Another Marantz 2230 will be ready soon!

It's one I picked up in a trade, with a lot of issues that I was aware of. The power switch is broken, and soldered permanently on. The pre-out/main in jacks were loose and broken, as were the phono jacks. The sound was scratchy, particularly in one channel. Why did I take it in a trade? Sometimes, especially with Marantz equipment, I get too excited.

Well, I didn't think I was going to be able to do much to this one myself, but I cleaned all the pots and contacts (or so I thought). I fixed the broken jacks (really the plastic around them). It sounded scratchy and intermittent as a receiver, fine as a power amp, but who needs a 30 watt/channel power amp that looks like a vintage Marantz receiver? I put it away, something else to get to when I have a fortune to spend having my dead receivers brought back to their former glory (I've had a few bad trades).

Speaking with someone this afternoon reminded me about it, and I pulled it out and listened again. Only one channel worked. While it was playing I checked all the knobs and switches. The tape monitor switch was clearly the culprit. It's often the problem, and all sources route through it. Cleaning the switch again more attentively made it sound great, like a Marantz receiver does.

Well, I'm so smart and resourceful that I realized I could easily replace what appeared to be only 2 burnt out bulbs on the tuner scale. Unfortunately, I shorted the whole chain of bulbs as I was stupidly removing a burnt out one while the unit was plugged in!

It still sounds perfect, and the STEREO light is on, so I'm sure it'll be an easy fix, and I was going to have to take it in to get the power switch replaced, but I feel quite silly.

Anyhow, very soon I will be pleased to show you a great sounding 2230 that's been around the block a few times, still making beautiful music sound that way.