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calipilot227 said:

The meter reads zero, even on its highest sensitivity. There is unfortunately no tone defeat switch. I'll crack open the service manual and see if I can bypass the board completely.

If it requires service above my (limited) capabilities, would this model even be worth professionally servicing? It's the TX-2500 MKII

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I know nothing about them, but from this post, unless the repair is super cheap, it doesn't sound like somewhere to put a bunch of money, only because you can just buy another for what you might need to get a basic repair done on that one.
 
http://classicreceivers.com/onkyo-tx-2500-mki
 
Now, if you had a TX-8500 II, that would be different...

bee inthe attic said:

what would you consider a fair price for a very good condition Marantz 2230 (or 2226b, or any of those receivers in that 2xxx range)?
I'd like to buy one locally, and negotiate on price, but have little idea what they're worth.

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The 2230 is one of the most popular marantz receivers, and I've seen them go for as much as 400.00. If you can find one mint with the wood case for around 200.00, that would be a decent price. I think they're overprice for the modest though conservatively rated 30wpc. For not much more money, I would shoot for a 2252 or even a 2270. Now those are a good step up from the 2230 imo. But if it was me, I wouldn't pay over 200.00 for a mint one, with 150.00 being the price I would shoot for. Now if you don't mind looking at other brands, the pioneer sx650 is a great little receiver that can be had all day for 50-100.00. That's getting a lot more for the money. The sansui 517 or 717 can be had for between 200-300.00 with the 717 having plenty of juice at an also conservatively rated 85wpc.

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moodyrn said:

The 2230 is one of the most popular marantz receivers, and I've seen them go for as much as 400.00. If you can find one mint with the wood case for around 200.00, that would be a decent price. I think they're overprice for the modest though conservatively rated 30wpc. For not much more money, I would shoot for a 2252 or even a 2270. Now those are a good step up from the 2230 imo. But if it was me, I wouldn't pay over 200.00 for a mint one, with 150.00 being the price I would shoot for. Now if you don't mind looking at other brands, the pioneer sx650 is a great little receiver that can be had all day for 50-100.00. That's getting a lot more for the money. The sansui 517 or 717 can be had for between 200-300.00 with the 717 having plenty of juice at an also conservatively rated 85wpc.

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Before I really started looking at prices, I paid $150 for a barely working 2230. It needs a recap and lots of DeOxit. On the flipside, I score my 2265B for the same price.

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moodyrn said:

The 2230 is one of the most popular marantz receivers, and I've seen them go for as much as 400.00. If you can find one mint with the wood case for around 200.00, that would be a decent price. I think they're overprice for the modest though conservatively rated 30wpc. For not much more money, I would shoot for a 2252 or even a 2270. Now those are a good step up from the 2230 imo. But if it was me, I wouldn't pay over 200.00 for a mint one, with 150.00 being the price I would shoot for. Now if you don't mind looking at other brands, the pioneer sx650 is a great little receiver that can be had all day for 50-100.00. That's getting a lot more for the money. The sansui 517 or 717 can be had for between 200-300.00 with the 717 having plenty of juice at an also conservatively rated 85wpc.

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are these capable of driving a Senn HD 600 (300 ohm), and Grado SR 225i (32 ohm) real well? (better than budget amps like the FiiO E9?)

Yes!! Much better.

And you get even better performance/$ if you don't require the tuner and buy the comparable integrated amp e.g. the 1060 integrated amplifier is a 2230 without the tuner. Cheaper and arguably better, but no nice lights or radio...

