OT: Any Audiophiles....old Marantz

[ti_boi]

OK so the I picked up a 'Quad' 4240 circa 1977 from eBay....I'll run down the 'test' as it is new to me....
Phono channel: Hosed....distorted and nasty.
CD-4 Nice, not perfect.....
Tape Channel: Outstanding....
Tuner....picks up and holds pretty well (using BIC Beam Box)...needs adjustment as it won't go to 88 on the dial...stops about 1/4" before it....

No tuner beacon light, but the rest of the bulbs seem OK....Have not plugged in Quad adapter yet though it looks clean....

And finally DOLBY sounds a little muddy and distorted to me....but I am not sure I ever liked DOLBY. So....as this is a 'new to me' receiver.....the performance from the working inputs sounds good enough for me to want to listen to it into the wee hours. Incredibly musical....wonderful...addictive...I listen to Branford....Knopfler....and Miles so far with just fantastic results!

....as I am a newbie who knows nothing about how these work, anyone experienced want to venture why the other inputs sound so terrible? But the one or two sound incredible???

Thanks!

[Kurt]

OK so the I picked up a 'Quad' 4240 circa 1977 from eBay....I'll run down the 'test' as it is new to me....
Phono channel: Hosed....distorted and nasty.
CD-4 Nice, not perfect.....
Tape Channel: Outstanding....
Tuner....picks up and holds pretty well (using BIC Beam Box)...needs adjustment as it won't go to 88 on the dial...stops about 1/4" before it....

No tuner beacon light, but the rest of the bulbs seem OK....Have not plugged in Quad adapter yet though it looks clean....

And finally DOLBY sounds a little muddy and distorted to me....but I am not sure I ever liked DOLBY. So....as this is a 'new to me' receiver.....the performance from the working inputs sounds good enough for me to want to listen to it into the wee hours. Incredibly musical....wonderful...addictive...I listen to Branford....Knopfler....and Miles so far with just fantastic results!

....as I am a newbie who knows nothing about how these work, anyone experienced want to venture why the other inputs sound so terrible? But the one or two sound incredible???

Thanks!

oh, did you get the part you already own it, good luck

[R2D2]

Could be corrosion on the RCA jacks.

[Fixed]

is it tubed ?
bradford and miles sweet to bad they never recorded together
b.m. got that j.c. thing down imho

[ti_boi]

Hey Fixed....No not tubed...but man o man....it does have that fluid sound of the tube amps....very close--

Branford's Eternal, ode to the ballad.....is genius.....I want to get that one.
I was listening to 'Creation'...Branford Marsalis and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

Miles was the 'acoustic' album....and Knopfler's 'Kill to Get Crimson'....I tell you even with the issues...this receiver BLOWS AWAY my 5 year-old Denon....Blows it away!!!

I am keeping it.......no question.

[RudAwkning]

OK so the I picked up a 'Quad' 4240 circa 1977 from eBay....I'll run down the 'test' as it is new to me....
Phono channel: Hosed....distorted and nasty.
CD-4 Nice, not perfect.....
Tape Channel: Outstanding....
Tuner....picks up and holds pretty well (using BIC Beam Box)...needs adjustment as it won't go to 88 on the dial...stops about 1/4" before it....

No tuner beacon light, but the rest of the bulbs seem OK....Have not plugged in Quad adapter yet though it looks clean....

And finally DOLBY sounds a little muddy and distorted to me....but I am not sure I ever liked DOLBY. So....as this is a 'new to me' receiver.....the performance from the working inputs sounds good enough for me to want to listen to it into the wee hours. Incredibly musical....wonderful...addictive...I listen to Branford....Knopfler....and Miles so far with just fantastic results!

....as I am a newbie who knows nothing about how these work, anyone experienced want to venture why the other inputs sound so terrible? But the one or two sound incredible???

Thanks!

As someone noted earlier, check for corrosion on the RCA jacks.

Are you using an MM or MC cartridge for the phono section? Maybe you aren't set to the proper load. Is there a switch to toggle between the two on the receiver?

As your issues aren't as simple as "the left channel is out" it's hard to diagnose what's going on in there.

Try contacting Michael Percy ( http://www.percyaudio.com ). He helped me spec out the parts when I rebuilt the crossovers in my Apogee Studio Grands several years ago. He might have some suggestions and/or parts.

[CarbonTi]

Vintage Marantz gear is usually pretty good, sounds like the 4240 is from the era when Saul still stewarded the company. I still have a 2325. Similar issues.

