Marantz Model 7 Woken Up Today

MrBill_KC

MrBill_KC

Member
I had never considered tubes before. My Sansui equipment had always sounded good to me. But I recently acquired 3 pieces of vintage stereo equipment that had belonged to the grandpa of a guy I know. He had no interest in them. What he had waiting for me at his business was the Marantz Model 7 preamp, a Fisher 101-R tuner and a Thorens TD124 turntable.

Knowing nothing about this gear, I took them to Eric's (stereocuuple) house. Surprisingly they were very clean inside and out. It has been well over 20 years since these things were powered up. Eric brought the preamp and tuner up on a variac.

Today we connected the preamp up for the first time using a 50 watt AudioSource solid state power amp that I have. The speakers I'm using is a pair of Frazier Manhattans that were built in 1959 so they are period correct for the preamp. The Fraziers sounded good with a Sansaui 2000X receiver. They sound even better with the Marantz 7.

I mainly listen to tape. The first tape I listened to was Dave Brubeck's Take 5 on cassette. Next up was Santana on reel to reel, and then Eva Cassidy on reel. I hate to use cliches, but the bass was warm and full. When funds become available, I'll upgrade the power amp. For now I'm enjoying what I have, and having fun "shopping" power amps.

Mr. Bill
 

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I hope your friend's grandpa is smiling down on you for having (i'm sure) one of his prize possessions being appreciated by somebody that would.
Congrats!
 
You did very well. Grandpa should rest easy knowing his gear is being appreciated.

Enjoy - the 7 is an audio classic
 
Good things happen when you least expect it! These pieces are well above anything I've had before. There's a Marantz 8B amp available locally, but it's more than I can afford. There's also a pair of Scott 250 monoblocks available that beyond my means at this time.

The Thorens turntable comes up to speed and runs quiet. It has a Shure M12 tonearm that's not passing any signal. This turntable really deserves a better arm.

Grandpa appreciated quality and took good care of his equipment. I'm honored to have the opportunity to enjoy a part of his passion for music.

Mr. Bill
 

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The electrolytic caps are well past their intended lifespan. That 7 pre is well worth going to the trouble and replacing *EVERY* electrolytic under its hood. It is likely a non-trivial exercise...but don't neglect it because it is hard. You think it works well now, I will tell you that properly functioning caps will make it even better...:)
cheers,
Douglas
 
PakProtector said:
The electrolytic caps are well past their intended lifespan. That 7 pre is well worth going to the trouble and replacing *EVERY* electrolytic under its hood. It is likely a non-trivial exercise...but don't neglect it because it is hard. You think it works well now, I will tell you that properly functioning caps will make it even better...:)
cheers,
Douglas
Click to expand...
Agree...I have sent 7T to John Wargo (Site Sponsor). Should be back this week. Caps NEED to be replaced. Some nice films and resistors at
a later date.
 
Congratulations on making such a good save. With that turntable you're set for life.
 
Thanks for all the congrats. I know a guy who knows a guy (poor Robert DiNero impersonation) who will go through the Marantz and recap it. I'm not a good solder iron jockey and this preamp deserves a competent tech.

I connected the Fisher tuner in to the preamp last night and it works. Even the tuning meters have lights and work. It pulled in stations better than my Sansui TU 217 tuner. Like the Marantz 7, everything in the tuner looks original. I don't listen to the radio very much, so I'll probably sell the tuner to pay for work on the preamp.

This old equipment is cool. It takes me back to growing up in the 50s and 60s. My dad had a Heathkit mono tube system with a Garrard turntable. My mom was always yelling for him to turn it down. We didn't dare yell at her when she was playing the piano full out!

Mr. Bill
 

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Last edited:
An audio buddy was gifted an Marantz 7 AND a 10 Tuner from his girlfriend's father. I rebuilt the 7 for him with all new power supply caps and signal caps between the tube stages. And that preamp is very nice.
He also wanted me to work on the tuner. But i opened that thing up and the circuitry is just mind blowing. I did not want to cock it up so i returned it to him and told him to send it to a Marantz tuner expert.
An interesting fact about the Marantz 7 preamp is that the B+ is only half wave rectified. Oh, i changed that rectifier to a low noise Schottky.
 
Gotta watch out on the 10 IF Strip. Marantz had a hell of a time with them going out of alignment on the line due to the Magnetized Weller irons and guns they used. A whole batch had to be redone, and they changed the IF cores on the 10B to cure the problem. The 10B requires an oven to align the IF strip. Probably around 150*F or so. When the unit warmed up the IF strip would be "FULLY peaked". The 10 can be tuned 'COLD'. And make damned sure your iron/gun is demagnetized!!!!!
 
larryderouin said:
Gotta watch out on the 10 IF Strip. Marantz had a hell of a time with them going out of alignment on the line due to the Magnetized Weller irons and guns they used. A whole batch had to be redone, and they changed the IF cores on the 10B to cure the problem. The 10B requires an oven to align the IF strip. Probably around 150*F or so. When the unit warmed up the IF strip would be "FULLY peaked". The 10 can be tuned 'COLD'. And make damned sure your iron/gun is demagnetized!!!!!
Click to expand...
I did not touch it other than take off the bottom and looked at the circuitry. I wondered how long did it take to completely wire one of those things. There are so many circuits. I don't like tuners.
 
Assembly line, probably a couple hours with each assembler adding 2-3 parts or wiring. I'm not fond of tuners either but older mono units I don't mind so much as they are simpler to work on an align. Stereo? Fuggedaboutit!
 
nice score! I have a dozen pairs of Frazier's in 4 systems in my house and they are amazing! All hooked up to HK equipment from 1950's to 2012 TOTL AVR set ups. I have Frazier Monte Carlo's, Super Six, DD-2, two pair of Concerto's Mark V, Mark VI, two pair of sevens, two pair of theatre surrounds and a pair of F12-4H studio/night club speakers. Addicted to Frazier's, YES! And HK too
 
RScott, how did so many Fraziers end up in Minnesota? When I was living in Texas in the 70s, I was aware of Frazier's commercial speakers. I didn't know they had domesticated home speakers until a friend up here in Kansas City found the Manhattans that I now have.

The Marantz is now freshened up and I'm using a Carver TFM-15CB for power. The Manhattans sure sound smooth with this setup. Do you prefer the sound of your tube HKs, or is it just a nice alternative to the solid state amps? I find the difference with the tube sound to be subtle, but I like it.

Mr Bill
 
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