Connects you with the music, plain and simple.

Some, but essentially trivial and unimportant.

A few months ago, I went to a garage sale in search of vinyl treasures, a.k.a. records. The owner, an elderly gentleman, pointed to a box with a few pieces in it, but there was nothing of interest to me. He then asked me if I would be kind enough to help him bring a radio out from his basement which was too heavy for him to lift. I said I would be glad to oblige. Well, the "radio" turned out to be a Marantz 2270 Receiver. I don't know what possessed me, but I decided to buy it. Now, you see, I'm an audiophile (actually a recovering audiophile, but more about that in a bit). Halfway home I asked myself; what was I thinking? Why did I buy that thing? After all, it's just a receiver.... A r-e-c-e-i-v-e-r. It's just a box with a tuner, pre-amp, amp, and a phono stage stuffed into it. Oh sure, I had heard of Marantz, heard it was good stuff, but let's be serious, it was built back in the Stone Age, back when Richard Nixon was president. How could it possibly sound as good as my cutting edge separate tuner, separate pre-amp, separate amp and separate phono section? Impossible. Absurd to even contemplate. So, after I got home I simply put it on a shelf and disavowed any knowledge of its existence. Then, a few weeks ago my fancy, expensive, don't-you-wish-you-had-one-just-like-it amp decided to have one of its regularly scheduled hissy-fits, and blanked out on me. Again. So, after I took it to the shop for repairs, I said to myself, what the heck, lets plug in that Marantz thing and see what it sounds like. Well, you Marantz guys know what happened next. Talk about a sonic epiphany!!! I was stunned. Instead of trying to figure out what kind of rosin the violin player in the third chair was using on his bow, I was simply listening to music, engulfed and enthralled by its beauty, something I had deprived myself of for a long, long time....... Now, about that "recovering audiophile" part. You can probably guess what happened to my audiophile equipment. It is now residing on the shelf previously occupied by the Marantz. This baby has transformed me from an audiophile back to a music lover. Is there any higher praise you can give a piece of audio equipment? I think not....

The 2270 powers 4 as well as 8 ohm loads with no difficulty.

None. Nothing compares today in the way of high powered receivers

Back in 1974, I was 2 years out of high school and hung around with a friend who had purchased a Marantz 2270 receiver along with a pair of EPI (Epicure) 400's. The EPI 400's were commonly referred to as EPI Mini-Towers. They consisted of 4 - 1" tweeters and 4 - 6" woofers mounted in a tall, square, column. They were very power hungry and inefficient. The Marantz 2270 easily powered them to staggering volume levels with extremely tight bass and clear crips highs. The amp and apeaker combination was among the best of the day, and is on par with my bi-amplified system today running 1000 watts RMS per channed and Infinty Kappa-8 floor standing speakers that I currently own. The 2270 was bullet proof and would run easily at high volume levels for hours and hours. You cannot buy this grade of equipment today without spending many thousands of $$$$. This and other old classical gear of the 1970's such as Phase Linear, Crown, Dynaco, etc etc have no equal today in durability, quality, and tremendous power reserves for the money.

Quality of build, aesthetics without equal. Never had to replace any of my push button switches, including the power switch.

Yes, the panel lights and the indicator bulbs burn out, but maybe that's because they see so much playing time. The panel lights are easy to replace... the indicator bulbs are not. But its a small price to pay for that famous blue backlit display.

