Marantz 1550

[alowe0110]

A few weeks back I was at a hamfest and hidden away where not many people were walking I saw this unit. I saw the silver face and then I saw Marantz and I almost walked away thinking the guy probably wants way too much for it, but I figured I'd at least ask. $15 dollars he says, I don't think I've ever had my wallet out so quickly in my life. It looked brand new.

I brought it home and I cleaned the controls and tested the offset which was under 10mv on both channels. This Marantz has become my new main stereo and I don't think that's going to change for awhile. It sounds quite clear, even in the low range which is where things usually sounded muddy to me.

Where in the Marantz line up is this one ranked?

 

[mhardy6647]

There's an AK member in Claremont?!?
Heh, I'm just a hoot 'n' a holler up the road from you...

I think I saw that 1550 but thought the same thing.
I did pick up a 2216B for 20 clams... but I think it may be a basket case. I haven't even taken a peek under the hood.

EDIT: Heh^2... you asked a question, didn't you?

The "15xx" were sort of a low-end relative to the "22xxB" of the same time (ca. 1977) -- note the lack of the "Gyro-touch tuning". I really don't know why they (Superscope) felt the need to have two partially parallel lines of receivers... but they did. The 1550 may have been the top of the 15xx line... I'll check...


EDIT^2: scan0007 by mhardy6647, on Flickr

vs. the roughly parallel:

scan0006 by mhardy6647, on Flickr

 

[3kitty]

For $15...who cares!!! Just kidding - I understand wanting to know!

But really, you got a steal, and as long as you are enjoying it!!

Congrats!!!

 

[alowe0110]

This is my first time owning anything Marantz and I'm quite impressed. Although I could do with higher wattage speakers at somepoint than W60s.

It's ironic you mention the 2216b, another member of my party came home with a 2215b. It sounds good for its size. What makes the gyro-touch tuning special?

 

[bktheking]

Nothing really, I find it quicker to spin the dial and tune more than a conventional shaft style knob design.

 

[ZebraBlvd]

Triple tone controls and a 15.00 price tag, let me just think a nano second here.....:scratch2: Yep, would have been in my grubby hands and headed towards the car - testing to be done later.

 

[mhardy6647]

Nothing special about the "Gyro-touch"... it was just a Marantz... thing

 

[AvSat44]

Hello "Alowe".
I know it's been a long time since your original post but I was just wondering if you still owned the 1550.
I bought one just recently for $80.00. You have to remember that everything is a little more expensive in Australia. I have been collecting Marantz gear for quite a few years and couldn't pass this up as it is pristine.
Once I cleaned it out and replaced the dodgy power cord I plugged it in and fired it up. It has way more grunt than say a 2216, 2226 or SR4000, etc. If you look inside, it is very well put together With a fair bit of steel framing which is noticeable from the underside. About the only thing that I can see that puts this into a lower category than the 2xxx series is that it has a Masonite bottom panel and it doesn't have the Gyro-touch tuning wheel. No big deal. it is still a decent receiver.
It sounds really nice as I have run it through a few Wharfedale systems (which I also collect), namely a Dovedale III and a Rosedale (called W something in the USA).
My 1550 is headed off to my daughter (age 25) who has recently taken a liking to vinyl. It will be running through a pair of Wharfedale Super Linton W30's which while they are probably a bit small will do until she finds more room.
Hope you've enjoyed using the 1550. I only have mine until I finish rebuilding the speakers for her.
One last thing: I noticed from your pics that the power transformer has steel end caps. Mine doesn't. It has a large copper shield wrapped around the winding's as in the pic I've included.
Cheers,
Andre.

 

[emtea01]

I too have just picked up a 1550 for free! It's incredibly dirty inside and out but I think under all the grime it will end up being very close to perfect. However not being familiar with this model before, I was really pleased to see your photo as I had started to wonder if the power transformer in mine had been previously tampered with or replaced, as it looks exactly like yours, i.e. no steel end caps. Seeing yours has me thinking its was likely just manufactured this way. Until now I hadn't been able to find any other pictures to verify that though.

 

[AvSat44]

Just to complicate things, I've discovered that there was an update in production for this unit. Not only do some have transformer endcaps but you'll also notice that the ones like mine (and maybe yours) have considerably more wiring emanating from the transformer than others. Marantz was notorious for running mods in their equipment and it could get really frustrating when working on earlier gear and think you had the correct schematic, only to discover that things were different.
My 1550 was heading off to my daughter as mentioned earlier but she said it was too big so I gave her a smaller Pioneer SX-408 instead, which she really likes because "it's cute and easy to use".
Having run the 1550 with a pair of Marantz Imperial 5G speakers in my study for some months, I'm impressed with it's performance and sounds better than a 2226B that I used for comparison. The 1550 will now be staying in my study for the foreseeable future.