Piggybacking on this thread: There's such a strong following for McIntosh equipment on these boards that I'm starting to question my Marantz Reference integrated. I'm probably beginning my audio journey and currently using a Marantz PM-11s2 to drive my Cremona Ms. I'm pleased with how they sound so I should probably just stop there and go enjoy some music. But as many have said, upgraditus never goes away.

I know I need to go listen for myself. And I will. But with limited dealers in my area, I'd be curious to hear from anyone who has owned both Marantz Ref and moved to McIntosh or others willing to share general input on a couple of things:

How would you characterize the difference in sound between Marantz and McIntosh? It would probably take a couple of upgrades to get me to all Mc gear. But I'd estimate a first step is on the order of a mc452 and use the pre-outs on my integrated.

I'm also curious if anyone can help me undertand why some amplifiers indicate they double thier output from 8 ohm to 4. Yet with a McIntosh you have a switch to select and the output stays the same?

Thanks!

I can help a little bit with your question. After I purchased my latest speakers-the JBL 1400 Array's, my McIntosh MC402 sounded okay but was a bit wobbly in the bass. I decided to grab a great deal on the reference gear from Marantz and am REALLY glad I did. This gear sounds great. Tight control over the Arrays.

My thoughts are that this forum has a lot of McIntosh users and not many Marantz users-hence the higher following for McIntosh gear. Too tell the truth, McIntosh looks cool, sounds great as well. As a matter of fact, the speakers I were using before-JBL S/2600-sounded great with the MC402. I still have those items but not the space to use them.

Perhaps a test drive (demo) would be advisable?

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Marantz MA9S2/SC7S2/SA-7S1/JBL 1400/1500 Array

Has there been any changes? Such as MA9S3?

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Marantz MA9S2/SC7S2/SA-7S1/JBL 1400/1500 Array

Nuz1, don't let others enthusiasm for their gear make you doubt your own. If your gear sounds good now (as you said), spend the upgrade money on music.

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Randy - Wilson Sophia 2; BAT VK-600SE, BAT VK-52SE, BAT VK-5DSE; JL Audio F113 x2; Exact Power EP-15 and SP-15; Oppo BDP-83 SE; Emotiva MPS-1 and DMC-1; Marantz VP-15S front projector; 92" Stewart Firehawk; Rocket 200, 300, 750; ASC Tube Traps; SMS-1; WireWorld Silver Electra 5^2 PC's, Silver Eclipse 6 IC's and Silver Eclipse 6 SC's; Shunyata Hydra 6/Black Mamba CX-HC; Symposium Svelte Plus and RollerBlock Series 2+; Clear Audio Concept (MC); PS Audio GCPH

I would love a matching tuner for my Ref Gear, but sadly I don't think the market would support its development. Internet-everything is hurting the traditional high-end, hifi market. What's to become of us old-timers ?

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System Marantz MA9S2, SC7S2,SA7S1, Thiel 3.7's, Nordost, Furman 2ea Elite 15i

I went from a Mac MA7000 to the Marantz Ref gear, MA9S2,SC7S2 and SA7S1. The Mac was sweet and had a huge sound stage but was a little soft in the bass for my tastes. The ref gear is more neutral top to bottom and exerts greater control over the bass. It also offers far more detail without being bright.

Mac gear won't double its output power due to the use of the autoformer output stage. The autoformer is an inductor with multipal output taps which maintains optimum impedance. Its downfall is high output resistance, about 100 ohms. Most ss amps output Z is about 0.1 ohms. What does all this mean? Higher output stage tempratures more output devices, bigger heat sinks, more low end (bass) power and control.

Which is best, anybody's guess !!! It's a very personal choice and depends on your sound preferances. Don't sell short your Marantz gear it's equally great stuff.

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System Marantz MA9S2, SC7S2,SA7S1, Thiel 3.7's, Nordost, Furman 2ea Elite 15i

By the way D&M holdings is a Japanese company, it owns Denon, Marantz and McIntosh. Marantz has made tube and SS devices for a very long time, in the USA and Japan. Look inside a Mac surround pre-amp, don't be surprised if it looks remarkably similar to a Denon piece.

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System Marantz MA9S2, SC7S2,SA7S1, Thiel 3.7's, Nordost, Furman 2ea Elite 15i

I'm glad to know there are other Marantz owners here! I made the switch to Marantz to tame some bright speakers before I switched to the Cremonas I have now. I have been pleased with the Marantz while driving both sets of speakers. But hearing people say more powerful McIntosh amplifiers "really makes thier speakers sing" had me questioning whether I had the right gear and/or the right amount of power.

In retrospect, I've never thought my integrated has run out of power. And as mentioned earlier, I do enjoy the sound of my gear. So as you've suggested, I think I'll continue to build my library and just enjoy the music.

Thanks for all of the replies!

Bruce

Great!

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Marantz MA9S2/SC7S2/SA-7S1/JBL 1400/1500 Array