Archive / Classics, 1946 to 1969
Model 7
Preamplifier, Marantz, 1958
Marantz's first stereo preamplifier, built around a three-stage phono circuit that became known as the Marantz circuit, with more than 130,000 units reported sold.
A-11, isometric, same camera for both
- Drawing
- A-11
- Introduced
- 1958
- Produced
- 1958 to 1966
- Made in
- United States
- Designed by
- Saul Marantz
- Launch price
- Not confirmed
- Size
- 365 x 137 x 216 mm
- Weight
- 9.1 kg
Saul Marantz built the Audio Consolette preamplifier in 1952 and founded his company in Queens, New York, in 1953. The Model 7 followed in 1958 as a stereo preamplifier whose front panel layout was drawn by Marantz himself, who had a background in drafting, graphic arts and industrial design. The panel reads Marantz Stereo Console and omits the model number, and the circuit uses six 12AX7 tubes, three per channel. The Model 7C designation refers to a unit supplied in a wooden case.
Specification
| Item | As published |
|---|---|
| Tubes | 6 x 12AX7 (ECC83), three per channel |
| Phono gain | 64.5 dB (22.5 dB line) |
| Frequency response | 20 Hz to 20 kHz, +/- 0.5 dB |
| Noise | -80 dB with a 10 mV phono input |
| Intermodulation distortion | 0.1% at 10 V peak RMS; 0.01% at 2 V |
| Inputs | Microphone, phono 1, phono 2, tape head, FM-AM, FM (multiplexed), TV, auxiliary |
| Power | 105 to 125 V, 50 to 60 c/s, 20 W |
Out of production
Find an original
The Model 7 is out of production. Originals change hands on the marketplaces listed here; buy restored, or budget for recapping and new valves.
The house
- Founded
- 1953
- Founder
- Saul Marantz
- Origin
- Woodside, Queens, New York, United States
- Today
- Owned by Samsung Electronics through Harman, which bought Marantz from Masimo in 2025 after Sound United (2017) and D&M Holdings, per Wikipedia.
Further sheets
Sources
- https://www.marantz.com/en-us/world-of-marantz/timeline.html
- https://skyfiaudio.com/products/marantz-model-7-vintage-tube-preamp-bone-stock-collectors-piece-mint
- https://www.resistormag.com/features/archetype-marantz-model-7-stereo-preamplifier-phonographic-icon-of-the-20th-century/
- https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/marantz_stereo_console_model_7.html
- https://rubli.net/classic_amps/files/amps/marantz/7c/specs.htm
- https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-High-Fidelity/60s/High-Fidelity-1961-Feb.pdf
- https://hifihalloffame.com/?p=2023
Notes for the record: Launch price left null: Radiomuseum and rubli.net give US$249 from a later Marantz brochure (wood case an extra US$24), Resistor magazine gives US$225 (US$249 with wood cabinet), and The Absolute Sound, quoted on the SkyFi Audio listing, gives US$385 at launch. None is dated to 1958. The Absolute Sound text was read only as quoted on the SkyFi page because theabsolutesound.com returned 403. Sources credit Saul Marantz with the Model 7; Resistor credits Sidney Smith with modifying the Model 1 circuit and designing the Model 2, and no source I opened names Smith as designer of the Model 7. Production years conflict: 1958 to 1966 (rubli.net), about nine years (Resistor), more than 12 years (The Absolute Sound). Weight conflicts: about 20 lb (9.1 kg) per The Absolute Sound and Resistor, 15 lb (6.8 kg) without case per rubli.net. Dimensions are Radiomuseum's 14.375 x 5.375 x 8.5 in converted at 25.4 mm per inch (rubli.net gives 14.5 x 8.5 x 5.5 in in cabinet). Sources describe the current Marantz Reference preamplifiers as discontinued, so still_made is null.