Vintage Marantz worth saving?

**sk1939** · 11-23-2009 02:38 PM

Alright, I posted yesterday about my equipment and such. Well I did end up buying a powered sub, but that's beside the point. I stumbled upon a free and working Marantz model 26 in good physical shape. I powered it up, did a smoke test, and popped in a CD, first thing I did was adjust the volume pot and was greeted with a loud cackling that took a few moments to settle down (and occurs with every change in volume). The other thing I notice is that this amp is not silent, nowhere near in fact. There seems to be an audible hiss constantly (white noise?), it's not the connections, in fact, it seems to make that noise when it's not connected to anything and is just on. I tried reversing the plug (unpolarized) but that didn't change all that much, my guess is that the caps/pots/amp section is going. Would it be worth saving? All that seems to be wrong with it is the constant white noise and the fear my speakers will blow everytime I change volume levels....

187CAM · 11-23-2009 03:21 PM

That model is a little on the rare side. 14wpc so its a tad on the low side of power. Better have some speakers that are easy to drive. Being 36-40 years old its going to need to be serviced for sure. The original price was somewhere around $200 - $250 range so take that into consideration when thinking of the money that may be needed to bring it back up to working condition. You can pull the top off and blow the dust out. Then clean all the pots/controls with something like De-Oxit or Rid-Ox and see if it starts sounding cleaner. DO NOT spray to try and clean the tuner gangs. If the tuner section doesn't seem to come back to life its best left to someone who can do it properly.

Just my $.02 worth

**sk1939** · 11-23-2009 03:26 PM

Originally Posted by 187CAM

That model is a little on the rare side. 14wpc so its a tad on the low side of power. Better have some speakers that are easy to drive. Being 36-40 years old its going to need to be serviced for sure. The original price was somewhere around $200 - $250 range so take that into consideration when thinking of the money that may be needed to bring it back up to working condition. You can pull the top off and blow the dust out. Then clean all the pots/controls with something like De-Oxit or Rid-Ox and see if it starts sounding cleaner. DO NOT spray to try and clean the tuner gangs. If the tuner section doesn't seem to come back to life its best left to someone who can do it properly.

Just my $.02 worth

At $225 for the time period is equivalent to $840 today according to an inflation calculator. Does it being rare mean it will be hard to service? What would need servicing I wonder, and where (there can't be a whole lot of people that do this kind of thing).

**TECHNOKID** · 11-23-2009 04:00 PM

Originally Posted by sk1939

At $225 for the time period is equivalent to $840 today according to an inflation calculator. Does it being rare mean it will be hard to service? What would need servicing I wonder, and where (there can't be a whole lot of people that do this kind of thing).

If you coul do so your self it might be worhtwhile... Just about any electronic/TV repair shop should be able to fix/clean it for you. Yes, being rare and old may mean some parts could be hardly available; IE: some of the transistors may no longer be available. You could easily expect 100$+ to get this old clunker back in service. Is this really worthwhile (especially when you could buy used/refurb for just a little more)? That is up to you???

Cheers!
TK

**MrGlobe** · 11-23-2009 05:56 PM

Is Marantz the type of company that would help you out just to get a 40 year old piece of equiptment back in action?

I'm sure Marantz CS would be worth a try

**debussyj** · 11-26-2009 08:59 AM

I've got a vintage Model 22, which is supposed to put out 40WPC, but back in the day Marantz was very conservative with their power ratings. I bought it a few years back, cleaned and shook down by an electronics guy. Think I paid around $250.00 for the piece. I think you'd have better luck getting in touch with a quality electronics repair guy who has experience with classic equipment and won't gouge you for repairs. They can be found, you just have to look hard. Anyway, my Model 22 drives a pair of Polk RT-5 bookshelf speakers in my bedroom rig and I must say, the sound is pretty amazing. I wouldn't part with the receiver! Best of luck!

**steveinaz** · 11-26-2009 12:17 PM

This is the kind of thing you do because you love the piece. If it's worth it to you, get it back in shape, who cares about the investment vs value ratio?

**debussyj** · 11-26-2009 01:45 PM

Very true. I always wanted a Marantz receiver back in the 70's, but was financially challenged then. That's why I bought the unit!

**George Grand** · 11-26-2009 09:00 PM

Marantz are a pain in the the schwanz to work on. Packed too tight. Marantz the company will send you a polite letter telling you you're nuts for contacting THEM.

I hear this conservative rating crap all the time. Or better yet, the statement, "Yeah, but they're 15 MARANTZ watts" or "Yeah, but it's 20 MARANTZ watts". These are not mythical watts. They're regular old watts.

If you really have a nut for that thing, crack it open and spray some De-Oxit in there, or at least find somebody near you who'll do it for free if you can't. If it still ****s and you still want it, go to AK and get hold of a guy named Echowars. He's top notch.

**sk1939** · 11-26-2009 11:03 PM

Originally Posted by George Grand

Marantz are a pain in the the schwanz to work on. Packed too tight. Marantz the company will send you a polite letter telling you you're nuts for contacting THEM.

I hear this conservative rating crap all the time. Or better yet, the statement, "Yeah, but they're 15 MARANTZ watts" or "Yeah, but it's 20 MARANTZ watts". These are not mythical watts. They're regular old watts.

If you really have a nut for that thing, crack it open and spray some De-Oxit in there, or at least find somebody near you who'll do it for free if you can't. If it still ****s and you still want it, go to AK and get hold of a guy named Echowars. He's top notch.

I cracked it open, and it appears that it is all dusty, and the rotary tuner components keeps me from getting to the caps and such. It seems someone added a circuit breaker for overloads at some point too.

I think I'll keep it as a shelf piece, I just got my hands on a Luxman in perfect order with the exception of two blown fuses (replaced and it works like a charm).