Any Marantz PM-10 users?

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Mechnutt

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Hi, I will be downsizing my system within the next few months to 1 year. I am considering moving on from my Pass X250 and BAT preamp.

I have been looking at used Marantz PM-10 integrated and have some questions about the sound and hooking up a sub. I have not heard this amp but I did hear the KI Ruby and loved its tone and sound. Piano was just fabulous, some of the best that I have heard. KI has a way with gear that may not be the most resolving but the tone is just fantastic in my humble opinion.

So I guess that I want to get a feel for this amp from a user, not from a reviewer. I would be pairing this with either the Buchardt E50 speakers or possibly the Arendal 1528 Monitor speakers. The speakers are supposed to be dead neutral and I want to add a little warmth. The Fritz Carrera are another possibility but they are already warm.

Thanks for looking,

Larry
 
I owned the PM-10 and I wouldn't describe it as warm. I'd say it was pretty neutral to a bit analytical. In use it was solid and it's built like a tank. I use different cables now so I don't know how much that played into my perception of the sound at the time. I definitely thought it produced a dynamic and powerful sound.
Prices are very attractive for this amp now that the price of new ones has dropped.
 
This may not mean much my friend who is a big Marantz fan owned some Reference integrated and then the Ruby. He is now using Modwright.

I recently heard Yamaha at Axpona, the 3200 integrated, I dedicated a thread to Yamaha, you may dismiss them but the absolutely sound beautiful.. And they do so without sounding slow or overly lush. The better units are all analog though, no DAC or other bells built-in.

As a sidenote the PM10 converts all digital into DSD. I've not heard one I personally feel it would sound great based on their rep and hearing several other of their products.
 
Mr Peabody said:
This may not mean much my friend who is a big Marantz fan owned some Reference integrated and then the Ruby. He is now using Modwright.

I recently heard Yamaha at Axpona, the 3200 integrated, I dedicated a thread to Yamaha, you may dismiss them but the absolutely sound beautiful.. And they do so without sounding slow or overly lush. The better units are all analog though, no DAC or other bells built-in.

As a sidenote the PM10 converts all digital into DSD. I've not heard one I personally feel it would sound great based on their rep and hearing several other of their products.
Click to expand...
You're conflating the PM 10 integrated amplifier and the SA 10 cd player which DOES convert PCM to DSD.

The PM 10 is Marantz-customized class-D integrated amplifier with no digital inputs or functionality.

The SA 10 was kind of underwhelming to me. The Luxman I replaced it with offered a generous addition of greater clarity and insight into music for me.
 
Bryan, I really like the sound of the Ruby. I like a warmer more romantic, lush sounding system. The issue with the Ruby and PM10 is that there is no way to hook up a sub. These are both differential amps. So I will only buy one if the speakers I buy don't need a sub. Otherwise I will buy an Ayon or possible a Cary SLI tube amp and go with a speaker like the Buchardt E50 and dual subs. The other speaker that I am considering is Arendal 1528 Bookshelf 8 which is a huge speaker weighing 66 pounds each. It is a 3 way with an 8 inch woofer. It needs power as it's sensitivity is 84 dB. You should listen to all the pro reviews on YouTube.

I have heard the upper level Yamaha amps and they sound very good. But they are too neutral sounding for me. I have similar tastes to K. Ishiwata from Marantz who designed all the KI gear and the PM10.

I am really going to hate selling my Magnepans, Pass X250 and BAT preamp but all are over 20 years old and my wife wants to down size the house and move to Kansas City in about 2 years when I am retired.
 
Rnrmf said:
You're conflating the PM 10 integrated amplifier and the SA 10 cd player which DOES convert PCM to DSD.

The PM 10 is Marantz-customized class-D integrated amplifier with no digital inputs or functionality.

The SA 10 was kind of underwhelming to me. The Luxman I replaced it with offered a generous addition of greater clarity and insight into music for me.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the correction. I couldn't remember if the PM10 had a DAC I was given misinformation from an AI inquiry. I'm deleting that app.
 
Rnrmf said:
You're conflating the PM 10 integrated amplifier and the SA 10 cd player which DOES convert PCM to DSD.

The PM 10 is Marantz-customized class-D integrated amplifier with no digital inputs or functionality.

The SA 10 was kind of underwhelming to me. The Luxman I replaced it with offered a generous addition of greater clarity and insight into music for me.
Click to expand...
What about the SACD 10? Anyone had experience with it?
 
GSOphile said:
What about the SACD 10? Anyone had experience with it?
Click to expand...

A couple of people on the Steve Hoffman forum own it and they are hard pressed to say it 's better than the SA-10.
Frankly, I think the jury is still out on where it compares performance wise to its competitors. The specs are quite a bit better than the SA-10.
There are one or two published reviews out on the internet, too.
 
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