Best Marantz Receiver (22 series)

Texas42

Texas42

Well-Known Member
Hi, I have a nice Marantz 2230 with a pair of vintage HD-770 speakers. While I can't believe how full bodied and rich sounding the 770s are (thought they'd be just another kabuki speaker or fat or bloated); I'm wondering if the 2230 is the best Marantz receiver for this speaker or if a 2270 (or something else in the 2200 series) would be better? I'd like to stay with the 22 series as I already have a nice wood marantz cabin (wc-22). Even though I don't listen at very high levels, I wonder if a bigger amp would be good for these speakers. Any ideas?
 
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IMHO, 2265B or 85B, blows the 30 and 70 out the water, best of the 22's.

X
 
Best sounding 22XX receiver

My 2226B is as good as any of the 55 Marantz receivers I have ever had, including 2265B, 2270, 2275, 2325, and 2385. An optimized system has to have a near perfect marriage of receiver, interconnects, and speakers. Too often, this is not the case and we have the situation where people insist that their Model X is the best model receiver compared to all others. Until we have some standardized way of analyzing all these variables, the notion that a particular model is the "best", well, proves we are merely beating our gums. I know one jackhammer operator that swears his 49 dollar RCA receiver is the best one going. There is NO one best receiver and opinions are merely speculations based on one's own limited and possibly dubious evaluation for the reasons stated. I am unsure why people ask the question, "what is the best receiver"?
 
55 Marantz recievers!! my goodness. I've only had the chance to A/B two... My Father-in-law's restored 2226 and my 2265B that Punker X actually worked on before I bought it from ProAc_Fan who bought it from Grumpy... Anyway, they both sound killer at lower levels but the 2265B has more authority, punch, etc when it's time to crank it. It has more solid bass at all levels. I seem to see many people say that the later 70's models are a little better than the earlier models. The models I see most recommended are the 2220B, 2226(B), 2265B, 2275 and 2285B.
 
My setup is a 2325 and a pair of Advents. Can you say "Synergy"?

Not the best by a long shot but this suffices for moi.

Anthony
 
The 2275 is one of the best of the 2200 series. Better than the 2265B, or 2265 imo.

The best is probably the 2285 and 2285B. (based on having worked on/bought/sold a few hundred 2200 receivers)
They're very similar in sound, just depends which faceplate you prefer.
But they are not a lot alike eletronically as they have completley different layout and designs.

You'll get more of that mellow Marantz sound with the 2275, 2285, or 2285B. If cost isn't any concern they're the ones.

For low cost, durability, decent features, the 2230 is hard to beat.
 
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I have a 2220B and have to say, it is probably one of the finest low powered receivers I've heard yet. I've never heard one of the other models, but I'm sure you won't go wrong if you get one.
 
Yep DanTana, the 2220B is also a super entry level Marantz.

Very goo unit!:)
 
My 2 Cents

I have to agree with PunkerX, the 2265B is one of the sleeper models in the entire Marantz lineup.

By the way, I am selling my better than excellent condition 2265B and 2252B receivers. If anyone is interested, please email me for more details. Otherwise, they are going up on ebay within the next week or so.

The only reason I am selling is I bought a new Anthem PVA 2 power amplifier and need to recoup some of the expense. As far as new equipment goes, Anthem is hard to beat for price/value and most importantly, sound.
 
I have 2-2245's,a 2270, a 2275,a 2325,a 4300, and a 4400..the 2325 is my favorite, but any of them plugged into my 250 power amp sound just as nice...the 2275 is extraordinary sounding for 75 watts a side, it sounds like alot more, the 2270 sounds like 70 watts a side, but has the better phono input section,I believe..
 
I have a 2250B that sounds pretty damned good, (same "generation" as the 2275) and I know a guy over on Audio Asylum that'll tell you the '50B whips all the other 22xx's he's heard, bar none.

The "old audiophile wives-tale" is: for best sound you don't want more than 2 output transistors per side.

But it's really an individual thing, and the rest of the chain affects everything too. Hey - Marantz is all good! ;)
 
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Marantz

So, I have a chance to buy a 2250B for $175. I have a Thorens 160D turntable and Rogers LS3/5 speakers. I listen exclusively to vinyl and cassettes. Your thoughts on how the Marantz will pair up with the phono?
 
As long as the output impedance and capacitance of the phono cartridge is a good match for the phono section, you shouldn't have a problem. The input impedance for the 2250B is a pretty standard 47k ohms, and the sensitivity is 1.8mV (meaning that as long as your cart. puts out at least 1.8mV which most MM carts do, you'll have no trouble getting full output from the pre-amp/amp).

I can run a Sumiko Blue Point Special into this phono - even though it's a MC design, its output is on the high side for a MC at 2.5mV. By comparison, I've had Van den Hul's that were considered to be generous at .65mV output - only about 1/3 of what this phono section is asking to make full output! That would of course require a MC step-up pre.

Unless you're going to use a fairly esoteric cart that has specific loading requirements, you should be OK. (I don't know what the capacitance setting is for this receiver, but I'm sure it's in a commonly usable range.) But go check the impedance & output specs on your cart just to be sure.

Same for the Rogers monitors. I'd say if your not much below 4 ohms anywhere in the frequency response, and have no high phase angles coinciding with a low impedance dip, (especially in the low midrange/bass area) the 2250B should drive them OK. Can you get an impedance vs. phase angle plot for those speakers?
 
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I would have to recommend the 2270. I own one and it really has a nice warm sound. I don't know how it compares with the 2230 I've personally never owned one. But my experience with my 2270 has been completely positive. For now it is serving as the preamp to my Perreaux PMF 2150B. But I ran it's amp for a while. It's a sweet unit what can I say! :)

Just my 2 cents,
 
Bottom line guys, the best Marantz receiver is the one you own.

In my case it happens to be a model 19.....


Lefty
 
What do you think of the Perreaux unit? Think you could have done better for the money, or are you happy with it?
 
I personally don't think you could buy a better power amp in the 200 WPC level. First it is bridgeable, second all Perreaux Amps of that vintage were hand made, and third look at its original MSRP ($1600). That kind of speaks for it self. It cost more that a Sansui BA-5000 with an MSRP of ($1300). It sounds fantastic, adding depth to anything you play through it. I was very impressed with one other feature it has as well. Perreaux used fuses on the output rails of the so that it was more difficult to damage the amplifier. For example if someone turned the preamp on while the power amplifier was already running it would blow one of the fuses on the output rails instead of possibly damaging an output.

My 2 cents,
 
I forgot to mention that the Perreaux weighs in at over 50 pounds (54 to be exact). Also one other important feature that I neglected to mention was that Perreaux utilizes MOSFET output devises. I think I've remembered everything now! lol

Later,
 
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