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Superscope QR-450 Receiver

B

biomayhem

Member
Hi Everyone,

Just picked up a Superscope QR-450 Quadroscope receiver by Marantz over the weekend for 30 bucks at a garage sale. Picked it up as a temporary stand in while my Sony STR-6060FW is in the shop getting overhauled. Other than a couple of light being out on the tuner meter and a few dings, dents and scratches, the receiver is in pretty good condition. Tested it out with my Yamaha NS-500M speakers and it actually sounded decent and the purple lighting is pretty funky. Was surprised to find out that the output was only 10 watts since it was able to drive the Yamahas without problem.

Anyway, I hooked the speakers up to the rear channels but was unable to get sound out of them no matter which mode I select (the modes are mono, 2 channel, discrete, SQ, Ambience). I know to get the quadrophonic sound you have to have special turntable or tape deck with quad encoded record or tape, but I thought the rear channels would play the same stereo music in 2 channel mode. Am I wrong and are the rear channels broken? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
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check , clean the " ampilifer mode " switch on the back panel , 10w x4 is for separated 4 channel , 25w x2 straps (combines the front and rear amps to bump up the wattage ) very common feature on quad receivers . could be why your getting nothing out of the rear channels , stuck in BTL mode
 
nice score , very nice looking receiver , I would have been all over that for 30 beans , I got more than a few quads but haven't ran by any Marantz (or superscope) for a resonable price , after all just about every quad is pushing 40 years or better and gonna need work (some more than others) sooner than latter. what speakers you driving for the rear channels? im betting its gonna want 8 ohm for 4 speakers SuperscopeQR-450.jpg
 
Yeah, the guy said it was sitting in his garage for the last 20 years and just wanted to get ride of it to make room for other stuff. I asked to test it to see if it would at least power on and it did. I was attracted by the purple lights cause I've never seen that type of color on a receiver before. Must be the product of psychedelic 70s. He didn't have any speakers to test but I thought for 30 buck what the heck. So I was surprised that at least the front channels work when I got home. The example on your picture looks much nicer than mine though, even after I cleaned mine up. It has a lot more nicks and scratches from sitting in the garage for 20 years and one corner of the metal mesh vent was punched in.

To answer your question, I had a pair of Bose 141s hooked up to the rear channel. The Bose speakers are what I'll be using on the front channel since the setup is going to a small office room at home. Also forgot to mention in my first post, I did test the quad channel using just head phones and when I push the balance joystick to the rear, my headphones also went silent. So maybe it's as you suggested, the amp is stuck in BTL mode. Guess we'll find out tonight when I get home.
 
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Well sir, you are correct. Turned the amplifier mode from 2 X 25W to 4 X 10W and now all four channels work. I was able to get good volume from all four speakers. It's just surprising that everything works on this receiver even though it's been sitting on a shelf in a garage for 20 years. Thanks again for your help. Now I just need to replace those burnt out bulbs and I'll post some pics once the bulbs all light up. Thanks again.
 
cool , your welcome , happy to hear its working , i like them purple lights a lot also , yes , do post some pictures when ya get her all lit
 
Just order the LED replacement bulbs. Won't be here for another week. Hopefully I can get some pics up in a couple of weeks. Looks like the bulbs for "FM", "Stereo", and "Aux" are soldered on the board. This will test my desoldering skills, which are not that good. Hopefully I won't damage the board while I'm at it.

I agree, the Superscope owned Marantz years were good ones :thumbsup:. So good that I can't afford most the the Marantz receivers from that era.
 
biomayhem said:
Just order the LED replacement bulbs. Won't be here for another week. Hopefully I can get some pics up in a couple of weeks. Looks like the bulbs for "FM", "Stereo", and "Aux" are soldered on the board. This will test my desoldering skills, which are not that good. Hopefully I won't damage the board while I'm at it.

I agree, the Superscope owned Marantz years were good ones :thumbsup:. So good that I can't afford most the the Marantz receivers from that era.
Click to expand...

