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Marantz Imperial 5G

Moth R. Superior

Moth R. Superior

Active Member
I recently found a set of Marantz Imperial 5G's relatively cheap in need of some tlc on CL. I wasn't really expecting too much from them because I've mostly read mixed reviews, other than a new project. I thought I'd take a chance. The wood veneer needs refinishing, no real deep scratches though, and the grills have had all the foam ripped off of them. Which is just as well, as I probably would've done it myself to make some new fabric covers.
The original blue cones, but with rubber surrounds. (I'd thought they came with foam surrounds?) 8" woofers and a set of phenolic ring tweeters.
Got them home and hooked them up.
My jaw dropped.
These are unbelievably great sounding speakers! I'd been running Genesis 110's as mains, and KLH Model 6's as remotes, so I hooked them up in place of the model 6's. Running with the 110's, and then on their own.
From behind me I hear "holy s**t! Are those those cheap speakers you just bought?" from the wifey who had been standing behind me, which I didn't even notice as I was so taken back by the sound these were putting out. Even she was taken back by them!
Besides a slight "crackling" in one of the tweeters, these are in the running for the best sounding speakers I've ever ran through this amp. (Technics SA 300).
Is this normal?
This is my first pair of Marantz speakers, am I to expect this from the whole Imperial line?
Needles to say, I'll be replacing the crackling tweeter, but I'm afraid to even recap them in fear of changing the sound. "Don't fix it if it ain't broken" apply?
Very happily surprised! I won't be flipping these!
 
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I bought my 5G's new in 1978 and still enjoy them. Glad you like them. I've been meaning to recap mine and probably will this winter. Many members here who also swear by the 6G's. I've been looking for the 5G's bigger brother for awhile, to no avail, but hope springs eternal.

Mark
 
I've seen them here and there, most times they've had some sticker shock to them. However from this point, I will be paying a lot more attention to what I come across from this line.
This set definitely proves to me that there are some good deals on these out there!
 
Found my set on a loading dock, looking very sad. Woofers faded but otherwise appear to be OK. Cabinets came back to life nicely. Now I need to test them and see how they work.
 
I recapped a Marantz Imperial 5G, replacing the oil-in-paper cap with a new polypropylene. Figured it was time, based on their age. I was wrong; it was a waste of time & money. The old cap measured identically with the new on an ESR meter, and the speakers sounded the same.

Perhaps Marantz's best effort.
 
Michael Powers said:
I recapped a Marantz Imperial 5G, replacing the oil-in-paper cap with a new polypropylene. Figured it was time, based on their age. I was wrong; it was a waste of time & money. The old cap measured identically with the new on an ESR meter, and the speakers sounded the same.

Perhaps Marantz's best effort.
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Damn. I thought so, now I'm certain. I remember thinking that cap looked like an oil-in-paper. After recapping, I was unimpressed with the results, even thinking perhaps that they lost a bit of something. I left the caps in the box, still mounted. May one day switch back.

Upgrade-itis. I'm a clinically infected person.
 
I've had a pair of Marantz 5G since new, 1976. They are a great speaker, I've always liked the way they sound. Last time I had them apart I decided not to replace the caps, a single 4uf PIO type, for now. They still sound great and I agree that a new polypropylene cap might not make them sound any better.
 
Michael Powers said:
There is another more expensive speaker that sounds better than the Imperial 5G in that line, but not all of them do, and I can't remember which is which.

Full disclosure: the Imperial xG line sounds better to my ear than other Marantz designs.
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From what I have read and what I own (Imperial 6's are the star and bang-for-buck champ) the 7's are the turd in the punchbowl. The 8's and the very rare 9's, while they shouldn't work, apparently do, and very well.

