Office system

Bryan:

If you want to get your feet wet ... check out this ad for a Marantz 2240 . For $175 it's a good buy, as the seller is including the wooden case which alone normally sells for a $100 or so.

It will probably cost another $225 or so to clean it up; recalibrate the tuner, and replace any minor parts. I would also recommend upgrading the power cord. On the east coast, contact Bill at Music Technology . He does a great job restoring these vintage Marantz receivers.

As I stated previously, I had been using one of these receivers for 3 years happily until some of the capacitors started to go and I opted to purchase a new Outlaw receiver. The 2240 has all the vintage things that you want ... cool blue lights; vintage silver look; the real wood case; an excellent tuner section for both FM & AM, and the rich, warm sound.

Regards, Rich

A walk down nostalgia lane. Try Dynaco ST-70 and PAS 3, AR 3a speakers, and Dual 1019 with Shure. Or, Fisher 500-C (or Fisher KX200 integrated), Large Advent speakers, and Empire 598 with Stanton. How about Harmon Kardon Citation II and I, JBL L-100 speakers, and AR TT with Pickering.

See how much fun this is going to be? A whole new world of cool stuff. And I do not have to worry about "best" anything, just what can I find and if it is any good. I am starting my search tonight. Keep the ideas coming.

Once, a long time ago, my primary system consisted of an AR Amplifier, Rectilinear III speakers, Benjamin Elac Miracord 50H (which replaced a Dual 1019) with Shure V-15 Type III, as well as an AR Tuner. I still have them all (except the cartridge), and the AR Amp and Tuner are still in service. I wish I had had some tubes in the circuits.

When I was in college, I auditioned so much other stuff, like the Heathkit AR-15, Marantz separates, McIntosh's first receiver, Dynaco A-25s, KLH 5s, the Small Advent speaker, Garrard's Zero 100, Rabco's Straight Line Arm, Thorens tables, Revox Tandberg and TEAC decks, SAE Mark 6 tuner (with touch sensor and Nixie tube readout), etc. A lot more that I couldn't afford. I remember the thrill and the lust.

In those innocent days, we didn't know about interconnects, speaker cables, power cords, power conditioners, cryogenic receptacles, traps, spikes, pucks, beaks, clocks, or other cleverness. Sigh.

For an office/den system I am using a McIntosh MC2105 Power amp and the matching MX113 Tuner/Preamp along with a MCD7000 CD player all in original McIntosh walnut cases. Other than the CD player this is a great vintage system from the late 60s/early 70s. They look just like they day they wre made. Very good sound, and with glass fronts and the blue meters, pretty darn cool looking. Plus these really hold their value. If space is a problem look at the MC2505 its the 50 WPC version and has the smaller chassis. If you really have room, go with all McIntosh separates for the Preamp C26/C28 and tuner.

Enjoy