Constellation Centaur for Sale

Initial verdict - same sound signature but better for sure on a couple of fronts:
1. Not that the MA9S1 monos were veiled (not in the least) but the MA9S2 monos have a leg up in see-thru category ...when Ray Lamontagne started on my AMGv12 I was a little startled at first because on that quiet opening I was hearing details I hadn't heard before, with any amp.

2. Slightly better width to soundstage ...and a noticeable improvement in front to back depth (felt like someone stretched stuff back and forward.
3. More of an effortless ease to the sound (what the Centaur brings to the party...the SET silky sound that I believe is due to an amp not working too hard at certain frequencies.
4. Tighter grip and definition on the low notes...complete absence of any muddiness or smearing or overhang, with nice decay.

So whereas the MA9S1 monos are full on gritty blues nightclub jamming, the MA9S2 are a wee bit more refined, revealing and enveloping. Both are winners but I can how those amazing engineers at Marantz took it up a notch, from world class to world class champion.
 
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I think the 9S1 is the hot racy girl you date, the 9S2 is the girl you marry
 
I have the full set of reference Marantz gear - putting them on Symposium Acoustics Ultra shelves and upgrading power cords took everything even higher.
Marantz wanted to showcase what "cost no object" sound meant when they designed these units. Think of them as concept cars. The lessons they learned from these were then trickled down to their stellar consumer products. I love them so much that i have stopped stopped lusting over the latest flavor of the month, ie. Constellation, Soulution, Dartzeel, Vitus, etc.
 
Das said:
I have the full set of reference Marantz gear - putting them on Symposium Acoustics Ultra shelves and upgrading power cords took everything even higher.
Marantz wanted to showcase what "cost no object" sound meant when they designed these units. Think of them as concept cars. The lessons they learned from these were then trickled down to their stellar consumer products. I love them so much that i have stopped stopped lusting over the latest flavor of the month, ie. Constellation, Soulution, Dartzeel, Vitus, etc.
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Welcome to the forum.

I am pretty amazed at these amps. And have been comparing the MA9S2 to the Ma9s1 monos. Very similar sound for sure. I have asked Jennifer Crock at Jena Labs to modify the MA9S1 monos - she is going to modify a SA7S1 CD player I just picked up. She brought her own modded SA7S1 to my house and I was flabbergasted. She noted that the reference gear is amazing - she is close to the PFO writers/reviewers and modded their's as well. Says it was an engineering marvel save for some odd suboptimal choices (jacks, wiring, some caps and transformers). Takes the sacd player to new heights. I am letting her unleash her engineering brilliance on my MA9S1s. I put my MA9S2s on sistrum sp101 stands. Waiting for everything to settle in. ImageUploadedByTapatalk1428597017.445438.jpg
 
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