I bought my 2270, ( which I still have ) in 1971, for the astronomical price ( to me) of $500. Mine was among the first thousand units to be produced. When the 22xx series debuted, they were heralded for having the "famous Marantz gold anodized front panel", with etched lettering that would not wear off. When I first saw the golden Marantz display amidst the sea of everyone else's silver components, it was like looking at $20 gold pieces next to a pile of quarters. It was love at first sight, and I was hooked on Marantz.
There are around 50 reviews before this one which eloquently describe the sonic attributes of this receiver, and I can only but affirm them all. But, in addition to the sound quality, I wanted to emphasize the aesthetics... the amazing quality of build, the artistry of the golden faceplate, with lettering so deeply etched, that you couldn't get it off without using a belt sander. In the walnut cabinet, it looks like a beautiful 24k piece of jewelry.
Unfortunately, the Marantz Company was going through many changes at that time, and early on in the 22xx series, they began to economize, and switched to the more common silver faceplate, with regular silk-screened lettering. In the case of the 2270, this change ( as best I have been able to ascertain ) occurred around the 8, 9, or 10 thousand mark. The 2270 was so wildly popular that production apparently went into several hundred thousands, leaving the earliest gold ones to be quite rare compared to the later silver models.
This is not meant to belittle the quality and appearance of the silver models... they are head and shoulders above all the competition... just to share the experience of having one of the finest pieces of equipment ever produced by the most legendary audio company ever. I've confirmed to myself the rarity of the gold, engraved units, because I've watched with interest the many 2270's sold on eBay, and out of around 75 units I've seen offered... 2 were gold.
Of course, Marantz came back out with some champagne gold units in the 80's and 90's, ( I have several... SD 9000, SD 8000 ) but to my knowledge they never again had any with engraved lettering, nor the look, feel, and build of such a fine instrument as the earliest 2270's. That includes the Esotec series.
The bottom line is that the 2270 is in a class by itself. If you can get one in either faceplate flavor... you'll have something very special. And yes, I echo the sentiments of the others... that you can have my 2270 when you can pry it loose from my cold dead hand. And... after you whip my 21 year old grandson.

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Many other Marantz pieces, Carver 900, Pioneer QX-949, Kenwood receivers and M-2 amps, Phase Linear 4000, and others.

More power than most will need,Sweet on low power,Sweet at full boat, Built like a tank, You s/o could not only enjoy the music, but, fall in love with that sexy blue lighting, due try to get the Walnut case ++++++++.

No real weakness, If you like a lot of that CD BRIGHT COMPRESSED SOUND, You won't like it, But, how cool to open up some young minds? Heavy,Heavy,Heavy......Buy it place it leave it, You will have it forever.

Hey y'all,my Marantz 2270 came yesterday 6-5-06, I can't tell you, Just buy one. A word about 24hrs with it. Prime system is: Thorens TD125MKII,SME tonearm,Joeseph Grado Statement cartrige, SME A202 power amp,SME P102 pre-amp,MARTIN LOGAN the sequel speakers.
The front room system is:TEAC X-3 reel to reel,KENWOOD KX-1060 cassette,PIONEER PL-1000 straight tracking turntable,DCM KK-12 series II speakers,and a not very healthy JVC intergrated amp, The JVC crapp out is the reason for the purchace, I researched receivers. This site had more 5 out'a 5's than most and more I would not let it go when I die's!!!! I am not rich but $220.00with s/h for this vs/the new stuff for that price I feel like I stole it.
MARTIN LOGANS crave current, the SAE is not lacking in this dept. The MARANTZ 2270 grabbed these bad boys by the cajoines. The bass lower midrage had me grabbing old records to hear anew. Is it correct? Who cares? It rocked my boat. If you have Scarborough Fair by simon & garfunkel on LP,find it. Warm ,Sweet,Lush, like a fine wine. Yes i still love my SAE rig, it stays.....The MARANTZ was for the front room. Now the JVC is a great rig, in fact I will get it fixed.
The MARANTZ 2270 was a jaw dropper in thes system, Goosebumps in spades!!!! I am still listening in another room typing this, just can't belive how right it is. I guess I will have to get another one and switch back in forth between it and the SAE depends on what I want to listen to. If you have a couple hundred $ Get it !!!

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I haven"t heard any old recievers in 25yrs

I don't play concerts in my house. It's hugely powerful.

other than it being 35 years old.... none. it is what it is...
the world's best receiver of it's time... and just a great amp.

