3300/250M vs 7t/16b

bsandovalb

Active Member
Hello experts.. I have the first combo, minty and performing flawlesly.. love how it sounds...

But the opportunity arises to buy the second combo (7t/16b), also in mint condition, wood cases, manuals and original boxes from the original owner... very tempting indeed!...

Now, I have a question and it is... how to they compare against each other?, soundwise?... reliability?... not discussing the specs as I can see them in the web...

What should I expect to gain/loose with this option vs my 3300/250M...

Thanks for your opinions!
 
Thank you guys! For some reason I tought you were going to tell me the 7t would be a notch above the 3300....On the other hand, while I can see the 250M being prettier than the 16b, it made me doubt a second the fact the 16 is two monoblocks in one single chases....
 
I will be the dissenting voice - I have had all of the equipment you mention and I would say the the 7T is the hands down winner over the 3300.

The 7T improves every amplifier I have use it with.

As for amplifiers, the 16B (which is 2 mono blocks) has a sound that I prefer over the 250M. Also, I think that the meters loose their appeal after a while and are more of a distraction. . . - Chris
 
oh man... and the 7t/16b combo is like just came out of the production line, mint, with original boxes, papers, receipts, and includes also mint original wc-2 cases... comes fron a collector who is retiring...

would need to decide if buying or not promptly...

:confused:
 
I will be the dissenting voice - I have had all of the equipment you mention and I would say the the 7T is the hands down winner over the 3300.

The 7T improves every amplifier I have use it with.

As for amplifiers, the 16B (which is 2 mono blocks) has a sound that I prefer over the 250M. Also, I think that the meters loose their appeal after a while and are more of a distraction. . . - Chris
How much restoration did you do on them. Just curious. I was in contact with a guy YEARS ago and he wasn't too crazy about the overall sound when comparing to newer (70's) offerings.
 
What should I expect to gain/loose with this option vs my 3300/250M...

Thanks for your opinions!

I can give you a 75% opinion (;)) having owned/own 3/4 of those components...own a 7t/250m combo, used to run a 16b with the 7t:

Get the 7t/16b, you might enjoy it more. You can make 4 different systems out of them and maybe come up with the most magic pair. It really depends on 'your' ears/room/speakers.

Never heard a 3300, so no comment there, but I like the 7t enough that I have run it with my tube 8b and can't fault that pairing. fwiw, I do like the 7c more. Good luck.
 
How much restoration did you do on them. Just curious. I was in contact with a guy YEARS ago and he wasn't too crazy about the overall sound when comparing to newer (70's) offerings.

The 16B, 250M and 3300 were completely rebuilt keeping to their original design as faithfully as is possible. The 7T was serviced and all of the original components were retained as long as they were within specifications - the exception was the power supply, which was completely rebuilt.

I personally prefer the sound of the early separates to the later models - the 7T pairs extremely well with the Model 15 Amplifier. The 3300 sounds muddy when compared to the 7T - even though the 3300 is an outstanding preamp - Chris
 
The 3300 sounds muddy when compared to the 7T - even though the 3300 is an outstanding preamp - Chris
That's very interesting. I wish I had the opportunity to try out a 7t. However I do not have any of the older components to properly pair them with.

Right now I am using a Conrad Johnson Classic 2SE preamp with both my Marantz 250M and VTA ST-70 (seasonal dependent amps). They both match EXTREMELY well with the CJ - one heck of a good preamp to beat.

Years ago I ALMOST had my hands on a or 15, or was it a 16???? Really do wish I had tried it.
 
thanks guys!, nice feedback... that is the kind of info I am hoping for...

seems the 7t is a great preamp... i really like the 3300, I've had several nice preamps in the past (Audio research ref 2mk2, ref3se, levinson ml6, no.26s, mcintosh mx110z, etc)...

Even if the 3300 may falls behind in some specific areas, it is a very very enjoyable preamp, with gorgeous looks.... I really enjoy it tremendously as I find this specific system 3300/250m makes me enjoy all recordings/genres; it sounds warm, detailed, with enough balls, but without being that bit too revealing that makes you skip not so well made recordings
 
I have a Marantz 7t and the 3300 , both have the same sound signature but I feel that the Marantz 7T is better in the mid range and smoother in highs . The 3300 with the loudness button on has more bass that gives the idea of meatier sound but a little bit muddy. I don’t like it without the loudness button on , its to shy bass like that.

