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Guys here today just to listen to Marantz 7C and 8B.

HennieTalja said:
I'm just about to pull the trigger on a Marantz 8B. I'm 99% decided.
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If you can’t find a nice pair of Luxman MB3045s the 8B is fine. @Gigantic above thought the Lux amps were just a bit better, after his TFTI got me to send him an invite. The Luxmans are 10-12 years newer so a bit cleaner. Without comparing, I could easily enjoy the 8B as my only mid-power tube amp. Neither amp was much more than working correctly. This means no high performance parts during any repairs or modifications (needed to allow the MB3045 to use 6550/KT88 instead of NLA proprietary tubes. )
 
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Both are well built and designed. The 8b may have a slight advantage in terms of service since its got no circuit boards to be concerned about, or worse since point to point does take longer to change parts on. All depends on your preference I suppose.

I do like the top side adjustments and built in bias meter on the 8b. No power switch though so that needs to be provided externally.
 
Yes, circuit boards. I’ve repaired one that was crispy enough to need a few sq cm replaced with epoxy mixed with file shaving of circuit board material. The amp had such thick traces I didn’t have to do much but glue them back down after the board was repaired.
 
Blue Shadow said:
If you can’t find a nice pair of Luxman MB3045s the 8B is fine. @Gigantic above thought the Lux amps were just a bit better, after his TFTI got me to send him an invite. The Luxmans are 10-12 years newer so a bit cleaner. Without comparing, I could easily enjoy the 8B as my only mid-power tube amp. Neither amp was much more than working correctly. This means no high performance parts during any repairs or modifications (needed to allow the MB3045 to use 6550/KT88 instead of NLA proprietary tubes. )
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Yes 8B's aren't cheap and for the money there are lots of options.
 
Above is some photos of the amp I'm talking about. Today I decide. Fitted with crappy output tubes but I've got a set of NOS Mullard XF2s in the cupboard.
 
I think they look better with that cage removed but thats subjective.

That one has the original filter caps and the plastic caps covering the bias adjustments. I suspect most of those have been MIA for a very long time. Hopefully the filter caps are just there for looks and not still doing work.

missing some screws on the barrier strips on the back but thats easy enough to replace.
 
gadget73 said:
I think they look better with that cage removed but thats subjective.

That one has the original filter caps and the plastic caps covering the bias adjustments. I suspect most of those have been MIA for a very long time. Hopefully the filter caps are just there for looks and not still doing work.

missing some screws on the barrier strips on the back but thats easy enough to replace.
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The unit has been recapped, with the exception of the filter capacitors, which the seller says still test well. Would it be a good idea to replace them anyway?
 
I'd replace the filter caps, but if you want to retain the original look they can be mounted inside.

There are a fair number of original caps in that. Offhand I don't know about the reliability on those red print Sprague caps, but at a minimum they should have been checked for leakage. It can be done in circuit and its not that hard. The one I worked on had different caps. One of the output tubes had a leaky one, one had been previously replaced. I changed all 4. That one also had several "bumblebee" paper caps that are basically always bad, those got changed, and several off-value resistors. Specifically I think the cathode caps on the output tubes and a couple resistors around the inverter, possibly something else but I don't remember exactly.
 
personally I thought the amp was the better part of the pairing, but opinions are of course worth what you pay for them.
 
gadget73 said:
personally I thought the amp was the better part of the pairing
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I agree with this.. I enjoyed the 8B with a few preamps. The 7C would only be to have ‘that’ system. But I don’t have a lot of same brand gear in my main rig so it would not be necessary for me to have the 7C.
 
now if you want to get really into tweaky stuff, and we sort-of missed the opportunity, does the 7c sound better with the transit screw installed or removed? It came to me with the screw in place and the shock mounts destroyed from age and decades of being pulled down. It left here with new mounts and the screw in a bag between the chassis and the cabinet. I did not listen to it with the screw in.
 
gadget73 said:
now if you want to get really into tweaky stuff, and we sort-of missed the opportunity, does the 7c sound better with the transit screw installed or removed? It came to me with the screw in place and the shock mounts destroyed from age and decades of being pulled down. It left here with new mounts and the screw in a bag between the chassis and the cabinet. I did not listen to it with the screw in.
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I assume this affects tube microphonics? I'd say it must sound better without the transit screw especially with the near-field speakers.
 
Vibration Isolation would have been the idea, should sound better especially with near speakers or microphonic tubes but exactly how much its noticeable would be an interesting experiment

I will say that the screw pulls down the tubes a good 1/4". That probably changes a fair bit as those mounts sag and harden.
 
Arrived today.

How does it sound? The first thing that comes to mind is that it's punchy, with excellent transparency. The sound is open and articulate, with vocals in particular sounding superb and the top end being exceptionally good. Music is reproduced with a startling sense of realism that's not often found in modern-day amplifiers. Overall, it's a very musical amplifier, right up there with my other favourite amps, namely the Radford STA-25 and Leak 12.1.

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Its certainly a niece piece of gear. There are a few amps I've heard that people love and I don't think I need to own. The 8B is one I wouldn't be upset to have though.
 
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