Marantz has long made terrific sounding power amps. They aren’t always rated at the highest power due to their conservative nature, but you can count on smooth sounding, reliable power amps for stereo or home theater use.
Most amps that are built for home theater are notoriously harsh sounding. They invariably cheat on their specs to try to look good on paper. They often:
- Claim their power without all channels driven
- Try to slip a distortion spec past you of .5% or higher
- Choose to claim power at 4 or 6 ohms
- They even pull some sleight of hand by not claiming the spec at the full frequency band
- Use switching power supplies
We all read specs. But we need to pay attention to details. I have seen 5ch amps that claim 200×5. But when you read the fine print, that’s one channel driven, at 1 kHz, at 4 ohms, with THD of .5%.
That same amp, if spec’d honestly with all channels driven, 20-20k, 8 ohms, .1% THD or less, would likely be 100×5. All of a sudden you realize, hey, that ISN’T 200×5.
In the stereo world, we USUALLY see honest numbers- though not always.
In the home theater world, we USUALLY see dishonest numbers- though not always.
Marantz gives you more mellow sound with a legit 3 year warranty from a long established manufacturer you can trust. The specs are honest. Marantz has a service network throughout the US.
Marantz power amps are class A/B designs with linear power supplies and discrete output transistors. All have RCA and Balanced inputs. Power is spec’d at .08% THD with all channels driven, 20-20k. Marantz amps sound warm, not grainy.
Marantz makes the MM-7025 and MM-7055 high value amps. If you need two to seven channels, you can use whatever combination you need.
Marantz also makes the MM-8077, which not only has seven channels, but is a higher quality power amp in ALL regards.
So when you’re surfing the web and see some eye grabbing specs and think, wow, this is a smokin’ deal- it probably ISN’T. That’s because those numbers that caught your eye invariably have a little magician’s wand in the equation.
Please consider Marantz. You have warm sound, honest numbers and a very solid business partner with strong service network- as opposed to some yuksters who badge products made by a third party, or slap modules together in a garage.
MM-7025 $1000: 140×2
(5h, 17 3/8w, 13 7/8d, 25 lbs)
Smooth stereo power amp for music or home theater.
MM-7055 $1500: 140×5
(7 1/4h, 17 3/8w, 15 1/8d, 36 lbs)
Essentially five channels of the above on one chassis for home theater.
MM-8077 $2500: 150×7
(7 3/8h, 17 3/8w, 15 1/8d, 46 lbs)
MM-8077 is a better built and better sounding amp than its two smaller brothers. With more power and better parts quality, MM-8077 is exceptionally refined, not edgy. MM-8077 will deliver a dynamic theater experience without the nasty artifacts that come with most of the other guys.