When I started in this industry there were a plethora of companies manufacturing good quality stereo amplifiers.
Companies like Sansui, Pioneer, Kenwood, JVC, Fisher, Akai, Aiwa, Teac, Scott, Technics, Nakamichi etc. Most of these brands have long since folded, some exist in name only and others have exited this area of the market. There have been numerous new companies, such as Musical Fidelity and Naim Audio, that come onto the market in the meantime, but thankfully a few of the long-established companies have also survived and prospered.
One of those companies is Marantz. While Marantz has changed hands a few times over the decades, they continue to produce a range of very good quality, and well-priced, stereo amplifiers. The craftmanship of some of their pieces is superb. Marantz still builds amplifiers that you would be proud to own for decades, and which are destined to become classics in their time (as many of their pieces produced during the ’60 and early 70’s are today).
A high quality integrated amplifier with an inbuilt DAC that offers high-resolution playback
One of their better offerings at the moment is the PM7005. This is a very good sounding integrated amplifier which also offers great flexibility. It houses a very high-quality DAC (the proven CS4398 from Cirrus Logic) which accepts 24bit/192kHz from PCM signals, as well as DSD at 2.8MHz and 5.6MHz. There is also Optical and Coaxial digital inputs, plus there is an asynchronous USB-B port – effectively allowing it to perform soundcard duties for your PC or Mac.
Importantly for today’s music-lover – it also has a phono input and quality headphone amplification.
The PM7005 retails for $1,995 in Australia (I notice it sells for more than US$2,000 in the USA?). We have a limited quality (in both black and silver finishes) on offer at $1,499. This is great value for anyone looking for a good quality mid-priced and flexible system.
Key Specs for the PM7005
- Power output into 4 ohms: 80 watts per channel
- Power output into 8 ohms: 60 watts per channel
- Frequency Response: 5 Hz – 100 kHz
- THD: 0.02%
- Signal to Noise Ratio: 104db
- DAC: Cirrus Logic CS4398 24-bit/192kHz digital-to-analogue converte
- Power Supply: High-current toroidal power transformer
- HDAM: Hyper Dynamic Amplifier Module and current feedback amplification for accuracy and control under high-drive conditions
- Tone Controls: Front-panel tone controls for treble and bass
- Remote Control
Getting connected
- Digital Inputs: 1 x Optical, 1 x Coaxial, 1 x USB DAC digital audio input
- Line Inputs: 4 pr. L+R stereo RCA audio inputs
- Line Output: 1 pr. L+R stereo RCA audio output
- Turntable Input: Separate phono input for a turntable with MM cartridge
- Headphone Jack: Full size 6.5mm on front panel
- Speaker Terminals: Binding posts will accept banana plugs or bare wire
