Marantz speaker scroe

[Jenkster]

I recently picked up a Marantz 4230 quad receiver. It has issues but that's for another forum. The seller said he had some Marantz speakers, somewhere, and asked if I was interested.:scratch2: Long story short, I got a pair of Imperial 5G's and a pair of HD55's. The two way Imperials have an 8" woofer with rubber surround:thmbsp: and a paper dome tweeter. They work great and sound pretty darn good. The HD55's sound pretty good as well but the woofers need foam.:thumbsdn: The 5G's have their foam grills, the seller could only find one for the HD55's. The 5G's just may be my new garage speaker and I plan to do my first re-foam on the HD55 woofers. Anyone have experience or a love for these speakers? I'm sure they made a great quad set up back in the day!:yes:

 

[kfa888]

The Imperial line sounds better than it should given it's simple drivers and cabs but seem to really hit the mark. :thmbsp:

 

[Jenkster]

The Imperial line sounds better than it should given it's simple drivers and cabs but seem to really hit the mark. :thmbsp:

OUCH!!! Sorry, my name is Mark! Anyway, I was surprised to see they were made in the USA.:thmbsp: I would have thought by then they would have been made in Japan? I think the HD55's will sound great with new foam. They are an accoustic suspension design that will likely sound better without the gaps around the foam. Anyone know who made the drivers for Marantz? I haven't pulled them yet to see if there are any numbers.

 

[Big Tuna]

yes, CTS made the Imperial Drivers and Rola made the HD55 drivers. The tweeters in the HD55's were made in Japan though, and some of the HD mids were also made in Japan, but the speaker as a whole was assembled here in US of A.

 

[Big Tuna]

I love Marantz Speakers, but only the Ed May designs, like the ones you got. I have what some consider to be one of the finest Marantz speaker collections under one roof

HD770, HD77, DS920, HD880, Model 7 MKII, M10, & Model 600 in this picture

 

[walkandtalk]

I've got some Imperial 5's and two pairs of Imperial 6's. They're great speakers!

 

[kfa888]

I love Marantz Speakers, but only the Ed May designs, like the ones you got. I have what some consider to be one of the finest Marantz speaker collections under one roof

HD770, HD77, DS920, HD880, Model 7 MKII, M10, & Model 600 in this picture

What!!!! no Imperial 9's!!!!! Lame

 

[Big Tuna]

What!!!! no Imperial 9's!!!!! Lame

Not yet, lol! Maybe if I'd ever find a pair. Imperial 9's seem to be elusive to me. Never can find an intact pair.

 

[Jenkster]

Wow, great collection Big Tuna!:thmbsp: I can't wait to get the 4230 working correctly and put together a quasi quad Marantz system. Probably no chance of finding the wired remote for it.

I was playing a Larry Carlton CD through the Imperial 5's using a Nakamichi AV-10 receiver which is about 120 watts in two channel. Very pleasant and accurate sound with a lively top end and good punchy bass. I am very impressed.:yes: They do not have the low end thump of my JBL L56's but hold their overall. Best $40 I have ever spent on vintage speakers!

 

[Michael Powers]

Congratulations on your Marantz Imperial 5G. A friend of mine has these; we both like them. My favorite is how recorded concerts sound through them. 3 things:

1. The 4 uf 100 volt paper/oil capacitors are beyond tired. They can be replaced with non polarized electrolytic or (better) a poly film capacitor.

2. If you are going to be playing your Imperial 5G speakers in a typical unheated garage real loud, it would be best not to get too attached to them.

3. Parts Express carries the CTS tweeter for these. It's the woofer that will be no picnic to find a replacement for.

 

[Jenkster]

Congratulations on your Marantz Imperial 5G. A friend of mine has these; we both like them. My favorite is how recorded concerts sound through them. 3 things:

1. The 4 uf 100 volt paper/oil capacitors are beyond tired. They can be replaced with non polarized electrolytic or (better) a poly film capacitor.

2. If you are going to be playing your Imperial 5G speakers in a typical unheated garage real loud, it would be best not to get too attached to them.

