The Marantz 5025 is a bright representative of the iconic 5000 series, produced by Marantz Superscope from 1977 to 1979. This tape deck captures your eyes with its sleek design and satisfies your ears with impressive performance, making it still a favorite among audiophiles and vintage electronics enthusiasts. While the 5025 is a direct evolution of the 5010, it brings a few upgrades that set it apart. It introduces a switchable zero-stop function for the counter, ensuring precise control during playback and recording. Additionally, the deck features peak-level indicator LEDs that provide real-time monitoring of audio peaks, perfect for those who demand accuracy. The separate controls for microphone and line inputs, complete with a master-level control, offer more nuanced sound customization. Though it lacks the three-head configuration of the higher-end 5030, the Marantz 5025 still delivers impressive sound quality. The frequency response ranges from 40 Hz to 15.5 kHz on CrO2 tape and an extended 40 Hz to 17 kHz on FeCr tape. With a noise-to-noise ratio of 58 dB and wow and flutter minimized to 0.11%, the 5025 ensures your listening experience is as clean and enjoyable as possible. The RRP in Germany in 1977 for the Marantz 5025 was 800 DM, equivalent to 1205 EUR today.
I've got a few similar decks around here; I was always looking for the matching components for my stacks so I was grabbing the matching tape decks and EQs when I found an amp or receiver. Now everyone has the same feelings and instead of a few dollars, these are going for silly money, along with the mid-level Marantz TTs. The hard part with Marantz is the footprint is all over the place so it's difficult to stack them outside of a few amps/tuners. Oh well, I really should pull one down, rebelt it and revisit the sonics. I also have two units that bridge the Marantz - Philips Era, you can see the cost cutting that was done to the latter model.
