Marantz 2252B for JBL L112

[Stampants]

Hi everyone just scored an L112 in excellent working condition. I also have a Marantz 2252B currently with a tech and I was wondering if this receiver will be a good match for the 300watt rated L112?

I love the looks and warm sound of the 2252B and I plan to use them for moderate listening levels of around 85db with the l112. Read the specs and i cant help but think that the l112s it need some more reserve power for transients.

Currently running them with a quad402 on loan from my dad and I kinda miss the warmth I got from the marantz when it was running cheap warfedales.

I plan to hold on to the l112s because it was always my dream to own a late70s early eighties l series 3way.

i know I could just wait for the marantz and decide but i also want to know the experience of others.

worse comes to wore i can always use the preamp out of the 2252 to go through another power amp.

I also used a Sansui aud607g extra for it but i find this combo sibilant.

any suggestions?

thanks!

[rdgrimes]

The Marantz is rated 52WPC, right?
I wouldn't generally recommend anything less than 200WPC for the L112. But in a smaller room less might get the job done. The L112 can handle virtually unlimited power, and the more you feed them the better they sound. Pushing them hard with a smaller amp might not yield good results.

[SEAWOLF97]

That Marantz was plenty of power for the times....If the manufacture dates of the amp and speakers is in the same era, I would guess they are a pretty good match.

There are those who tell you that mega-power is needed for everything , I don't always subscribe to that one.

I'm currently running JBL-120Ti's on a 85wpc Denon with fine results.

Marantz even made a 2215 budget receiver that got good reviews. (15 wpc)

You already own the gear , give it a demo before deciding to add more ... you may be happy as-is

In '69 a Pioneer sx-9000 was my main power ... rated at 65wpc , sounded much more powerful. Ran VERY inefficient AR-3's with no problem.

I ran L-100's with a Marantz 2235 for a while and it was good. Always felt the amp output was understated and measuring has changed since then. Pretty sure that speaker sensitivity numbers are calculated differently now too.

[BMWCCA]

I've owned my L112s since they were new and they have never been run on anything but an original Crown D150 amp rated about 75WPC. Always sounded fine to me. That's my bedroom system so room size is not huge and volume levels were never super high. Front end is a Mac C20 so the sound is very mellow.

[tinpan]

That is definitely us

[tinpan]

In the Carver line you want to stay away from the Cube and the smaller amps like the TFM 15. The PM line BWMCCA is referring to is the professional line which some people really like and some think it has a little dry sound. I think a lot of that has to do with the speakers they are using.

Amps to look at from Carver are the TFM 35, TFM 45 and if you can find one a TFM 55 or TFM 75. Since they are 20 years old it's pretty advisable to have them serviced. There are a couple really good shops I can suggest. It usually costs around $300 to have them recapped and brought back to spec. Thats's one of the reasons most people don't look at the smaller TFM series and the cube, it's just not worth putting that kind of money into those. They other ones, after service are keepers and should be good for another 20 years or so.

Another Carver line I have and like are the Sunfire amps. They make a 300 WPC x 2 and a 600 x 2. Same deal, see if they've been serviced, if not I would budget getting them serviced. These are wonderful amps and have a great sound. I had the 600 x 2 and I still have my 400 x 5 channel. They also pop up on ebay for sale serviced and ready to go from someone I hang out with on the Craver forum.

[BMWCCA]

. . . the Craver forum.

I think we all qualify for that group!

[antoninus9]

The Marantz is rated 52WPC, right?
I wouldn't generally recommend anything less than 200WPC for the L112. But in a smaller room less might get the job done. The L112 can handle virtually unlimited power, and the more you feed them the better they sound. Pushing them hard with a smaller amp might not yield good results.

I agree. The L112 works fairly well with 100 WPC, but starts to shine with 200+ WPC. Adding a sub for low frequency reinforcement can be breathtaking.

[Stampants]

I agree. The L112 works fairly well with 100 WPC, but starts to shine with 200+ WPC. Adding a sub for low frequency reinforcement can be breathtaking.

Tried The JBL L112s with the Marantz Amp and I quite like the combo! The 2252B is warmer than my Sansuis.

But I cant help wondering about the general consensus in this thread that the JBL 112s shine at the 200watt level.

Would you mind explaining how they "shine" more at the 200watt level.

Wouldnt mind a subjective description to aid my imagination before I test it out for myself.

Tested the preamp section of the Marantz 2252B with a 100watt Quad amp and detected a subtle more "slam" in the kick drums at the 75 to 85db spl level on my android phone with IMM6.

Wondering what a 200watt or up power can give me while using the 2252b as a preamp at the 75 to 85db level.

Content with what I have but my itchy brain wants to scratch this whole 200watt power up thing purely to see if I like it and to bring this wonderful speaker to its full potential.

Thanks for the comments guys. Cant believe that a 35 year old speaker floats my boat! This beats out the BandWs my dad has!

[Stampants]

Oh! A speaker tech wants me to replace some caps in the x over to further bring out the speakers.

Can you point me in the right direction if I go this route or is it better to leave it alone?

The tech is saying that a cap and xover overhaul maintenance can bring another dimension to my listening experience.

Staying away from his Mundorf replacement reco though. Too pricey for me.

Thanks again!

[Stampants]

Plus... Im thinking of placing the speakers sideways because of WAF is this detrimental?

Currently have it raised up upright about 6inches from the floor.

[Stampants]

Thanks for the replies! Will report back how I find the amp speaker combo when I get it back.

Anymore suggestions for a power amp or integrated that been known to make these babies sing?

Newb question: What is with Crown Amps and Jbl? Been hearing that this is a good match.

Crown amps suffer a bit of a bad brand image thing down here in the Philippines since there are a lot of counterfeit china made amps that shamelessly use the crown imprint.

[BMWCCA]

Anymore suggestions for a power amp or integrated that been known to make these babies sing?

Newb question: What is with Crown Amps and Jbl? Been hearing that this is a good match.

Crown amps suffer a bit of a bad brand image thing down here in the Philippines since there are a lot of counterfeit china made amps that shamelessly use the crown imprint.

I've only used Crown amps with JBLs for something like 45-years so my experience may be limited.

There are many different types of Crowns over many decades. Some were designed for Disk Jockey use where power may be more important than clarity. Some put cost over quality but they were always billed as budget alternatives to the other more expensive Crowns. Some folks don't like fans on their home amps. And then there may be copies since some new Crowns are made in China.

If you stick with the older D-series or (better yet, IMHO) the PS-Series you can't go wrong. I'm pretty sure the only ones they copy are the cheaper newer designs, not the heavy old stuff. I've owned a few different amps over that last few decades and played most of them with the same speakers, from McIntosh, to Fisher, and many Crowns. I currently have Soundcraftsmen, Adcom, Rotel, and Carver. I've not found a bad one but I always go back to the Crowns. I probably own over a dozen Crown amps including D45, D75A, D150, D150A-II, DC300A-II, PS200, PS400, and Studio Reference-II and over a dozen JBL speaker pairs including the L112. If you can find a nice Crown PS400 you'll have everything you need to make the L112 perform. Failing that, a PS200 will work fine for anything from normal to ear-bleed volume levels. You might save some bucks and get similar performance with the D150A-II or DC300A-II but I wouldn't go any older than those later D-series amps, personally.

[Stampants]

The Marantz is rated 52WPC, right?
I wouldn't generally recommend anything less than 200WPC for the L112. But in a smaller room less might get the job done. The L112 can handle virtually unlimited power, and the more you feed them the better they sound. Pushing them hard with a smaller amp might not yield good results.

That 200wpc is what I hear that people generally reco too.... The Sansui Im running right now is around 90watts but its over 30 years old and I play mostly vinyl and I find it trebly even with the tone controls. Phonostage must also be the culprit since I mostly listen to vinyl. AB'd the two amps before (sansui and maratnz) the marantz just has this midbass hump that I always find pleasing, the sansui just really seems bright to me.

About to move to a bigger space so I might be able to turn the volume up hence the query if I need more power.

That Marantz was plenty of power for the times....If the manufacture dates of the amp and speakers is in the same era, I would guess they are a pretty good match.

There are those who tell you that mega-power is needed for everything , I don't always subscribe to that one.

I'm currently running JBL-120Ti's on a 85wpc Denon with fine results.

Marantz even made a 2215 budget receiver that got good reviews. (15 wpc)

You already own the gear , give it a demo before deciding to add more ... you may be happy as-is

In '69 a Pioneer sx-9000 was my main power ... rated at 65wpc , sounded much more powerful. Ran VERY inefficient AR-3's with no problem.

I ran L-100's with a Marantz 2235 for a while and it was good. Always felt the amp output was understated and measuring has changed since then. Pretty sure that speaker sensitivity numbers are calculated differently now too.

Vintage amps seems to put out more power than rated and my sansui and marantz just plain beats the crap out of my rotel and nad modern amps (sold them both and decided to stick it out with these vintage items even if servicing them is a bitch hehehehe). Dont mind sticking with them but I also want to know the limits of goodnes the l112s can provide with momentary high volume playing.

:-)

[Stampants]

I've only used Crown amps with JBLs for something like 45-years so my experience may be limited.

There are many different types of Crowns over many decades. Some were designed for Disk Jockey use where power may be more important than clarity. Some put cost over quality but they were always billed as budget alternatives to the other more expensive Crowns. Some folks don't like fans on their home amps. And then there may be copies since some new Crowns are made in China.

If you stick with the older D-series or (better yet, IMHO) the PS-Series you can't go wrong. I'm pretty sure the only ones they copy are the cheaper newer designs, not the heavy old stuff. I've owned a few different amps over that last few decades and played most of them with the same speakers, from McIntosh, to Fisher, and many Crowns. I currently have Soundcraftsmen, Adcom, Rotel, and Carver. I've not found a bad one but I always go back to the Crowns. I probably own over a dozen Crown amps including D45, D75A, D150, D150A-II, DC300A-II, PS200, PS400, and Studio Reference-II and over a dozen JBL speaker pairs including the L112. If you can find a nice Crown PS400 you'll have everything you need to make the L112 perform. Failing that, a PS200 will work fine for anything from normal to ear-bleed volume levels. You might save some bucks and get similar performance with the D150A-II or DC300A-II but I wouldn't go any older than those later D-series amps, personally.

Someone's selling an old DC300a but he's asking $400 for it. Dunno if its worth that match since Ill probably be spending to have someone refurbish it and check for any damage it might inflict on speakers. Ill hunt more for these amps as they usually dont pay much attention to crown here outside of pro PA audio.