Marantz 2226B (1979–1980)

Name: Marantz 2226B
Brand: Marantz

Twenty-six watts shouldn't sound this confident, and the service manual shows Marantz built it to be opened up.

Overview

The 2226B is a stereo receiver, an AM/FM tuner and a solid-state amplifier sharing one chassis. It was built for 1979 and 1980, the tail end of the decade that made Marantz's reputation. It was developed in California but manufactured in Japan, a split that sources suggest kept quality consistent across the run. It belongs to what's commonly called the B-series, and it has the classic vintage Marantz face that collectors claim to spot from a hundred feet away.

The headline number is 26 watts per channel into 8 ohms, across the full 20 Hz to 20 kHz band, at 0.08% total harmonic distortion. This is not a power contest winner, and it was never priced or positioned as one. It has enough current to drive efficient speakers of the period, and it stays composed instead of straining. Owners describe it as packing a punch well beyond its rating, which is what people tend to say about receivers rated conservatively. The frequency response is quoted as 20 Hz to 20 kHz by some sources and 10 Hz to 40 kHz by others. The damping factor is 35, modest but respectable.

The load handling is where the 2226B shows its practical side. Speaker load impedance is listed at a 4-ohm minimum, which means it will tolerate harder loads than its wattage suggests, though nobody should expect it to run 4-ohm monsters at party levels indefinitely. Input sensitivity is quoted at 1.8 mV for moving-magnet phono and 180 mV for line-level sources, with line output at 180 mV and 1.5 V at the pre-out. Those are the numbers that matter when you're matching a turntable or a CD player to it — the phono stage is sensitive enough to work with typical MM cartridges without a step-up.

Physically, it's a compact piece: 440 × 137 × 365 mm, or roughly 17⅜ × 5⅜ × 14⅜ inches. Weight is slippery. Sources variously report 12.5 kg, 11.5 kg, and 25 lb, and no single figure has emerged as authoritative, so treat somewhere in the 11.5-12.5 kg range as the working assumption. Inside, the parts count is documented at 3 ICs, 46 transistors, 30 diodes, and a single FET. That's a discrete-heavy design with just enough integration to keep it serviceable.

Key Features

A Modular Chassis Built to Be Serviced

Unlike a lot of late-'70s receivers, the 2226B was clearly designed to be repaired. The service manual lays out the chassis as a set of discrete units, each on its own printed circuit board: the FM front end on P.W.B. P100, the tuner on P200, the phono equalizer amp and selector on P400, the main amp and power supply on P700, the pre/tone amp and switch assembly on PE01, and the dial lamp on PZ01. Documentation like that survives when glossy brochures don't. For anyone who works on their own gear, it's the difference between a weekend job and a nightmare.

26 Watts Per Channel, 20 Hz to 20 kHz

The power rating is 26 watts per channel into 8 ohms, held across the full audio band at 0.08% THD. The sources conflict here. The service manual and some others cite 0.3% THD, while others quote under 0.1% or even less than 0.05%. The 0.08% figure is the one tied to the rated power specification, and the discrepancies likely reflect different measurement conditions rather than different hardware. Paired with efficient speakers, it plays louder and with more composure than the number suggests.

Phono Stage and Input Flexibility

The 2226B has a dedicated moving-magnet phono stage, rated at 1.8 mV sensitivity, alongside line inputs at 180 mV. Signal-to-noise figures are where the documentation gets messy. One set of sources cites 50 dB for both MM and line, while others claim 85 dB for phono and 95 dB for Aux. That's not a rounding difference, and no single figure can be trusted without a bench test. The phono stage is a real one, not an afterthought, and vinyl playback through it is part of why the model has a following. A tape monitor loop and loudness contour round out the front-panel controls, along with bass and treble adjustments.

A/B Speaker Switching and the Walnut Case

Two pairs of speakers can be connected and switched between, handy if you run vintage bookshelf speakers in one room and something bigger in another. The receiver ships in a walnut veneer case, the "walnut-clad chassis" that shows up in nearly every description of the model. Whether the WC-22 walnut wood case seen on some listings is original equipment or an accessory isn't documented, so buyers should verify what a given unit actually includes. The tuning range covers FM and MW (medium wave), the standard analog broadcast bands of the period.

Historical Context

The 2226B was built at the tail end of the 1970s, with documentation placing it in production for 1979 and 1980. It's described as part of Marantz's revered B-series and as a hallmark of the company's golden age. One period assessment says six further models separated the flagship 2600 from the Model 2226B, which makes this a mid-tier receiver in a range that ran well above it. Its specification was still considered generous for the money.

Period coverage of the 2226B specifically is thin in the surviving record. Hi-Fi Stereo Buyers (March 1978, p.8) covered the latest hi-fi components of the era, a spec-driven survey that placed mid-tier receivers of this class in context. Treat that as background for the market the 2226B competed in rather than a confirmed review of this exact model.

Collectibility & Value

Prices for the 2226B are all over the map. Completed eBay sales over the past year run from roughly $400 to $900, with a median around $574 across 28 sales. Individual transactions have landed as low as $305 and as high as $771, and one documented full restoration sold for $1,089. A serviced example with an LED upgrade and partial recap brought $849. Current asking prices sit at $695, $700, $800, and $1,200, which suggests sellers are optimistic. The broader market-value estimate of $250 - $450 for a typical unrestored unit is probably closer to reality for anything that hasn't been gone through.

The maintenance picture is well documented. Electrolytic capacitors dry out with age, potentiometers get scratchy, and the front-panel dial lamps burn out. That last one is cited as the single most common failure. The power supply can suffer from aging transistors. A full recap is almost always necessary for reliable operation, and cleaning the switches and controls brings back responsiveness that decades of dust have taken away. Most surviving units are still in working condition, and the modular board layout makes restoration tractable. Spare parts circulate, including original tone potentiometers shared with the 2238B, and the service manual is available for anyone doing the work.

Market Value

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MARANTZ 2226B                                                   Nov 2026 │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ High      $1000                                   Latest           $1000 │
│ Median    $574                                    Trend                — │
│ Low       $305                                    Volume           ~5/mo │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ $1,000 ┤                                                                 │
│        │     .                                                          .│
│        │         .                                   .                   │
│   $700 ┤            .     .  .                      .                    │
│        │               .                 .                               │
│        │                 . .     . .       .                      . .  . │
│        │                          ..                 .                 . │
│   $300 ┤.                 .  .                                           │
│        ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│    vol │▂    ▂   ▅  █  ▂ ▂▅▂ ▅   ▂▂▅     ▂ ▂        ▂▅            ▂ ▂  ▅▂│
│        └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│         2026-01                      2026-04                      2026-08│
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