When I decided I wanted to try out a Marantz receiver I knew I did not want to pay $500+ for one so I decided to stay small (we have a small condo anyway). After a few weeks of research I decided a 2220B was the one I wanted: I liked the looks of the "B" model, 20 watts (probably more since Marantz usually under rated power) was going to be plenty and they could be had for around $300 on a good deal. After having it for several months now, I am perfectly happy with the 2220. Yesterday I was playing a SACD through it and at a volume that sounded great but not too loud (through Marantz Imperial 6 speakers) it was only putting out a bit less than one watt. With sensitive speakers and a small to mid sized room, 20-30 watts is just fine.

22770805_1689212614432012_622604962631390328_o.jpg
 
Bodyblue said:
When I decided I wanted to try out a Marantz receiver I knew I did not want to pay $500+ for one so I decided to stay small (we have a small condo anyway). After a few weeks of research I decided a 2220B was the one I wanted: I liked the looks of the "B" model, 20 watts (probably more since Marantz usually under rated power) was going to be plenty and they could be had for around $300 on a good deal. After having it for several months now, I am perfectly happy with the 2220. Yesterday I was playing a SACD through it and at a volume that sounded great but not too loud (through Marantz Imperial 6 speakers) it was only putting out a bit less than one watt. With sensitive speakers and a small to mid sized room, 20-30 watts is just fine.

22770805_1689212614432012_622604962631390328_o.jpg
Click to expand...
I'm still looking for a set of those meters. Man they have shot up in price. The first watt is the most important watt.
 
Lavane said:
I'm still looking for a set of those meters. Man they have shot up in price. The first watt is the most important watt.
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The meter prices go up and down like crazy. This set was listed at $100 OBO so I just watched it for a few weeks. When the guy lowered the price to $70 OBO, I figured, what the hell, and offered $45 and the guy accepted in minutes. I have a APM 500 if you are interested, PM me.

I bought an APM 100 for $25 two months ago for $25. Then I noticed the prices had shot up again so I sold it for $60 a few weeks ago.....very strange.
 
Bodyblue said:
The meter prices go up and down like crazy. This set was listed at $100 OBO so I just watched it for a few weeks. When the guy lowered the price to $70 OBO, I figured, what the hell, and offered $45 and the guy accepted in minutes. I have a APM 500 if you are interested, PM me.

I bought an APM 100 for $25 two months ago for $25. Then I noticed the prices had shot up again so I sold it for $60 a few weeks ago.....very strange.
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I had an APM 100 I had bought back in 75 or 76 when I bought my first SA'1000A. I installed a mini toggle switch between the meters and added a lamp inside at the top between the meters. I really want the analog meter, and change the lamps to blue. Thanks for the offer though!
 
Bodyblue said:
When I decided I wanted to try out a Marantz receiver I knew I did not want to pay $500+ for one so I decided to stay small (we have a small condo anyway). After a few weeks of research I decided a 2220B was the one I wanted: I liked the looks of the "B" model, 20 watts (probably more since Marantz usually under rated power) was going to be plenty and they could be had for around $300 on a good deal. After having it for several months now, I am perfectly happy with the 2220. Yesterday I was playing a SACD through it and at a volume that sounded great but not too loud (through Marantz Imperial 6 speakers) it was only putting out a bit less than one watt. With sensitive speakers and a small to mid sized room, 20-30 watts is just fine.

22770805_1689212614432012_622604962631390328_o.jpg
Click to expand...
Wow, that looks like a nice setup! Is that a Marantz turntable on the left?

Yeah, looks like you'd have to go with a lower output to keep the price under $500 nowadays. I am hopeful that one day I will be able to afford a 2500 or 2600 though, hopefully before the price on those appreciates beyond the cost of a car. I saw a 2600 at a friend's house when I visited him a few years back. It was almost Christmas and and he had holiday music playing through the 2600. I don't remember what speakers he had hooked up to it but it sounded great and I was mesmerized by the scope. He had four speakers hooked up to it in his family room and I was able to hear all the details from the music even when we moved to the dining room.

I went home and started looking for it online and was shocked a the price. If I remember correctly, one was listed on Ebay for $6000! And that was in 2013. It did get me started in vintage audio though. Unfortunately I have had to keep my budget pretty low due to other monetary demands (kids). I've tried to bid on Marantz receivers on Ebay a few times in the but would always get outbid every time, again due to budgetary reasons. So I was glad to be able to pick up the Superscope QR-450 cheap and have everything working. At least it is related to the Marantz of that era, right?
 
biomayhem said:
Wow, that looks like a nice setup! Is that a Marantz turntable on the left?

