new speakers to go with marantz 2270?

[chimpanjesus]

i just picked up a marantz 2270 and am looking for some bookshelf speakers to go along with it. im trying to find something brand new, no vintage stuff for the moment. ive got about $200 to spend, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[RoadRunner6]

Wow, you brought back some old memories for me. I owned a 2270 for about 15 years.

Unfortunately, you haven't given us any basic info. However, at $200 for a pair of new bookshelf speakers you are at the absolute rock bottom for decent sound. Lots of people start low and then start raising their budget through the thread. Be honest, is $200 it?

Here are some at that very low price.

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=ATLS100

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=ATLS300

http://www.jr.com/polk-audio/pe/POK_MONITOR40BK/

If you can scrape up anther $25-$100 then here are some excellent buys:

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/hb-1.html

http://www.axiomaudio.com/m2.html

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=ATLS500

http://www.svsound.com/products-spks-sbs01.cfm

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/543185-REG/JBL_ES20B_ES20B_3_Way_Bookshelf_Speaker.html

I threw in a couple of towers in case you change your mind.

RR6 :ciappa:

[Feanor]

i just picked up a marantz 2270 and am looking for some bookshelf speakers to go along with it. im trying to find something brand new, no vintage stuff for the moment. ive got about $200 to spend, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

The Maratz 2270 is a classic vintage item. They are highly sought-after on the used market though not uncommon. A nice one in good condition is a genuine investment. See this references at Classic Audio (http://www.classicaudio.com/value/mz/2270.html). Does you have the wood case? (Original wood cases are worth over $100 on their own.)

When you say "bookshelf" do you actually mean "stand mount"? Most current speakers are "voiced" to be used on stands somewhat way from the wall. Speakers of the '70s were actually designed to used on bookshelves, then again most were designed for a warmer sound than is popular today so it tends to balance out.
...

[E-Stat]

ive got about $200 to spend, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Ironically, the best sound for the money would be a pair of refoamed Advents. Unlike the new choices at that price point, you'll actually get real bass.

rw

[markw]

Personally, I think these sound great with speakers of that era that have at least 8" (preferably 10" or greater) woofers in enclosures that are fairly larger than modern bookshelfs.

Advents, JBL's, etc... Particularly with classic rock music. For a more "polite" sound, AR 2's, 4's or 5 's, andalmost any KLH's are hard to beat.

As for more current speakers, well, what type music do you like?

[02audionoob]

There are some pretty decent Polk, Infinity and JBL bookshelf speakers available for that price, depending on what you like. I have a pair of JBL E30 on an Marantz 2325 and they sound very nice for the money. I think I paid around $100 direct from Harman Audio, including shipping. I don't remember for sure. Harman sells on eBay. I've read good things about the Infinity Primus 150.

My E30 speakers are good for my just regular pop & rock music...maybe not so much for classical or jazz...at least not to *my* taste. I have another pair of speakers I like better for that, and I'm still shopping. One would think you'd need a subwoofer with these types of speakers...something to consider. Maybe some inexpensive floorstanding speakers would be an option? I've seen some fantastic deals on the Polk R50, lately.

[chimpanjesus]

thanks for all the advice. a little more info, im looking for something i can put on my desk, 14" height max. i listen to pretty much everything but definately more hardcore and punk. is there a big difference in quality jumping up to the $300 range from $200?

[markw]

There is a plethora of these tiny speakers out there, but what you may find is that although they might present a great mid/high perspective, particularly in a near-field application, you may find them lacking a solid bass foundation.

Now, had your choices been more along the lines of chamber music, acoustic guitar, or other genres that don't push out a lot of lows, this might not have been a major issue.

The good thing is that the 2270 is very ameniable to the addition of a powered subwoofer, assuming it has stereo line-level inputs.

FWIW, I use a pair of Realistic Minimus 7's mounted at ear level at my desk along with a small sub. This fits the bill quite well, for me at least.

[chimpanjesus]

i just got axiom m3's. most reviews ive read say they produce a decent bass sound on their own, what would be a good small sub to pair with these? thanks again for all the help.

[GMichael]

I have the Infinity Primus 150's as surrounds in one room and the JBL E-20's all around in another. They are both pretty nice speakers for the money. The JBL's were being phased out and I got them at $40 a pair. Not sure what they go for these days. The Infinity's are front ported while the JBL's are rear. Something to keep in mind if you are in tight spaces.
The Onix x-ls encore Monitor Loudspeaker would be a step up at $300 a pair. Take a look here. http://av123.com/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.flypage/product_id,172/category_id,21/manufacturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,37/
They may be worth a listen.

