I give up on Vintage

Vistance

Super Member
I was preparing a 3250 preamp and 170 DC amp to sell, figuring I didn't need to keep these around unused since I've swapped out for a lower powered amp where I was using these. This setup never ever gave me a problem. I let it sit for a few days, I went to test it some more since I never used all the functions. Everything was great. I went to hook up a turntable which was fine to it, suddenly there's background hum. I unplug the turntable, it goes away. I change inputs of my test device to another input and now the hum is back. I turn it off and back on, hum is gone.

Then it came back on so I unplugged EVERYTHING, still humming. Volume dependent humming that won't go away on any input, with nothing but the power amp plugged in and the speakers hooked up. I am so angry I can't see straight and the first thought I'm having is taking my crowbar and just smashing the both of them (If they weren't both somewhat valuable, they'd be in pieces because my patience is gone). I swear, I am so tired of vintage equipment CONSTANTLY breaking down and being a waste of time. In the past 6 months I've had several vintage pieces die on me, this Marantz did it in. I could write all the others off for just being inferior quality, but this time I'm convinced vintage is just not worth the time. I'm through buying vintage. I'm going to start buying modern gear from '90+ and swearing off anything older than that. I'll be looking at that "They don't make them like they used to" phrase in a completely new light...

All the popping buttons, the staticky controls, the channels going in and out, the hums, let someone else deal with it. I'd rather spend my time listening to the music and enjoying it than funding some technician fixing antiquated gear that doesn't even sound any better than newer equipment. So looks like the next time I'll be posting here will be if I ever get ahold of some of the decent newer Marantz gear. Given those prices, it'll probably be a long time...
 
IMO vintage typically needs work. If something is missed, you won't have reliability. Some switches and controls do eventually reach the end of their service life if the unit has been heavily used, and replacements can be hard to find or install. Vintage can be reliable, but it had to have been designed and built well to begin with, and then serviced periodically to keep it that way. Don't believe that newer stuff won't have the occasional problems as well.
 
I have a 2230, 2270, 2440, 250M, 120, 3300 - all vintage Marantz.

What am I running? New stuff.
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I have a 2230, 2270, 2440, 250M, 120, 3300 - all vintage Marantz.

What am I running? New stuff.
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The new stuff might as well be branded LG or Samsung or whatever. Nothing against your stack but there is no connection to the "Three Martini" era.
 
I was preparing a 3250 preamp and 170 DC amp to sell, figuring I didn't need to keep these around unused since I've swapped out for a lower powered amp where I was using these. This setup never ever gave me a problem. I let it sit for a few days, I went to test it some more since I never used all the functions. Everything was great. I went to hook up a turntable which was fine to it, suddenly there's background hum. I unplug the turntable, it goes away. I change inputs of my test device to another input and now the hum is back. I turn it off and back on, hum is gone.

Then it came back on so I unplugged EVERYTHING, still humming. Volume dependent humming that won't go away on any input, with nothing but the power amp plugged in and the speakers hooked up. I am so angry I can't see straight and the first thought I'm having is taking my crowbar and just smashing the both of them (If they weren't both somewhat valuable, they'd be in pieces because my patience is gone). I swear, I am so tired of vintage equipment CONSTANTLY breaking down and being a waste of time. In the past 6 months I've had several vintage pieces die on me, this Marantz did it in. I could write all the others off for just being inferior quality, but this time I'm convinced vintage is just not worth the time. I'm through buying vintage. I'm going to start buying modern gear from '90+ and swearing off anything older than that. I'll be looking at that "They don't make them like they used to" phrase in a completely new light...

All the popping buttons, the staticky controls, the channels going in and out, the hums, let someone else deal with it. I'd rather spend my time listening to the music and enjoying it than funding some technician fixing antiquated gear that doesn't even sound any better than newer equipment. So looks like the next time I'll be posting here will be if I ever get ahold of some of the decent newer Marantz gear. Given those prices, it'll probably be a long time...

The 3250 and 3650 are loaded with controls which need constant cleaning. Every time I take my 3650 off the shelf, it needs a comprehensive cleaning.
 
I have a mix of new and vintage. I really enjoy vintage but tend to be selective in what I use. I like older tube equipment, not just for the sonics but also for ease of maintenance. Relatively simple circuits with point to point wiring - not so much to go wrong and easy to fix or restore. I stay away from complex solid state with every function known to man - just too much to go wrong.

It helps that I like fixing stuff.
 
The new stuff might as well be branded LG or Samsung or whatever. Nothing against your stack but there is no connection to the "Three Martini" era.

Not quite. There's reason to suspect that the modern Marantz gear is being produced by Shanling. They are a high-end audio manufacturer in Shenzhen Provence, China.

http://www.theaudiobeat.com/hongkong2012/hongkong2012_shanling.htm

http://www.shanling.com/en/product-default.html

Not exactly the mass-produced disposable crap they sell at Best Buy.
 
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Is any of your new gear worth more than you paid for it or worth what you paid? Does any of your new gear appreciate in value? Or does it depreciate?

My vintage gear is appreciating in value....and sonically kicks butt....

You do the math.

