Marantz PM6004 or Yamaha AS500 with Monitor Audio

[matthewpiano]

Mohsin, the '326 does indeed run quite hot, as indeed its predecessor the '325 did. Nothing to be concerned about but do make sure it has adequate ventilation.

 

[Anonymous]

I decided to switch back to my technics amp last night but leave the rest of the setup as it was (cd63, ma bx2) and to my surprise the technics seemed a little dull in comparison. Also I found the mid bass quite lacking compared to the NAD. The positives about the technics is that it keeps very cool (i have left it on for days on end in the past) and its a little more neutral when the volume is cranked up. This will be a tough decision... and I havent even added the PM7200 yet.

 

[plastic penguin]

Hi Mohsin - just to throw another amp into the equation, assuming of course, the Marantz doesn't hit the spot is Arcam. Won't have the power or the bottom end grunt of the Nad or the PM-7200, but in terms of pure synergy I've not heard better than MA/Arcam.

 

[hortensio]

Hi, Mohsin,

If you like NAD sound, try to find NAD C355 bee...I'm having it (with marantz c6003 and old MA BR2) and... volume knob never more than 9 o'clock...it sings very loud dan gives you BIG soundstage...and tight bass.... :cheers:

 

[pkerai]

Yes, I have a Nad C355BEE.
Its excellent for classical orchestral music, plenty of power and soundstage.

But this is the thing you see, you pick certain amps for certain sound qualities.
Certain amps for certain music yes I can understand, but within any genre you should expect manufacturers to specialise their equipment.
It would make it simplier to review, and consumers can know what to look for.

I wonder at what price range, or even manufacturer you would have to go, for an all round qualities.
By this I mean this NAD is good for classical, but if you analyse further and more importantly by frequency you find that certain frequencies of music are not expressed clearly or less noticibly not in the right proportion to other sounds. Coupled with a sound stage and imaging, we find that it gets even harder to represent sound of the music AS IT WAS INTENDED TO BE.

Most people are just conditioned by what the mainstream equipment sounds like, for increasingly simpler to satisfy pop electronic music.
Its sad, we are losing the complexity and beauty in a wave of repetitive extension of nursery rhyme music for the ill educated, base emotioned hedonistic market.

 

[hortensio]

Pkerai comment just a kind of "intentional fallacy"....hearing music is MY activity NOW and HERE....why should I bother with " it's sound as it was intended to be (originally)"???Beauty is not always connected with complexity...manytimes the simplicity gives us the full beauty....So, it is all about MY interpretation, in MY context, etc.....But you have the point: no amp is an allrounder!each has its own character,and -as always been said- combination and pairing is important.... :cheers:

 

[Anonymous]

Ok, haven't been able to get a marantz pm7200 yet so I decided to try a marantz pm6004. I've got a day off tomorrow so it's going to give me the time to decide which of the 3 amps I've now got sounds best in my setup. Haven't had the chance to plug the pm6004 in yet but first impressions of the build quality isn't great. The volume knob has some play around it and isn't firm like the NAD. Still the sound quality is the main thing so I will report back on my findings.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi guys. I'm new here and like many others I'm pretty excited with MA Bronze BX 2 and Marantz PM6004 setup. The trouble, however, is that this amp costs around GBP 500 here in Russia, so I'm going to order it online from UK. I was wondering if there are ways to buy it cheaper than GBP 300 (discounts, special offers, coupon codes etc.). Open boxes are fine too. Any help will be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Covenanter]

Ok, haven't been able to get a marantz pm7200 yet so I decided to try a marantz pm6004. I've got a day off tomorrow so it's going to give me the time to decide which of the 3 amps I've now got sounds best in my setup. Haven't had the chance to plug the pm6004 in yet but first impressions of the build quality isn't great. The volume knob has some play around it and isn't firm like the NAD. Still the sound quality is the main thing so I will report back on my findings.

There's no "play" on the volume control on my Marantz! I had to crawl on the floor to find out, as it is low down and I use the remote to control volume normally, but it is fine. I'm really happy with the build quality.

Chris

 

[Anonymous]

Ok just a quick update, the PM6004 has been returned. It was a nice sounding amp and very neutral but I found that it just didnt have the punch and drive of the NAD or even my old Technics. It could be down to the fact that the NAD is rated modestly at 50WPC and the Technics at 90WPC so it was unfair to expect similar power from the Marantz.

This is in no way any disrespect to any owners of the Marantz as it is no doubt an excellent amp but just felt the sound wasnt to my liking with my type of music. I have given the NAD to my brother for now and will keep an eye out for the Marantz PM7200. The NAD is a lovely amp and I know why Matthewpiano loves it but I found with indian music which is usually quite bright the top end can get a little carried away. Still it may come back into the setup if the PM7200 disappoints.

 

[Blackdawn]

What about the Denon PMA 720AE, maybe worth considering at a similar price to the others.

 

[Cypher]

The Pioneer A-30 amp got great reviews in Germany already.........maybe something for you ?

 

[matthewpiano]

The Pioneer certainly looks interesting. The other amps I would recommend listening to are Cambridge Audio's Azur 351A and the Azur 651A (based on my experience of the 350A and 650A which are pretty much the same but without the USB input).

 

[Covenanter]

I think a lot of this depends on the type of music you want to listen to! If you want to hear just bass then you could stand at the traffic lights outside my apartment and listen to the chavs in their low-slung cars and you would get all you want! Not real music of course but whatever floats your boat

Chris

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply Chris, the problem I have is trying to work out what I am happy to loose in order to gain (if that makes any sense :doh: ). When I exchanged my Q Acoustics 1050i floorstanders for the MA BX2's I knew I would loose bass and overall SPL but I was happy doing so after hearing how much better the BX2's sounded in my room. Now I have to do the same with my amp. I wonder how much of a difference a Cambridge Audio DAC would make or is the DAC in the cd63 ki decent enough?

Thanks for the suggestions Matthew, will have a read up on the Cambridge Audio amps.