Did anyone see the 2285b marantz that sold for $623.00? OUT OF CONTROL

there really is no shortage of Marantz receivers and many are still in great condition. They are also restorable for what would be a reasonable amount of money if you were able to sell it for $600+. This reminds me of what is happening in the classic car market. Cars that aren't rare but are nicely restored or unrestored in great condition are going for outrageous prices. There is no way to know if or when the market will die for these types of collectables. The guys at the Barett Jackson collector car aucion who were buying cars for $1M are going to have a hard time getting their money back out of those cars as it will also be hard unloading that Marantz for $600 once the person that bid against the winner finds what he or she is looking for.
 
Cars are an interesting thing I guess like vintage stereo, What's driving car prices right now is the fact that the baby boomers are in the market and have cash to burn , If you look at the cars of the 30's and 40's they are a little off in money because the people who were into those years are slowly going away or die. I think like the car market stereo stuff like we like is mostly sought after by guy's who were 10 to 20 years old when these units were on store shelves. Now just like that corvette or Camaro you always wanted you go out and get that stereo system you always wanted. And when you start to compare prices of new stuff , Not to mention the look of real wood and all the old stuff just appeals to us better than all black plastic

I guess if you are buying right now you don't like seeing prices going up but if you already have what you want then I guess it's a different story

"ONE man's ceiling is another man's floor"
 
Surfacetension said:
Cars are an interesting thing I guess like vintage stereo, What's driving car prices right now is the fact that the baby boomers are in the market and have cash to burn , If you look at the cars of the 30's and 40's they are a little off in money because the people who were into those years are slowly going away or die. I think like the car market stereo stuff like we like is mostly sought after by guy's who were 10 to 20 years old when these units were on store shelves. Now just like that corvette or Camaro you always wanted you go out and get that stereo system you always wanted. And when you start to compare prices of new stuff , Not to mention the look of real wood and all the old stuff just appeals to us better than all black plastic

I guess if you are buying right now you don't like seeing prices going up but if you already have what you want then I guess it's a different story

"ONE man's ceiling is another man's floor"
That's been my theory on the cars. That means that in about 20 more years, the baby boomers will be dying off and I can get an old Shelby or Hemi or C3 Corvette. At least with most of the stereos, you are talking in the hundreds of dollars, not the tens and hundreds of thousands like cars. Stereos (besides some of the scarce tube stuff) aren't really that expensive relative to most things in life.
 
Inflated Marantz Prices...

My wife owns a 2285b that I paid 25 bucks for. It's in mint condition and I took off it's face, cleaned its controls, and removed any dust that had built up over the years. It sounds awesome, but would I pay $630 bucks for it..... shit no! These things are still out there. They are getting harder to purchase at garage sales and e-bay though. The thrill for me is still the hunt. The most I paid for a piece of gear was an sx-1250 for $400. Even then I felt like I had spent too much. I still get a thrill out of sniffing down a vintage piece of high end equipment for a bargain price. For those who want to buy this stuff for e-bay prices keep on bringing up the prices. It will just make my collection worth more! :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:
Keep on looking... and have patience!


Peace Derek
 
rallycat said:
here - http://cgi.ebay.com/Hex-bolts-for-y...ryZ50596QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Note the auction is for 1 bolt! I think the bidder might have missed that line.

Here is something that Ebay popped up as a related auction to your Marantz bolt auction. Here's the item description:

"ludwig hex key vintage for tightening your nuts haha" :nono: :tears: :scratch2:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7389517682&ssPageName=MERCOSI_VI_ROSI_PR4_PCN_BIX

Regards,

Bart
 
I'm with you vintagestereo.........1st off I like almost all the stuff out of the 70's stereo lineup among the big names...... I like many of them for various reasons, each of which may be unique to one brand or model.... while I'm a big sansui guy, I have some superb pioneers, kenwoods and ALWAYS had a special place for the marantz "look".... recently 2 towns over I came across a 2285B.....original owner, all factory manuals and accessories booklet, original box and ALL packing materials, and it's M.I.N.T......... I know they've sold for less, but I paid $300 to the guy..... it only had 2 dial lamps and stereo indicator lamp out........ I ran home, fixed them the next day, all set to flip it on ebay---------guess what ??????? she's staying RIGHT HERE !!!! no way in hell I'm cutting this blue 'n silver faced baby from the herd........ and i think she sounds just superb pushing my cs-99a's....it's mostly about the sound, this hobby I mean, but it's still an awful lot about the presentation as well, so if I like the "look" and the "sound" of whatever it is, that's my business and mine alone, and if anybody thinks I paid too much...........good for them.....I wanted it, the guy had it, I bought it, now I got it !!!! zosoisme P.S. It does not have wood case, but I'm a finish carpenter and I'm gonna make a "blondie" out of her with just a clear poly applied with cloth, maybe 5-6 coats w/light sanding between coats...might use oak, might use maple, might even try poplar........depends on what grain patterns I come across.....
 
