What is it about Marantz?!

[steveUK]

Now, I'm not sure if what I am about to describe exists in the US, but it certainly does in the UK. As a collector of vintage receivers I keep a close eye on 'all' makes of receivers that come up on 'the auction site'. Most of the prices are reasonable and in keeping with normal saleable value. However, I've noticed that any receiver that has 'Marantz' written on it, the sellers are asking big sums of money even if it's just a 20W job. I'm talking a 2-3-400 GBP. I guess that's where the average guy falls down; he's heard that Marantz receivers fetch good money - not knowing that that only applies to the bigger, high powered ones - and asks a silly price. I don't know if they actually get their prices as I don't follow them as such once I've seen that it's not a set that I'm interested in or that the price is way too high even if it's a nice set.

Although I don't own a Marantz, I own lots of other very well regarded receivers (Pioneer, Sansui, Luxman, Yamaha, Sony, Tandberg etc) and I see no reason why Marantz sets should be so sought after and highly priced? I am aware that as a brand they have their devotees, but then again so do many other brands.

 

[wmgwizard]

Marantz has a reputation for building well constructed, nice looking, reliable and great sounding gear.

What you are seeing is a free market at work, the item is worth what people will pay.

 

[steveUK]

Marantz has a reputation for building well constructed, nice looking, reliable and great sounding gear.

What you are seeing is a free market at work, the item is worth what people will pay.

Well yes, but there's certainly an enigma here. I mean you could replace "Marantz" in your statement with quite few other brands that are just as good and arguably better, but i don't see half so many silly, inflated prices being asked for their 20W receivers.

 

[Freddymac2]

Marantz made the highest quality audio equipment as an early producer. Their units were beautiful to look at, and they worked well. They sold to Superscope but managed to keep the sexy unique looks, and good performance for many years. As a 25 year old, I wanted Marantz equipment too. Over time I was able to buy many fine used pieces through the NY Times classified adds, very cheaply. We did not have the information that is on the net today, but we still enjoyed quality sound reproduction. The early stuff was very high quality, to the point that it cost more to produce than what they got for it, and this caused the sale of the company.

 

[noobydoo]

I agree with the OP: I compare it in some ways to the muscle car market and Hemis. People pay outrageous prices for anything with hemi on it even when they could get a mercury cyclone or buick gsx that would outperform it for half the price.

 

[noobydoo]

I'm not dumping on Marantz, or hemis for that matter. I'm just trying to point out that for equivalent gear Marantz seem to command a premium that is not commensurate with it's performance relative to similar gear from say Yamaha or Luxman from the same period. That being said I personally have a luxman and Yamaha bias, so I get it.

 

[Mamrak1]

This sounds like buyer envy to me. You want a Marantz receiver in the worst way but can't afford one. Such is life sometimes.

 

[steveUK]

I believe Freddy is onto something, as are the above posters. Marantz, I believe, has a long heritage of high quality gear - especially the vintage. I know when I compare my similar period gear, the Marantz is far better made and much better sounding. Where tin is used in some vintage receivers (say for the face plate) the Marantz is a think piece of metal. Just build construction plus a 'cult-like' following on the vintage - not so much modern.
I've a near mint example of the 2245 with the wooden case and I know I can get $6bills for it all day long... Now my Imperial 7 speakers might be a different story. I don't know how vintage Marantz speakers are on the used...

Tin is a metal (?!), and I've never seen tin on the faceplate a Pioneer, Yamaha, Luxman, Sansui, Technics, whatever.

 

[dzkfraser]

Not disputing that Marantz is good quality, as for their receivers, I could never get past the horizontal tuning knob. Why is that you ask? Is because whenever I would check out a receiver, I'd move the tuning needle all the way to the left and them give the knob a good spin to see how far the needle would go, the farther the better. Can't do that with Marantz. Science!!

 

[steveUK]

This sounds like buyer envy to me. You want a Marantz receiver in the worst way but can't afford one. Such is life sometimes.

Oh here we go, the nastiness and name calling has started. Dohh.. nothing could be further from the truth in what you say. I have steadily grown my collection, and along the route have 'taken a fancy' to various receivers, and Marantz has, shall I say, never been at the forefront of my desires. It just hasn't. In truth I'm not a fan of those scrolly legends that - to me - seem wholly out of place on a piece of hifi. Clearly some people love the looks of Marantz, I put it at the lower end of good looks when it comes to all the monster receivers out there. But yes, I 'd have a large one for my collection, I don't have anything major 'against them' whatsoever. And yes, I know all about their legendary build quality, sound quality etc etc, the same applying to Pioneer and others. With regards to you saying that I can't afford one, think what you want! Hey, were you spoilt as a kid or summat?

