to keep or sale

[jcparks]

I was visiting with a friend in San Francisco yesterday at her parents house. I get along well with her dad because he is a huge audiophile. While we were listening to music in his listening room. (this room is crazy, 25x25. A stereo based around a pair of B&W matrix 800's connected to a beast of a Bryston amp with a conrad pre. He also has 4 giant Mark Levinson Class A mono blocks stacked in the middle of the room that he doesn't use but a couple times a year because they are too complicated. A couple high end turn tables, a few high end CD players including the OPPO 93 and a Trigon Recall, and literally thousands of LP's and CDs lining the walls.)
So I notice a Marantz model 2238b stereo receiver sitting on one of his shelves. I ask him about it and he responds "oh that's garbage". I say well that garbage would probably sell for a couple hundred bucks on ebay. He pulls it down and gives it to me. Tells me hook it up to one of your systems, if you like it keep it, if not sell it and give half the money to my daughter, and half to your wife.
Well I just plugged it in to my computer system, and it is reallllly good. So I'm really torn now, it is literally the best receiver/amp that I have use for my computer system, but it is a huge 30 lbs beast that I will have a hard time integrating. Add to that I already have an old NAD receiver, a Sony, and a little parasound stereo zamp that I have picked up at various second hand locations.. Somethings gotta go..
What do you guys think? Do I keep the giant beast and try to find space for it? or do I sale it?

 

[lovinthehd]

I'd sell the older gear (assuming the Marantz?) and divvy up the money as requested. Or use it.

 

[Diesel57]

Does it out perform or under perform what you have? Which ever it maybe provides the answer to your question.

 

[jcparks]

The Marantz heartily out performs the others, but it is also a lot larger then the others. I always struggle with form over function. I think I have figured out a good solution to get it integrated even if it isn't ideal, so it looks like I will be holding on to it for now.
It will work till I break down and order Emotiva's new A100.

 

[TLS Guy]

The Marantz heartily out performs the others, but it is also a lot larger then the others. I always struggle with form over function. I think I have figured out a good solution to get it integrated even if it isn't ideal, so it looks like I will be holding on to it for now.
It will work till I break down and order Emotiva's new A100.

This is what it is.

It is a late 70s lower end of the Marantz range stereo receiver.

It is 38 watts per channel into 8 ohms.

These older receivers, though nothing terribly Earth shattering were solid reliable performers. In the latter department much better then units of equivalent price today.

However if it really out performs your current equipment, then your current equipment must be highly suspect.

Those old receivers do seem to hold their value. I think it is because of ease of use and reliability. That is something today's engineers should bear in mind. So those type of units seem to fetch between $250 and $375 on eBay depending on condition. There is someone who offers a restoration service for that unit for $290

 

[MrBoat]

Those old receivers do seem to hold their value. I think it is because of ease of use and reliability. That is something today's engineers should bear in mind. . . .

Today's engineers are driven by the marketers. Things are made complicated enough for job security for the nerds so that we'll always need them.

They made a movie about it. "Revenge of the Nerds."

 

[jcparks]

However if it really out performs your current equipment, then your current equipment must be highly suspect.

Suspect would be a good word for it. My desk is super personalized, everything on it has some sort of story. I just use a pair of overnight sensations for near field stereo listening, and to power them I have gone through various amplifiers that I have picked up at garage sales, thrift stores, and flea markets. Every new one I found had some sort of benefit over the last. This Marantz powers the overnights really nicely, however it is huge so it will likely get replaced sometime down the line when that next deal comes along

 

[Littlefoott]

I think "reallllly good" meant "I am keeping it"

I had an old 30w marantz similar to that and it destroyed my 60w kenwood at the time. (80's)
Such a warm rich sound. I have never forgotten that, and that memory motivated me to buy the marantz I have now (sr5010)