There are a number of high quality amplifiers at the moment within the budget range and Marantz certainly figures prominently in this group. As with all of these amplifiers, they each seem to provide their own characteristic or sonic signature. In the case of Marantz, I usually consider them ... Read review
Advantages: Great looks, expansive open and detailed Disadvantages: Lacks a little bite, not ideal for loud volumes
...within the budget range and Marantz certainly figures prominently in this group. As with all of these amplifiers, they each seem to provide their own characteristic or sonic signature. In the case of Marantz, I usually consider them to be very open throughout the mid range and delivering a crisp clean bass or "snap" to the music. Therefore it was of a great interest to me to finally hear this particular amplifier which has been so highly ... ...a welcome addition to the Marantz comes in the form of a source direct button. This basically allows you to bypass the tone and treble controls and therefore by shortening the signal path, you are in essence doing nothing which could potentially distort the sound. This is clearly something you can experiment with as I recognise that some people like to place a lot of emphasis on bass, but in doing so in my opinion at least, you make significant sacrifices ... more
There are a number of high quality amplifiers at the moment within the budget range and Marantz certainly figures prominently in this group. As with all of these amplifiers, they each seem to provide their own characteristic or sonic signature. In the case of Marantz, I usually consider them to be very open throughout the mid range and delivering a crisp clean bass or "snap" to the music. Therefore it was of a great interest to me to finally hear this particular amplifier which has been so highly praised in many publications.
When you see this amplifier, it looks expensive, it has a curvy attractive design which certainly belies it's price tag. It is clear that there has been a great emphasis on aesthetics to allow this to stand up in this very competitive market and it certainly gets top marks for that.
Secondly a welcome addition to the Marantz comes in the form of a source direct button. This basically allows you to bypass the tone and treble controls and therefore by shortening the signal path, you are in essence doing nothing which could potentially distort the sound. This is clearly something you can experiment with as I recognise that some people like to place a lot of emphasis on bass, but in doing so in my opinion at least, you make significant sacrifices in sound quality.
Upon hearing this amp, it is quite clear that it does not possess the ability to resonate bass depth to the same levels as the NAD for instance but is perhaps a little more taut i.e. "snappier" in bass delivery. The midrange is open allowing for musical instruments to be heard and felt in great detail and the soundstage is expansive.
This is a very fine amp and deservedly is up there competing with the best in this sector of the market. However it comes down to the type of sound you are looking for. While it can deliver vocals and instruments with a rich detail, it lacks a little in the sense of real punch. Also while the power is more sufficient to drive speakers at mid level listening, for those who really like to turn the volume up, I think this puts too much pressure on this amp and results noticable straining of the sound occurs.
In conclusion this is a lovely looking amp (particularly in silver) and delivers lots of qualities but is a little short on others.
Technical Specifications 3 stereo inputs 1 turn table input Source direct button 45 watts per channel (Power rating)
Summary: Another fine sounding amp which although flawed is impressive
