# Wow! What are they?? (vintage Marantz)



## Spuddy

I just picked up a pair of vintage Marantz speakers that look like they are from the 70s for $100 pretty much just on a whim, and search as I may, I've only found a vague reference to what they might be from someone asking the same question. Someone removed the model # label for some reason, so all I know is that they are vintage Marantz..

And WOW do they sound good! I have a full Klipsch RF5/RF3 loaded theater, and shockingly enough it seems to me after some preliminary listening that these Marantz towers are (maybe even significantly :rubeyes: ) more brutally honest to the recording than the Klipsches, which to this point produced some of the most accurate sound I had ever heard. Seriously, these things sound incredible, bringing out subtleties that even the amazing Klipsch RF-5s didn't pull up front. Looks like I got me a treasure!

Anyway, my question is: Does anyone know what model these are, and any extra info that may go along with it? This is a picture of them:












Thanks in advance!


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## Guest

Congratulations on the score! Sorry, I don't know what model those are, but I'm not really shocked that they sound better then your Klipsch. While they make and sell a very solid and tough product that can take some abuse, they aren't generally known for being the best sounding.


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## bambino

Man!, I haven't seen speakers like that since was a kid. Awesome find!:clap:


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## Spuddy

Thanks guys! I expected quality when I got these due to the name alone (and because I'm fairly sure they weren't from the brief stretch in the 80s when quality dropped) but this is giving me the chills every time a new song comes on- They produce what is far and away, no competition, not even the the same league best musical sound I've ever heard. Don't get me wrong, the Klipsches are still much better in their current position as the theater sound (nothing punches hard like Klipsch for a good explosion!) but the tone of the Marantz speakers is just incomparable. To put it in perspective, my RF-5 towers made much of the library on my computer obsolete due to download quality not being up to spec. The Marantz speakers on the other hand, just made all of my decoding and amplification equipment, _period,_ except the gear driving my theater obsolete.. I have to get a new cd player and amp just to make it not sound like a tweeter is busted!

I know these speakers are very rare due to only seeing one other similar pic like them on the internet, but I really wish I could find a model number or something so I actually know exactly what it is I found! I especially want to know what they would have costed new back in the 70s, even if just a ball-park number, because quality like this isn't cheap and it'd just be interesting to know just where on the hi-fi spectrum these things line up :T


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## SirKevi

Model 7000
- 12" high compliance woofer 
- 5" air sealed midrange 
- Dynamic 3" High Frequency Tweeter 
- Crossover Points: 750 Hz, 2500 Hz 
- Impedence: 4 ohms to 8 ohms 
- Frequency response: 18Hz-25,000Hz 
- Amplifier power: 
Minimum: 10 Watts/channel 
Maximum: 250 Watts/channel 
-Sensitivity: 95dB at 1 meter at 2.8V 
-Precision Crafted in USA 
I Found These on Speaker Asylum somebody else is looking for more info.


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## bambino

95db sensetivity, and they play down to 18Hz, sure don't build'em like that anymore (i don't think).


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## Spuddy

That's them all right! I wouldn't have pinned them as going down to 18 hertz because they are so warm and reserved sounding that the lows have never "forced" me to hear their bottomline , but then again, I don't think I've actually heard them ever hit bottom either so who knows?? Time to test that out  I have seen that post from the asylum, but it seems like other than that reference, Model 7000 simply doesn't exist or something, because I can't find a thing, not even from Marantz sites!

Is this what people mean when they talk about "70's golden-era sound"? I can hear literally _every. single. peep._ in the recordings, and (especially with Pink Floyd stuff) I can now clearly make out phrases and sentences that I thought were supposed to be incomprehensible before, despite playing the songs quite loud on my Klipsches and missing them. It's the weirdest (IE: coolest  ) thing- the speaker only needs to be set to a comfortable listening level, and while all the sounds you're expecting stay right where they are, you now hear every little sound in between them in perfect clarity as well; Voices seem to cut out sooner from the lack of reverberation, the tone is 100% realistic (never could say that before), and the completely FLAT linearity from bottom to top is second to nothing I've ever heard... It's amazing! 

