Jeff,

I was auditioning the reference gear when who walked in the door? Mr. Ken Ishiwata himself. Plonked himself next to me on the listening sofa. Needless to say we chatted about the gear and the music. What a great brand ambassador!

howie

Howie
Where was this? Ishiwata gets a lot of press in the UK magazines, not so much in the US.
Jim

__________________
AMP's: D'Agostino Momentum's
Pre Amp: Mcintosh C-1000 & C-1000P
Sources: McIntosh MCD-1100 & MS-300, Olive 4HD, SonoS, Pro-Ject 6 PerspeX
Speakers: MBL 111F
Cables: Transparent Ultra MM2 & Reference MM2 & Powerlink MM2x

At my dealer in Hong Kong. He had like 10 cronies with him but he's the only one who sat down. Very nice chap and very keen to hear comments from potential customers

Are you sure they are "cronnies" and NOT bouncers or better still, his designers?

Time for a change from Meridian to Full Marantz? Who knows a modern 10B tuner may be in the works and so does a Bluray DVD to complete?

I have heard the New 7+9+SACD player. Build and looks first rate, kinda like a distant cousin of Accuphase, sans meters. Very competitively priced too!

__________________
Turntable
Dr. Feickert Twin-DFA
TriPlanar Mk VII UII
Miyajima Shilabe Cartridge
Lehmann Black Cube SE Decade

Meridian
504 FM Tuner
Sooloos C15
Twinstore [3TBx2]
808i.3 CD/DAC/Preamp
800v4 CD/DVD AV Computer (DAX)
DSP8k SL Speakers

Multi Player
Oppo BDP83se NuForce Edition

Power Dist & Cables
Shunyata Hydra Talos
Shunyata Venom 3

Interconnects
Cardas Clear

Extra Gears
AKG K701 Headphones

Sorry Jerry, I think I would go with the Meridian 808vII before the Marantz even sans SACD.

__________________
AMP's: D'Agostino Momentum's
Pre Amp: Mcintosh C-1000 & C-1000P
Sources: McIntosh MCD-1100 & MS-300, Olive 4HD, SonoS, Pro-Ject 6 PerspeX
Speakers: MBL 111F
Cables: Transparent Ultra MM2 & Reference MM2 & Powerlink MM2x

2nd that notion there. The Marantz is good, but the Meridian 808.2 is in another league...

Isn't the next issue supposed to be ready?

__________________

• McIntosh XRT1K MDA1000 MC402 XLS112 | WireWorld Silver E 5^2 Power & XLR, Ecl 6 Speaker
  
• 4.3TB Media Server (Custom) Upsampled to 24bit/96khz | RGPC1200C, PPP
  
• Mobile: McIntosh MX406 MDA5000 MCD4000 MCC420M, JM Lab/Focal Utopia 3-way + Subs
• Office: Bel Canto S300iu, McIntosh XLS320s, JM Lab sub
  

absolutely!

Marantz's "roots" are Tubes, and the United States of America;
not Solid State and Japan.

And "legendary" for Marantz (and McIntosh) is 1957 to (maybe) 1975 at the latest.

I found it disappointing that the SC-7S2 Reference Control Amplifier, at $8K, has one left and right balanced input, and one output.

I have to agree with Neil, too. Legendary for Marantz was 40+ years ago, made in the USA. When Sal left, so did Marantz, IMO.

__________________
Dan


Living Room System: McIntosh C2300, MC601 (2), MCD1100, MS750, MR85, Sony DAT 60ES, Nakamichi BX-300, Micro Seiki DD-40, Ortofon 2M Black, Sonos ZP90, Oppo BDP-83SE Blu-ray, PMC EB1i, Fathom f113 w/ Sound Anchor stand, Power Plant Premier (2), PS Audio Soloist Premier SE (3), Rollerblock Jr.'s, Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's & PC's, Kimber 8TC with WBT Solid Silver Angled Locking Banana Connectors.
Studio System: McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MCD1100, MR88, Michell Gyro SE w/SME 309/Ortofon Cadenza Black, Sonos ZP90, PS Audio Power Plant Premier, PS Audio Soloist Premier SE, Sonus Faber Amati Anniversario, Rollerblock Jr.'s, Wireword Silver Eclipse IC's & PC's, Wireworld Silver Eclipse speaker cable.
Studio Home Theater System: McIntosh MX120, MC452, Oppo BDP-95 Blu-ray, PS Audio Soloist Premier SE, JBL LSR-6332 (2), JBL LSR-6328P (3), McIntosh XLS112 (2), Sony 52XBR9, Tributaries Silver IC's, Wireworld PC's.
Vintage: McIntosh MA5100, MR74 tuner, JVC XL-Z1050 K2 CD player, Wyred 4 Sound DAC2, Tandberg 3008A and 3026A, JBL4312A , McIntosh 4300V for deck speakers.