The 4240 still makes sound so the amp capacitors likely aren't shot. On solid state gear, if the caps aren't dried out then most of the time a good cleaning will bring it back up to snuff. Get a can of Deoxit and spray clean-out all the push switches and pots - don't be so sure that the phono is hosed or the other selections are uselessly noisy because the signal path gets routed through the selector knob which has its contacts dirtied from 20+ years of grunge and suface oxidation. Also, if the unit has a preamp out & amp in on the back panel, make sure that's clean too - the entire signal from pre to amp is routed through some crappy internal contacts.

Replacing bulbs can be done later, hope you're good with a soldering iron. Good luck, vintage gear has its charms and the old masters knew how to make good sound.

[chrisroph]

bm, trio jeepy, love it he's better than his bro.

ti, the audio is even more of a slippery slope than bikes, the secret is to find something you really like and be happy with it.

for me its tubes and vinyl. there is tons of cheap killer used gear, look at audiogon.

there could be lots of different issues with your phonostage, hard to tell, clean up the jacks and see if that helps. if not, it will cost money for repair and you have to ask if its worth it or if you should get another phonostage.

[ti_boi]

Yes indeed...thank you for the information! I gotta say, I love the tone from this unit...and the weird 'quad' option means that I have some extra dials to fiddle with and the potential to do some fun stuff later.

I totally appreciate the tube tone mentioned earlier. I have 4 really interesting tube amps for guitar. What Marantz was able to do with Solid State was pure genius though...I don't know what kind of mojo he packed in there, But man alive it sounds 'warm' to me....and full...and articulate....you really hear the instruments. I would almost have one like this that has not been gone over, for fears of new capacitors losing some of that mojo. I will take the steps to clean it....I feel another 'cold weather' hobby starting! And the only Traffic that I will have to deal with is the 'Low Spark of High Healed Boys'...... :cool:

[pjm]

This site has a Marantz section....
http://audiokarma.org/forums/

[Fixed]

bm, trio jeepy, love it he's better than his bro.

ti, the audio is even more of a slippery slope than bikes, the secret is to find something you really like and be happy with it.

for me its tubes and vinyl. there is tons of cheap killer used gear, look at audiogon.

there could be lots of different issues with your phonostage, hard to tell, clean up the jacks and see if that helps. if not, it will cost money for repair and you have to ask if its worth it or if you should get another phonostage.
his bro is great too i heard him play a hayden concerto for trumpet out of this world his tech, but i with you b.m. is a jazz monster
imho
cheers

[mister]

eric dolphy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4svd2CbNnE) was a jazz monster (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKDAbp9m5yw), too bad he died at such an early age.
scott lafaro too, he was good.

[jemoryl]

I don't see it listed here: Tuner reviews (http://www.fmtunerinfo.com/reviewsA-N.html) . As an aside, Rich Modafferi, the designer of the famous McIntosh MR-78 tuner (see above link) was an avid cyclist in the Binghamton, NY area when I was a teenager. Looks like he still lives in the area: Audio Classics (http://www.audioclassics.com/mods.php3)

[Fixed]

eric dolphy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4svd2CbNnE) was a jazz monster (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKDAbp9m5yw), too bad he died at such an early age.
scott lafaro too, he was good.
saw a great video of coltrane with dolphy mccoy (my alltime fav) elvin .jimmy . so sweet but my wife doesn't like hard jazz
cheers

[mister]

i have an NAD turntable and one of the channel's is dirty. is there anything i should try cleaning before taking it in?
i had another turntable hooked up, NAD also, and it was fine so i doubt it is the receiver.

[davids]

This site has a Marantz section....
http://audiokarma.org/forums/
Uh-oh. I think I've found another time sink of epic proportions.

But Sansui? I must have missed something...

[chrisroph]

level turntable and make sure it is on a solid surface, inspect and clean stylus, align stylus (vertical tracking angle, overhang, azimuth), set tracking weight, check and clean connections between tonearm leads and cartridge, check and clean cable connection between turntable and phono section, that is about it if your other table sounds fine.


http://www.audiophilia.com/features/cartridge_setup.htm

[Fixed]

bro I remember puttin a penny on the arm so lps would play without skipping I played them a lot on a cheap phonograph from the 50's
cheers

[mister]

thanks, i'll check them stuff.

[chrisroph]

bro I remember puttin a penny on the arm so lps would play without skipping I played them a lot on a cheap phonograph from the 50's
cheers

see link added on an edit.

fixed, some combos still require adding some weight to achieve the right tracking force. I'm using one of these:

http://www.elusivedisc.com/prodinfo.asp?number=HW-JMW1016

[pjm]

Uh-oh. I think I've found another time sink of epic proportions.

