Marantz Esotec -- What do you know about Esotec?

[macfreak]

I am interested in hearing opinions about Marantz Esotec stereo equipment. Evidently they were premium components available for a few years in the late 1970's and early '80's. Are they truly premium components? Anyone who has experience either owning, repairing, or listening to Esotec equipment would be most welcome to respond to this post. I am a Marantz fan and have occasionally run across Esotec ads. I almost bought an Esotec tuner once, but passed due to price ($900). I have posted a request for current prices and collector value on Dollars and Sense and a similiar request for info on the Marantz forum. Thank you for any advice you have to give and Merry Christmas.

 

[just dave]

I know an sm1000 amp just sold on ebay today for $2800 it was beautiful 410 watts per channel I was drooling.

 

[legal eagle]

If you run an Esotec search here on AK you'll find quite a few posts about esotec gear, and I don't think even one of them is less than enthusiastic - and bear in mind that the AK crowd is a tough crowd .

Esotec gear is top notch OMHO. I have an SC-6 pre, a pile of MA-5 monoblocks and an SM-6 amp.

That line is just wonderful, and the MA-5 monos just stunned me: they excell in every respect, they have a synergy in every setup I tried them with so far, and I love the fact they have volume attenuators. The SC-6 pre (that allows for 2 amps :thmbsp is the best I've had & heard, and bettered my Mcintosh C-28 pre, which is wonderful itself. The SM-6 amp I have yet to hook up (long boring story) so I can't render an opinion, but TVK loves it and states it is essentially a pair of MA-5s, so on knows what to expect http://www.thevintageknob.org/MARANTZ/SM6/SM6.html.

Esotec tuners command impossible prices. They are gorgeous, but I personally think NO TUNER should cost that much (unless you are a collector, or have an unexplained affinity to tuners :scratch2.

My only Esotec rant is that flap detachable door in the front. If you lose it, you will not find a replacement, and over time I've seen a few custom made flaps, that just don't look the same.

As noted before me, there was a rare SM-1000 on ebay just now :drool:, went for $2,800. It is one of those holy grails of audio, though I've read a few opinions saying that the Marantz 510 amp is up there ith the SM-1000, but costing considerably less.

 

[yrly]

I bought an SM-7 at the thrift store for $20 a few years back, only thing wrong with it was a blown fuse and it was missing the cover in front of the gain controls in the front, apparently what had happened is the fuse holder was loose (why I don't know it was in fairly decent shape) and shorted against the bottom of the chassis blowing the fuse. It is a clean sounding amp and uses beefier parts than the 300DC which it was based off of (bigger caps 2 15,000uf vs 10,000 uf per channel and different output transistors). Mine is the black European version. Worth the premium? Thats up to you.

 

[essamt3]

I have an SM-6 that serves me very well in a 'classy' looking system for the bedroom, paired with a Mac C-26 preamp. I think the build quality is better than the standard Marantz, chassis-wise, electronics wise...nothing too special. Sounds good, used to be the best sounding system in the house. I got mine with no front cover plate, but lucked out *incredibly* when a friend saw one listed on eBay...got it for $20 or so. Now the only problem is I have to constantly remove it because it hides things that I actually want/need to use...like power, A/B speakers...no wonder they get lost, any normal person would take it off every day.
-Scott

 

[KentTeffeteller]

In the late 1970's Esotec was Marantz's top of the line equipment. Very well built, technologically advanced, and fine sounding equipment. Very limited production gear which has escalated in value through the years.

 

[macfreak]

Macfreak Pulls the Trigger

Thanks everyone for your very helpful comments. Five or six years ago, I passed up a chance to buy a very nice St-8 tuner because I thought it cost too much. Last night I made an offer, which was accepted, on a Japanese version of the same tuner. This one has some problems. The scope is a no-go. I spoke to Mike Zuccaro, our west coast Marantz guru, before I made the offer and feel hopefully optimistic, although there is always a risk, obviously. The tuner will probably go straight from Tokyo to Mike. But the price was right and the potential upside is considerable. You can see the tuner currently on Audiogon.com in the Marantz listiings. Eventually, I hope to evaluate it against my other tuners. If I don't run out of money, I will probably look for a suitable integrated amp from Esotec with which I can pair the two up and put them on display.

 

[theophile]

Thanks everyone for your very helpful comments. Five or six years ago, I passed up a chance to buy a very nice St-8 tuner because I thought it cost too much. Last night I made an offer, which was accepted, on a Japanese version of the same tuner. This one has some problems. The scope is a no-go. I spoke to Mike Zuccaro, our west coast Marantz guru, before I made the offer and feel hopefully optimistic, although there is always a risk, obviously. The tuner will probably go straight from Tokyo to Mike. But the price was right and the potential upside is considerable. You can see the tuner currently on Audiogon.com in the Marantz listiings. Eventually, I hope to evaluate it against my other tuners. If I don't run out of money, I will probably look for a suitable integrated amp from Esotec with which I can pair the two up and put them on display.

Too bad that Japanese tuners run a different frequency band to US tuners.....