[RoadRunner6]

I own the Axiom M2's. Both the M2 and M3 are super values. Too bad you didn't mention that you were going to get a sub. I would have told you to forget the larger more expensive M3's since they only go about 10Hz lower, which will be covered by any decent sub.

Anyway, with the old receiver you need a powered sub that has both speaker level input and outputs so you can use the sub crossover filter. Some of the smaller inexpensive subs do not have the speaker level outs. I would wait until you can afford a good quality sub (don't skimp on the sub and get a cheapo, you'll regret it). This is very important for the best blend between the bookshelf and sub. Here are several subs you might consider. Unfortunately Outlaw has discontinued the LFM-2 which would have been perfect.

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/lfmcompact.html (the LFM subs, which I own have a beautiful inlaid black gloss plexiglass top) $399

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/stf-1.html $299 ( a great sub for $300)

http://electronics.pricegrabber.com/subwoofer-speakers/m/690869/zip_code=98075/qlty=n/st=zip/ $170 for Velodyne VX-10 (Vann's is an excellent dealer)

Forget the "mini cube" type subs if you have the room for a conventional sub. The conventional sub has much better performance for far less money.

RR6 :22:

[markw]

From what I've noticed, most subs offer an adjustable low-pass filter but, when using the outputs to the main amp or speakers, that fequency may be set in stone. While this might be great in HT where 80 hz seems to be a de facto standard for speaker/subwoofer integration, in "music" no such rule applies.

This may be an advantage. If you run the mains full range, you can adjust the sub to start doing it's thing where the mains start to fall off. I ran my system in this manner, passing a full-range signal to both the subwoofer amp and my mains amp. I let the speakers roll off on their own and set my sub's low-pass to 50 hz or so.

This frequency will vary from speaker to speaker and finding the exact frequency for your application will may take some experimentation.

Your 2270 is well-suited for this, what with the removable links between the pre and main amps. Just don't lose these links. They may come in handy later.

[chimpanjesus]

got my m3's they sound fantastic. im looking for a pair of secondary speakers to go in the remote outputs, any suggestions? looking for something pretty small (6" height max).

[O'Shag]

I picked this reciever up about 8 months back, buying it becuase it was at a 'good' price and being a Marantz. It sounded rather 'analogue' but did not sound good all the same. Even though I bought it for $150 with the wooden case, and space being limited, I just threw it out in the dumpster. Thats how impressive the sound was....

[RoadRunner6]

Well chimpanjesus, I guess that tells you what a piece of crap you bought and that I owned way back in the 70's! Hope it didn't dent the dumpster!

RR6 :biggrin5:

[02audionoob]

Why would we suddenly take such an insulting approach on this thread?

[markw]

Why would we suddenly take such an insulting approach on this thread?What you mean "we", kimosabe? (You do know that old joke, don't ya?)

Just like a perfect body (say, Jennifer Biel;s) heeds a sphincter to function, we've got O'Jack, who seems to get his jollies urinating in other people's cheerios. If you really believe he just threw it (and a case) in a dumpster, well, I can't believe even he's that stupid.

But, ya just gotta love that 'it sounded rather "analog"' line. I don't care who you are, THAT'S funny!

I believe the post immediately following O'jacks was meant in jest. In fact, being somewhat familiar with RR6's style, I'd bet on it. I'm just as sure of that as I am that O'jack simply likes urinating in other people's cheerios.

[Feanor]

I picked this reciever up about 8 months back, buying it becuase it was at a 'good' price and being a Marantz. It sounded rather 'analogue' but did not sound good all the same. Even though I bought it for $150 with the wooden case, and space being limited, I just threw it out in the dumpster. Thats how impressive the sound was....

What's too bad isn't that Shag lost the $500 for which he might have sold a nice Marantz 2270 with case on eBay; he wouldn't miss that kind of cash. Rather it's sad that that a fine vintage piece is lost to posterity. (Here's one (http://cgi.ebay.ca/Marantz-2270-Stereo-Receiver-amplifier-Amazing-Original_W0QQitemZ280254851698QQihZ018QQcategoryZ5 0596QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) without case that went for over $400.)

No, of course these vintage items aren't going to sound as good as decent modern equipment but, like I said earlier, they are handsome in their own right and much sought after.