But Sansui? I must have missed something...
In the movie, High Fidelity, John Cusack has a vintage Sansui integrated amp in his apartment. Great movie by the way, with Jack Black and some gorgeous Dutch blonde who plays Cusacks girlfriend.

[paczki]

eric dolphy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4svd2CbNnE) was a jazz monster (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKDAbp9m5yw), too bad he died at such an early age.
scott lafaro too, he was good.

One of the recordings which will give you audiophile disease bad is "Waltz for Debby" with Bill Evans, Paul Motion and Scottie La Faro. Hi bass tone is perfection, and the others aint slouches either.

One of my happiest moments was sitting directly in front of Elvin Jones' kit in a small club! No recording can beat that.

Audiophilia is much more expensive than bikes, and less good for you. I used to be a tube/vinyl die-hard, but then I got a Transporter and a digital amp. I stream everything from my computer and it sounds better than any rig I had before. I haven't upgraded in two or three years, I'm content. I do miss the nostalgia of the records though.

[davids]

In the movie, High Fidelity, John Cusack has a vintage Sansui integrated amp in his apartment. Great movie by the way, with Jack Black and some gorgeous Dutch blonde who plays Cusacks girlfriend.
I missed that.

Really good movie (and great book!), by the way. My favorite scene was the one where he puts the Beta Band on at his store:Rob: I will now sell four copies of "The Three EPs" by The Beta Band.
D!ck: Go for it.
[Rob plays the record]
Customer: Who is this?
Rob: The Beta Band.
Customer: It's good.
Rob Gordon: I know.
That scene sold me a copy of that record, too...

[ti_boi]

My first 'real job' out of college was manager of a record store in Evansville, IN....it was a mini-disaster....thankfully I moved to FL a few months later... :)

[mister]

One of the recordings which will give you audiophile disease bad is "Waltz for Debby" with Bill Evans, Paul Motion and Scottie La Faro. Hi bass tone is perfection, and the others aint slouches either.

One of my happiest moments was sitting directly in front of Elvin Jones' kit in a small club! No recording can beat that.

Audiophilia is much more expensive than bikes, and less good for you. I used to be a tube/vinyl die-hard, but then I got a Transporter and a digital amp. I stream everything from my computer and it sounds better than any rig I had before. I haven't upgraded in two or three years, I'm content. I do miss the nostalgia of the records though.

yeah sunday at the village vangaurd...i've got it.

the transporter sounds interesting, i've seen talk of that type of stuff over at the audiocircle.com forums, i think it was.

right now i've got an old NAD cd player, just acquired it and it actually made a big difference over the dvd/cd player turd that i was using.
old old denon dra reciever, something like 75watts a channel.
selah audio speakers, 3way, ribbon tweeter, morel mid dome and 7 inch i think, seas w18 something or other woofer.
i got them as demos for much less because i had been emailing rick about his kits.
http://www.selahaudio.com/id54.html

[zipp 69]

I bought a Mcintosh pre amp and amp back in 1974 and use it all the time and never had a problem. What a jewel! Back then it was Mac, Marantz, and Crown..... !

Unless it dies I will never replace it. It is right up there with my olf Frejus bike.

[sc53]

Hey Ti Boi, make sure you don't plug anything other than a turntable into your phono input. It's got a special RIAA curve built into the circuit so anything else you plug into it (like a CD player or tape deck, outboard tuner, etc) will sound like crap even if you clean the old corroded RCA jacks till they gleam. If you really like this receiver you can probably find a shop or technician somewhere who can clean it up and recalibrate your tuner section etc. Audio Classics in Vestal NY is a classic for working on Mac gear but there are plenty of other hobbyists around. Ask at your local stereo or hifi shop (not at a Best Buy or Circuit City) for info on repairs and restorations of vintage gear.

[ti_boi]

Hey Ti Boi, make sure you don't plug anything other than a turntable into your phono input. It's got a special RIAA curve built into the circuit so anything else you plug into it (like a CD player or tape deck, outboard tuner, etc) will sound like crap even if you clean the old corroded RCA jacks till they gleam. If you really like this receiver you can probably find a shop or technician somewhere who can clean it up and recalibrate your tuner section etc. Audio Classics in Vestal NY is a classic for working on Mac gear but there are plenty of other hobbyists around. Ask at your local stereo or hifi shop (not at a Best Buy or Circuit City) for info on repairs and restorations of vintage gear.


Bingo! That 'is' the issue...and thankfully I only plugged the CD player into the Phono jack for a short time. I get the NOOB award here....but I 'do' have a turntable....I simply assumed all of the inputs were equal but as you said the phono has an additional stage in the circuit....so...in fact....my phono is fine...Man do I feel silly....but relieved.