By Specs only

russel1972

Active Member
I realize that you have to hear and decide on your. By looking at specs only, which of the following would let you have access to the greatest variety of speakers?

Based on watts RMS, 20 hz to 20 Khz, 4 ohms and 8 ohms

Marantz 2275 75 watts RMS with 8 ohms or 4 ohms
Akai AM 2850 85 watts with 8 ohms and 95 watts 4 ohms
Akai AM A90 130 watts 8 ohms and 180 with 4 ohms

The Marantz has a problem with monitor button source/tape. The button will not stay in.

The A90 will have to be gone through. I suspect that the power switch is gone.

The AM 2850 just has to gone through with deoxit only. Works very well otherwise.

I tend to buy used on Kijiji and look at specs. Did not buy a pair of speakers because they are rated at 4 ohms. Don't want to buy and find that they are virtually unusable. Some speakers require higher current to drive.

Of the three, which would be the most flexible. Used in a small room so everything can be considered as nearfield. By spec only. At low volume, can't notice any quality difference between Akai and Marantz.

Some times, it is still cheaper to have old, undiscriminating ears.

Thanks Al
 
Well, the difference in loudness between 75 and 130 watts isn't as much as you'd think. In a small room I can't imagine any of them coming up short with any speaker. I'm a big believer in specs, but the problem is the specs you typically get are useless. The thing I really want to know is the performance down at the 1 watt level, since that's where you listen most of the time.

Knowing nothing else about them, I'd go with the 2850 just because it works.

From the schematic it also looks like a reasonable amp. Note that the A90 is a MOSFET amp, and even though they give a 4 ohm power number, the speaker impedance is not supposed to go below 6 ohms combined! IOW, to use the A+B function, you'd need 12 ohm speakers. It has low damping and higher distortion. Some people like that but I'm not one of them. The 2850 just seems like a better choice.

Now, the Marantz 2275 can be very nice if you can fix the button, but it certainly needs to be gone through to perform at its best. If fully serviced, I'd probably take that just because it's a very desirable piece. The only one I've actually heard is the 2275.
 
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By specs only it's kind of obvious, the one with more power, in this case Akai AM-A90. That is, if your specs were correct, and they aren't. Akai AM-A90 is not rated for 4 ohms, you have to use 6 ohm speakers or higher with it. Which makes Akai AM 2850 more flexible.
 
Thanks for the replies. Now I notice that the 4 ohms applies to UK. Australia and some other countries. Very confusing.

Nice to know that what I have can drive most speakers that I can get. According to the VU meters, depending on accuracy, I don't think I have ever gone over about 1 watt with speakers rated at 86 to 88.
 
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