MC2500 w/Marantz 3800

audiolama

Active Member
Ok So I finally got this amp I have been looking for. I found it in farm shed of all places in Edmonton Canada. Anyways I connected her to a Marantz 3800 which was also in the shed by the way. Ok So I have been reading everywhere on the gain settings of this Power amp. On the manual it suggest to set the amp gains in the fully clockwise position which would be 2.5 v. I did this and now Im suppose to set the volume on the Marantz preamp to desirable settings..I have noticed though that when I do this , Im not sure if I am liking the sound. I believe that at the .75v position which I believe the gains would be in the center, this is where I get the best sound from these guys paired. The only odd thing is that now my volume knob on the Marantz has to be almost fully cranked and its still not super loud

HELP NEEDED PLEASE.
 
The MC2500 should work with the 3V output of the Marantz 3800 at 2.5V input setting. Really should not need to set the volume that high given the specs of both units unless the speakers are crazy low sensitivity. Hopefully not happening with any of the Klipsch speakers in your sig. If so, something is definitely very wrong.

Suggest trying the 3800 with your MC2100 and that might help give you some idea whether the problem lies in the 3800's preamplifier output level or something wrong in the gain structure of the MC2500. (I hope for your sake it's not the latter! :yikes:)
 
Ok thanks for the reply . So 2.5v setting is setting the gains all the way to the right? I should have not read to much into this and doe this how I have always done..THE EARS.

Also I m going to have to change that sig..Im running some Energy REf Pro 22.
 
As mentioned the best setting would be the 2.5V set up for your 3800. I used to run my 2500 with a Marantz 3600 and I also had to twist the volume knob more than I liked to and to me there wasn't any synergy between the 2 pieces. I always thought it was the low output of the 3600 (8volts if memory serves correct). Perhaps your 3800 has the same low output?
 
Maybe just the structure of the 3800's volume control. Using the 0.75V input setting will certainly not harm anything. I'd try that instead and adjust the gains accordingly. Worst that could happen is that background hiss might be a bit more noticeable at idle or quiet passages - or not - depending on how sensitive the speakers are.
 
That's a heck of a barn find!

thanks for motostereo i switched back in fourth from .75 to 2.5 , and my ears like the 2.5 with the marantz..but the gains are both at 1300 instead of max..

it was a kijiji add that all it had was a half decent picture of a horn, and what appeared to be the mc2500 in the background. The add just said $3000 for a shed of old audio equipment.

yeah BARN FIND of the DECADE..You dont even want to know what he had in this shed..I came only with 2000$ CAD..and left with the mintiest of 3 2500's and a marantz 510m and 3800.
He had some OLD school JBL's for concerts , horns the size of a small car and other preamps and switchboards all labeled either Marantz or Mac all in racks. Had over 1000 albums( all reggage).
I told him I would come back with another 3000$.He was happier than I was!!!.While I was driving home he texted me and said someone bought the entire shed for $5000 and apologized but told me his son wanted a quad (Yamaha) and it was his sons audio equipment anyways that his grandfather had left him in his will..

I should have told the kid I would buy him a brand new quad and I would take everything which should have been around 15-20 grand in equipment!!.

LOL , Im happy though, my search for amps is over!
 
(3) MC2500s, a Marantz 510m, and stacks of big JBLs - now that's my kind of find! Wow.

Surely you snapped a pic or two on your smart phone while you were there . . .
 
the guy was all over me..not ur typical audiophile.he lived in a trailer and literally had a container you see on a ship..when he sold me the mc2500 he asked if I wanted to see something . I said sure..He took me around and opened the container and I almost died. He said don't think your taking this for 2000$ ..I asked where and how did you get all this. He said his dad worked in the oil fields in Edmonton and had lots of toy money..He and his son had all this for over a year and said they wanted to try and sale this "old junk" he called it to buy a quad. You don't understand while I was talking to him his kid kept on replying to the Kijiji ad. I knew I had to act fast as the post was only up for a few hours. I came thinking I was going to leave with one amp but I got lucky.IMG_20170528_141005.jpg IMG_20170526_192833.jpg IMG_20170526_192822.jpg IMG_20170528_140925.jpg
 
when I was driving back home with the wife she said why don't we buy everything, offer him 3500 and see what he says. I told her babe. You know how much audio he has in that container. She said her give it a shot. I texted him ..I'll take it all for 3500$ I already had given him $2000. I figured we would both make out. he answered back in about an hour with " first $5000 takes it all". I knew then he had gotten many replies.
I don't know why I didn't do it right away. I could have easily tripled my money. I thought how I would have to take all that equipment and easily fill up my garage. And then how I would have to go to like 10 ATMs. Then I said let's do it and he said sorry some guy took it all.
Booooooo!!!
 
Congrats to you as that is one heck of a score for sure and something we all dream about running across :thumbsup: Now you need to find yourself a nice Mac preamp which will pair better with the 2500 and really make it sing. Keep the 3800 together with the 510 and you have yourself a couple of great vintage rigs.
 
Great tha MC2500 fired up from cold storage. Two bad you did not score all those MC2500s

Gramps soundslike a character. I wonder if he ever played any of that gear or just bought it chesp and stored. Sounds like he bought out some dance clubs Twiiii set up.
 
In this day & age, it's amazing there are still some who fail to undertake a modicum of research before selling property have no prior market knowledge.

For the few fortunate individuals in a position to take advantage of such situations, they should be thankful there's no "Barrett Jackson" for audio gear. :D
 
The . 75 and 2.5 volt sensitivity rating of the Mac amp is with the volume controls wide open. Set at 1300 would be about 2.0 volts for the .75 setting and about 9 volts for the 2.5 volt setting. So in your case the .75 volt setting with the amp controls set at 1300 is the correct setting. Its no wonder the 3800 is about to expire with the 2.5 volt setting. Also by using a lower setting on the VC of the Mac raises the input impedance of the amp a bit and your preamp might prefer that.
 
I ended up with one of the MC2500s from that deal also. I saw the ad on Kijiji and it just so happened I knew someone who was in Edmonton at that time. The story that I got was a little different, but it really doesn't matter. My amp looks like new and works fine.
 
The . 75 and 2.5 volt sensitivity rating of the Mac amp is with the volume controls wide open. Set at 1300 would be about 2.0 volts for the .75 setting and about 9 volts for the 2.5 volt setting. So in your case the .75 volt setting with the amp controls set at 1300 is the correct setting. Its no wonder the 3800 is about to expire with the 2.5 volt setting. Also by using a lower setting on the VC of the Mac raises the input impedance of the amp a bit and your preamp might prefer that.
Yeah I think the 2.5 would be for mac on mac. this mac with Marantz likes the .75.
thanks!
I ended up with one of the MC2500s from that deal also. I saw the ad on Kijiji and it just so happened I knew someone who was in Edmonton at that time. The story that I got was a little different, but it really doesn't matter. My amp looks like new and works fine.
Was the seller a guy and son living in a trailer? and was it in Beaumont. If so, you got lucky because he told me he ended selling everything to an individual. And the remaining 2500's were not in such great shape. But either way we got super lucky!
 
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