It was a big pain getting it here... from San Diego and working... and I've learned a lot.

Listening to music with this receiver is a pleasure. and there's no other way to explain it.

Everything sounds new and fresh. all your old crap sounds great.

no subwoofers, no loudness contours, no adjustments....... just play.

and this amp thru my Paradigm speakers is too much...

so much bass that you almost have to back down......

the music is so revealing..... it can be incredible even at low volume.


when I was was a kid in Hawaii, I loved the stereo gear and used to hang out in Ala Moana at a very high end stereo shop. It was a one hour walk in the sun.

and listen to the best gear they had.... Tannoy speakers, AR3a's, JBL, driven by Mcintosh, and Marantz amps.

The Mcintosh gear now would be at least $12,000.... the Tannoys at least $3000 - 12,000, JBL's at least $5,000 and the Marantz set up ..... also $8 -12,000.

a great pair of AR 3a's at least $1000.... that's the gear used. Tannoy speakers are out of sight expensive.

saw a pair go on ebay for $4000. raw speakers.


Mcintosh amps are also out of sight .... they can be thousands of dollars.

and, it's true.


they were the best. my Marantz is an instrument. it's just amazing.



mark

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Onkyo, Yamaha, Sony,....

used to have a Fisher 400... that
would be most similar in sound quality...

The sound from this amp is beyond words.... it's great. !

great LOW end, wonderfull power

needs new bulbs and pots need cleaning

I got it from my dad to use for casual listening when I was younger. Now I use it in my recording studio to sample finished products. Its absolutly wonderfull especialy compared to alot of other units out there.

sound quality brings new life to old records, cd's or anything you throw at it. build quality is top notch none better, thats why it still kicks "A "after 30 yrs.

I wouldn't call this a weakness, just like an older porsche or vw it needs a little mechanical treatment once in while, pots cleaning, lamps need replaceing, this unit is easy to work on compaired to alot of the other vintage unitm and if you need adjustments or repair there is quite a few marantz techs out there.

I have been looking for a 2270 on ebay for a while, preferably one here in Ca. to minimize shipping damage. the one I got is in very nice condition inside and out. I was impressed by the sound, warm robust and plenty of punch when you need it. the fm section is quite nice pulling in the weakest stations with great seperation and minimal background noise, the phono section is the sweatspot of this gem lp's never sounded so good, I now know why this particular model is highly sought after and ranks right up their with the era's best. if you find one get it you won't be dissapointed and will find new excuses to listen to it over your current hifi gear. hands down a real audiophiles pick.

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marantz 2325, 4300, 2252b, 2238b, 2238,2245,2015

Beautiful wood verneer cab,sexy looks,picks all stations where I live,power reserve more than enough,Forgot to turn unit off last year in closed wall unit for 5 days. Well didn't affect anything. And this is a 30yr old unit. SOUNDS as SWEET as TUBES. And best of all it is a very versitile unit as they all were back then. WANT one! GO ON E-BAY.EVEN IF IT NEEDS WORK, BUT YOU HAVE TO SEND IT TO A REAL TECH.

KEEPING THOSE CONTACTS CLEAN. IF YOU THINK ITS TO HEAVY THEN GO BUY YOURSELF A BOOMBOX. YOU DONT KNOW WHAT HEAVY IS IF YOU HAVE TO PURCHASE SEPRATE COMPONETS TO COME CLOSE OR GET BETTER SOUND!

