Hey guys just a little fun to break up the seriousness of our endeavor's...
As a current owner of two Marantz (2270 and Twenty Five), a servicer of three others, inspector of two dozen and a forever shopper, I see this hobby being pulled apart by collectors who I appreciate, flippers who kinda annoy me, and persons who like to tinker/tweak/upgrade and use, such as myself.
I'm sure there are many other types but keeping to these three, I have seen too many mis-representation of condition (won't even discuss E-bay sellers) most misrepresentations are sadly just out of ignorance and others to mislead; there is warm spot down below awaiting the later... smile.
Here are my opinions on labeling units and there condition.
Condition unknown - Fine honest way to indicate you are getting what you see, but sadly some use this to hide serious issues and just unload it; its a gamble but can pay off
Clean - looks good, maybe wiped down; if its a Pioneer some of the lettering may have been wiped off... lol
Tested - They powered it on and the lights turned on and no sparks flew out; for the ten seconds it was powered on
Working - Tested and connected speakers and sound was produced, what sound and what quality is unknown and usually the FM static was strong from the one desktop speaker they hooked it up to; they will throw in the speaker and zip cord to prove it works
Serviced - No proof, no parts and they can't remember who and when it was done, but they say the "serviced one sell for top dollar" which is why he/she (no usually he's) asking way too much
Refurbished - Mostly cosmetic, but an empty can of Deoxit will be rattled in front of you, proceeded with everything it took to; make it so
Restored - Here is where some pride is shown on what was done, who did it and you may even get 27 capacitors and 8 transistors to show why it sound so good; Don't burst their bubble by say they are many more component to be replaced as they just paid way too much to get it done
Full Restoration - The ones people don't sell, well maybe, you have seen a few for 3k which is why the Refurbisher's and Restorer's are asking too much for those; in all honesty these are the ones that should get top dollar (3k still a bit too much) for because those 100 plus component took some time to sort out, purchase, remove and properly install; power this on one, through on a Floyd Album on a Dual 1229 and chill
JK.... they are all great just know what your getting into
Be well
Gil
