This is my first post here. I have spent hours reading here and with great pleasure. I have always had vinyl (ever since "Borrowed" a bunch from my father), sometimes with a crappy stereo to listen on, sometimes with nothing. I am now interested in putting together a stereo so I can hear some of these great records the way they were meant to be heard. I have found a Marantz 2252B for $150 Canadian (around$127 US). Wondering if there is some things I should be checking for when I look at it and what people think of the price.

WELCOME!!!:banana:

first thing i must say is WOW - nice price, especially if it is in sweet shape.

i've owned a few marantz receivers in my day (2220, 2226, 2245), and my fave by far is my current love, my sweet 2252B:yes: . i too am a vinyl guy, and my 2252B really puts out quite an amazing sound, especially with wax as the medium. coupled with some efficient speakers (i have paradigm monitor 7 v4's) you really cannot go wrong with the 2252B. personally, IMHO, the late seventies MOTL receivers such as this one were/are some of the best sounding receivers out there.:thmbsp: again, IMHO, much warmer than some of the bigger more powerful units (hope i do not offend anbody)...

i say go 4 it, you will most certainly not be disappointed. i would love to see some pix if you decide to pull the trigger...i have another thread for 2252B owners to rant and rave and flaunt their 2252B's so if you snag her, brag her and (as soon as i can find my cam which has been masterfully hidden by my 1.5 year old) i'll get some of my baby up in her wooden dress...

as far as things to look for, just make sure you have no leaky capacitors and give her a once over with deoxit (run a search of this forum for ample information on both subjects), make sure all bulbs are working so you can enjoy the visual beauty of this gem, plug her in and let the good times roll. if it does need a little TLC that you are not comfortable in performing, make sure you find a qualified tech (plenty of AKer's can help you out here) to get her in tip top shape. at the price you're paying for it, you can afford a little $$$ to get her up to snuff. i bought mine in seriously sweet condition for around $400 CAD - but it was well worth it IMO as it was thoroughly bench tested, cleaned, serviced...i swear mine looks as though it rolled off the line just yesterday, inside and out. nothing but pure marantz goodness...

all the best, welcome again, and good luck to you!

Welcome cactus slim!

Interesting Forum handle.. :)


Anyway, a 2252B for $127 US is a great deal if it is working. :)

Thanks vivavinyl and alexkerhead,
Thinking about it now my handle is unfortunate really ha! I'm trying to not get carried away on the audiophile side (though I will). I already collect a lot of stuff and most of it my girlfriend calls "junk". Guitars and amps most of it vintage, going back to the '30's. Good thing is she thinks this receiver looks cool. I've thought about trying to find a Marantz at a garage sale but it's not quite the season for that in Canada anymore and I don't remember running into any in the last few years.
I see there is also a guy not far away from me, in North York (near Toronto), that is constantly selling good looking Marantz on Ebay and obviously has been doing repairs on them and could probably set me up if it needed a few tweaks. For $150 I don't know if I should be opening it up at this persons house to look inside? I was thinking if we plug it in and it works, probably worth it. Wrong way to think?
Thanks again look forward to checking in here.

Welcome to AK. I would politely ask if you can look at it opened up. What's the harm. The price seems more than fair...it seems great. I have never seen a Marantz at a garage/rummage sale. Lots of Pioneers but never a Marantz. Bought mine off the 'bay. This is a sweet sounding receiver. I love to listen to jazz and classical especially on it. :thmbsp:

Unless the receiver is hooked up for auditioning at it's current home when you pick it up, one tip I learned is to bring a multimeter along and check the voltage across the speaker channels. This indicates a blown amp - I heard of such a case where there was 35V across a channel! A.k.a. instant death for speakers...

I must confess I don't know how to test the speaker channels with a multi meter. I'm sure this is quite simple, but I may be checking out the receiver tomorrow. What should the voltage read? I apologize for the amateur question.
Thanks everyone!

What a nice way to start. IMHO, any of the 22XX or 22XXB are a fine step into great vintage, or for that matter, modern audio bliss.

And if in good shape, that price is fair.

See this thread for info on how to use the multimeter to check the DC offset.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5634

Good luck and welcome aboard!