Lefty said:. . . . but the truth is I baby the thing, turning off the scope for most of the time as new replacement scope tubes (when you can find them) are often more expensive then the price of the whole tuner used. Lefty
did you hear the 20 or 20b? most say it sounds better than the 2130, or any other marantz tuna, for that matter...Shain said:I've had most all tuners Marantz made in the 70s. Some of the better Marantz tuners I currently have are the 120B, 150 and 2130 (also have the Esotecs that are very close to the same as the 2130.)
The best with a scope is the 2130 of course. But which model you select, is just a matter of where you've set the budget, or what has come up for sale when it works for you.
I use tuners almost exclusively in my shop. Always have some station on while working. Fm stereo comes in very well here, so I take advantage of it.
Most all brands of vintage tuners need an alignment, and maybe a little repair work. It's surprising how much better they can preform if gone through. You don't really need to get into "mods" to get a pretty good unit.
If you want to heavily modify one, that's a whole other program
Even an expensive tuner can sound average, if not renewed back to original specs. .......These things aren't new anymore ! :thmbsp:
i agree that one needs to have a tuna refurb'd to realize its full potential. the 20b i heard was completely refurb'd, but i haven't heard the other marantz tunas. yust word of mouth from folks who have. yours is one more data point.Shain said:Hi Doug,
I really didn't find the 20 or 20B better than a 150 or 2130. Even the 120B has a little better specs. That's just what I've experienced.
A good place to compare specs is on the Classic-audio web site:
http://www.classic-audio.com/marantz/mindex.html
Again, a person can't really compare just be pulling a couple off the shelf. Each one needs to be checked out electronically, and "tuned up" to reach their full potential. It just goes back to the age of these units.