The only way I can describe it is like going from analog cable TV to 1080p Blu Ray on the same size screen. The size of the "image" is exactly the same and you can clearly see a picture on both, but the blu ray screen will show you why Lindsay Lohan needed all that make up for the shot, while the cable TV won't even show that she had makeup on to begin with- It's seriously that big of a difference, and these speakers costed me less than the cables and connectors I used to wire up my theater! And I'm cheap!! Ahhhh sweet audio bliss  Thanks for the input everyone


ps... can you tell that my shock and excitement still haven't worn off yet?? :yay:


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## bambino

not at all to me you seem tottaly bummed about your awesome find, I'd sell them to me if i were you.:devil:


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## recruit

They are some serious looking speakers :yikes:


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## Spuddy

Anyone here have a way to measure frequency in hertz?








I just tested the speakers with the THX test on youtube and without knowing the frequency being played I can say without a doubt these things will go to 18hz, and from what I can guess, a lot lower with the volume cranked up :yikes:

With the speakers turned up near their loudest comfortable levels (not distorting..), at :02 seconds in the video I can just start to "imagine" a weird something in my stomach if the environment is dead silent, and the dog starts whining and looking around nervously (I say "imagine" because that's honestly the best way to describe it.. If you "imagined" it here for yourself, you would probably give the same description  ). Then just as the :03 turns to :04 seconds in the video it feels like I'm melting and sinking, mixed with a feeling like someone dropped a dumbell on a pillow at the other side of the house. It kind of flares and quiets a couple of times with the weird feelings, then about :05-:06 it becomes what I would call a legitimately audible tone up the rest of the scale. The first few seconds aren't loud by any measure but they are definitely playing a legitimate note, and I actually feel a bit alert right now 10 seconds later, suggesting that the speakers can hit the low teens fairly well and play the famous anxiety frequencies (even if it's only when they're getting a lot of juice.) If anyone here could test out the video and tell me what notes are being played, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks in advance

I think I'm in love


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## bambino

Sounds like true love to me, you are very fortunate, as some people never find love like that in there lifetime.:heehee:


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## Spuddy

bambino said:


> Sounds like true love to me, you are very fortunate, as some people never find love like that in there lifetime.:heehee:


That actually is kinda true haha- I've heard enough audio through these speakers now that I can honestly say I don't care what they're worth (high OR low), they will never peacefully leave my possession til I'm a goner 

Do you know of any bass extension testing videos that have the frequency shown on the screen while they play? I'd really like to know what frequencies I'm feeling just so I can actually know what the various low tones feel like as a general rule


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## recruit

Avia video and audio calibration discs allow you to run frequency tests and it will show what frequencies are being played on screen, have a look  HERE  :T


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## bambino

recruit said:


> Avia video and audio calibration discs allow you to run frequency tests and it will show what frequencies are being played on screen, have a look  HERE  :T


:T:T:T. When i did alot of car audio i had several discs that had the different frequency's by track #, they were nice cause you would know what notes you were and weren't hitting.:sn:


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## Spuddy

Thanks for the link, I definitely need to grab me one of those DVDs, even if as a theater calibration tool more than just seeing what my bottom end is :T


In the mean time (because of course I couldn't wait haha) I managed to find another youtube video that shows the frequency being played, and while not quite as mind-blowing, these results make a bit more sense to- They will play down to about 22-23hz _dead linear_, then gradually taper softer and softer until they fade away completely somewhere around 16-17 hertz at full volume

This still brings more questions though, because the THX video a few posts up was making legitimate sound at 3 seconds in, and it seemed lower in frequency than what the second video stopped at :scratch: It feels like the floor is dropping or something- calling the notes a "sensed feeling" instead of sound would be a more accurate description, but that feeling doesn't seem to come from the video with numbers being displayed. Maybe it's because the frequency sweep puts out a sudden dropping feeling as a side-effect? Either way, I'm still blown away that these can match the depth of my Velodyne with gusto, so I won't press the issue


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## Ares

Hello Spud, 

Eminent Technology offers a free low frequency sweep DVD download that goes down to single digits 
hope this helps, word of caution play this at really, really low levels like -40dB or more to be on the safe side.