3. Parts Express carries the CTS tweeter for these. It's the woofer that will be no picnic to find a replacement for.

Thanks for the tips, I will keep them in mind.

I yarded the woofers out of the 5G's and put them in the HD55 for giggles. The woofer in the 55's are made in Japan as Big Tuna said and look to be good quality. Quite a bit heavier than the CTS woofers in the 5G's, ferrite magnet. The HD55's sound great! Not a thumping bass speaker but very smooth and accurate. Kind of a nearfield monitor sound. I did hit the L-pads with some Deoxit which helped. Now I need to figure out what to do about making some grills for them.:scratch2: Any suggestions?

 

[glen65]

I love Marantz Speakers, but only the Ed May designs, like the ones you got. I have what some consider to be one of the finest Marantz speaker collections under one roof

HD770, HD77, DS920, HD880, Model 7 MKII, M10, & Model 600 in this picture

I see you have some SE-380s mixed in with the lot.

 

[tubeboob]

The Imperial 5G's are an uninspiring speaker to look at, but are really voiced nicely.

I was surprised at just how good they sounded.

Coupled with my Zenith MC-7051 receiver, they sounded smooth. Bass a little shy, but the mids more than made up for it with a sweetness that was unexpected, and highs that were crisp and detailed.

Mine are in fine cosmetic condition and will be with me for a while.

The real wood veneer cleans up nicely and will shine with a little oil.

I was surprised with this simple looking pair.

Cheers

 

[Jenkster]

The Imperial 5G's are an uninspiring speaker to look at, but are really voiced nicely.

I was surprised at just how good they sounded.

Coupled with my Zenith MC-7051 receiver, they sounded smooth. Bass a little shy, but the mids more than made up for it with a sweetness that was unexpected, and highs that were crisp and detailed.

Mine are in fine cosmetic condition and will be with me for a while.

The real wood veneer cleans up nicely and will shine with a little oil.

I was surprised with this simple looking pair.

Cheers

It is a great sounding little speaker.:yes: The finish is a bit long in the tooth though! Someone, likely a woman, had a plant on top of one of them.:thumbsdn: Other than that, just a bunch of surface and some deeper scratches. However, the corners are sharp and structually they are fine. I don't think I will do anything with the finish other than some Howard's restore-a-finish, 0000 steel wool and their bees wax wood preservative. I do plan to change out the caps at some point.

 

[Big Tuna]

I see you have some SE-380s mixed in with the lot.

ayep

 

[glen65]

ayep

I received a brochure on the SE series back in the late 80s (think I still got it)
and was sold. Only trouble was that none of the dealers in this
area handled them. Later I bought a set a DX-9s. Had thoughts about selling
them to make more space, but I might give them to my mom and replace
her crappy Fisher speakers instead.

 

[Big Tuna]

That's cool, Glen. I been on the lookout for a SE series brochure.

I custom tuned mine with a butterworth network. The woofers were just too colored for me, so I toned them down. They sound much better with each driver set on it's own frequency range rather than overlapping. I also added a resistor and an extra cap to the tweeter, crossing it over just below where the upper mid begins to roll off. They sound amazing.

Anyways, I don't mean to hijack this "Marantz speaker scroe" thread, so, back on track we go......

Jenk, how is the quad, Imperials and HD55's coming along?

 

[Jenkster]

That's cool, Glen. I been on the lookout for a SE series brochure.

I custom tuned mine with a butterworth network. The woofers were just too colored for me, so I toned them down. They sound much better with each driver set on it's own frequency range rather than overlapping. I also added a resistor and an extra cap to the tweeter, crossing it over just below where the upper mid begins to roll off. They sound amazing.

Anyways, I don't mean to hijack this "Marantz speaker scroe" thread, so, back on track we go......

Jenk, how is the quad, Imperials and HD55's coming along?

No worries, I very much enjoy the exchange of information and experiences involved in our hobby/passion.:yes:

The quad project will be a slow process as I need to figure out the issue(s) with the 4230 receiver. The Impreial 5G's work great though I am going to replace the caps, probably next week. I need to find some surrounds for the HD55 woofers. This will be my first attempt with a re-foam so I will be taking my time to do it right, hopefully.