Yeah, looks like you'd have to go with a lower output to keep the price under $500 nowadays. I am hopeful that one day I will be able to afford a 2500 or 2600 though, hopefully before the price on those appreciates beyond the cost of a car. I saw a 2600 at a friend's house when I visited him a few years back. It was almost Christmas and and he had holiday music playing through the 2600. I don't remember what speakers he had hooked up to it but it sounded great and I was mesmerized by the scope. He had four speakers hooked up to it in his family room and I was able to hear all the details from the music even when we moved to the dining room.

I went home and started looking for it online and was shocked a the price. If I remember correctly, one was listed on Ebay for $6000! And that was in 2013. It did get me started in vintage audio though. Unfortunately I have had to keep my budget pretty low due to other monetary demands (kids). I've tried to bid on Marantz receivers on Ebay a few times in the but would always get outbid every time, again due to budgetary reasons. So I was glad to be able to pick up the Superscope QR-450 cheap and have everything working. At least it is related to the Marantz of that era, right?
Click to expand...

It is a Marantz 6100. I found this guy that had a ton of old and cool stuff he was selling because his wife was bitching at him. Somebody had painted the dustcover black so it was trashed and the feet were missing but I got it for $25. I ordered some solid alum feet from China for $14 off of eBay and a new belt and found a new needle for the Stanton cart. So I have about $55 into it and it works great......I dont play a lot of vinyl because it is such a pain now but I do like the look of the TT and that it matches the rest of the system. I also got a bunch of other stuff from him.....I kept a few things and sold the rest for a good profit. It takes time to find people and stuff like that but you just need to be patient and you will find it.

I had some Realistic Nova 7s hooked to it at first then I stumbled on the Imperial 6s off of CL and got them for $55 and they are excellent condition. They are a better match than the Novas because the Novas are not as sensitive as the Imperials. With sensitive speakers the lower powered units are perfectly fine. If I have the volume at the highest that we can stand, the meters show it putting barely one watt.

21246185_1634765346543406_6413678118002129091_o.jpg
 
That is very nice, clean setup. I've always like the look of the vintage turntables with wood plynth. Later turntables just look too plasticky. I was looking for good speakers like the Imperial 6 that you have and have heard really good things about them. Unfortunately, where I'm at (San Diego) most vintage speakers available on CL were pretty beat up when I was looking a couple of years ago so I ended up with the Yamahas. They are pretty good but the bass can get a little muddy sometimes. Those are hooked up to a Pioneer SX-5590 but I don't get use it very often as the kids don't like most of the music I listen to. That was the reason for the second system, originally with a Sony STR-6060FW and a pair of Bose 141s. I picked up the Sony for $80 from CL and the Bose for $50 from Ebay and had it set up in a tiny office space at home until the Sony died and was replaced with the Superscope. That works well as I usually have the volume down pretty low. I'll post a picture of that once I have the Superscope all lit properly.
 
Well, just got the LED replacement lamps and as you can see from the picture below, the color looks dramatically different. The lamps in the signal strength and the )2( are original incandescent for comparison. These are supposed to be warm white LEDs but now it looks more blueish purple than magenta of original lamp. I guess I'll have to get the original filament fuse bulbs. Also, I've just noticed that the "STEREO" indicator bulb is out and it looks like the bulb is soldered to a small board. The writing on the bulb is 5V 0.04A. Can I replace it directly with a 2 leg LED bulb or does it the LED have to have a resistor on it? Also, I tried to look for incandescent bulbs at 5V 0.04A but all I can find is 12V 0.04A bulbs. Can those work? Thanks for your help.

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Hello. Just dusting off this topic. A few weeks ago I bought a QR-450 for 25 euro. Does anyone has a servicemanual for this dude?:)
 
Hello. What a coincidence:). Is yours playing well? Mine isn't. One of the four channels sounds distorted. It will need a lot of attention.
 
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