Any pitting on the metal faceplate indicates the possibility of mold or corrosion from having been stored in a wet environment like a basement, so avoid that. Any heavy visual damage like a dent or water stains indicates misuse, while scratches are just normal wear and can be tolerated. How’s the visual condition? Make sure it looks good and clean.Here are some things to consider when shopping for a vintage Marantz receiver. Obviously, the latter approach is a more ready one, but for those willing to take on a DIY or hired-out project, fixing up a beater can be quite rewarding. There are two ways to go: get a beat up model and have it serviced or buy one fully restored and ready for another half-century of trouble-free service. Need Bluetooth? Just get a small BT receiver and plug it into the Aux input or one of the spare Tape inputs and you’ll be streaming wirelessly from the web to your Marantz. Importantly, you also get a built-in phono pre-amp (sometimes two), which you’ll need to run your turntable. You’ll get a great power amplifier, an excellent pre-amplifier, plenty of inputs, a simple and effective EQ, a radio receiver and a tape input matrix (useful for cassette nerds, but also useful inputs for TVs and other devices). All of this cult activity makes acquiring and maintaining a vintage Marantz downright do-able. More importantly, there are a number of people who specialize in servicing vintage Marantz receivers. Vintage Marantz integrated receivers have an avid cult following, which has resulted in a slew of currently produced replacement parts, from LED lamps to capacitors to tuning wheel cables, faceplates and lovely hardwood cabinets. Once they’re running right, they just run and run and run. To get anything this robust from a modern offering will cost you dearly. I’ll go further: these units are built like tanks. Both of my vintage Marantz receivers are as solid and reliable as anything modern, and they’re already four decades old. When I turn on my 40+-year-old Marantz receivers I don’t imagine I’m saving the whales, but I am exercising a small measure of sustainable consumer behavior - and,if nothing else, this enhances my user experience. In 2006, the United Nations estimated worldwide electronic waste discarded each year to be roughly 50 million metric tons (over 100 billion pounds) – and that was before the iPhone got us tossing out mini computers, chargers, earbuds, cables, and packaging every couple years. Hard as some companies try, modern stuff just doesn’t have that kind of vibe. But there’s also an intangible vibe akin to the road feel of a vintage Benz, or the way a 1970s Rolex feels on the wrist, or the way Brigitte Bardot and David Bowie smoked cigarettes. No one is going to argue with the visual appeal of those blue lights, the brushed aluminum faceplates, the funky serif fonts, or the knobs, buttons, and sliders that are weighted perfectly for the human touch. Throw your spec sheets aside and just listen to the depth of an excellent orchestral recording, or crank the Stones and feel Keef’s riffs enter the room, or put on your favorite jazz LP and hear it come to life on the kind of stereo it was intended for. When a 70s Marantz integrated is working at full capacity, few stereos can compete with the warm, full, graceful and 3D sound. 6 Tricks All Sonos Owners Should Know 1970s Models Are the Best – Here’s Why
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