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And then you have the dual-knob tone controls for adjusting bass, midrange, and treble for each channel.
But the parade of compelling features doesn’t end there.Īdding to the Model 2500’s allure is the well-considered phono preamp with its two complementary input differential amplifiers, low-noise transistors, to name but two elements of its design. The presence of a true oscilloscope on its front panel - a tool for accurately tuning AM and FM stations to improve stereo separation and reduce signal degradation from multipath - set the 2500 apart from its contemporaries as did the excellent five-gang tuner itself with its dual-gate MOSFET front end and ability to pull in and lock onto radio signals with great precision. Even the Sansui 9090DB was a couple inches wider, though its rated power potential was half that of the 2500. It is, moreover, a receiver that’s remarkably compact and lightweight for the amount of power it can deliver.”Ĭompact is relative because at 19 x 17 x 7 inches, the 2500 is certainly big - just not as big as other flagships of the day, including the gargantuan Sansui G-33000 it inspired, which one-upped the Model 2500, delivering 300 watts a side from a two-piece “receiver.” Not to take away from the formidable engineering behind the G-33000 but I don’t see how it qualifies a receiver, the whole point of which is to house everything in a single chassis.
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Marantz explained: “The result is a receiver capable of reliable long-term operation, even under full power output conditions. To keep the power amplifier section from overheating - a real concern, given the power at hand - Marantz deployed “space-age heat dissipators.” Instead of the massive (and impractical) heat sinks that would otherwise be required for an amplifier of this size, output transistors are mounted inside a tunnel with a fan that draws air across the transistors and the finger-like “pin fins” attached to each device. “Even when one channel is driven by a high-level dynamic signal demanding considerable output, the other can still maintain exceptionally low distortion.” The design was a source of great price for Marantz as was the use of a large toroidal power supply with separate windings for the left and right channels, which accounted the bulk of the 2500’s 60 pounds. Credit goes to the quadruple push-pull Class AB output section, a design used in separate components, but never before in receivers.
Pioneer’s SX-1250, another contender, topped out at 160 watts a side.Īs Marantz explained in its 1977 brochure, the 250-watt spec was “minimum continuous watts per channel, with no more than 0.05% total harmonic distortion, both channels driven in to 8 ohms.” Drop impedance to 4 ohms, and output jumped to 330 watts with no appreciable increase in distortion. Indeed, the Marantz 2500 outperformed the best flagship receivers of the day, delivering twice as much power as top competitors like Sansui’s 125-watt 9090DB. Produced from 1977 to 1980, the Model 2500 is noteworthy not just for its engaging industrial design but for its front-panel oscilloscope - novel then and now - distinctive, free-spinning “Gyro-Touch Tuning” dial, dual phono inputs, and (then) unheard-of power output of 250 watts per channel, which prompted Pioneer, Sansui and other top brands of the day to respond with their own monster receivers. Emblematic of flagships from the mid to late 1970s, the 2500 is an evolution of the iconic ’60s-era Model Eighteen and was hailed as “The World’s Most Powerful Receiver” in magazine ads of the day.
Marantz discontinued the Model 2500 more than 40 years ago yet this stunningly beautiful stereo receiver is still a commanding presence.