for old Marantz 2220B

What currently-available speakers (under $250 each) would you recommend for an old Marantz 2220B receiver? THANKS

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Originally Posted by normandydude

What currently-available speakers (under $250 each) would you recommend for an old Marantz 2220B receiver? THANKS

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Well I looked up the specs on your receiver and it looks like it is around 20 watts per channel. Since you did not talk about any size requirments for these speakers I myself would probably stay with a bookshelf sized speaker sense they tend to require less power to run especially at this price point. I am not sure of your musical tastes or how loud you listen to your system but 20 watts can be enough for some people and there are speakers out there that will run to normal listening levels of this kind of power. There are lots of good speakers available used and new at this price point but I would look closely at their sensitivity ratings and stay with speakers that are at least in the mid 90's in there sensitivity ratings or you might run into problems with amplifier clipping and distortion from the amplifier trying to run the speakers to your required level. Klipsch speakers are known for their high sensitivity and some people do like them. Myself I would go out to your local quality audio store and listen to different models to find out what you like in that price range but make sure to tell the person helping you what amp you will be running so you will be listening to models it can handle. Once you find out what you like you can hit the used market or the internet and try to find the best deal for what you want.

This will depend on what you like, but I would suggest listening to a pair of the Chorus series by Focal/JM Lab. There's a new pair of the 806V on Audiogon for $550. Nice refined speakers and fairly efficient.

Thanks for those suggestions. Any others? Maybe speakers I can buy new for less money? I like a deep bass sound, but don't want to lose any high end crispness. Sorry to sound like such a flake, but I'm not at all what you'd call an "audiophile." I just like listening to all different sorts of music, from classical to jazz to heavy metal!

ANOTHER QUESTION: Can I connect an iPod to the Marantz 2220B using phono jacks? What should I buy to do that?

I VERY VERY MUCH APPRECIATE your comments and help!

When it comes to good highs and deep bass, you might not want to try to get both out of the same speakers. I use an 8-inch Velodyne sub to support the bass in my primary 2-channel system and I keep it turned down so you wouldn't notice it's the sub. I also keep it cut off low, so it doesn't play the more directional frequencies...again, so as not to give away that it's the sub. I'm not really a fan of spending a lot of money on the sub for this purpose...I got mine for around a hundred bucks in a pawn shop.

As for new speakers, you could look at the JBL, Polk and Infinity speakers at the big box retail stores or maybe the Paradigm Atom (assuming you get a sub) at the audio dealers. JBL, Polk and Infinity stuff is mostly not really hi-fi, but it sounds pretty good to most people. You could see some good examples with prices at the Harman International website.

There's a special cable for adapting iPod to RCA jacks. Should be under $10 and will work on your receiver.

Please answer both questions! THANKS!

A. On a scale of 1 to 10: How much of an audiophile are you? (1 -- you're like me: you like music but you know nothing about technology today; 10 -- you're a professional sound engineer)

B. WHICH SPEAKERS WOULD YOU BUY TO GO WITH A 35-YEAR OLD MARANTZ 2220B RECEIVER? I've narrowed it down to these, but am willing to consider other models:

Kliptch B-3
JBL L830
JBL ES30
BOSTON ACOUSTICS C26

And again: THANKS YOU ALL!

From the choices you present, given my druthers, I'd be looking back to some JBL's from the same era as your receiver, say L-26's or so.

and no, you won;t like the result if you plug your ipod into the phono input. Try a high level input, say an "aux" or "tape in" input.

And I'm not an audiophile. I'm only a hobbiest who knows what he likes. Then again, I built my first tube amp as a teenager back in '63 after having repaired some radios and TV's as a hobby before that.

I'm no expert, but I thought audiophiles listen to better speakers than sound engineers. In any case, I've been a Marantz since the days of your receiver and I do still have one. At one time, I had a Marantz 1040, which would have been very similar amplification to your 2220B. My only current Marantz receiver or amp is a 2325.

I've been a JBL fan for quite a while, too, so I would have been very interested in the L830 when they came around, except I already had two pairs of S38. That said, I would choose the Klipsch B-3 from this group because of its efficiency. I also like the horn speaker fairly well. It seems to be decent with vocals.

I like markw's idea on the JBL's from the same era as your receiver and I also know from personal experience that even some very decent JBL speakers do not produce the clarity and detail that the speakers from the high-end manufacturers do. That's why I mentioned Focal and Paradigm.

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Originally Posted by normandydude

What currently-available speakers (under $250 each) would you recommend for an old Marantz 2220B receiver? THANKS

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I'd go with TAS' recommendation in this category: PSB Alpha B1.

That's is, if you're buying new; if you're shopping used it's a different game of course.

Not sure why you are limiting yourself to something new. Older speakers from the same era are pretty efficient and in a sense designed to be powered on the lower wpc of the day. Check out your local thrifts and CL and you might see some vintage speakers well within your price range. Early Advents, KLH's, Dynaco's or AR's would all fit the bill.

Try & look for some HH Scott speakers from the late 80's Im running 4 way 6 driver HH Scott Speakers with a Kenwood KR-4070 that is 40 wpc. The speakers have 15" Woofers. My speakers are anywhere from 10 all the way up to 150 watts RMS.

These are the well received Tritrix. For $200 a pair you can't go wrong and you'll have enough $$$ left over to buy a higher output amp if you play your music loud. Read the reviews and watch the easy video assembly. This is the best deal in audio right now.


http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=300-702

Here's a few pairs to consider

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PBIMB25

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PBIMB6

http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...61/energy-cb20

http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...iq30-black-ash

http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...05/energy-rc10