.

Marantz may well have been the first audio company to use the term in their advertising; however, I have found no basis upon which to deny or confirm this. I believe that the consensus view regarding this term is that it refers to the use of solid materials (crystaline-based), as opposed to vacuum tubes.

I am not sure I agree that Saul Marantz's design objective was to mimic the sound of tube-based gear. In fact, it was his dislike of the sound of available tube components that led to his development of the tube-based Consolette (his first commercial product).

Also, to clarify, Mr. Marantz had no direct involvement with the 250 nor the 500.

Who awarded the aforementioned prize?
 
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