In 1979 I purchased a Hitachi SR-804 from tech hifi, as they were out of stock they gave me a loaner component. It was a Marantz 1090 integrated amp. It seemed a lot more powerful than it's 45 wpc would indicate. Logically laid out front panel and very useful controls. I "owned" it for two weeks and was almost sorry to give it up. A robust and industrial looking unit. Worked well with my EPI-100 and Ohm Acoustics model L speakers. It had enough output with the Ohm L's to impress if not annoy the neighbors!

I didn't like the slide controls for bass, treble and balance. The booklet was confusing about how the tape monitors worked in dubbing mode. As I was a big radio fan in 1979 I did miss an FM tuner.

verry loud for a 2x45 watt amplifier
doesn't overheat
robust 70's design, no ic's
versatile connection possibilities:
- 2 phono inputs
- 2 monitor inputs
- dubbing selector (source, tape 1, tape 2 to monitor)
- mono switch
- parallel connected speaker systems
- pre-amp out and main-amp in
- phones output doesn't mute speakers

The speaker connectors aren't designed for every-day use. I had to replace the connectors, wich is an easy job to do.
The mechanical switches are sensitive to corrosion.

Rated only 2x45 watts, it is the loudest amplifier i have. It still sounds verry good at full power and it doesn't generate much heat.

I use the 1090 as a second amplifier. I don't have a phono input on my surround amp and it also lacks a second speaker circuit, like most good old stereo amplifiers had. The versatile connection possibilities (pre-amp out, main-amp in, 2 monitors, 2 parallel connected speaker systems, mono switch) make it possible to send sound back and forth to other amp's, use it as mono amp for subwoofers, ....

As you can read in a lot of reviews, some need cleaning of the contacts, pottentiometers, faders, ... before any sound comes out. It's worth the can of contact-spray.

Similar Products Used:

Sony STR-GX315 (2x70 watt @ 8 Ohm)
Toa mono up-transfo PA amps (100 Watt)
Carver pre-amp
Philips FA561 (2x50 watt?)

Bass, clarity.

This comes with all vintage hardware, but I miss the convenience of a remote.

I bought this amp off Ebay for just over £100, the main reason I bought it was for the reputation early marantz amps have and it's good looks. It seems very powerful for an amp only rated at 45w per channel and is more than enough to power my speakers. Only having low end modern hifi's before the difference in sound is astonishing, I have never heard clarity like it before. I think this will be staying with me for some time.

excellent for its day

marginal for now

it is actually a 1060 but since there is no category for it i will write one here. it is a very musical amplifier and is what i grew up listening to. i always loved it...it didnt color the music at all even though thd isnt on par with todays standards. It really does not compare with my current amplifier though
which doubles the marantzs power of 60 x 2 to a 120 + 120
@o.0015 THD @8 ohms. but all around the marantz would kick a JVC/Kenwood/Pioneer amplifiers but that was made today

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cant say that i have any other vintage amplifiers

This i a very good vintage amplifier and it sound good.It is very very powerfull for 45watt rms bye channel

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Marantz 1152dc

Great flexability for the day- 2 phono inputs- 2 tape in/outs- tone off/on/loudness contour selector
Phono stage better than some newer IC-based amps.

Power section lacks some of the speed and is rather bloated in the mid bass region.

I found this little jem at a pawn shop for $75.00 CDN (same place I got my Cyrus for $250.00 CDN.

I got it home and cleaned it up- removing the front panel and controls and wahing them in warm soapy water takes off the film and nicotine that had crusted the finish. Also cleaned about 20 years of dust fromt the innards and sprayed the control contacts with cramolin contact preservative.

Hooked it up and it powered up after a few second. I tried the unit as a full integrated amp and was not overly impressed with the power section on larger speakers (I have Dalhquist DQ-10s as my main speaker, so perhaps I'm being unfair), but the bottom end was rather mushy sounding and the top end kind of two dimensional. It sings through two-way minimonitors, but at the expense of overall resolution (it WILL play loud, however). The listing here says the power section is 45W/pc, but it is actually rated at 35W/pc, so I didn't expect much from it with the 'big' speakers.

What I was surprised about was the neutrality of the phono stage in this amp. First of all, its all descrete transistor- no integrated circiut chips here (al least not for another 5 to 10 years after this rolled of the line). While the phono stage is not the first (or even second) in resolution, I can happily live with the sound (it even got my preference over the Rega Brio's phono stage- but just!), and am currently using it as a pre-amplifier in my main system (it works well at taming the over aggresive sounding Dalhquist/Alesis combination).

I give the unit 4 stars for the value only because while it is a bargain, it isn't a giant killer, and 5 stars on the overall rating because it IS better than I even thought it would be, considering it's vintage!!!

If you can find one as cheap as I did, try it out. for a second amp or standby when the 'real' gear is in the shop, I don't think you'll be missing anything!

Similar Products Used:

Cyrus II integrated, Alesis Matika 500 power amp, Rega Brio (original version)