These are the holy grail of vintage amplifiers from the heyday of American audio. Every audiophile who appreciates the history of audio at one time has probably had these superlative tube amplifiers on their radar screen. I purchased them less than a year ago from the estate of the original owner who lived close by. He had two pairs of 9s in the same listening room of his home since he purchased them new in 1962. He used them to drive double KLH Model Nines. Given their provenance and cosmetic condition, I jumped at the opportunity to purchase them. I made sure that the elusive covers which cover the speaker terminals and inputs weren’t missing. They are present and fully intact! The tube cages are also intact and in great shape.
I owned a pair of KLH Nines (Arthur Jantzen voiced his electrostatic creations with the Marantz 9s) and Quad ESL 57s and the Marantz 9s are known for being a perfect match with both of these speakers. These amps don’t sound good with just vintage electrostatics. Their powerful 70 watts per channel drive most any speakers with ease and authority. I rated them a 7 only because they are around 60 years old. For vintage components, they are in excellent condition and fully restored and operating wonderfully!
Upon purchasing the amps, I immediately took them to a good friend who has been employed in the audio industry for well over 50 years, first as the service manager for a successful Chicago audio retailer which had several stores, Audio Consultants and then with several audio manufacturers. In his retirement over the past several years, he restores vintage audio equipment, including many tube components. My 9s were professionally and fully restored by this gentleman. His marching orders were to keep the 9s original to the way they were built and sounded when they were new in the early 1960’s. Upon completing the restoration, here is what he wrote to me:
“I’ve attached the restoration report/invoice on your 9’s. It’s hard to convey on paper how much work this was, and the 20 hours billed doesn’t begin to cover the actual time i’ve invested in these classics. I think the documentation attached would be valuable in the event you ever decided to sell these, as it gives a good chronicle of how these have been properly maintained. I’m absolutely confident that these amps sound virtually identical to the way they did when they left the Marantz factory 60 years ago. They are very stable and robust designs that can drive just about anything within reasonable sensitivity ratings. They are well suited for electrostatics like the Quads or KLH 9’s, and they have a very relaxed, non aggressive tonal character that manages to not sound dull or withdrawn. I spent a few hours listening to them yesterday and they performed flawlessly. I’ve attached before and after pics in a separate email.”
The restoration report noted in his letter is attached, along with photos of the amps reflecting their cosmetic condition (they look even better in person than reflected in the photos), before and after photos showing the extent of his work and a vintage ad from when these amps were new.
These amps are as rare as hen’s teeth and you can buy with confidence that these 60-year old classics were restored correctly and will sound their best for years to come.
I’d prefer a local pickup due to the rarity and weight of these beauties. I’m in the suburbs of Chicago. Alternatively, the buyer can arrange for shipping as I don’t want to bear the risk of possible shipping damage. I find that uShip tends to get heavy packages to their destination in a safer manner than others. I also have employed the services of a freight company, Airgroup, which has shipped items across the country to and from me without incident.
I love both vintage and modern audio. This is a favorite hobby for me, not a business. I have 100% positive feedback with multiple (over 30) transactions on US Audiomart and other sites and am well known on this and several other audio websites, including
AudioKarma and Audioshark. Buy with confidence that you are doing business with someone who stakes his reputation on an honest transaction, always with integrity.
Asking $17,500. Considering there is another pair for sale on the Mart that are unrestored and more money than mine, which have just been restored, these are a relative bargain. Looking for payment by wire transfer or other method where no fees are entailed.
Thanks for looking. I’d welcome any questions you may have. If you have any specific questions for the gentleman who restored these 9s, let me know and I will ask if he will make himself available or answer them in writing.
I owned a pair of KLH Nines (Arthur Jantzen voiced his electrostatic creations with the Marantz 9s) and Quad ESL 57s and the Marantz 9s are known for being a perfect match with both of these speakers. These amps don’t sound good with just vintage electrostatics. Their powerful 70 watts per channel drive most any speakers with ease and authority. I rated them a 7 only because they are around 60 years old. For vintage components, they are in excellent condition and fully restored and operating wonderfully!
Upon purchasing the amps, I immediately took them to a good friend who has been employed in the audio industry for well over 50 years, first as the service manager for a successful Chicago audio retailer which had several stores, Audio Consultants and then with several audio manufacturers. In his retirement over the past several years, he restores vintage audio equipment, including many tube components. My 9s were professionally and fully restored by this gentleman. His marching orders were to keep the 9s original to the way they were built and sounded when they were new in the early 1960’s. Upon completing the restoration, here is what he wrote to me:
“I’ve attached the restoration report/invoice on your 9’s. It’s hard to convey on paper how much work this was, and the 20 hours billed doesn’t begin to cover the actual time i’ve invested in these classics. I think the documentation attached would be valuable in the event you ever decided to sell these, as it gives a good chronicle of how these have been properly maintained. I’m absolutely confident that these amps sound virtually identical to the way they did when they left the Marantz factory 60 years ago. They are very stable and robust designs that can drive just about anything within reasonable sensitivity ratings. They are well suited for electrostatics like the Quads or KLH 9’s, and they have a very relaxed, non aggressive tonal character that manages to not sound dull or withdrawn. I spent a few hours listening to them yesterday and they performed flawlessly. I’ve attached before and after pics in a separate email.”
The restoration report noted in his letter is attached, along with photos of the amps reflecting their cosmetic condition (they look even better in person than reflected in the photos), before and after photos showing the extent of his work and a vintage ad from when these amps were new.
These amps are as rare as hen’s teeth and you can buy with confidence that these 60-year old classics were restored correctly and will sound their best for years to come.
I’d prefer a local pickup due to the rarity and weight of these beauties. I’m in the suburbs of Chicago. Alternatively, the buyer can arrange for shipping as I don’t want to bear the risk of possible shipping damage. I find that uShip tends to get heavy packages to their destination in a safer manner than others. I also have employed the services of a freight company, Airgroup, which has shipped items across the country to and from me without incident.
I love both vintage and modern audio. This is a favorite hobby for me, not a business. I have 100% positive feedback with multiple (over 30) transactions on US Audiomart and other sites and am well known on this and several other audio websites, including
AudioKarma and Audioshark. Buy with confidence that you are doing business with someone who stakes his reputation on an honest transaction, always with integrity.
Asking $17,500. Considering there is another pair for sale on the Mart that are unrestored and more money than mine, which have just been restored, these are a relative bargain. Looking for payment by wire transfer or other method where no fees are entailed.
Thanks for looking. I’d welcome any questions you may have. If you have any specific questions for the gentleman who restored these 9s, let me know and I will ask if he will make himself available or answer them in writing.
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