I think both lack of holografíc sound as I recently experienced with a Audio Research PS-9 MKii.

By the way I use my Marantz with KEFs q700.

Gonzalo.
 
I have a Marantz 7t and the 3300 , both have the same sound signature but I feel that the Marantz 7T is better in the mid range and smoother in highs . The 3300 with the loudness button on has more bass that gives the idea of meatier sound but a little bit muddy. I don’t like it without the loudness button on , its to shy bass like that.

I think both lack of holografíc sound as I recently experienced with a Audio Research PS-9 MKii.

By the way I use my Marantz with KEFs q700.

Gonzalo.

Hola Gonzalo, gracias por tu experiencia... al final me quedé quieto con el 3300/250M, ya que siendo un sistema secundario, pues la verdad era un poco redundante por asi decirlo, comprar la otra opción teniendo ya este primer ¨combo¨, saludos!
 
Hola Gonzalo, gracias por tu experiencia... al final me quedé quieto con el 3300/250M, ya que siendo un sistema secundario, pues la verdad era un poco redundante por asi decirlo, comprar la otra opción teniendo ya este primer ¨combo¨, saludos![/QUS

Que bien , disfrute de su equipo! Bsandoval, Tu tambien tienes el problema que cuando el 3300 no tiene activado el loudness , suena con muy boco bajo? He leido en otro post que se puede hacer una modificacion cambiando un capacitor para recuperar esa flata de bajas frecuencias.

Me gustaria saber si a ti te ocurre igual sin el botton de loudness. Tmabien me queda la duda si es que este pre tiene el loudness que va disminuyendose al subir el volumen , en mi caso no funciona asi , es decir no se va disminuyendo cuando subes el volumen .No se si asi funciona este pre o es un problema del mio.

Saludos.

Gonzalo.
 
El mio actúa igual al tuyo (loudness se mantiene igual regardless del volúmen) ... y si... en mi caso, cuando lo uso, lo disfruto con el loudness ON... ahora bien, no encuentro que le falten bajos cuando no lo uso... tal vez es mas un asunto de sinergia con el resto del equipo.... por cierto, en semana santa voy a Mexico DF con mi familia... hay algun local comercial o tienda de audio interesante como para ir a ver, en caso que me de chance? Saludos!
 
El mio actúa igual al tuyo (loudness se mantiene igual regardless del volúmen) ... y si... en mi caso, cuando lo uso, lo disfruto con el loudness ON... ahora bien, no encuentro que le falten bajos cuando no lo uso... tal vez es mas un asunto de sinergia con el resto del equipo.... por cierto, en semana santa voy a Mexico DF con mi familia... hay algun local comercial o tienda de audio interesante como para ir a ver, en caso que me de chance? Saludos!

Gracias por la info, no creo que sea algo de sinergia , porque con el marantz 7T no se siente esa falta de bajos (el 7T no tiene loudness) . Con respecto a tu pregunta, la verdad es que recien llevo 6 meses en Mexico asi que soy medio nuevo. En polanco he visto un par de tiendas pero por lo uqe he visto por internet es que los precios son un poco altos compardos con Estados Unidos. Que estas buscnado? asi pregunto por aca a un par de amigos y de repente te puedo conseguir algo de informacion.

Saludos.
 
Gracias por la info, no creo que sea algo de sinergia , porque con el marantz 7T no se siente esa falta de bajos (el 7T no tiene loudness) . Con respecto a tu pregunta, la verdad es que recien llevo 6 meses en Mexico asi que soy medio nuevo. En polanco he visto un par de tiendas pero por lo uqe he visto por internet es que los precios son un poco altos compardos con Estados Unidos. Que estas buscnado? asi pregunto por aca a un par de amigos y de repente te puedo conseguir algo de informacion.

Saludos.
Gracias, en realidad no hay nada que busque, pero siempre que viajo me gusta darme una vuelta a ver si aparece algo interesante
 
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