It all depends on what you find from the 1980s
I do not like 80's Marantz at all, and even their new stuff doesn't do it for me. Pre 80's Marantz for me. I wish they'd come out with a new line of HiFi gear styled after their greatest line up (22xx) or (4xxx).
Hows the re-cap going?
While I do love the look and sound of my earlier Marantz gear, the 80s saw some great stuff come out. If you are talking about the crap other companies made with the marantz name slapped on, then you aren't giving them a chance. Yes the 70s marantz stuff was great. But purists also say the superscope 22xx series could not match the saul era 60s gear. Opinions vary, but i'd like to give some history on the finer things marantz did in the 1980s. In my opinion I would say the late 80s/early 90s saw some terrible badge jobs from marantz.
SR9000G
While it was introduced in 1979, this is the style Marantz took in the early 80s. Metal knobs, metal faceplate, and a massive heatsink. Its rated at 130wpc rms. Some have tested 150rms. The quartz tuner locks onto stations like any of my 22xx and 44xx gear. The pre-sets are a thing of beauty as well. The sound is a bit softer than my re-capped 4400, but then again, most of the caps on this receiver need to be replaced. The looks are subjective, but i like it, its different, and the fake wood case polished up beautifully. I can tell its not real cherry, but at first glance, people are quite impressed. I have an issue with a dirty pot, but after fixing the burnt out left channel from a shorted speaker wire (previous owner)...i wont complain, its the most powerful 91 dollar Marantz in my collection.
The CD-73 pictured at the bottom of the stack weighs a good 20 pounds. It features the first generation cd transport from philips. At the time, it used a 14 bit processor that was considered inferior to the standard 16 bit processing. The dudes at marantz developed sound shaping circuitry that made this player sound as good as the much more expensive ultra high end philips lhh-1000. Mine is used every day for hours without fussing. It plays burned cds, scratched cds, and sounds great considering how archaic the dsp technology was back in 83. The accuracy of this transport is what makes the player do more with less. If you look at most of the CD players marantz put out under the philips era, you will see some very highly respected items.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSnLEp6xuqQ
The Marantz 6370Q was introduced in 1978, again...the champagne faces we see on todays Marantz gear can thank this design language. While its not audiophile by some peoples standards, its direct drive, quartz lock, and auto return. I like the way it sounds, and its a great match to all the other 80s marantz gear i have. I like this unit better than my 6300
The dynascan era was the last horrah for marantz before they went to their current era of fine machinery. Below is the PM-94. Delivering a quarter of its rated power in pure class A before it automatically switched to class A/B. The toroidal transformer is HUGE, the filter caps are huge, and the chassis is copper plated. It has beautifully finished oak sides, and draws a healthy ~6 amps. Mine sounds fine, but lacks some bass that I think a re-cap can fix. I run a fan on it since class A gets too hot and cracks the cold solder joints. The smaller "quarterA" family amps did not have this problem.
...I can add more once I get home....but ill just keep buying 80s marantz stuff as long as you guys still see it as crap. less competition
