Back to the beginning

[RoA]

Well, maybe not to the beginning but about 30 years back; Whilst looking at some ebay items a Marantz PM66KI Sig popped up on suggested items. I had the non KI version (PM66SE) back then. Like the amplifier a lot but it developed a fault with one channel and I never bothered to have it repaired and moved on to many other brands since then.

There are a lot of KI signature and PM66 SE's around still. I may just get one for a little fun (I have several amplifiers). I don't think they have any parts that can't be replaced and are of relatively simple layout compared to modern ones.

I use period speakers now, Mission 752 Freedom.

What can I expect?

 

[Gray]

What can I expect?

You can expect a great amp.
Everything you say about it is true.
I was lucky enough to get one when they first came out for a trade price of £280.

I only truly appreciated how good it was after it had been stored away - when I demoed it to a buyer 😕
I should've kept it, if only to use as a phono preamp.

The small signal switches aren't the greatest - and a bit too susceptible to contamination (even despite my care to avoid it).
That means, ironically, that the 'source / direct' can cause the sort of issues....that it's there solely to prevent 🤨
Tape monitor switches are the same type.
Switch cleaner works wonders of course - but even so, as the tape inputs get priority (due to the tape monitor function) they're the purest inputs to use (because their signals go through fewer switch contacts).

Mine failed once in use, but I repaired that myself.
Otherwise it was fine - complete with the lovely copper back - that you never really see 🤪

(I've still got a 'champagne gold' CD6000KI with no plans to lose that, even if it gets little use these days).

 

[Stuart83]

I too imagine like "Gray" said your in for a treat 😁

I have heard a lot of similarly aged amps, anciliries and even more speakers "growing up" around hifi in that era from which one of my favourites in the much to mentioned Pioneer a400 came out right at the beginning of that decade, such fond memories of gear that still impresses now and in some cases is better than the modern cost equivalent imo, even having the absolute treat that it was of owning similarly aged Mission 760i as my first bought speakers at twelve, scrapin together the purchase price with over a yrs pocket m oney, Christmas, birthday and anything else I could save up to have speakers from the same brand as my dad's Mission 763i's (which coincidentally I'm still on refurbishing, I've gotten as far as opening the box the new drivers came in thus far 🤣)

I regularly pop on the 33yr old a400 with it's distinct click to enjoy it still, given the right music outdo a few of my past equivalent modern amps and even one of the ones i have now with classical music, the same can be said about a recent comparison I made on here as I listened in real time to a Marantz CD 52MK2 of same vintage and both the modern equivalent which imo showed no acoustical advantage over its much, much older predecessor and then listened as it took my main CDP the CD 60 (all of which I own) that's in tier above to eventually to improve upon, of course the thread picked the predictable responses from the "certain mentioned below types" we all know and it's all more than covered on the "old thread" that's easily found so id rather not dredge up what's already there within it.

Even now since I increased the budget considerably when upgrading with modern gear and although my new amp is both modern and the best yet i still never forget how good, and as prior mentioned I mean "comparatively" good some of the older gear is and in some cases better, despite the regular "neophiliacs" forming a stereo typical view of newer always been better I have the non-bias of actually having both decent old and new gear to form an actual opinion on without having to rely on the (although still valid) memory of past listening experiences or what's worse what someone else has said