Marantz 2252B - Current price?

[Dony]

I thought I would ask the current price question about the Marantz 2252B. From what I can tell the unit is considered very good with only one minor scratch on the face.

Seller also states "freshly back from a complete going over by a highly rated professional who only works on real quality and high end components." This does not specifically mention a full re-cap or rebuild so I am asking about what exactly was done by the technician hopefully with some paperwork to back up the claim of work being done.

At any rate, I would like to know what other AK - Marantz enthusiasts feel that it is worth as it will be my first vintage Marantz purchase. Currently I am not looking for the best, highest price Marantz. I'm just looking for something to provide the Marantz experience with my JBL L80T3 or my Pioneer HPM-100 speakers.

Thanks

Don

 

[chauncy]

Watching, I have one stashed in the closet, the last Marantz left from my 70/80s HiFi hoarding days. I personally love the B models.

 

[DeadRock]

I bought a 2265B about 2.5 years ago...that was serviced, recapped and bulbs replaced with LEDs...by a pro...I paid 1500 CDN. Prices vary...you're doing the right research by asking what exactly has been done.

Good Luck Man!

David

 

[Dony]

I bought a 2265B about 2.5 years ago...that was serviced, recapped and bulbs replaced with LEDs...by a pro...I paid 1500 CDN. Prices vary...you're doing the right research by asking what exactly has been done.

Good Luck Man!

David

View attachment 2941042

Hi David, thanks for your reply.

It looks like the 2252B that I am considering has had filter caps checked, and has been cleaned, adjusted, and bulbs replaced. However it has not been fully re-capped. Depending on the price I may still purchase it and worry about the re-cap later as I probably want a true reputable professional taking that work on, especially since I want it only done once.

Need to be a careful who you source the work to on these old receivers, not everyone has the correct knowledge. I've been kind of burned when I took another old receiver in for some work and they kept it for months and charged me for work they didn't do. The receiver came back to me with the same problem it had when I took it in.

From more recent learnings, I am from the school of replacing only the capacitors that are necessary and test bad, but don't replace all capacitors simply because you can. I think if you replace things that don't need to be then you change the SQ and possibly the character of the unit.

Ultimately keeping the SQ is very much the reason the hobby of vintage audio exists... Just my 2 cents.

Thanks

Don

 

[DeadRock]

Hi David, thanks for your reply.

It looks like the 2252B that I am considering has had filter caps checked, and has been cleaned, adjusted, and bulbs replaced. However it has not been fully re-capped. Depending on the price I may still purchase it and worry about the re-cap later as I probably want a true reputable professional taking that work on, especially since I want it only done once.

Need to be a careful who you source the work to on these old receivers, not everyone has the correct knowledge. I've been kind of burned when I took another old receiver in for some work and they kept it for months and charged me for work they didn't do. The receiver came back to me with the same problem it had when I took it in.

From more recent learnings, I am from the school of replacing only the capacitors that are necessary and test bad, but don't replace all capacitors simply because you can. I think if you replace things that don't need to be then you change the SQ and possibly the character of the unit.

Ultimately keeping the SQ is very much the reason the hobby of vintage audio exists... Just my 2 cents.

Thanks

Don

Agreed!

Ps. the wood case for my 2265B was added later...not cheaply...lol

 

[SaturationPt]

Hi David, thanks for your reply.

It looks like the 2252B that I am considering has had filter caps checked, and has been cleaned, adjusted, and bulbs replaced. However it has not been fully re-capped. Depending on the price I may still purchase it and worry about the re-cap later as I probably want a true reputable professional taking that work on, especially since I want it only done once.

Need to be a careful who you source the work to on these old receivers, not everyone has the correct knowledge. I've been kind of burned when I took another old receiver in for some work and they kept it for months and charged me for work they didn't do. The receiver came back to me with the same problem it had when I took it in.

From more recent learnings, I am from the school of replacing only the capacitors that are necessary and test bad, but don't replace all capacitors simply because you can. I think if you replace things that don't need to be then you change the SQ and possibly the character of the unit.

Ultimately keeping the SQ is very much the reason the hobby of vintage audio exists... Just my 2 cents.

Thanks

Don

Filter caps checked, ... visual? Most likely someone looked at them and didn’t see any signs of bulging, a bottle of windex and can of contact cleaner later it’s ready to flip.

Not that it’s a bad unit, just that there is a lot of money to be spent to really go through it and restore it, this sounds like a cleaned-up estate-sale find.

Personally, when I was collecting vintage audio this is what I looked for: unmolested units that I could personally and meticulously restore, much better than a “recap” unit.

 

[Dony]

Filter caps checked, ... visual? Most likely someone looked at them and didn’t see any signs of bulging, a bottle of windex and can of contact cleaner later it’s ready to flip.

Not that it’s a bad unit, just that there is a lot of money to be spent to really go through it and restore it, this sounds like a cleaned-up estate-sale find.

Personally, when I was collecting vintage audio this is what I looked for: unmolested units that I could personally and meticulously restore, much better than a “recap” unit.

Hi SaturationPt,

Thanks for your comments, although you didn't answer the main question. How much is it worth, even if it is not fully re-capped and restored?

I'm going to be able to check all functions as the seller is delivering it to me and we will hook it up and try it out with my components/speakers. For the amount that I intend to spend to buy it I am prepared to pay my local audio technical expert (35 years experience) to restore/re-cap it as necessary. I know how much he will charge as I just had my Kenwood KR-6600 done.

So even if it is not perfect then that's ok, at the end of the day I think I will still have a good example of a 2252B which will be fully functional and probably the best it can be for the money....

Vintage audio, always a bit of a gamble but hopefully things will work out. The thing is, all can be good today and bad tomorrow as these units are close to 45 years old. I'm just impressed that they still work at all.

 

[SaturationPt]

I sold all of my marantz receivers a couple of years ago, so my value guess would be off quite a bit by now.

Your best research tools will be the SOLD prices on ebay and hifishark, narrow down to 2252Bs in similar condition, private sellers, in your area or a similar market. Throw out the outlier prices (some are shills, you will see multiple sales of some from the same seller = not a real sale.

The 2252B and most of the 22xx series are extremely common Japanese receivers so there should be enough data points to arrive at a price range.

Put value on the seller’s reputation and warranty, if he is a real business registered with the state and paying taxes he is more likely to be around and honor his word/warranty also. Even if you find you’re “overpaying” a bit for a unit that you can see and demo before committing your money I would have considered that worth a premium price over something on ebay where you have to “roll the dice” on working condition and the most important factor in value of these vintage pieces: cosmetic condition. Nicks and scratches in the faceplate or a refinished wood cabinet is unrecoverable in value as well as missing pieces and broken/melted lamp housings.

Again there are two (or more) distinct camps on buying these vintage pieces and it sounds like you’re in the same as me: excellent un-altered condition. You can always restore if all of the original parts are there. It doesn’t sound like there have been any parts replaced so far other than the bulbs, which hopefully are the original type not LED and. Correct wattage so this makes the unit a rarer find for buyers like us.

Happy hunting for values, just look for the SOLD tab on hifishark and on ebay, spreadsheets are my friends.

 

[EastPoint]

They go from $500-1000 in that condition. Yes, it’s a wide range.

 

[Dony]

They go from $500-1000 in that condition. Yes, it’s a wide range.

Hi EastPoint,

Thanks for your feedback on this. So the price agreed upon seems to reflect your estimate. For what I have heard so far and the willingness of the seller to demo and deliver the 2252B, I fully expect that the receiver will be somewhere between a 7 to 8 out of 10. This makes me feel good about the purchase.

Thanks again

Don