Need ideas for replacing a Tandberg receiver.

Hi Mapman:

I had vintage Marantz receivers (2216B and 2240) in service for a number of years. What did I like? The very warm sound with both the amplifier and the tuner. The Marantz seemed to handle CD players pretty well.

I never paired the vintage Marantz receivers with vintage speakers and that may be where I went wrong. Over the years, I began to realize/believe that vintage receivers must be paired with vintage speakers, as "garden variety" modern era speakers are designed to be more accurate than most vintage speakers ever were.

I could be all wet with this theory, but I was never quite satisfied with the Marantz' performance and I had wanted a Marantz since I was 15 (1972). The Tandbergs are in a similar, but different league as the Marantz receivers. I went through a whole number of small monitors with the Marantz (B&W, EPOS, Wharfedale, Omega) and only NHT SB2's really worked for me.

I have been extremely satisfied with the Outlaw and Rega Ara speakers. The Outlaw is a bit more detailed sounding than the Marantz, but also more alive sounding. The Outlaw is still warm and musical, but it has a nice pop to it. I wound up giving my Marantz 2240 to Les Paul last year. The 2216B sits in a closet.

Restoring your Tandberg will wind up costing you somewhere around $400 to $500. Before you go the restore route, I wonder what your other plans are. The Outlaw at $650 is equal to anything that I have heard under $1000.

Regards,

Rich

Rar1,

I think your comment about accuracy of modern speakers is largely true, with perhaps a few exceptions.

I used to sell both TAndberg and Marantz (and most other popular receivers of the late 1970s) working at TEch Hifi in the NYC area. I liked the better Marantz's but nothing compared to the Tandbergs from my re-collection (which is why I went that way once I could afford one).

HAving said that the Tandbergs were one of the class receiver lines of the time, I've found my 2080 was very synergistic with my "modern" Triangle Titus monitor speakers, which have tremendous detail and clarity. It is also now "dropping my jaw" as a power amp in my dedicated audio system driving my Dynaudio Contour 1.3 mkIIs.

I've temporarily replaced the Tandberg in my A/V system with another classic workhorse receiver from years past, the NAD 7020. This combination is sounds good but totally different...perhaps not as "smooth", though the dynamics and clarity are good. The FM tuner is definitely not in the same league as the Tandberg. I'm still deciding whether I will stick with it or not, which is why I am interested in other options.

I'm not sure that I would be comfortable going with any other vintage receiver at this point. I'd probably go with something more modern.

The Outlaw equipment sounds like a possibility from your description. Do you like the FM tuner in the Outlaw? Does it pull in the weaker stations clearly in stereo?

Which Tech Hi Fi did you work at ... the one on 8th Street in the Village (opposite from Shakespeare's)? I lived at that store when I was going to NYU in the late 70's.

It's interesting that the Tandberg and the Triangles go so well together, as the Titus is known for its speed and pairing up with tubes.

The FM tuner is the icing on the cake with the Outlaw RR2150. Outlaw's owner, Peter Tribeman, is a radio fanatic and held up release of the Outlaw for two years to get the tuner right. The RR2150's is as good as anything in a vintage receiver and I use my unit in a steel beam and frame coop in Queens. Most stations are crystal clear and on a good night, I can pick up jazz 88 in Newark with just a set of rabbit ears.

Regards, Rich

Rar1,

Thanks for the info on the Outlaw.

I worked at the TEch 1980 Hifi in New Brunswick, NJ while attending Rutgers circa 1978-80. That store sold mostly refurbished units.

I almost spent a summer in the Village and had thoughts of trying to get in at the Tech Hifi in the village that summer, but it didn't quite pan out.

Although solid state, the Tandberg does have a very warm, almost tube like quality compared to most other vintage receivers. Maybe that explains it's affinity with the Triangle Titus's.