2. misc-audio
  3. 125293-83229

Marantz and Stereophile?

First post here, so hello all!

So I just made what I would call a real "audiophile" addition to my system, a Marantz PM-11s3 Integrated. It is funny that when you hear of a large purchase from people my age (47 ouch) and so many call it a "mid life crisis"
Funny thing is that whether it’s a sports car or a nice Hi-Fi component it takes years of financial building to afford such a piece. Not so much a crisis but a purchase that is soooo well deserved after years of wanting but not being in reach.
I have always enjoyed, followed, and owned 2-Channel systems... I’m a 2-channel guy and always will be! I remember that very first time 30 years ago that Mark Levinson and Wilson Audio changed my perception of recorded music forever! The love of music and the appreciation of components that deliver it to me that is sonically pleasing has had a grip on me ever since.
Mark Levinson and the likes were never attainable in my younger years but the like of Adcom, Rotel, Creek, Paradigm were. Thanks to these companies I have, for many years, enjoyed terrific music that was affordable and more than that... Really enjoyable!
Several years back I found myself without anything to listen to or even a simple dvd or bluray player to watch! Break-ups suck!
As soon as I could afford it again I went back out into the market and listened to a ton of components that I could afford and was really impressed with Marantz. I ended up with a Marantz PM8004 Integrated Amp and a Marantz UD7007 Universal Disc Player. I added Paradigm Monitor 7s with Kimber speaker cables and AudioQuest interconnects for a 2-Channel system I have quite enjoyed for the past three years.
This year I finally was able to take a jump up and add to the system.
I have really loved the Marantz sound, detailed yet warm as I would describe it... So I made a plunge and replaced the PM8004 with a Reference Series PM-11s3 and replaced the Paradigm 7s with Monitor Audio’s Silver 8s.
The PM8004 is a really sweet little integrated! I really enjoyed it as did everyone who listened to it. It was and still is a very nice piece that WAY outperforms its price point.... Having said that the difference between it and the PM-11s3 is not only night and day but virtually on different planets! The PM-11s3 from build quality to sound is just in every single way in not only a different class but in a different state completely.
Now, thanks for hanging in with me here... When one looks to replace a $1000 Integrated with a $5000 Integrated they look to the ones they trust for evaluations and trusted insight on a component. So naturally I looked to Stereophile and I found nothing? Not only did I find nothing on the PM-11s3 but nothing on any Reference Series Marantz? None of the Integrates, none of the SACDs, and none of the high-end mono-blocks that cost 20K with the pre?
Now this is IN NO WAY a flame of Stereophile! I just can’t understand that in the last 15 years why they haven’t reviewed or even mentioned Reference Series Marantz? Is there a misunderstanding between the two?


264win
mcb854sw
8 posts
 
Great posts. I am at the same level of equipment and also love Marantz since the 1960s but that time I could not afford to have one of those beatiful stereo receivers with glowing blue dial, but few years ago I got the 8004 set (which now is in my bedroom) and a couple of years ago I bought the 11-s3 set (integrated amplifier, SACD and network player). 
Last week I bouth a second-hand SC-7s2 pre-amplifier (now discontinued) and will connect it to the power section of my PM11-s3.
Curious fact about magazines is that if you pay attention, everytime you see a Marantz review, there is also a Marantz ad on that month issue. Maybe just coincidence.
paraneer's avatar
paraneer
818 posts
 
Paraneer, I would add the PM8004 & PM8005 to the list of 2 channel equipment that is not in their Reference line yet still hand built in Japan along side of them.
You’re right. Also, the PM7005 is built in Japan too. I should have said Marantz has two lines of equipment - gear that is built at the Reference Factory in Japan and everything else made in China.

The PM8004/8005 are excellent amps and I wouldn’t hesitate recommending either in the $1000-1200 range. In fact it was an audition with the PM8004 driving a pair of $10K Sonus Fabers that let me to its big brother, the PM15S2. I couldn’t believe how well the PM8004 was driving speakers ten times its cost. Very impressive.
264win OP
51 posts
 
Paraneer: Forgot to mention that I think that you are right about the stigma of Marantz offering lower end HT type...
Having said that I am one, and maybe because Im old school, that loves having a high end piece that has the Marantz name attached to it. To me, even though its far from being made from home, it still has history. Sure I wish it were still made in New York but I think that those assembling these latest Reference grade pieces know the legacy that they represent and I'm sure proud to own one!

mewsickbuff
237 posts
 
264win, I followed your experience almost to the letter.  Bought a Marantz PM8005 (found it at a great price) but soon after bought the PM11S3 (because that's what I wanted all along) and I couldn't be happier. I've had the Monitor Audio RX-6's for years and the 11S3 drives them fabulously. I have a separate Harmon Kardon for HT use. I sometimes use the Marantz to patch through for front L and R front speaker use while movie-watching. The best of both worlds (IMHO). 

podeschi
303 posts
 
Congrats on the Marantz gear. I am a fan. I dropped deep down the rabbit hole a few years ago -- purchased Magico, TAD, and other speakers, flagship amps from Constellation/Hegel/CJ/VAC/Air Tight/etc, three turntables and multiple cartridges, crazy in-out swapping of cables and power cords etc. Ad nasium. The positive is I learned to trust my ears over what I read. I learned to put organic, harmonic, musical presentation over analytical or warm ends of the spectrum. I learned that synergy does matter (e.g., amp matching to speakers, preamp as central signature). In the end, now for a few years, I stopped looking and chasing. What shifted me to the state of contentment? Marantz Reference gear. Specifically the SA7S1 sacd player and the Marantz MA9S2 monos. They beat all previous equipment at any price point. Then I had Jennifer Crock at JENA Labs modify them -- opened up the space and made it a "live" event. People who listen to my system who have more golden ears than me don’t comment or analyze, they state "That cd player is analogue sounding like your vinyl. If you ever decide to sell those amps I would like to buy them." I have two systems -- one with Maggie 20.7s and other with TAD CR1s. I have JENA Lab modified MA9S2 monos in both systems. I think in this equipment Marantz passed through some threshold of greatness and accomplished something that is unrivaled and under-celebrated. I believe many audiophiles (I was one of them) turn their nose up at Marantz since the brand is now associated with high volume home theater gear. But they did build and continue to build some of the most musical sounding superbly engineered/built reference gear around.
More to discover