1977/1978 MARANTZ 2500/2600 MONSTER RECEIVERS

The Big Marantzii

The 250wpc Marantz 2500 made its debut in early 1977 and briefly held the title of World's Most Powerful Receiver. The Receiver Wars was on and within months, the 2500 was dethroned by the likes of Pioneer's SX-1980 (270wpc), Sansui's G-33000 (300wpc), and Technics' SA-1000 (330wpc). Marantz came back with the 300wpc 2600 in 1978 but by then, the Title was out of reach and never to be held by Marantz again.

When the 2500 debuted, it was on the cutting edge of design. It featured the traditional scope, which was a feature of most TOTL models dating back to the legendary 10b tuner. The amp section had a toroidal transformer, dual core filter caps, and the Amplifier Cooling Tunnel taken from the 510 amplifier. These features contributed to the 2500's compact size, which was a major selling point. The 2600 at 300wpc was the most powerful Marantz receiver ever made. It had an incredible FTC rating of 400wpc into 4 ohm. The 2600 featured a slightly larger toroid, larger filter caps, and a much needed Quartz Lock FM tuner.

This cutting edge design made the 2500/2600 prone to failure. Early on, the toroidal power supply suffered from a high failure rate. Today, the dual core filters are unobtanium and often times replaced with two caps per side. Before buying, check these items or you will get the most Beautiful Doorstop Ever. However, if these parts have survived the Test of Time, you've got a winner.

Today, the 2500 and 2600 fetch four figure prices that sometimes exceed the original MSRP of $1600. The 2600 can reach an incredible $4,000 on eBay. When working, these receivers sound fabulous. They are smooth at easy listening levels and have the power and composure to "rock the house" in style. While not quite the Three Martini Sound of the superb 2285B, the 2500/2600 earns Two Martinis and that is an excellent achievement for these powerful Monsters.

 

Double click the thumbnails for the "big picture":

2500 Front	2500 Side

Written by SoCal Sam of AudioKarma

Marantz 2500 Images borrowed from an eBay auction.