Marantz 250M amp BIG $$$ WHY

[bigredplane]

Hi I been watching some of old Marantz Amps sell on ebay, like 170Dc 300Dc and the 250M's. I was thinking of picking one up. I was just wondering why the 250M sell for such big money. Do they really sound the best of the amps to warrant the high price tag. Or am I missing something. I know the 250M is one of the better looking amp but the 170Dc and 300DC are great looking too.
:scratch2::scratch2:

 

[jstang]

My 2 cents...

250M - Made in the USA....

Not that the others sound bad, just seems to be a premium for good old USA heavy metal...

jk

 

[bigredplane]

So do we think thats the biggest reason or does the sound even come into play?

 

[Stereofan]

The 250M iwas only made for about a year, maybe two and in my opinion nicer looking than its predecessor the 250 but having owned a completely reconditioned one for a few years, I found the sound to be great, I ran it through a Marantz 3600 pre-amp for most of that time. I removed mine from service just over a year ago because it got replaced by a completely reconditioned 510M that is the only reason.
I have also used the pre-amp out jacks on one or two of my receivers into the 250M with equally good results. If you can find one in great cosmetic condition, they will cost you because many were used in commercial ventures and consequently banged around a lot. If you're patient, you might just get a good one.

 

[Arkay]

I think Sterofan is probably right about a lot of them getting banged up in commercial ventures. The 1978 brochure scan tlgibbs posted recently shows these amps being sold as "commercial" amps. Seems they were targeting commercial applications when marketing them, so they probably got sold into a lot of places where they would have seen heavy use, usually by non-owners who wouldn't have felt obligated to take the best care of them.

That said, I've never seen one (that I know of) come out of a commercial application. I guess by now they've all migrated into private owner's and collector's hands?

 

[XLNT Alan]

Marantz 250M

Just wanna say that yesterday I bought a Marantz 250M amp and a Marantz 24 tuner at a house sale for $10 for both!I hooked them up when I got home and it sounds great!I also bought a Marantz 2240,2270 and a 2285 receivers in the last couple of years for $10 each!I have them all hooked up in mi house now and they all sound real good.

 

[Tmac83]

Just wanna say that yesterday I bought a Marantz 250M amp and a Marantz 24 tuner at a house sale for $10 for both!I hooked them up when I got home and it sounds great!I also bought a Marantz 2240,2270 and a 2285 receivers in the last couple of years for $10 each!I have them all hooked up in mi house now and they all sound real good.

:worthless

Sorry had to pull the trigger on that Welcome to AK! That is a seriously nice collection you have going there. I am sure we'd all love to see some pictures so that we can drool.

TC

 

[lumpy]

I think if you are primarily interested in sound quality and power you can do a lot better for the money. The Crown CE series amps sound better and are way more powerful and stable than almost any audiophile amps. The 1000 watt CE 1000 can often be found for under $200 and the 2000 watt CE 2000 for $300. They will drive 2 ohm loads in stereo.

 

[boreas]

Just wanna say that yesterday I bought a Marantz 250M amp and a Marantz 24 tuner at a house sale for $10 for both!I hooked them up when I got home and it sounds great!I also bought a Marantz 2240,2270 and a 2285 receivers in the last couple of years for $10 each!I have them all hooked up in mi house now and they all sound real good.

Hey, great scores! Should give us all hope that we can have similar luck.

But, just wait, pretty soon a few members will start asking for "proof" since you're obviously "lying". :nono:

 

[tboat4]

I think they command the $ due primarily to:
1. They look so good. There's something about those meters.
2. The name Marantz. From that era, Marantz made very good stuff.
3. They do produce a pretty good sound.
4. A lot of collectors buy them.

Yes, there are better sounding amps for the same $, but some people are more interested in the whole package, and not just WPC and/or sound. Appearance, to some people, is the overriding factor.

 

[riverrat]

Of all the nice pieces of vintage gear I've bought and sold over the past few years, my 250 was probably the hardest to let go of. They are works of art, IMO. But while they do sound pretty good, I agree that there are many cleaner, better sounding units available for less $$.

 

[Stormin]

I think if you are primarily interested in sound quality and power you can do a lot better for the money. The Crown CE series amps sound better and are way more powerful and stable than almost any audiophile amps. The 1000 watt CE 1000 can often be found for under $200 and the 2000 watt CE 2000 for $300. They will drive 2 ohm loads in stereo.

Wow you talk about sound quality and then use the Crown CE series amps as a starting point.

The Crown CE doesn't even belong on the same block as the Marantz 250M.

I've owned a ton of gear and I drive very efficient speakers and the truth is the 250M is a great amp not just a good one. As people realize what they have and the word keeps spreading that is one amp that will continue to go up in value IMHO. There is alot more than just meters that are different between the 250 and 250M.

 

[jstang]

just wanna say that yesterday i bought a marantz 250m amp and a marantz 24 tuner at a house sale for $10 for both!i hooked them up when i got home and it sounds great!i also bought a marantz 2240,2270 and a 2285 receivers in the last couple of years for $10 each!i have them all hooked up in mi house now and they all sound real good.

10$ ?


Shut up...... ( Nice.....)

 

[vibroverbus]

Wow you talk about sound quality and then use the Crown CE series amps as a starting point.

The Crown CE doesn't even belong on the same block as the Marantz 250M.

I've owned a ton of gear and I drive very efficient speakers and the truth is the 250M is a great amp not just a good one. As people realize what they have and the word keeps spreading that is one amp that will continue to go up in value IMHO. There is alot more than just meters that are different between the 250 and 250M.

Yeah and it's a little weird to go trolling into a vintage-marantz-forum and post that too... Gee I think I'll go on a BMW 3-series board and tell them how great Ford 4x4 trucks are...

 

[Arkay]

I decided early on, based partly on recommendations and partly on listening comparisons that weren't very reliable (because they were on different systems in different locations at different times), to get 300dcs instead of 250Ms. Was this a mistake? I thought the 300dc was supposed to be the best of the Marantz power amps below the 500/510(M) level. I don't really want to learn that after gathering four 300dcs and passing up at least that many 250/Ms, that I went for the wrong model...

I should go check these out some more, including prices, huh?!.

 

[lumpy]

Because you don't agree that makes it a troll?

 

[Stick Figure]

I did not post photos of my Marantz items I have to my post because I figure everybody knows what they look like.

 

[Stick Figure]

Hey Boreas.If ya want proof of the Marantz stuff I have gimmie your e-mail and I will send you some photos of them.Also the 24 tuner and 250M amp I will listing them on E-bay so look for them on there.That should be proof enought for ya.

 

[bobabode]

Hey Boreas.If ya want proof of the Marantz stuff I have gimmie your e-mail and I will send you some photos of them.Also the 24 tuner and 250M amp I will listing them on E-bay so look for them on there.That should be proof enought for ya.

LOL,why not post them here? Fish or cut bait! Is it "Stick figure" or" XLNT Alan", I'm confused?

 

[ehoove]

LOL,why not post them here? Fish or cut bait! Is it "Stick figure" or" XLNT Alan", I'm confused?

Same question here as well. Whichever it is he/they are off to a rough start at AK, and the mods will be along shortly to straighten it out! :scratch2:
Regards,
Jim!