HiFi Lit
Aktive Frequenzweiche mit ECC83

Model 1
Model 3
Model 4
Model 5
Model 7c
Model 7t
Model 8b
Model 9
Model 10b
Model 15
Model 16
Model 18
Model 19
Model 20/20b
Model 30

Model 32
Model 66
Model 240
Model 250
Model 250 M
Model 500
Model 510 M
Model 1120
Model 1200/1200b
Model 3300
Model 3800

In the early days, LP records suffered from inconsistent recording characteristics, a source of concern for Saul, so in 1952 he created what was for the time, a revolutionary pre-amplifier. It was equipped with every equalizer curve necessary to handle the erratic recording characteristics and it immediately struck a chord with his friends. He called it the ‘Audio Consolette’, and his wife convinced him to make and sell 100 sets, but within a year the order book backlog had grown to over 400 units!

Just as Saul B. Marantz loved LP records, music enthusiasts everywhere were about to start a love affair with his products that would span half a century and is still going strong today. He officially founded the Marantz Company in 1953 and launched the Model 1 Mono Preamplifier (a commercial extension of his Audio Consolette) a year later. This amplifier contained a very sophisticated phono equalizer that easily met the RIAA equalizer standards introduced the same year. It also had seven inputs, including one for TV audio thus pre-empting home cinema by about 40 years!

Retailing at $168 USD, a significant amount at the time, the Model 1 was praised for its amazing music sounds with dynamics that left enthusiasts and critics stunned. With features like a tape monitor switch, a rotary volume potentiometer and a separated power supply, it laid the foundations for Marantz’s tradition of quality and innovation above all else. Today, collectors are prepared to pay substantially more than the original asking price for a good condition Model 1, and its performance is still considered a landmark in music pre-amplification.

Before long, the range started to grow and the Model 2 Power Amplifier was launched in 1956. This masterpiece was years ahead of its contemporary competition, and featured two driving modes. Via a simple selector, it could be switched to pentode mode for 40 watts output power, or to triode operation for 25 watts. The Model 2 actually inspired one critic to describe its sound as ‘gorgeous’, a word rarely applied to HiFi in the fifties!

In 1957, the Model 3 Mono Two-way Channel Divider and Model 4 Power Supply were added, and a year later saw the launch of the Model 5, a less powerful but more accessible version of the rather expensive Model 2. This year also saw the birth of stereo records, and Marantz launched the Model 6 stereo adapter for use with two Model 1 preamplifiers. More significantly, however, the world also became acquainted with what many consider the most famous Marantz creation of all: the Model 7c Stereo Preamplifier.

A direct descendent of the Model 1, the Model 7c went on to become one of the biggest selling high-end audio units of all time (130,000 pieces in all its variations). With mode and balance controls and independent tone controls for each channel, its fantastic success is undoubtedly linked to superb music quality. But fans of the Model 7 also claim – with some justification – that it also set new standards in aesthetic appeal with its balanced design front panel and subtle light below the Marantz logo. The Model 7 range eventually evolved 10 years later into the 7T, the first ever solid-state preamplifier from Marantz.

At the start of the sixties, Marantz launched its first stereo power amplifier, the 30 watt per channel Model 8. Similar in design to the legendary Models 2 and 5, it had exposed valves and delivered exceptional sound quality. The 1963 Model 9 is a 70-watt mono power amplifier that many connoisseurs claim has no rivals. 1963 was clearly a great year for Marantz as another icon in HiFi history saw the light of day: the Model 10 valve FM tuner featuring a built-in oscilloscope to verify the quality, power and balance of the received signal."