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Marantz Imperial 8's rebuild

Tucker99

Tucker99

Super Member
I see some wonderful work from many AKers bringing all manner of old gear back to life.

This is my first effort...some beaten up Marantz Imperial 8's. Not, by many, considered to ba a particularly valuable collector type speaker but nevertheless somewhat scarce and therfore worth saving. This was the 'before'.

The mids needed refoaming...my first time for that.

Woofs were beyond my ability to save (still have 'em tho)

Cabinets...wood Ok but finish toast.

Grills ...none.
 

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So, I learned to refoam speakers...not so bad.

With the help of a fellow AKer Ken Lockie (thanks angain Ken) I located some replacement Marantz Imperial woofers ... in beautiful condition I might add.

The face of the speaker box was cleaned and painted.

The cabinets themselvers were stripped and sanded to the clean oak...260 grit followed by 400 and 600...the cabinets are still unfinished as I await concensus amongst AKers as to the 'correct' way to finish bare wood.

Then I built new grills with velcro attachments ...see the little 45 degree strips in the corners of the speaker fronts.

Last photo is the speakers with the new grills on.

So, how do I refinsih the wood...???
 
So here are two of the after photos...more to follow once I figure out re-sizing and uploading.
 

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Mikey

Nice work.

Your comments on the dust caps is correct but so far I have only found black. the mids are 1" so that is easy...the tweets I could get 1" and cut down...but I need to just lay some black ones on and see how they look...big black dots in the centre or pushed in caps???

Plain tung oil ... does it have a shiny finish? I have a can that I have not yet used. Generally are we kooing at a coat a day for a week or what have you found the best approach? It all soaks into the wood, no? It does not build up like a varathane at all does it??

Here are the rest of the photos of the Imperial 8's or at least another try.
 

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I use Formby's high gloss tung oil... Make sure surface is clean and apply the first coat. The first coat will basically soak in. Wait 24 hours, light sanding with 1000 steel wool, make sure surface is clean again, and apply another coat of tung oil, this time gently wiping off excess with another towel. Repeat this (waiting 24 hours between coats) until you have applied 5 coats, but don't sand after 5th coat! (I've found that you need to work rather quickly when applying the tung oil and make sure you check for drips often!) Then apply a carnauba wax paste. I use Howard's. I think you will be happy with the results! Good luck!
 
So I finally got some time to set up and really listen to the rebuilt Imperial 8's. Wasn't sure what to really expect as Marantz speakers get kinda mixed reviews.

Fired some of my favorite CDs via a spare Marantz 2285B into the Imperial 8's, added a touch of a very nice Rioja and, long story short, they are not at all shabby!

Tried some Clapton, Springsteen, Leanne Rhimes, Diana Krall, Shania Twain (come on now, don't laugh...she's Canadian and drop dead gorgeous to boot!).

Anyhow, I am really, really pleased. I had a great learning curve, spent actually very small $$, invested some pleasant hours and, hey, I'm starting to understand what this hobby is all about ... one enjoys the labour and then sits back and enjoys the music, too...what's to lose...

Don't know whether to keep them or give them away...(I don't keep much stuff) ... but they surely will be enjoyed by someone...
 
Tucker99,

Was curious where you got the surrounds for your Marantz Imperial 8's for your rebuild? I have a pair and am going to rebuild them, but need foam surrounds for both the woofers and mids.

Thanks...
 
Great Work! They look awesome. BTW, I believe the wood is Walnut not Oak.

I like to use a oil stain and then a polyurethane as I believe it gives alot more protection, especially for large speakers that might find themselves being a coaster sooner or later.. You can choose flat, semi-gloss or gloss.. I rarely use gloss for furniture unless you are going for a deep glass finish.

Imperial 6G, 8s and 9s are really very nice sounding speakers. Well under the radar..
 
I'm not a speaker expert, but stereo imaging would very probably be better if the midrange/tweeter array was rotated so all the drivers were in vertical lines.

As they are now, unless the speakers are pointed *directly* at the listening position, the sound from tweeters and especially the last two mids furthest away from the ears will arrive later than the closer driver. Along with the late-arrival issue which can "smear" the sound reducing its detail, it can also cause phase problems i.e. these out-of-order soundwaves can partially cancel out each other, reducing their energy which will be percieved as a volume drop. The common name for this effect is called "combing" and is a common occurance with many modern center channels which feature that very common midrange-tweeter-midrange driver configuration.*

This effects might not always be very audible, but despite that most manufacturers stopped doing the horizontal placement thing around the late 70s for these reasons.

* which is definitely not good because one of the center's reason for existing is to make sure viewers off-axis of the TV can clearly hear the movie's dialog! This is why more and more centers use a midbass driver and tweeter in a vertical alignment along with the woofers on either side, like this big Infinity.
 
Tucker those are really nice. I have read that the early Imperials were very nice speakers, designed to run with the best of the day. Would you say they have a west coast sound ? Or are they big a mellow ?
 
Rybeam said:
Tucker those are really nice. I have read that the early Imperials were very nice speakers, designed to run with the best of the day. Would you say they have a west coast sound ? Or are they big a mellow ?
Click to expand...

Rybeam, Neither. Most of the Marantz Imperial line, with the exception of the 7, was designed to be accurate. The 6G was +/- 3 db from 30 to 17K. The 8 and 9 were tighter. All three were designed in Marantz's (at the time) state of the art anechoic chamber.

These are very nice speakers that sell well below comparable speakers.
 
I was thinking the same thing...

RadShak1251 said:
I'm not a speaker expert, but stereo imaging would very probably be better if the midrange/tweeter array was rotated so all the drivers were in vertical lines.

As they are now, unless the speakers are pointed *directly* at the listening position, the sound from tweeters and especially the last two mids furthest away from the ears will arrive later than the closer driver. Along with the late-arrival issue which can "smear" the sound reducing its detail, it can also cause phase problems i.e. these out-of-order soundwaves can partially cancel out each other, reducing their energy which will be percieved as a volume drop. The common name for this effect is called "combing" and is a common occurance with many modern center channels which feature that very common midrange-tweeter-midrange driver configuration.*

This effects might not always be very audible, but despite that most manufacturers stopped doing the horizontal placement thing around the late 70s for these reasons.

* which is definitely not good because one of the center's reason for existing is to make sure viewers off-axis of the TV can clearly hear the movie's dialog! This is why more and more centers use a midbass driver and tweeter in a vertical alignment along with the woofers on either side, like this big Infinity.
Click to expand...
 
Hey guys...I'm picking up a pair of Imperial 8's tonight that need resoration. Cabinets need to be lightly sanded and stained/tung oiled. I have heard the crossovers are good...guess we'll see. What I need to know is: (1) where do I get the new foam for the woofs and mids (what size too) and (2) where do I get a pair of the original grille foam covers? I know those are missing. Thanks a bunch.
 
the 12th post in this thread says where to get the surrounds for the mids. That company probably has the ones for the woofer, too. Just measure to get what you need, their site has sizes listed. I think I used the smallest or next one up in size for the mids. My woofers were fine so I don't know what size they need. They do require a 25 minimum order but they have other stuff you gotta need. If not, I think Tucker99, the OP has offered to pick up surrounds as Main is just a couple minutes from him.
 
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