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Marantz, McIntosh, Tannoy and Thorens find of a lifetime

Makes me wonder who originally owned it, considering what that equipment cost back in the day. Doctor...lawyer...drug czar...? :D
 
Makes me wonder who originally owned it, considering what that equipment cost back in the day. Doctor...lawyer...drug czar...? :D
Yeah I’m lucky enough to know some of the history of the piece and it was a Physician who owned it until his death about 10 years ago.
 
Yeah I’m lucky enough to know some of the history of the piece and it was a Physician who owned it until his death about 10 years ago.

Nice. I should have gone to med school.

Upstate, Audio Classics would be the place, as others have noted. They have a great rep, know the gear (pre, amp, tuner) as well as minutiae of the vintage market.
 
So I opened up the preamp today and took some pictures, this is heading to a shop to be repaired no matter what but I’m just curious what you guys think about it’s apparent condition.
 

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Here’s a few shots of the 8B
 

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Cleaned up the outside of the components!
 

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Just got the tube gear back from the shop and they sound amazing together. Overall everything was in great shape! The preamp, power amp and tuner was fully tested and caps which were out of spec were replaced. A couple resisters replaced. New tubes for the power amp.

Right now I’m mostly listening through a chrome cast audio and Spotify premium set on highest quality. I’m currently being blown away by the clarity!

Roy took care of the Tannoy Reds & crossovers! Everything checked out perfect, those remain in original condition. I am currently doing some work in the wood shop to the cabinet legs so don’t mind the pictures of those on the floor.

Only missing piece right now is the turntable which is still in the shop, can’t wait to break out the vinyl and complete the original console.
 

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Those look beautiful! I am glad to hear Roy could help out, I am sure those speakers sound wonderful. All those components cleaned up nicely everything looks beautiful.

Are you going to be mounting everything back in the console once you get the turntable back? Are the preamp tubes original? What tubes did you install in the power amp?
 
Those look beautiful! I am glad to hear Roy could help out, I am sure those speakers sound wonderful. All those components cleaned up nicely everything looks beautiful.

Are you going to be mounting everything back in the console once you get the turntable back? Are the preamp tubes original? What tubes did you install in the power amp?

I most likely will not be mounting them back into the console, sadly my wife isn’t a big fan of it but I will use the cabinets it came with for the time being until I build the GRF cabinets. The tubes for the power amp are United Electron 6CA7, Sylvania 6CG7 and Sylvania 6BH6. All the preamp tubes are original!
 
That is too bad, it is a beautiful Modern console that looks to be in wonderful shape!

You will just have to distract yourself with the wonderful sound coming out of the Marantz. Good choice on the tubes, and as you spend more time at home these days you can reacquaint yourself with your vinyl collection. It should sound like you have never heard it before!
 
So the console project is essentially finished now, I changed the legs of the console to help win over the approval of my wife, they look more mid-century modern now in my opinion.

Also I sold the McIntosh tuner which I really didn’t use so I felt bad having it sit there without being enjoyed. Only problem now is I have an open hole next to the preamp that I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to put there. I was thinking I would add a solid state receiver to power some outdoor speakers but aesthetically I don’t think that would look good next to the lovely 7. I may also just cut a new price of walnut plywood with only one opening.

Lastly I notice that when I am not playing any music I hear a slight hiss, obviously more noticeable if I turn the volume up. It doesn’t seem to change whether the system is warm or cold. I also disconnected all inputs from the preamp and the same hiss is noticeable. Any advice on what to do about that if anything? You can hear the hiss at normal listening volumes however I don’t notice it when playing music.
 

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Where did you have the gear serviced? What did they do? Should state specifically on the receipt for the work.

Most likely place to start is the tubes. You mentioned the brands, so they are old and may be noisy (not unusual). Get a fresh set from a known-good seller. If that does not solve the problem then............. ask here again and will head to the next step.
 
I had it serviced by a reputable guy, he did test all the tubes and said they all tested out fine. I did contact him today after your message and he said that the hiss is most likely normal and could be slightly more noticeable because of the speakers being more sensitive. The Tannoy reds are plugged into the 16 ohm spot, I don’t know if that makes a difference. I could try another speaker into the amp to see if that makes a difference.
 
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