Magical Marantz 22## receivers


Why is it generally accepted that caps in a vintage speaker crossover should be replaced but some how these mid-fi (at best) 70’s vintage receivers seem to get better (and more expensive) with no maintenance. I would love to see someone bench test one of these beauties with the “tube like” sound.
ripkeith
They do NOT get better as those ancient caps age. Not by a long shot. I've recapped all of the old Marantz units I've got. The tantalum caps on those like to pop like firecrackers and take out tuners. Electrolytics go leaky and push bias out of spec, leak DC onto signal paths, and eventually destroy transistors and resistors. I don't know why people think these old things sound so dreamy operating way out of spec and sounding nothing like they were designed to. Beyond all that, the glue Pioneer and Sansui used decomposes and eats the braces off the boards and the legs of the components. And no, they don't measure well. And if that's not enough, they usually have excessive DC on the outputs that does no favors for your speakers. 

I love the sound of the old goodies, just received another 3 of them this week. You have to know which ones are the special sounding ones. And yes they get much better with age. I don’t like the sound of anything complicated and I mechanically tune all of my components after I get them. I think I have had one with a bad cap but that was it.

When I look to make a purchase, if it says recapped I keep my distance. The sound of older solid state parts (with a good design) sound very much like tubes, in some cases even better. I bring in several different models during a years time to find the ones that really perform.

Last year and this year I’m putting these head to head up against HEA’s best and well lets just say a lot of my newer HEA has been up on Audiomart, and I hope to get more of it sold this year. I bet I took about a $60,000.00 bath last year on the amps and DACs I bought. Some horrible sounding stuff, and on Stereophile’s recommended list too.

Michael Green

www.michaelgreenaudio.net

You don't like the sound of anything complicated, but you like the sound of those very complicated 70's units? Ok. 
I owned a Marantz 2230 and it was nice.  I liked the flywheel tuner the best.  But when I replaced it with a NAD 3140 my large Advents really came to life.  It was no contest.

Hi Kosst

Sorry that I gave the wrong impression. Now that I look back on the OP, I realize he was talking about the Marantz 22..s. The units that I get in are the entry level Pioneer, Technics and such. Very light weight and low mass. For example I work alot with the Pioneer sx-3400. It's a very simple unit to tune and sounds amazing. Of course I'm using my speakers which are extremely easy to drive.

Yep, I don't use the big stuff, as you pointed out, way to complicated.

I apologize for not being more clear.

Michael Green

www.michaelgreenaudio.net

Mike, those are the primary candidates for that glue I'm talking about. That stuff is just evil. I'm telling ya, if you care much about those units, you'll get that crap out of there. It's eating your traces. It's eating any leads it's touching. And it's becoming conductive itself. Vintage audio forums are chocked full of horror stories because of that glue. I stick to the Marantz stuff because they never used it and you don't have to get into chemicals and hours of meticulously removing that stuff. It's real easy to identify. It almost has the consistency of that expending foam insulation. Lots of air bubbles. It's very hard and cracks and crumbles instead of having any pliability. 
"...And yes they get much better with age."

Seriously? Difficult to substantiate since most don't remember how they sounded when new. I've owned an SX-980 since new and still can't remember...(I do have a good excuse..)

Hi Kosst

The Pioneer SX-3400? Where specifically on this unit? I've been tuning these specific units for many years now without anything failing on any of them. Are you sure they are talking about the 3400?

I'm happy to reinvestigate, I have 4 of these units sitting right here, including one taken completely apart so it will be easy for me to see exactly where you are referring to.

thanks

Michael Green

www.michaelgreenaudio.net

I'm pretty sure Pioneer used it. I might be wrong. I'm certain Sansui used it. They used it for gluing the big caps on. 

Hi Kosst

That's more than likely why. The 3400 doesn't have any bigger caps. I went down to the shop just a few moments ago and looked at a circuit board close up and didn't find any residue. I'm going to have the guys check as well, we're pretty picky about cleaning up boards and parts.

Thanks for the heads up! One thing I love about the biz is, there's always folks out there discovering something useful to add to the mix.

Michael Green

www.michaelgreenaudio.net

I have a vintage Marantz 2230 because I owned one when I was 17 years old. Reminds me of my youth. 
@markalarsen 
Check the DC on the ouputs. Those coupling caps can send half the rail voltage to the ouputs. DC shouldn't exceed 10 mV. Anything getting close to 50 mV means they're leaking. Nichicon FG's are good replacements.