 

[steveUK]

This appears to have degenerated into a battle of the brands, which was not my intention. My point was to draw attention to something 'curious' and noteworthy, that people were asking high prices for low power, entry level, pretty bog standard Marantz receivers in the UK. Is it this way in the US too? Does any other brand have a similar effect? The entry level Pioneers can, albeit to a much lesser degree than Marantz, be seen offered at high prices for what they are.

 

[highvoltage_]

Not disputing that Marantz is good quality, as for their receivers, I could never get past the horizontal tuning knob. Why is that you ask? Is because whenever I would check out a receiver, I'd move the tuning needle all the way to the left and them give the knob a good spin to see how far the needle would go, the farther the better.

Really? Needle distance as a measure of build quality? Interesting.

Can't do that with Marantz. Science!!

Yes, the Marantz tuner is well damped, thankfully. That way I can't spin the string off the wheels.

 

[Alobar]

I think it is the vertical axis tuner dial. .

 

[noobydoo]

This sounds like buyer envy to me. You want a Marantz receiver in the worst way but can't afford one. Such is life sometimes.

I don't know if you were referring to me as having buyer envy. I'm very happy with the gear I have now, a mix of yamaha, luxman. denon and a couple of vintage power amps I doubt you've even heard of. I never really considered Marantz because most of what I see available are receivers or integrated amps, and I'm a separates guy. Again, I'm not bashing marantz and would happily add one, I'm just not willing to pay the premium just for the name

 

[goodolpg]

Welcome to the so called "Marantz tax".

 

[Blue Shadow]

The Stereo Store Lust® is what I call the reason for the brand Tax on different gear.

"remember the great stereo stores of the 1970's?
man..i would walk down the pioneer aisle and physically drool.
the sx-1050 and sx-1250 owned my heart, yet my paycheck could barely afford an sx-550
those massive stacks of silver mesmerized me, and the speaker rooms? my god!!
several years ago i got my dream of ct-f8181 and ct-f9292 answered..they are truly wonderful decks!
now..after all these years im bringing sx-1050 home! im giddy, i really am, this is a dream come true.
i dont think im late to the party at all..this is truly fine equipment...im very happy!"

teri patterson, Sep 22, 2016

Thank you teri for an accurate description of why some brands have a serious purchase tax associated with them because of the brand name on the faceplate. Pio/Mar/Sui Tax is what I call it but there are other brands that are starting to have a bit of tax added to their offerings as this hobby grows.

 

[willyrover]

My point was to draw attention to something 'curious' and noteworthy, that people were asking high prices for low power, entry level, pretty bog standard Marantz receivers in the UK. Is it this way in the US too?

Simple answer is yes, it's this way in the U.S. and in Canada too. Relatively high prices for relatively low powered units. However, even the low powered Marantz units were relatively high quality.

Why are people asking such prices? Because people will pay it. Any pre-1980 Marantz receiver or amplifier priced under $300 is gone within minutes around here.

If you want Marantz, buy now. And buy restored or be prepared to spend a few hundred more on restoration. These unit are now 40-50 years old.

 

[wmgwizard]

I will re assert my original position:

An item is worth what the market is willing to pay.

This also explains why an air cooled 911 is now worth $100k plus this year when just 5 years ago you could buy the same car for $35k

 

[noobydoo]

Back in the early 90`s I worked part time at a large electronics retailer. Many of my customers had what I call Sony sickness. This was a second job for me that I was only doing so that I could get the employee discount on certain gear. This meant I would try to sell the best gear for the money, not what got me the biggest commission. At the time Aiwa was majority owned by Sony and made some really nice gear at a bargain price. A customer came in looking for a sony amp and I tried to steer him to an Aiwa that outperformed it at a lower price. He left in a huff and actually called the head office to complain about me because I think he thought I would somehow benefit by selling him the cheaper item. I think many people have the Marantz version of this same affliction. IMHO

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Marantz was at one time the highest end available pre 1964, save for McIntosh. Post 1964, to 1968, the line stayed high end oriented, and from 1968 onward had the cachet but broadened their line from middle class low end to higher end. The styling and tradition helped them keep their value.