New Marantz Day

[JParry335]

I've been searching for a nice receiver and found this one. It needs a little work but holy guacamole it sounds fantastic. Got it from the original owner, an elderly gentleman who took very good care of it.
Will be taking it in to resolve some issue but hooked it up and played a few CD's. I think my turntable might be having issues now.
I've got a pair of Bose 301's version 5 I think, that we've had forever. They will eventually be replaced but they have never sounded this good!
The feet are missing on the receiver but I have found some online and will get them ordered post haste.
Here's a pic of it and a pic of the whole system as it currently is. It will change over time but I've found a good piece to build a system around.

 

[Cactus Bob]

Looks great congrats Jim, love the wood cab!

What kind of work does the receiver need?

 

[JParry335]

Looks great congrats Jim, love the wood cab!

What kind of work does the receiver need?

The Signal Strength meter doesn't register anything. When I listened to it at the folks home on phono and FM the right channel was weak.
They had a turntable hooked up and it sounded fine except for the balance.
So now, I'm a little confused. My turntable was sounding ok through my pc but now sounds like hammered f**k through this.
Balance with a CD player seems fine. Just want to get it checked out and if it gets a clean bill of health on the phono channel I'll be taking my turntable in.
With no external antennae hooked up a few stations with very strong signals sound good but the one's I would actually listen to have a lot of noise so external antennae's are on the list.
Overall I'm very pleased with this. I've never owned a stereo receiver this nice. My old system was a small Pioneer amp with a separate graphic EQ, no receiver, some Pioneer speakers, couldn't tell you what model they were.
What I really miss is my Nakamichi 480 cassette player. it had problems and at some point I gave it up. Foolish past. We live, we learn.
Now I'll re-build with the Marantz as my platform.

 

[JParry335]

Oh! And yeah! The wood cab is a beaut for sure!!

 

[Cactus Bob]

We love wood lol!!!

Audio Wizard should get her up to spec. It could take a while with them so be patient.

 

[Nightwisher]

Sweet!

 

[Rome]

Very nice!

Rome

 

[Old Guy8]

Very nice. I had that model. Should have kept it.

 

[daveg3588]

Nice score, great receiver.

 

[JParry335]

We love wood lol!!!

Audio Wizard should get her up to spec. It could take a while with them so be patient.

Wood is good!!!!

Thanks guys!
So, my next question is what speakers would be a good match for this? I'm not opposed to new versus vintage in this case.
Don't want to have to re-foam or rebuild.
Like the look of wood cabinets but not critical.
The Bose I have currently could probably stand to be re-capped but they don't have the bottom end I'd like either.
I'd like to keep it in the $500 or under range if possible.
There were some Klipsch Fortes here locally on Craigs List the other day that I saw and by the time I got home from work they were gone.
I know everyone has different ears and tastes, just looking for some ideas and hopefully personal prior experience.
Old Guy 8!
What did you have your paired up with?

 

[Dave_1962]

One of the better models IMHO - nice!

 

[Old Guy8]

I had with Boston Accoustics A100. Never did critical listening with the 2245 in my listening room. Sold it because it would bring more $,and pleased wife to lighten audio load.
Klipsch speakers can be a love or hate. They are efficient, so the 45 wpc would go far.
I'd avoid inefficient speakers, since you say you want some bass.
If you furnish some info, might help with speaker recommendations.
your room, size, amount of soft furnishings,
music you play,
volume,
floorstanders or bookshelf type,

What speaker have you heard? Liked or didn't?

 

[JParry335]

I had with Boston Accoustics A100. Never did critical listening with the 2245 in my listening room. Sold it because it would bring more $,and pleased wife to lighten audio load.
Klipsch speakers can be a love or hate. They are efficient, so the 45 wpc would go far.
I'd avoid inefficient speakers, since you say you want some bass.
If you furnish some info, might help with speaker recommendations.
your room, size, amount of soft furnishings,
music you play,
volume,
floorstanders or bookshelf type,

What speaker have you heard? Liked or didn't?

Ok, here we go!
Room is 19'L x 15'W x 10'H. Not a lot in the way of soft treatment at the moment. I know it needs it though.
Carpet on the floor. Curtains on the wall opposite the stereo.
Small couch is about 10 feet from the speakers.
I listen to everything from Classical, Jazz, Blues, Rock, Fusion, Country and whatever else catches my interest.
Here are some pics of the room. Each pic has a story, for another time.