Johnk
 
Every vintage piece I've ever bought has required restoration work or was already restored. That is just part of the hobby. Need to know that going in. I agree it can be maddening, but I still love the 1970s and earlier stuff.
 
Is any of your new gear worth more than you paid for it or worth what you paid? Does any of your new gear appreciate in value? Or does it depreciate?

My vintage gear is appreciating in value....and sonically kicks butt....

You do the math.

Johnk

If your goal is an investment to increase your portfolio, then your point is valid.

However, I own NONE of my gear as a point of financial investment.
 
(...)My vintage gear is appreciating in value....and sonically kicks butt....

Johnk

I'm sorry if what I wrote hit a nerve. It wasn't my intention to steer this thread into a vintage vs. new debate.
I have my own reasons for preferring new gear. The OP might find he does too. Let's let him make up his own mind.
 
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The new stuff might as well be branded LG or Samsung or whatever. Nothing against your stack but there is no connection to the "Three Martini" era.

I do agree that there's no connection, and I'm not even certain that stuff would be considered mi-fi. Probably low end of mid-fi.

But I did want new stuff, all of my gear to that point was vintage. The marantz dealer is in my neighborhood, I want to support their shop, so the selection of Marantz was easy for me.

I could not disagree with what you said and I know that the SACD player is nearly identical to a Denon unit. :thmbsp:
 
I love the sound of some of the early 70's marantz gear.
in general i really like the value that i can get out of vintage gear.
And even if i pay 50$ too much for a unit, Im still only out 50 bucks when i resell it at worst. Its not an investment for me. But its something i feel comfortable buying because i know i can get at least close to all my money back.

That said I also enjoy the sound of new stuff.

I guess i coulda just said i like em all!
 
Old stuff is old. It breaks down. Not a fault of the original design, its just that pesky aging thing. Lets face it here, none of us are as young as we once were, and I'm sure we've all had something go wrong at some point between day 1 and today. Electronic equipment is not really any different in that regard.
 
The new stuff might as well be branded LG or Samsung or whatever. Nothing against your stack but there is no connection to the "Three Martini" era.

And your three martini Marantz has as much connection to Saul as it does Foxconn.


The new Marantz 2-channel stuff is sonically the equal of at least any of the old 2-channel receivers, if not the separates. The Marantz Reference stuff far surpasses it. You can comfortably get reliable GREAT sound from new Marantz.
 
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............I'm going to start buying modern gear from '90+ and swearing off anything older than that...........

I had good luck with '90s stuff in more ways than one. Most of the stuff I've had from that era has worked flawlessly, and most of it was really cheap on the used market.
 
Is any of your new gear worth more than you paid for it or worth what you paid? Does any of your new gear appreciate in value? Or does it depreciate?

My vintage gear is appreciating in value....and sonically kicks butt....

You do the math.

Johnk

We've been down this road how many times? You don't have to buy new gear, brand new. There's a very healthy (as in extremely healthy) market for used newer gear.

I ran my Levinson 432, originally $8500, I paid $3000, for 2 years and got nearly $4000 in trade for it when I went another direction. You do the math. When's the last time you got paid $1000 to listen to vintage for 2 years? Beyond that, who cares? Why must somebody's hobby be a financial discussion when they're obviously sick of stuff constantly breaking down? What is the price of just comfortably listening to something. I've been in the same boat as the OP but with '60s tube gear. Even my "fully restored" units have all, 100% of them, developed problems. Both of my Dynacos went up in smoke. Literal smoke, coming out of the chasis. Now, I don't even feel comfortable leaving the room with that stuff on.

There's a ton of good '90s gear out there that has 20+ years on the '70s stuff, and IMHO, the better examples of it beat almost anything from the '70s. It's well made, and its not going to suffer from as much unavoidable age-related loss. You can also have your hobby easily existing on gear from the late-'90s and early '00s without taking much if any financial loss if you change your mind. The right pieces hold their value, and their is a very healthy market for it (not quite as healthy since Audiogon screwed itself but its coming back).
 
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I love the sound of some of the early 70's marantz gear.
in general i really like the value that i can get out of vintage gear.
And even if i pay 50$ too much for a unit, Im still only out 50 bucks when i resell it at worst. Its not an investment for me. But its something i feel comfortable buying because i know i can get at least close to all my money back.

That said I also enjoy the sound of new stuff.

I guess i coulda just said i like em all!

I agree.

I think you have to love vintage and be able to tolerate an occasional repair for it to be a worthwhile pursuit and like a vintage auto, I wouldn't use it as a "daily driver".
 
I do agree that there's no connection, and I'm not even certain that stuff would be considered mi-fi. Probably low end of mid-fi.

But I did want new stuff, all of my gear to that point was vintage. The marantz dealer is in my neighborhood, I want to support their shop, so the selection of Marantz was easy for me.

I could not disagree with what you said and I know that the SACD player is nearly identical to a Denon unit. :thmbsp:

Your reasoning is sound, literally and figuratively. Agreed, the constant fiddling with the old stuff can be tiresome and disappointing. However, my Marantz collection stays. They are beautiful to display after all.
 
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