A couple months ago I purchased a Marantz 2270 receiver from an estate sale of an audiophile. It is in remarkable shape. Not a speck of dust inside. Mint appearance. Apparently he bought it, moved on, and stored it well. I own a Marantz 2238B and when I brought the 2270 home I did a comparison. They both sound fully functional. I'm sure there's nothing blatantly wrong with the 2270, but it seemed to lack that extra top 5 percent of detail and imaging that the 2238B has, with maybe a very, very slightly sluggish gait -- so called rhythm. I'm wondering if there is a simply tune up I might be missing, or if that's just the nature of the differences of these amps? I read a post at audioreviewer where the person says a vintage 2270 needs some looking after. He says:

"FOR THIS MARANTZ, YOU MUST ADJUST VOLTAGE FOR 35V, IDLE CURRENT FOR 5V AND DC OFFSET FOR 0, BOTH CHANNELS. TUNER SHOULD ALSO BE ALIGNED. AGED SOLDER JOINTS SHOULD BE REHEATED. SOME CAPACITORS SHOULD BE REPLACED. ALL POTS/SWITCHES SHOULD BE CLEANED."

Are these really necessary? (No way I'm cleaning the pots/switches. They're fine. In fact I screwed up the "feel" of the lubed volume control giving it a shot of cleaner, and that's where I stopped). But how about this voltage adjustment and Idle current and DC offset. I have no idea how to do these things. But would it be worth having done?

the voltage adjustments are critical, kinda like doin a tune-up(new cap, wires, rotor, plugs) on an old car.... she'll run, but should run alot better with better spark.

edit: (everything is critical on a 35yr old amp/receiver/etc)

You can find a service manual for the 2270 in the Marantz database here in the forum. And be sure to ask AKers for help if you don't know exactly what you're doing when testing. You don't want to go fry that 2270. As far as I know, the 2270 is a warmer sounding machine that the 2238B, so that could be part of it. But I'd definitely recommend checking up on the voltages in her, and maybe even look into having it recapped.

It's reallly tough to compare old receivers unless you KNOW they are both operating within their specs.

Example: I started to collect a few receivers awhile back. First was a Marantz 18. I had 8 ohm speakers and it sounded wonderful. Then I bought a Model 19. Loving the vintage thing, I bought some 4 ohm Epos M5's. The M5's and 19 was a great pairing, not so much with the 18. Figured the 19 was the better/more versatile receiver because it could handle tougher loads but the 18 was mint with cabinet, sounded good with an easy 8 ohm load and I wanted to keep it, so I sold the M5's. I have a tech/friend who looked at the 18 one day and found some weak power supply caps. Changed them out and now it's way better. Wish I had the M5's back but they went to a friend who is enjoying them so I don't feel too bad.

Moral: Before you decide which is the better amp (for you), make sure it's a fair fight.

There is a better than even chance your 2270 will need at least some new caps having sat around all those years. See if you can have it checked before you let go of such a nice physical piece. My last acquistion was a gold/engraved 2270 that had been totally gone thru and I really like its sound.

I thought the idle current for the 2270 was more like 10mv. If the poster is going by the service manual then it has mistakes in it and I think that's one of them. I wouldn't worrry about pots and switches if it is working ok.