[Pudu]

I took my 980 in to get recapped, a transformer replaced, and the pots/jacks cleaned (there had been a tiny buzzing that was audible independent of volume). I was in the middle of a move at the time and didn't have the time (nor skill, knowledge, patience, talent) to even attempt it myself. The guy took forever (three weeks past promised) and I picked it up the evening before the movers packed up all our belongings. On the other hand he charged almost nothing and it sounds fantastic. And after recap it cost less than a Schiit Valhalla.

Using it right now with D7Ks - some Barenaked Ladies & Crash Test Dummies (had dinner with a bunch of other Canadians here in Delhi last night and it made me dig up some old favourites). Delicious toe tapping sound.

 

[SpeakerBox]

Yes, refurbishing these vintage receivers is huge fun!
 
I have been doing this with some of the lower powered Sherwood (7100A/7110) and Marantz (2220B/2215B) as a hobby.  The sound improvement after a good cleaning,dexoit on the pots, and a full electrolytic recap is stunning.  The biggest improvement I have seen is on the Sherwood 7100A.  Before: dark and lacking detail and punch.  After: very detailed with excellent imaging and base definition.  It is really a blast!  I have found that using WBT Silver Solder during the recap also adds some significant improvements.

 

[monoethylene]

Quote:

So, basically, would it suffice to just replace the caps and leave everything else untouched? (assuming the gear was in working order before any servicing was done).

 
Actually this subject is discussed in many ways. Some like to recap the whole unit. Me too . The other part says that only broken caps and problematic transistors have to be replaced. You may replace the caps in the signalpath and the power supply..

 

[Skylab]

And there are two schools of thought here.  One is, if you are buying vintage gear really cheap, then clean it up with deoxit yourself, use it until it goes bad, and then toss it.  The other is, if you are buying nicer vintage stuff, it's worth getting it serviced/restored.  
 
For example, in my bedroom I have a little Pioneer SX-680.  I bought it for $50.  I'm not recapping that.  It works fine, and the bedroom system is purely for background music.  When it croaks, I will toss it.
 
My SX-1980, on the other hand...complete top to bottom restore, and it will very likely last another 30 years!

 

[runswithaliens]

A local shop keeper here has a ton of audio gear from the 50s-70s - none of it refurbished, and most of it having one thing or another needing repair he says. However he has a pair of Marantz 2230's in storage that he is going to get out for  me to check out. He believes they only suffer from burned out light bulbs. My plan is to take some headphones and a MP3 player as source to test the basic functionality is working. He also has speakers there that I can hook up to check that part of the amps' output.
 
In addition to the good things I've read about the Marantz 2230, I am specifically interested in it because it has the Preamp outputs so that I can take the jumpers out and run them directly to my JBL powered monitors. 
 
However, I am guessing that taking the preamp jumpers off would then disable the headphone output?  If so, does anyone see any objections to just getting a pair of RCA splitters and sending one signal to the speakers, and the other half looping back to the Marantz so that the Headphones still work?

 

[Rossliew]

Skylab, should i restore my SX-1280?. It sounds good as it is but with more sensitive cans, the hissing is pretty apparent and that is quite a turn off. I also notice loss of sound on the left channel when playing back with the turntable. It doesn't happen when i use the CD player though. Any thoughts on the cause? With other amps connected to the TT, there is no loss of sound in any channel. This has left me very perplexed..

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

Skylab, should i restore my SX-1280?. It sounds good as it is but with more sensitive cans, the hissing is pretty apparent and that is quite a turn off. I also notice loss of sound on the left channel when playing back with the turntable. It doesn't happen when i use the CD player though. Any thoughts on the cause? With other amps connected to the TT, there is no loss of sound in any channel. This has left me very perplexed..

 
Have you been in there really good with deoxit? Those source selector buttons need regular cleaning.  Even my restored 1980 occasionally has to have it, or I will get a lower output on one channel on Phono 1 unless I work the selector in and out a few times.  It's purely an issue with the source selector buttons.  In your case it could be something worse, but that's the place to start.
 
That said, the SX-1280 is a killer piece and absolutely worth doing a full recap-restore on.

 

[Vaughn]

Sony TA-4650 on it's way to me! VFets and HE500s, I'm expecting nirvana

 

[Rossliew]

Well noted, Skylab. No, have not really had the chance to deoxit the amp. I think I will just send it to someone with more experience in such things to do the once over and refurbish it to tip top condition. But I have to mention i linked the TT via an external phono stage so it's not the Pioneer's phono input that i used.
 
Also have another Kenwood KA-5500 - this one worth the same effort?

 

[Skylab]

The SX-1280 has a very good phono stage - have you tried it? I suggest to. You might be surprised.  Was just spinning some vinyl this morning via my SX-1980.  It's phono section is absolutely superb.  Remember that back then vinyl ruled the day!

 

[caracara08]

The SX-1280 has a very good phono stage - have you tried it? I suggest to. You might be surprised.  Was just spinning some vinyl this morning via my SX-1980.  It's phono section is absolutely superb.  Remember that back then vinyl ruled the day!

Would that hold true to the lower end Marantz 2226b pre?

 

[Skylab]

I can't say about that model, but it is likely that the phono section is at least decent.  Will be better than any entry level phono preamp on today's market for sure, unless its malfunctioning. The phono section in my Marantz 2285 is terrific.

 

[wualta]

Vaughn: good on you, mate. Just don't expect greatness from the phono stage. Well, or from the whole preamp section. As a side note, it was recently discovered that the phono stage actually has low-power VFETs in it.

 

[Vaughn]

I won't be using the phono stage, but I will be using the preamp section. I suppose I could bypass the preamp section by connecting my DAC via the amp input on the back since it has variable output. 
 
I got lucky on this one, it has had the problematic diodes replaced and been tweaked and trimmed by Echowars. He did the work about 6 years ago. I may go through and do a recap since it is in excellent condition. Most likely I'll just do a spot check on the DC offset and put it into service.

 

[niten]

Interesting to hear everyone's take on restoration of some of these vintage receivers.
Personally, anything short of recapping would probably be something I would venture to do as a little pet project on weekends.
 
If people don't mind sharing, how much does a full restore including recapping range?
Do people consider a full restore to include woodwork/cabinets?
 
I understand that this would vary according to different circumstances, but any input towards vintage marantz would be enlightening.