Finally got my 1030 I have been waiting so patiently for. It took longer than usual because I sent the seller my own box and packing material so that I knew it would be packed right. It was packed to survive at least a five foot drop onto solid concrete. Due diligence was exercised, or so I thought, by asking the seller numerous, detailed questions about the unit and the condition. He assured me that the unit was 100% functional. Great. I felt I had done all I could to assure a good transaction. The box arrives and it is packed according to instructions, for the most part. I cut through the various layers of foam and cardboard and packing material and finally extract the amplifier. It seems to look ok, a bit dirty but should clean up alright. I plug it in and hook up some test speakers and hear some really bad noises. My heart starts to sink. I turn the volume knob and the noise and scratchiness is overwhelming. To my dismay the bass and treble controls are completely siezed up.:wtf: I think to myself - 100% functional? A@# - hole. I will never buy anything on flea bay again. I pop the top and get out the de-oxit and go to work. I spray the pots and switches and work them like there is no tomorrow. I must have turned the volume knob up and down 50 times. Finally I turn the thing back on.

Silence.

This is good. I work the controls, the knobs, the buttons. A little pop here and there, but not bad. Power down and do some more spraying and twisting. Startin' to feel better. Power up and work it some more. Seems to be coming together.... Hook up a source and everything seems to be firing. Now the moment of truth. I take off the couplers and patch the pre-out into a power amp and turn it back on. Ahhhhhhh. Music. Beautiful and clean. :rockon:

Yes, despite the bull-#@%* from the seller, I now have what I think is a rare 1030 with main in / pre out connections. After a cleaning and a test drive, it seems to be 100% :thmbsp:(knock on wood). Here are a couple pictures...

I'm glad it worked out well for you......despite the seller!?
Unless I can get a unit off e-bay for NEXT TO NOTHING....I won't touch another flea-bay unit.
Too many sellers hawking "mint" gear....that is anything but!!
Been burnt too many times.............

Steve

I second that emotion. It is, I believe, a combination of ignorance, antipathy, and outright deceit and greed that causes sellers to misrepresent items on flea bay when they sell them.

Meanwhile, I reitterate my affinity for these low powered Marantz amps. This is my second 1030. I think they sound awesome for only having 15 watts per channel. I have one in my front room with some high efficiency Altecs about 8 feet off the ground and it sounds beautiful. I have other equipment when I need some thump but if it is just the radio or some background ambience it's the 1030 and the Altec's every time. :thmbsp:

I, too, am glad it all worked out. It's a nice looking unit, too!

I have a 1060 which constantly amazes me with its performance so I'm not surprised the 1030 is also a prize! :thmbsp:

Even though I have high-power Marantz units like a 2330 receiver and a 1250 integrated amp, my "low-power" 2230 and 1060 still sound sweet. :yes:

Get a nice matching tuner and you're all set!