Please Help!! Marantz Imperial 5

N

norselaw

New Member
Hello,
I've been skimming through the posts and am truly enthralled by the knowledge some of you possess. I' m trying to put together a stereo system of which I'll mostly be listening to early heavy metal (Metallica, Scorpions etc.) I saw on a post awhile back on here that the Imperials were adept for such a use so I finally found some.
Now I need to know what kind of amp and c.d. player along with anything else would be pivotal in getting the most out of this setup for its intended purpose? I plan on adding a record player later.
 
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The Imperial 5 was not the most common of the Marantz speaker line back in the late 60s to early 70s. The 5G on the other hand was a smaller 2-way. My guess is if (?) you like to stay somewhat close to same era and brand componants & cabinet styles (except CD player) then you might be content with something in the 30 to 60 watt per channel range...such as: Marantz 1060 integrated amp or if you like to have tuner capability a Marantz 2230, 2245 or 2270 receiver. Pioneer, Kenwood, Sony and others made similar products and most came with nice wood cabinets. Most of those brands & models will have sufficient headroom (reserve power) to handle the rock & roll bass peaks. Note: Marantz for some reason rarely came standard with a wood veneer cabinet. As far as CD players you might look for something that complements the silver panel fronts of most early 70's vintage gear if you do go with that era. Most CD players are black. If you are satisfied with a single play model the silver faced models are more common than the multi players. Better CD players with decent DACs seem to be commonly found during the 90's to current times. Best ones are pricey. I found a decent sounding but not real exciting Denon 600F (1998-2000) for $60 shipped via eBay. A much better silver model would be Cambridge Azur 640c (2004) which can be had used for maybe $250 (?) or thereabouts. So many good choices available so do your research within your budgeted allowances! If you stay with Marantz for CD player you will find many highly praised models but silver color may be a challenge. Most CD players tend to be black and some prefer 5 disc players which are very often black. For economy there are many good CD players to include Sony (mid priced models and up), Denon, NAD, Rotel, Yamaha, etc. A lot of your choices will depend on your budget. A good and relatively affordable system should be able to play most any type of music well. Note: Others will have far different opinions and recommendations than the ones I mentioned.
 
Thank you good sir! It's the 5g which i own. Do you think the 1060 marantz amp will be enough 2 drive the heavy metal loud without distorting? a tuner is not needed by me
 
A 1060 or 1070 Marantz integrated amp will blow your socks off with those 'smallish' and elderly 5G 2-way 40 watt max speakers! Then again if you are playing in a fairly large space you might opt for larger or more powerful speakers such as JBL Decade 36, L-56, Pioneer HPM-100, etc. If you like bass then 10 or 12" woofers will be just the ticket for rock music. Also many of the more modern equivalent size 2-way speakers (8" woofers) rated at or near 90 dB sensitivity can handle power more effectively and at anything near 30 watts per channel, I'd say that's going to be really loud. I'd say vintage Marantz 5G are okay for a smaller or average size room but not for too extremely loud playing regardless of an amp's power rating...just my opinion. I suggest you do some research and determine if your speakers are going to be up your expectations. Maybe someone else will now chime in and share their opinions.
 
If you're into thrashing, I'll confirm Turnergande's observations. These speakers _will_ fold up on you. Now, add in the nice, little Marantz amp and you have a recipe for all 3 pieces to be back into the shop if you're planning on thrashing them - no matter the size of the room.

If you _really_ want to be able to deal with loud and long, I'd suggest you're going to be really unhappy with the results. My suggestion is to buy some 'gently used' DJ gear on craigslist. Think Crown amps and JBL-like stage monitors. If you're up for bass and don't have to worry about lease-breaking sonics, add one of the matching subwoofers, too. Now're you're thrashin'....

Cheers,

David
 
I'm still awaiting them in the mail. Maybe they are the regular 5's? They're about 2 ft. high and I'm just using them in a small bedroom. I've heard others say they've had great results with these for this type of music. We shall see!?!?!? Thanks for all the input and I welcome more!!
 
Despite my wife's concerns I now have a few sets of speakers in our combined living & dining areas. For moderate listening levels my smallest cabinets are 2-ways with Altec 8" Capri woofers and CTS phenolic ring tweeters + all new crossovers. These are powered by a Rotel preamp and Carver TFM-6FB 65 watt power amp. I use these for low to moderately high volume listening and they sound great. Those 2-ways are acoustic suspension so maybe they can take a bit more power than an equivalent ported Marantz 5G (?). I imagine if I dialed the volume knob up to 12 oclock I'd destroy those fine old speakers. So, whatever components you get....be cautious about dialing up too much volume. I also have Infinity RSe 4 ohm 2-way acoustic suspension speakers powered by a Marantz 140 75 watt amp with a solid-state preamp and those will also play quite loud and clear without the volume knob reaching anywhere near 11 o'clock. I think a good combination of moderate powered amp (30 to 75 watts per channel) and speakers can be loud enough to enjoy with such modest speakers especially with all house entry doors and windows closed (so neighbors don't get upset) without twisting the volume knob beyond a 11 to 12 noon setting. That's just my own experience and I'm sure others might have far different experiences with similar vintage era 2-way speakers. If I want more volume I'd hook up my JBL Decade 36's or Pioneer HPM-100's but then my ears will probably start to hurt. I know my wife would not be in the house!

If you do get Imperial 5 (Japan) those are much larger and sophisticated than 5G. I imagine they will handle more power. They are rare and it would be a real shame to over power them.

Maybe someone else knows about KRK8 monitors - I sure don't. Good luck!
 
norselaw said:
I have krk8 powered monitors. Are these ok for home listening or should they be used explicitly for mixing?
Click to expand...

These are near-field monitors, fully usable for near-field listening of any material. If you want to be able to run them up, however, I'd strongly suggest outboard subwoofers for them. You'd best use an electronic crossover or a high-pass filter to run them with subs so that the low frequency content is kept out of the KRKs at higher volumes.

If, however, these monitors are going to be used in a larger room, they'll not really throw a solid sound stage running in mid/far field applications.

Hope that helps!

Cheers,

David
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...39674&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_1828wt_1034
Here's a pic of the speakers if it helps you discern 5 from 5g?
Dshoaf, thank you! I'm a musician and have been noticing that I can only listen to music so long anymore in the mp3 era. That's a big reason why I'm opting to create this vintage system!
Turnergande, I hope to have the speakers all over the house too in such a manner! My home will be a safe bastion for the audiophile! If I can learn what the hell I'm doing that is! lol
 
I have a chance to get a Marantz 2226b receiver for these for 60 bucks or possibly the 2275 for 200. Any suggestions? Also the 1060 and 1070 amps are out there which seem to be less powerful than the receivers so I guess the amps would be a poorer choice.
I don't intend on using the radio but rather hooking up a cd player and turntable so I don't need a receiver though right? Just the amp would suffice?
 
Just remember that doubling an amp's watts does not mean you can double the volume level....it does not work that way. 30 watts of power at 8 ohms is plenty for what your Marantz speakers were designed for.

Marantz 2275 is highly regarded if in good cosmetic & working condition...nice to look at too! Suggest you only buy what you need but a 2275 is an easy resale assuming it's a good one. Sounds like an integrated amplifier will suffice for you. So many good choices out there and some are real bargains depending on brand & model.

If you want a high powered amp (over 80 watts per channel) then I suggest you also look for speakers that will more readily handle loud playing beyond the 'near field'.
 
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