Sale on Marantz PM Ki Ruby Integrated!

Oz, Yes, I have a bottle of Rabbit Hole open right now!

@corelli, yes, I had the Primaluna Dialogue HP, their highest end amp at the time.  I probably shouldn't have sold it.  It was a good 10 degrees in Chicagoland when the Ruby was dropped off.   I should've given it 8 hours to warm up.  Instead, I plugged it in after an hour in the house.  It sounded a little wonky for the first 30 minutes and after an hour or so the fog cleared. 

I'm holding back on making a conclusion or two before I spend some real time with it.  Let's just say that I'm having a great time!  The phono stage, which Ken I. said was an accomplishment and worthy of Koetsu carts, is spectacular for the money.  I have a Manley Chinook and this thing plays closely in many areas in its league.  It's probably not quite as good, but damn is it sweet, smooth and BIG sounding.   Big, big surprise to me.  

 I had the very same PL unit as you.  One nice thing is that you can leave the Marantz on 24/7 and being class D it barely gets warm--but might speed up things settling in.

PS-that is high praise for the phono section.  I am embarrassed to say I have never used it!  (I do all my LP listening via a headphone based system)  Will have to give it a try.  

I do have the Ruby CD player as well and no surprise to two pieces work very very well together.

So, yes, I just left the Ruby on all day and night. Virtually no heat. Dead quiet, nary a peep out of the thing at idle.

This is a wonderful product. I cannot fault it in any way so far. Some things I’ve noted.

• The Ruby is substantial, weighing ~35lbs. It’s a Class D amp too. Quality construction.
• The speaker binding posts are some of THE BEST I’ve ever encountered. I mean it. They are massive, custom copper things. They clamp down on spades like a shark.
• Everything about the product says smooth, tight tolerances, and ergonomically subtle and appropriate. Someone (likely Ken I) really cared about every angle of this thing.
• I wonder if Marantz should have added just a touch more bling to it. It does not need it, but it might help consumers distinguish it more as a truly up the chain product, as compared to their garden variety home theatre/receiver lines down stream. Please don’t misread this to mean it doesn’t exude quality. It does. It’s just from photos and marketing I’m not sure folks would say, "hey, this is like buying a McIntosh or Luxman integrated." Its build quality is that nice.
• Sound wise, I’m pleasantly surprised at how I don’t even think, "Class D" when I listen to it. That’s a testament to its sound signature. I’ve owned two Class D amps and heard a handful (nothing over $5K though). The Ruby has body to the weight.
• The MC phono section that Ken I said was worthy of amplifying a Koetsu is super. I’m running it with two carts--a Kiseki Purpleheart and Benz LPS. It’s totally worthy. Keep in mind I’m used to a Manley Chinook phono pre.
• Because vinyl playback is a bit laborious and nearly wasteful to me for break-in I listened most of the day yesterday to digital sources. However, during my evening session I went back to the MC and all vinyl. I haven’t gone back to digital yet. Soooo satisfying.
• I haven’t really had a non-tube amp solution in this room that moved me when listening to my Klipsch Cornwall IVs. This one does, which makes me want to try more.
• With respect to digital sources, I didn’t buy the Ruby SACD/DAC unit (yet). I’m using a Doge Audio Tube DAC and Audiolab transport--mostly using Roon to the Doge though. Sound is wonderful.
• It’s probably too early for me to try to put the sound into words, which is tough for me anyway. To me, there’s many ways to a bake a cake and I really don’t care if the designer used 1, 2, 3 or no eggs in the mix. If it sounds good, it is good. I really like the big soundstage and 3D quality to it. There’s a huge helping of detail without sounding too precise. There’s a smoothness from top to bottom. While the sound is not fat as some of my tube amps, it is not thin or dry--those are qualities I had issues with in my two previous Class D products. It has real weight.
• The packaging and manual were put together with care and exude elegance. No fooling. It took me by surprise. Marantz lets you know this guy was made in Japan.

It’s amazing that this integrated goes for $4k and Music Direct has it for $3k right now. You get much for your money. Sorry if I sound like an advertisement. I just feel it’s true. Really lovely and fun piece. I’m nervous that I’m going to find a way to put some different loudspeakers in here, like Wharfedale Elysians or Q Acoustics Concepts. Oh lord!

@jbhiller   Glad you are pleased with your purchase.  I smiled as I read your preliminary remarks.  It very much parallels my experience and it should continue to impress.

My intro to Marantz intergrated's began around 10 yrs ago.  I was driving Magnepan 1.7's with a well regarded hybrid 225wpc power amp.  On paper, perfect match. But it just did not move me.  I decided to redirect this second system towards a simpler integrated amp and purchased a Marantz PM-8005.  My intent was to go with a speaker more appropriate for such an amp.  I was floored when I hooked up this amp to the 1.7's  Gone was the somewhat sterile and flat sound stage.  The music now had a wholeness to it with a wonderful soundstage that I just loved.  No edge whatsoever. And so began my Marantz journey.

The Ruby takes all these qualities to a higher level.  

I find the Ruby fundamentally neutral but it does lean in a smooth, musical, and dimensional direction with very nice body and weight.  But I never feel like I am lacking in "detail".  To my ear, the musical color is saturated and beautiful.  

I have used this amp in two different systems and the results are the same.  I am most amazed in how it drives my Tekton Electrons SE's.  The front baffle is only 28 or 30" off the front wall, so my soundstage expectations normally would be limited. But I am amazed by the large wall of sound that just washes over me.  Now this is a tip of the hat to Eric Alexander of Tekton as well as Ken I of Marantz.  This combo is synergistic.  The Ruby is in no way put off by low impedance loads.  Instead, it puts out ridiculous amounts of clean and controlled power.

Hope you continue to enjoy this unit.

P.S.  I agree on the issue of front panel cosmetics.  It is very nice overall for sure, but I sure would have liked a larger more impressive digital display for my aging eyes!