 

[wyceeric]

If you furnish some info, might help with speaker recommendations.

What speaker have you heard? Liked or didn't?

Old Guy 8, is right. The more info the better. As good as they sound, not everyone has the space or room setup for a pair of Cornwalls, for example. Even if you do, maybe you don't like horns. I love my Marantz/Klipsch combo, but there are plenty of other things that will satisfy. I'm curious to hear what else folks are driving with their Marantz receivers/amps.

Edit: Looks like we posted at the same time. You have a decent amount of space, but also a lot of stuff. How much do you hate the idea of a re-arrange? Also, I have that blanket, nice!

 

[Chrisxo55441]

congrats on getting a great receiver. the 2245 is my favorite receiver. for me my ohm walsh 2XO's sound the best with it

 

[JParry335]

Old Guy 8, is right. The more info the better. As good as they sound, not everyone has the space or room setup for a pair of Cornwalls, for example. Even if you do, maybe you don't like horns. I love my Marantz/Klipsch combo, but there are plenty of other things that will satisfy. I'm curious to hear what else folks are driving with their Marantz receivers/amps.

Edit: Looks like we posted at the same time. You have a decent amount of space, but also a lot of stuff. How much do you hate the idea of a re-arrange? Also, I have that blanket, nice!

Yeah, sometimes I feel like I've got too much "stuff" but damn, it's taken me a long time to acquire it!
As for a re-arrange, I dunno. This room serves multiple purposes. I not only listen to music but I record in it. I also give guitar lessons in it. It's been re-arranged a couple of times but I'm willing to listen to ideas.
I'm guessing you're thinking, put the stereo on the long wall?

congrats on getting a great receiver. the 2245 is my favorite receiver. for me my ohm walsh 2XO's sound the best with it

Man, those look sweet! A little higher $$ than I was thinking tho'.

 

[Chrisxo55441]

Man, those look sweet! A little higher $$ than I was thinking tho'.[/QUOTE]

i paid $260 for mine about 5 years ago. they dont pop up very often but when they do they are usually under $500

 

[wyceeric]

I'm guessing you're thinking, put the stereo on the long wall?

Actually not; the general layout makes a lot of sense to me. I was just thinking that if you ended up with larger speakers, you may end up shoehorning them into the spot occupied be your current speakers. Most regular size (read, "reasonable") speakers should fit just fine. I was wondering if the cases could go up off the floor in a shelf/rack that is more of a frame, like a tire rack or that has slots with sides high enough for stability, say 24'' or so. This would allow for accessibility while freeing up floor space. Other items not used daily could be stowed/organized similarly. This would create a more utilitarian look than you currently have, and some artwork would need to be relocated, but the floor space gained may be worth it, depending on your needs. Just my .02 based on little knowledge of how the space is moved around in and your tolerance for a utilitarian environment. My ideas probably also have zero WAF.

 

[nu2dis]

Nice strat and tele combo! Awesome setup overall....I slowly turned my home office into a music room too.... I'll take pics later when I get home and post them.

Congrats on the Marantz from a fello Marantz owner.

 

[JParry335]

Actually not; the general layout makes a lot of sense to me. I was just thinking that if you ended up with larger speakers, you may end up shoehorning them into the spot occupied be your current speakers. Most regular size (read, "reasonable") speakers should fit just fine. I was wondering if the cases could go up off the floor in a shelf/rack that is more of a frame, like a tire rack or that has slots with sides high enough for stability, say 24'' or so. This would allow for accessibility while freeing up floor space. Other items not used daily could be stowed/organized similarly. This would create a more utilitarian look than you currently have, and some artwork would need to be relocated, but the floor space gained may be worth it, depending on your needs. Just my .02 based on little knowledge of how the space is moved around in and your tolerance for a utilitarian environment. My ideas probably also have zero WAF.

I actually kind of like your idea. The cases do take up a lot of room but today I realized we have a closet with some space in it! So, I'm in the process of rearranging things a bit. Thanks for the inspiration!

Nice strat and tele combo! Awesome setup overall....I slowly turned my home office into a music room too.... I'll take pics later when I get home and post them.

Congrats on the Marantz from a fello Marantz owner.

Thanks! Looking forward to your pics. I'm actually more of a Gibson guy but have always had Fenders around to fill that bill. I made a living playing music for a long time and was able to do that by playing a number of styles and having the gear to pull it off.

Kudos. Love mine. Enjoy!

Cool! Thanks! I'm so fortunate things worked out on this and am loving it!