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Well my two cents at the risk of being ridiculed......I love vintage audio but logistics are not kind to me. I live in a very rural region in Arizona (no GW, no SA, the only thrifts are garbage pawn shops) nearest metro area is Las Vegas which is a two hour drive one way, can't really afford to go on a snipe hunt if you know what I mean.
I am always scouring e-bay for gear in nice condition and I have found a few. Repair shops nearby...none. I will be forced to learn to service this stuff myself before long and in all honestly i am petrified of some of the repairs I hear you all talk about. Be that as it may I have engaged in bidding wars with newbies for gear that I want and will drop out if it gets to high.
Recently I paid 850.00 for a marantz 2385....some say too much. However the unit is clean, freshly serviced and now sits prominently in my rack of goodies played daily. The bottom line is that if I want it and it meets my criteria I will pay. This hobby is starting to remind me of the baseball card popularity in the '90s, sure prices have become inflated and hopefully will level off, but I am not in this as an investment, I just love the music.
 
One can wait many, many years to find a $20 thrift store Marantz, if ever. I love a thrift store find as much as the next Joe. (I jumped for joy when I got my HPM-100's for the princely sum of $40.) However, imagine the disappointment you will feel if you decided to go out and look for the mythical $20 Marantz and come home empty handed month after month. I personally have never seen a $20 Marantz. I do not have Marantz yet but I plan on owning one very soon. Please, there is nothing wrong with paying market prices but be sensible and don't get feverish.
 
I've owned many marantz recievers over the years.
Certainly not 800 though, as I'd have to be around 229 years old in order to own that many, and properly evaluate, and live with them for a length of time.

I've owned a total of exactly 9 Marantz recievers, the first one being a bought new 4400 Quad reciever that set me back $1200, and had the CRT blow 6 months later. I quickly dumped that for McIntosh gear, and never looked back.

I've also owned numerous Sansui gear over the years, Units like the QR-4500 QR-6500, Sansui Seven, Eight, Eight Deluxe, 7070, 5000, 9090, and I still currently own a near mint QRX-7500, an absolutely perfect QRX-7001 and a mint 7000.

In more recent years, I was buying up lots of vintage Marantz-Sansui Receievers, and have once bought a beautiful, absolute mint 2265 from ebay for $108, plus about $17 to ship it. It was perfect, and played very well IMO. I've owned 2238B's, 2240, 2265, two 2330B's the bought new 4400, and the best of all, and I do regret selling, was an abolutely perfect 2285B Black Face Euro Model, with perfect matching Black Face 5025 Cassette Deck. All of the Marantz's I've owned an auditioned in my own home running through vintage JBL Monitors, I felt this reciever had the best sound of the lot.

That isn't to say that there wasn't better sounding marantz gear made before, or after this time era, as there no doubt was, such as the revered Marantz 7 and 8.

I sold that Black Face 2285B, and Cassette together on ebay 4 years ago for $900, which IMO the buyer got a very good "Low Cost" deal on both. Provided he has kept them in the flawless, pristine condition I sold them in, they both are probably now worth $1600-$1800.

Yes, I agree, a great presentation, with great pictures can go far to hype up an auction, and bring much more money.

I'm a member on a couple of yahoo marantz groups, and it was said that one of these Black face 2285B's sold not too long ago for $1400.

The real big dollar recievers from Marantz are the rare 2385B, the 2500, and 2600 recievers, with their cool CRT Displays, as also the 2130 Tuners.

Aa far as sound, like I say, the best I heard for a Marantz reciever was my 2285B Black Face, with the 2265 running a close second. I thought the two 2230B's I had were both abolute garbage, and an overrated reciever. Sure they played loud, but lacked what I felt were good dynamics, and air. With their 3 tone controls, I could not get any type of what I felt was quality sound no matter what I did.

Here's where I feel the Sansui's, while certainly not as pretty, most the time would best any of the Marantz recievers.

I've owned many Sevens, a couple of Eight-Eight Deluxe's, and the 9090, and 909db I feel have no peer as far as vintage recievers go.

In a heads up A/B, I've personally heard my own mint Sansui Eight Deluxe (Which my cousin begged me for, and now owns) best the mint Black Face 2285B hands down.

This Eight Deluxe was an exceptional Unit.
My cousin's also currently using this unit hooked to two JBL Monitors, and says that reciever is his most prized possesion! lol Mark
 
Just wanted to mention if any of you Marantz lovers have ever visited Ben Blish's Marantz Site. If I remember correcty, Ben's a martial artist who put up this site, as he is a huge Marantz Fanatic.