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## acoustat6

Spuddy said, "Anyone here have a way to measure frequency in hertz?"


I say HUH? WHAT? I mean we are right here on the great Home Theater Shack with the best possible program for doing this, its called REW or the Room EQ Wizard!
Download the FREE program and then post the results. The thing on You tube is meaningless.
Bob,
PHP143


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## recruit

acoustat6 said:


> Spuddy said, "Anyone here have a way to measure frequency in hertz?"
> 
> 
> I say HUH? WHAT? I mean we are right here on the great Home Theater Shack with the best possible program for doing this, its called REW or the Room EQ Wizard!
> Download the FREE program and then post the results. The thing on You tube is meaningless.
> Bob,
> PHP143


This is very true Bob, but for some they may not have everything they need to run REW and using test discs is much more accessible depending on there knowledge and the time it takes.


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## bambino

recruit said:


> This is very true Bob, but for some they may not have everything they need to run REW and using test discs is much more accessible depending on there knowledge and the time it takes.


Put me on that list of folks without the tools to do it correctly.:hissyfit:


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## JoeESP9

bambino said:


> Put me on that list of folks without the tools to do it correctly.:hissyfit:


All you need is a microphone. If you're just messing (learning) around the Rat Shack one will work fine. Actually it works fine period. REW and the correction chart is all you need. Every person who has concerns about the sound their system makes should own at least the TRS SPL meter.

FWIW: I have the original Rat Shack meter. I've had it since around 1980. It works just fine.


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## hearingspecialist

hmmmm, very interesting. Hopefully the surrounds are in great shape. Do you have them on stands or are they just grounded when at your listening position?


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## Spuddy

acoustat6 said:


> Spuddy said, "Anyone here have a way to measure frequency in hertz?"
> 
> 
> I say HUH? WHAT? I mean we are right here on the great Home Theater Shack with the best possible program for doing this, its called REW or the Room EQ Wizard!
> Download the FREE program and then post the results. The thing on You tube is meaningless.
> Bob,
> PHP143


Sometimes the simplest answer is some all-but-forgotten common sense  I'll get a microphone when I can, thanks for the reminder that we have this program available 



hearingspecialist said:


> hmmmm, very interesting. Hopefully the surrounds are in great shape. Do you have them on stands or are they just grounded when at your listening position?


I was worried about the surrounds as I drove down to pick these up, but to my relief they are a rubbery cloth material and are in perfect condition after all these years. The original owner had these for some time, then gave them to his sister 20 years ago, and she had them until a month ago when she sold them to me. I'm not sure how much the sister knew about what they are but she definitely took great care of them, and aside from one tweeter missing a small circular grill, the speakers are in about as flawless of a condition as I could hope for. They aged well!

I have them on the ground for now, connected to my receiver for both music and optical-quality sound straight from the DVR for my TV volume as well- As you can tell, I really want to let these things take care of most of my non-theatrical entertainment  Because I am still moving into my first house, nothing is where it will be so I can't say too much about the final setup, but I'll definitely give the REW a go and post the results when I have everything in a permanent position


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## pl8er

Great find! I had a similar pair back in the early 90's.


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## jacky99

bambino said:


> 95db sensetivity, and they play down to 18Hz, sure don't build'em like that anymore (i don't think).


Look really nice!!!


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## xego

I tried that youtube on my computers little logictech 2.1 setup and I thought it would blow it up...lol I am wondering how you use a test signal like that without any reference to what frequency is being played and when? It would seem that some graphic is needed for it to be useful.


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## jacky99

o k...


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## Spuddy

xego said:


> I tried that youtube on my computers little logictech 2.1 setup and I thought it would blow it up...lol I am wondering how you use a test signal like that without any reference to what frequency is being played and when? It would seem that some graphic is needed for it to be useful.


The first video is just a blind sweep- search for "subwoofer test" and you'll find a few different test vids that let you know what is being played. Ideally you should use the REW program though, you can get that in the REW forum for free, all you need is a mic if you don't have one. I still don't have one :sad:


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