Post #365671 by Cool Manchu on Sat, Mar 8, 2008 10:36 PM

So as with everything, I went a little overboard.

It started with a Marantz 2275, a beautiful receiver, which was made from 1974 to 1977. It had a list price of $600. It was a fabulous receiver, had this great blue lighting. I enjoyed audio nirvana for about 3 hours, then the left channel went out. Thank god for 30-day warranties! The sad news is that it has been in the shop for over a month now.

The same day I picked up four Kenwood KL-777 speakers. These are from 1976. They have six drivers in each cabinet. 1 15" woofer, 2 mids and 3 tweeters. They aren't the greatest speakers of all time, but they do sound pretty good!

I also picked up a lower end Marantz, the 2220b. I mainly picked this one up as a project and it has a beautiful wood case that I can put on my 2275 when it comes back. The guy threw in two Harmon Kardon HK-40 speakers from the mid-60s. I haven't hooked them up yet as they have an old way of being plugged in and I haven't picked up the right wire yet.

Then I hit the jackpot. I found a Pioneer SX-1250. It was the receiver that kicked off the Wattage Wars in the mid-1970s. It was Pioneer's flagship model in 1976-77. It cost the tidy sum of $900 when it came out. This is truly a monster receiver. It pumps out 160 watts per channel (1970s watts, not today's trumped up watts). It weighs in at a staggering 65 pounds. That is due to the four coke can sized capacitors and the coffee can sized torodial. It sounds amazing and it's not lacking in power. The SX-1250 was part of a package deal with two Acoustic Research AR2-ax speakers. Mine happen to be the pre-1970 version, which means they have cloth around the woofers. I need to get them serviced and have the cloth replaced with foam since they don't make the cloth surrounds anymore.

Well that's my update. I am sure this will just be the beginning...but the Tiki Lounge is definitely rocking these days. :)