Listed there is essentially every known to man Maarntz Reciever, Tuner, Amp, Cassette Deck, TUrntable, etc etc.

In fact, the Black Face 2285B Black Face I once owned is I still believe pictured there, as Ben felt it was the cleanest example he had ever seen.

I had personally mailed him pics, so he could do the high quality scans, and place them on the site.

If you're a Marantz Fan, you've never visited this site, I highly recommend it, as it contains much info, tips, repair tips, advice, etc. Mark D.
 
Could be I am looking at this different then alot of you.

If I go to Best Buy or Circuit City looking for a nice receiver that will sound as good as the 2285 in question and still be around and working in the year 2036 I know for sure I will be leaving with all my money still in my pocket.

Sure there are nice units still being produced that might have great sound and be well made but you won't find these at the stores mentioned and you will not find them for any where close to the $600 price tag. I also seriously doubt many, if any, of the offerings being made today will survive to the year 2036 and be on ebay as Vintage, cosmetically nice and fully functioning units.

My nephew and his new wife came to dinner two weeks ago and she fell in love with the sound of my stereo. She said they just bought a nice system and spent almost $2000 and it is just a system, nothing special and does not sound or look anywhere near as nice as mine.
I am sure she is still thinking about this because the G 9000 was made in the year she was born, has way more power then they will ever need and has styling that is gorgeous and impressive.
She would have traded me her new, $2000 system for my $900 Vintage system in a heart beat, or as we like to say, "In a NY minute".

Gary
 
vintagestereo said:
Besides, there's no way that guy can buy anything NEW which will match the 2285B and, for that money, there are no other "vintage" Receivers that I know of which will sound appreciably better and modest volumes, if at all. He did well.


Say WHAT?? You Sir, need a reality check. I don't care if Saul came back from the dark side to restore that 2285B back to original specs it still isn't worth over $600. IMHO buyers with more money than brains associate the name and the look with their rather short sighted memories of times past and overpay for what is for all intents and purposes an 85 watt amp with a so so tuner. I've owned a few Marantz receivers and actually quite enjoy them for what they are. In the garage or the workshop they perform a necessary function. but NOT for a serious rig.

Mike
 
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ProAc_Fan said:
Say WHAT?? You Sir, need a reality check. I don't care if Saul came back from the dark side to restore that 2285B back to original specs it still isn't worth over $600. IMHO buyers with more money than brains associate the name and the look with their rather short sighted memories of times past and overpay for what is for all intents and purposes an 85 watt amp with a so so tuner. I've owned a few Marantz receivers and actually quite enjoy them for what they are. In the garage or the workshop they perform a necessary function. but NOT for a serious rig.

Mike

Mike -- I'm curious what new Receivers that can be had for $600.00 will sound appreciably BETTER than a 2285B? Can you identify some so I can understand where you're coming from?

I listen to my 2285B everyday and, frankly, even though other Receiver move in and out of here on a weekly basis (in fact three will be moving out today), it has the most PLEASING sound of all to my highly subjective ears. It has way more than a so-so tuner and the sonic characteristics of each of the 85 watts are fine indeed.

In fact, I simply can't think of any new $600.00 Receivers that approach it either in appearance, build-quality or SOUND. Those 90 day warranties and Made in Singapore, China or elsewhere labels on the back of the new ones don't count for much in my book.

Many of us buy these units not just for nostalgia but because, to our ears, THEY DO SOUND BETTER.....MUCH BETTER than today's overly processed gear. I like analog sound.

So, if I had $600.00 burning a hole in my pocket, getting a Marantz in excellent condition would make a great deal of sense. I certainly have no quarrel with people who feel that way and have paid even more for one. (I bought mine 2 years ago for $300.00).

Just my opinion. Obviously, you don't agree. So, we'll just agree to disagree, eh? :music:
 
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I can name one without batting an eyelash. Outlaw Audios RR2150 ( 100 watts @8ohm and 150 watts @4ohm). Full MSRP is $599 USD so of course they can be had for less. Outlaw builds some high quality reasonably priced gear and this piece is no exception.

Mike
 

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That is the very first and only OUTLAW AUDIO receiver I have ever seen or heard of.

I have to admit, I won't be running out to hear one!

Looks alone do absolutely nothing for me but then I am a Vintage kind of guy.

Don't misunderstand me here. I have a Yamaha HT receiver and it is fine for watching movies and making sound come from all 5 speakers + Sub.
When I want to listen to real music, played the way I like it then I go to either my G 9000 or my Luxman system and I have yet to hear a current offering that can even get close to my ANALOG ears.

Count me in the DISAGREE catagory here.

Gary
 
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