Marantz 250

Decided to do a retro install in the basement. I'm putting a Marantz 150 tuner, a 3650 Preamp and thought I had purchased the "matching" blue meter amps, three 140s. Unfortunately the info given to Me was incorrect. The 140s are not the correct size. It turns out it is the 250 series I need. Not 250Ms but 250s. So if anyone needs 3 Two Chanenel 70 watt 140s let Me know. They would be great for a Home theater setup! The reason the amps must match to the 3600 and the 150 is because I am installing them countersinked into the wall. Thanks!

Hi Audiobeer:
Do you have the Marantz 3650? If you do, I would suggest replaceing the original power switch. I have been using the 300DC along with the 3650 and 2130 since 1979. I have replaced the power switch on the 3650 about 5 times. Seems that the current draw of the 300dc is too great for the power switch of the 3650. Marantz used an Alps "2 in 1" switch rated @ 5A. I replaced the switch with a 120VAC 10A relay for the switched outlets and a 24VDC relay for the DC circuits after the power supply where the switch was wired to. The power switch is now a DPDT that supplys AC to the transformer on one side, and the coil of the 120VAC relay on the other. In this way the current draw to the switched outlets are off the relay, not the switch contacts.

JBL

Thanks for the info and now I feel like an ass! In my usual haste to complete my thoughts I wrote 3650 when I meant 3600. That's what I own. The 3650 is probably more desirable. I'm getting ready to liquidate a lot of this stuff for an amp. What do you think is more desirable for listening and value.....The 3600 or the 7T. I will be matching it with a 250? Thanks!

I bought the 3800 and 510 in 1979 also. The 3800 was exactly the same as the 3600 with the addition of an onboard dolby unit. I didn't feel that it was a very transparent sounding preamp. I replaced it with a Threshold about a year later. It was better but still not as transparent and musical sounding as some of my friend's tube preamps.

I borrowed a 7T for several months about two years ago. It is cool looking but I greatly preferred the sound of my PS Audio 4.6

I really am not an advocate of older preamps unless they have really been gone through. I was hoping to sell all my older Marantz gear except for a couple of pieces and see if I can buy a pair of the Aragon palidiums or whatever amp I can get in that range. Thanks for the advice. I'll probably keep whichever one was meant to match up with the 250 and 120B.

'beer -

Have you heard the new SST-version of the Bryston's? I recently put an ear to a 3B SST and was pleasantly surprised. Definite improvement over the older ST and NRB versions.

I can't say how the latest Bryston's would compare now to the Palladium's. It's been so long since I've heard them, but I do remember liking the Aragon's over the older ST/NRB.

Both are right up there on my short list of bipolar output SS amps.

* The 3300 would mate with your 250. There's a few up right now on eBay.

Hi Audiobeer:
Sorry that I could't get back to you sooner. A friend of mine has the Marantz 7T pre-amp along with a Model 15 amp and 10B tuner. The speakers are JBL 101's. The sound is not very good. I doubt that the speakers are the problem. The Marantz 3600 is a much more modern pre-amp compared to the 7T. The 7T used germanium transistors (which are more difficult to cross-reference) as well as wire to wire components instead of PCB's. There is much more noise (hiss) generated as a result. I am not 100% sure that the 3600 used silicon transistors in the early production run. You would have to check the Marantz web pages.
As far as the 250 series is concerned. The 250 is the older version of that line and it does'nt have the large blue meters that you are looking for, you would need the 250M. I know that the 250M used DC coupling in the output stages according to the Marantz information I have, but there is no mention of DC coupling in the input stage(s). The 250 does'nt mention the use of DC coupling at all. The 250M has the same size face plate as the 3600/3800 and 150 so you would be O.K. there.
Which ever pre-amp you choose, I would highly recomend replacing the electrolytic capacitors as well as all resistors on the pre-amp section. You really don't have to bother with the phono pre-amp unless you will be playing LP's. The same should be done for the amplifier. Believe me, there is a great improvement once this is done. There is a night and day difference since I did mine.

Good Luck
JBL

I have purchased two 250s/ The sound great and they due have the blue meters. I don't know how much smaller they are than the 250m. I decided to get rid of the 7T which I have on Ebay. I'll check out your suggestion and Thanks for getting back! Funny thing was I bought a 250 on Ebay that was listed as untested for $270 but cosmeticaly was great. The second one I tried to snipe was listed as having one side toasted and needing repair, on that auction I got beat out. It went for $250? The untested one shockingly has been on for 3 days now and works great! :confused: