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Thread: Marantz 2252B for JBL L112

  1. #1
    Member Stampants's Avatar
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    Marantz 2252B for JBL L112

    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!

  2. #2
    Senior Member rdgrimes's Avatar
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    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.

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    RIP 2021 SEAWOLF97's Avatar
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    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.
    Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

  4. #4
    Senior Member BMWCCA's Avatar
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    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.
    ". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers

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    Member Stampants's Avatar
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    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.

  6. #6
    Senior Member BMWCCA's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stampants View Post
    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.
    ". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers

  7. #7
    Member Stampants's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rdgrimes View Post
    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.

    Quote Originally Posted by SEAWOLF97 View Post
    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.

    :-)

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    Member Stampants's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BMWCCA View Post
    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.

  9. #9
    Senior Member BMWCCA's Avatar
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    The Crown PS400 is around 200WPC and a much nicer amp than the early DC300 or even the later DC300A-II. The improvements are small but meaningful. Also, even the oldest of the PS400s are decades newer than a DC300.
    ". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by BMWCCA View Post
    The Crown PS400 is around 200WPC and a much nicer amp than the early DC300 or even the later DC300A-II. The improvements are small but meaningful. Also, even the oldest of the PS400s are decades newer than a DC300.
    Thanks for the tip!

    Noticed you said in the above post that you've also tried Adcom amps and Carver Amps.

    There's an ADCOM GFA555mk2 and a Carver m400 Cube up for sale in my area. Are they worth it? Or should I just wait out an available crown ps400?

    Appreciate the help bro!

    :-)

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    Quote Originally Posted by Stampants View Post
    Thanks for the tip!

    Noticed you said in the above post that you've also tried Adcom amps and Carver Amps.

    There's an ADCOM GFA555mk2 and a Carver m400 Cube up for sale in my area. Are they worth it? Or should I just wait out an available crown ps400?

    Appreciate the help bro!

    :-)
    I have an Adcom GFA555 mk1 and love it ... generally accepted as a Nelson Pass design. 200wpc in 8 ohm/325 for 4 ohm.

    IMHO&E old Carver gear has lots of issues ..some small, some not so ..
    Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

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    Quote Originally Posted by SEAWOLF97 View Post
    I have an Adcom GFA555 mk1 and love it ... generally accepted as a Nelson Pass design. 200wpc in 8 ohm/325 for 4 ohm.

    IMHO&E old Carver gear has lots of issues ..some small, some not so ..
    Thanks for the heads up! Are the reports of the GFA 555 having no speaker protection circuit greatly exaggerated?

  13. #13
    Senior Member BMWCCA's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stampants View Post
    Thanks for the tip!

    Noticed you said in the above post that you've also tried Adcom amps and Carver Amps.

    There's an ADCOM GFA555mk2 and a Carver m400 Cube up for sale in my area. Are they worth it? Or should I just wait out an available crown ps400?
    I have a Carver PM 1.5 that has an awful reputation among sound guys but sounds fine to me driving my 4412As. Haven't had it long and haven't tried all 450-watts of it yet, either. I have many friends whose opinions I value that have owned Adcoms and still do. I have Soundcraftsmen Pro-Power-Four amps that sound great but I just liked the Crown better. There are those who will tell you an amp makes no difference in the sound. I'm surprised Seawolf hasn't yet sung the praises of the venerable BGW amps. On my 4345s I went from Crown D150A-II and DC300A-II to PS200 and PS400 and liked the change. When comparing most amps I use a pair of L7s that love power and can differentiate between low-end performance characteristic.

    I guess my point is that, given equal power, there may not be much difference between amps in terms of what will make your system sound good to you. Adcoms are quite common around here. Some prefer the series-one over the MK2 series. If you can afford to, buy one and try it. If you can, buy something else and compare. If you find no difference, or one better than the other, sell the loser and move on. The beauty of vintage equipment is that someone will always take them over from you and the most you can ever lose is the pittance you paid in the first place. You could even realize a profit from your experience.
    ". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers

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    Quote Originally Posted by BMWCCA View Post
    I have a Carver PM 1.5 that has an awful reputation among sound guys but sounds fine to me driving my 4412As. Haven't had it long and haven't tried all 450-watts of it yet, either. I have many friends whose opinions I value that have owned Adcoms and still do. I have Soundcraftsmen Pro-Power-Four amps that sound great but I just liked the Crown better. There are those who will tell you an amp makes no difference in the sound. I'm surprised Seawolf hasn't yet sung the praises of the venerable BGW amps. On my 4345s I went from Crown D150A-II and DC300A-II to PS200 and PS400 and liked the change. When comparing most amps I use a pair of L7s that love power and can differentiate between low-end performance characteristic.

    I guess my point is that, given equal power, there may not be much difference between amps in terms of what will make your system sound good to you. Adcoms are quite common around here. Some prefer the series-one over the MK2 series. If you can afford to, buy one and try it. If you can, buy something else and compare. If you find no difference, or one better than the other, sell the loser and move on. The beauty of vintage equipment is that someone will always take them over from you and the most you can ever lose is the pittance you paid in the first place. You could even realize a profit from your experience.
    Again, thanks for the time to reply to my queries. Much appreciated. Guess I'll have to pull the trigger on one already, hahahaha.

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    Quote Originally Posted by BMWCCA View Post
    I have a Carver PM 1.5 that has an awful reputation among sound guys but sounds fine to me driving my 4412As. Haven't had it long and haven't tried all 450-watts of it yet, either. I have many friends whose opinions I value that have owned Adcoms and still do.
    I've gone thru Carver receivers, CD players , preamps ..etc , innovative and well built , but problems have always popped up with each piece ... from odd things like the CD players Ghost Operation (turning itself on & back off at night) to pop & burn on receivers main board ..etc.

    Adcom amps are sometimes misunderstood .. a channel disappears ..rear fuses look OK (not realizing that each rail has 2 fuses on it) ..just gotta remove those 17 top bolts to replace them.

    I also like Denon. has always been trouble free and very quiet amps.

    For some reason, Crown gear is scarce out here
    Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

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