Model 500 is wel eens omschreven alszijnde onbetrouwbaar vanwege het bepaalde type power transistor.
Ik heb er een tijdje geleden eindelijk eentje kunnen bemachtigen.
Helaas niet in mint condition maar zeker huiskamer waardig!
Er moet nog wel het e.e.a. aan nodeloze toevoegingen in de vorm van een extra 44.000 uf aan voedingselco's verwijderd worden maar dat komt allemaal goed en ik zal wanneer daar interesse voor bestaat dan ook posten in de vorm van een verslag met foto's.
Terugkomend op de ''verhalen'' dat deze 500 onbetrouwbaar zou zijn; Ik geloof er persoonlijk niets van daar ik nog geen enkele onbetrouwbare vintage Marantz tegengekomen ben.
Deze veiling van een in mint condition verkerende model 500 verklaard het e.e.a. in vergelijk met zn goedkopere opvolger de 510/M
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160139470235&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=006History:
Saul Marantz was perhaps the most significant player in the world of High Fidelity audio components. His revolutionary design theories and unique talents have unquestionably transformed music reproduction from its rudimentary state to a life-like concert experience. The components that he and his team produced as far back as the late 1950s still represent the audiophile standard of today, greatly outperforming much of today's high end equipment. Construction quality, durability, dependability, and above all outstanding sonic performance are the clearly identifiable aspects of these vintage pieces.
The 500 is known as the last great amp of the vintage Marantz era. With a power rating of 250Watts RMS per channel into 8 Ohms or 500Watts RMS per channel into 4 Ohms, the Marantz 500 is the most powerful amplifier that Marantz produced. Its original 1200 USD price tag in the early 1970's makes it the most expensive amplifier sold during their golden era. Even at $1200, it is reported that Marantz lost a significant amount of money on these amplifiers. The Marantz 500 was only offered for two years from 1973 to 1975. Production was limited to less than 1000 worldwide. In that day, very few speaker systems could master the raw power and control of the Marantz 500. When combined with its price tag, the Marantz 500 was a stretch for audiophiles and professionals alike. The 500 has a massive 2.2kWatt multiple tapped transformer, supporting 100 to 220 VAC operation. When it came time replace the 500 with a less expensive, similarly rated, yet inferior, 510/510M series amplifiers, the power transformer had approximately 50% of the power capacity of the 500. This meant that the 510/510M series amplifiers could only transfer 70% of the power of the 500 into 4 Ohm loads.
Today, the 500 is regularly sought by collectors on all continents. Its ability to provide sheer unadulterated brute power makes it popular among audio enthusiasts everywhere. It provides clean, clear, ultra smooth reproduction through its entire frequency range. In reality, 250W is a conservative rating. The 500 has that distinctive "Marantz" sound, unobtainable with other equipment.
