sunce « Recomending »
Published on 11/21/14 at 12:54About a week ago, stroke of luck while playing chess with the gentleman about 70 years of age. He complained to me about his hearing difficulties. He sad that he has something to show me and he did. There was an old Marantz model 32 + tuner console model 24 in perfect condition. Simply, i gave a car to his son, and divine model 32 is now mine.
It is impossible to estimate value of such device (but some of us are ready to give a fortune for pieces like this one).
Marantz made only about 2000 pieces, and those were the first "solid state" Marantz amplifiers with the state o the art Motorola transistors. Those transistors have a similar sound as old Burr Browns. Everything is custom made. Solution with model 24 in pre-amp mode is not so impressive. Simply the amplifiers requires far better pre-amp, so i gave him one. Best results were with Counterpoint 3.1 pre-amp. Have to mention that I exchanged about 10 pre-amps, before conclusion.
Probably i shall never change my speakers (Proac Supertowers mk2) and those are very demanding (87 db). This "little" Marantz amp is driving them with full control. Sound is opened, 3d sound staging surprisingly good, but the sound balance is most impressive. Considering the age of the amp, it would be a normal thing to replace the internal wiring and electrolytes. Collector's item without a scratch! Decided not to experiment further for variety of reasons.
All mentioned is working fine. Also conducted measurements with control equipment Mechanical Engineering Faculty. Results confirmed all conclusions reached by simply listening with full attention!
Amazingly, internal wiring is far better then Van Den Hull scs 12 (widely used for that purpose). Electrolytes are not so big (10000 μF), but extremely fast (like in D. Hafler dh 200).
For the final test of Marantz model 32 power amp I had to take some risk.
I hooked a 43 years old amplifier on to Apogee Stage (full ribbon) and pressed power button ( full of uncertainty and reasonable fear). 43 years old Marantz model 32 performed brilliantly with 2/3 power at 1.5 ohms! What else to say?
Will i keep it? It sounds beautiful. It looks more than beautiful. It is a Collector's item and a certain triumph of vintage devices over the new, ugly and disposable ones. Legends are not legends without a reason. All legends do have character and sound warmness that will not be achieved for a long time if that happens at all.
Marantz model 32 solid state power amp will stay in my family with the full appreciation of his abilities and extreme charm.
It is impossible to estimate value of such device (but some of us are ready to give a fortune for pieces like this one).
Marantz made only about 2000 pieces, and those were the first "solid state" Marantz amplifiers with the state o the art Motorola transistors. Those transistors have a similar sound as old Burr Browns. Everything is custom made. Solution with model 24 in pre-amp mode is not so impressive. Simply the amplifiers requires far better pre-amp, so i gave him one. Best results were with Counterpoint 3.1 pre-amp. Have to mention that I exchanged about 10 pre-amps, before conclusion.
Probably i shall never change my speakers (Proac Supertowers mk2) and those are very demanding (87 db). This "little" Marantz amp is driving them with full control. Sound is opened, 3d sound staging surprisingly good, but the sound balance is most impressive. Considering the age of the amp, it would be a normal thing to replace the internal wiring and electrolytes. Collector's item without a scratch! Decided not to experiment further for variety of reasons.
All mentioned is working fine. Also conducted measurements with control equipment Mechanical Engineering Faculty. Results confirmed all conclusions reached by simply listening with full attention!
Amazingly, internal wiring is far better then Van Den Hull scs 12 (widely used for that purpose). Electrolytes are not so big (10000 μF), but extremely fast (like in D. Hafler dh 200).
For the final test of Marantz model 32 power amp I had to take some risk.
I hooked a 43 years old amplifier on to Apogee Stage (full ribbon) and pressed power button ( full of uncertainty and reasonable fear). 43 years old Marantz model 32 performed brilliantly with 2/3 power at 1.5 ohms! What else to say?
Will i keep it? It sounds beautiful. It looks more than beautiful. It is a Collector's item and a certain triumph of vintage devices over the new, ugly and disposable ones. Legends are not legends without a reason. All legends do have character and sound warmness that will not be achieved for a long time if that happens at all.
Marantz model 32 solid state power amp will stay in my family with the full appreciation of his abilities and extreme charm.