But definitely avoid the 7's. There's a great article on why they suck, and why the 6's are better, read below

http://www.audioholics.com/loudspeaker-design/loudspeakers-when-is-good-enough-enough-part-1
 
apologies for resurrecting the thread, but does anyone have a schematic for the crossover? Also interested to learn if you ever replaced the tweeter, if yes, with what and to what result? I inherited a pair of these and am interested to preserve and improve.
 
tigerdogtoo said:
apologies for resurrecting the thread, but does anyone have a schematic for the crossover? Also interested to learn if you ever replaced the tweeter, if yes, with what and to what result? I inherited a pair of these and am interested to preserve and improve.
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The crossovers are very simple. A coil for the woofer, and a single cap for the tweeter with a couple resistors on a switch to adjust the tweeter. I have a pair of 5's and 6's. The phenolic ring tweeters sound pretty good as is. If one or more is blown, the Goldwood paper cone tweeters are a close match and can be found at Partsexpress. Really, all you need to do is replace the old wax capacitor with a polypropylene film cap of the same value.
 
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Lavane said:
The crossovers are very simple. A coil for the woofer, and a single cap for the tweeter with a couple resistors on a switch to adjust the tweeter. I have a pair of 5's and 6's. The phenolic ring tweeters sound pretty good as is. If one or more is blown, the Goldwood paper cone tweeters are a close match and can be found at Partsexpress. Really, all you need to do is replace the old wax capacitor with a polypropylene film cap of the same value.
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Thanks for the prompt reply. Nothing blown - these were bought new by my late father-in-law and have been sitting on the same shelf in the same house ever since. Probably never played loud. Like most old gear, aging capacitors were on my mind. With a simple 6db/octave xo like this, even I can handle the replacement :)
 
Its easy. The old cap is in a clip. I clipped the wires running to the cap close to the cap and used them to attach the new cap. That makes it easy to mount the new one in a spot that fits best. I don't recommend the reproduction phenolic ring tweeters P.E. sells as a replacement for these speakers due to the response only going to 15khz. But originals do pop up on eBay, or the Goldwoods work well also. I couldn't tell the difference. The 5's sound very similar to the 6's, just a little less bass impact with the 5's. Do they have the cloth grills, or are they the later version with the foam grills?
 
Lavane said:
Do they have the cloth grills, or are they the later version with the foam grills?
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Cloth grilles (luckily). I was thinking of replacing the tweeters with these Morels. They have similar efficiency and a low Fs, not unlike the original paper ones. Thinking they might be smoother and have better dispersion. But it's silly to dump a pair of $90 tweeters in speakers this old, that already work.
 
tigerdogtoo said:
Cloth grilles (luckily). I was thinking of replacing the tweeters with these Morels. They have similar efficiency and a low Fs, not unlike the original paper ones. Thinking they might be smoother and have better dispersion. But it's silly to dump a pair of $90 tweeters in speakers this old, that already work.
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Ya, unless you really like the speaker. I think the 5's sold for around $129 each new. I do like most dome tweeters though. I have a pair of 6's that I really like. If I could find another nicer looking pair, I would defenetly experiment the pair I have now. They look ok, but I did have to sand them down, refinish them and make new grills. I used the P.E. grill kits and cloth and even found reproduction badges for them.
 
Glad you are enjoying them. I had a pair that I got from the original owner at a garage several years ago and I liked them but just had way too many speakers then for them to stay long term.

To answer your question it is my understanding that rest of the Imperial line up is very similar except for I seem to recall the 9’s. As I recall many considered them to be in separate class of their own.
 
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Wolverine said:
Glad you are enjoying them. I had a pair that I got from the original owner at a garage several years ago and I liked them but just had way too many speakers then for them to stay long term.

To answer your question it is my understanding that rest of the Imperial line up is very similar except for I seem to recall where the 9’s. As I recall many considered them to be in separate class of their own.
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The 8's and 9's were different for sure. The 7's were the ones to avoid though in that line of speakers.
 
I don't really need another set of speakers floating around my apartment but someone is selling some on CL for 30 and would like to hear them against my Boston Acoustic A60's and just in general, seems there's some jazz about them.
 
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