2230 is a great receiver for driving headphones.
I had the 1060 which is the integrated version of the 2230.
the 2230, 2245 and 2270 really all sound pretty much the same.  as close to the same as possible.
the other marantz 22xx sound a little different as they are a newer run (mid to late 70s) vs the early to mid 70s of the 30/45/70.
me personally i prefer the earlier ones, a little more lush and thicker.
but every 22xx i've heard has sounded excellent.  not a bad one in the bunch that i know of.
2 different groups but within those 2 groups the sound is pretty much identical.  Aside from the 2285(b) 2330 and 2385(b) which i've never heard.
 
again me preferring the earlier run is purely an opinion.  some people like the later ones better, others like the  earlier.  can't go wrong with either.  the later ones have a little more in the upper mids(still a warmish sounding amp though), and the earlier ones are a little more rolled off in the highs and slightly fatter at the bottom.  to my ears anyways.
 
and yeah the SX650 is a great receiver for headphones.   theres what appears to be a mint condition one for sale on my CL for 80 bucks.  too bad I already have one.  but i still kinda want to grab it since its in such great shape and mine is beat to crap

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rawrbington said:

and yeah the SX650 is a great receiver for headphones.   theres what appears to be a mint condition one for sale on my CL for 80 bucks.  too bad I already have one.  but i still kinda want to grab it since its in such great shape and mine is beat to crap

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For $80, I'd pick it up too. Then again, I know I'd end up with one full wall of vintage receivers in the basement too. Saw a picture like that over on AK.

Thanks for all the advice. Ideally, I'd like to find a Marantz integrated amp (ie 1060), but I haven't been able to find one in shops or craigslist. Tons of the receivers are for sale, and overpriced.... but I'll keep my eyes open.

I have a Marantz 2230 in good shape, now recapped, and feel the sound of these units to be highly overrated (recapped or not).  IMHO a lower power Pioneer or Sherwood easily bests it (especially the Sherwood).  I read on AK someone saying that the blue lights on the Marantz units makes people suspend logic (in terms of what they are really hearing).  I think he is absolutely correct.   The advice on looking at the SX650 is good advice.

I also prefer the more neutral sound of the Pioneer SX-xx50 and SX-xx80 series. I like the Marantz 2285 I have but it's kind of a warm fuzzy sort of sound. 

I've just recently become the owner of a McIntosh MAC 4100 receiver that I inherited from my father along with a couple McIntosh XR14 loudspeakers. At this point I don't have room for the speakers in my apartment but I have to say I have been thoroughly been enjoying using the headphone output from this receiver!

skylab said:

I also prefer the more neutral sound of the Pioneer SX-xx50 and SX-xx80 series. I like the Marantz 2285 I have but it's kind of a warm fuzzy sort of sound. 

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Yeah, I agree. My last marantz receiver was a 2325 which has a similar warm, fuzzy sound as the 22xx series. I was a fun sound, and more of a niche type sound for me that worked better for some headphones/speakers than others. If you don't like that type of sound, their 2330B, 2385, 25-2600 receivers are a departure from that sound. My 2330B is still slightly warm, but much closer to neutral than the others. Though the 25-2600 do fetch 4 figures, the 2330B can be had for 600-1000 and sounds excellent. It can power anything from iems(with a very slight hiss) to the monstrous he6 through the headphone jack. It's not as rolled off in the highs either. There's a couple of them on ebay now.

I would also consider kenwoods, to me they are the best value of the brands. I like the ones I've listened to better than pioneer. And they can be had very cheap until you get into the trio lines like the 500, 600, ka907.

jschwage said:

I've just recently become the owner of a McIntosh MAC 4100 receiver that I inherited from my father along with a couple McIntosh XR14 loudspeakers. At this point I don't have room for the speakers in my apartment but I have to say I have been thoroughly been enjoying using the headphone output from this receiver!

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That's a receiver I've been very interested in. Though can be a little hard to find without carrying the price premium of being a mac.

jschwage said:

I've just recently become the owner of a McIntosh MAC 4100 receiver that I inherited from my father along with a couple McIntosh XR14 loudspeakers. At this point I don't have room for the speakers in my apartment but I have to say I have been thoroughly been enjoying using the headphone output from this receiver!

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Welcome to the MAC 4100 club!