My intrest in audio started in early 60's listening to my dad's valve console with garrard changer and telefunken tubes and speakers.The sound from the cabinet would fill the largest of rooms. My own finanical exploits didn't start until 1970. Then in 1973 my first highend componet was a 2270 from Marantz. Well let me tell you a lot of equipment has changed hands since then between friends and family but my 2270 will be with me till the day I die. My current system consist of all refurbished Marantz valve componets.My livingrm sys consist of fisher valve units all refurbished.Turntables,casette decks,open reel recorders, and OH YEAH!I almost forgot 2 cd players.Thousand records,4 track reel tapes, OH AND YEAH! a collection of cd. What I'm getting at is dollar for dollar the MARANTZ 2270 was the best audio investment I've ever made! Yeah I have or had other recievers and they cannot compete. My current solid state collection is Crown and Pioneer of vintage (powerfull heavyweights. And great performers in their own wright.BUT AGAIN the MARANTZ 2270 IS THE SWEETEST SOUNDING OF ALL. Never been serviced just sent in to be re-spect and cleaned. Yeah my tubes sound better but at a price. And as far as anything made today weather it be so-called highend or computer store junk we'll se another 30yrs from now who'll be reaping the rewards of HIGH-END AUDIO. MARANTZ 2270. My best investment 30yrs and about 40grand ago.

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TANDBERG RECIVER FORGOT #,PIONEER SX1050 MUCH HEAVIER MORE POWER, NEEDS FAN TO KEEP FROM OVERHEATING.FISHER 500B,LAFAYETTE 4CH RECIEVER FROM SAME PERIOD AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT SOUNDS THE CLOSET TO THE MARANTZ. WHY! INSIDE ALL THE BRAND COMPONETS (CAPS)ARE THE SAME.YES BELIEVE IT OR NOT.

Just a great sounding all around machine. Puts the new stuff to same.

none

Found? Yes found! I was in the middle of moving one Night and needed a few more boxes so to the local strip mall dumpsters I went.Just as I entered the back of the mall a heavy down pour started,so needless to say the boxes were out.Turning the car around my headlights caught something sliver sticking out of one of the tops of a dumpster,so I got out of the car and looked and there it was a soaking wet Marantz 2270.Knowing what Marantz was I wraped it in a shirt I had and put it in my back seat and raced home.I got home and whiped it off and took the cover off and this 40 pound baby was clean not one bit of dust and beside from a burnt out lamp or two it worked perfact. So why would someone abandon there baby in a dumpster on a cold rainy night? Your guess is as good as mine but now I'm proud to have it in my family...

Warm and balanced soundstage. Great detail, enough power for critical listening to anything I have in my collection. CDs sound better than they do on my main system at home. Control feel, materials, front panel design, and the wonderful sound all scream they-don't-build-em-like-that-anymore quality. As does the weight. No B&E artist financing a drug habit is going to run down the street with this boat anchor (38.5 pounds without cabinet or carton).

Tuner section lacks resolution and sounds a little "fat", even though the Gyro-Touch tuning mechanism is so cool. Subject to big-time multipath distortion. If you must have radio, try a separate antenna or tuner. Heavy. You'll want to put this in one place and leave it there.

I bought this baby new in 1975; I can't remember the price I paid for it here in Canada, but it was a floor demo and I remember being pleased with the deal. The carton said Marantz by Superscope, made in Japan. I first used it to drive big home-built Radford Studio 90 speakers (British kits), and it sounded magnificent. I had a succession of turntables, tape players, and then an integrated amp and tuner separates took the 2270's place in 1980. The Marantz went to the basement, then it went to my daughter for a few years, then back into my basement storage for many years. I hooked it up last year to new Totem Hawk speakers, using a Marantz CC4300 5-disc changer as input. Lordy, what a treasure this old receiver is! I expected to hear woody old sound and nearly fell over in wonder at the detail and balance in the Marantz' warm, accurate, musical, soundstage. House guests immediately notice the vintage look of the big Marantz, especially with its Walnut cabinet. I'm surprised at how many seem to think old Marantz receivers are the stuff of legends and admire them still, and the sound this one produces is marvelous, especially when fed some of the new recordings by artists like Dianna Krall, or the Verve re-masters of Ben Webster or Coleman Hawkins to name but a couple. Wonderful, wonderful sound, better than I remember, capable of reproducing the best that the best recording producers out there can put on a CD.

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Only receiver I've ever owned. Everything else has been separate components.