Audiophilepure

https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/1282-marantz-model-10-integrated-amplifier

ook at me working backwards to conclude that the Model 10’s phono stage is actually quite good, considering it’s built into an integrated amplifier. Still, this is SoundStage! Ultra, and I’m expected, I guess, to really hammer stuff downward rather than forgive small slights. Innate snobbery and high standards aside, I found myself easily able to enjoy listening to LPs once the aural memory of the Mola Mola had receded.

After finding out that my copy of the Cure’s Galore – The Singles 1987-1997 (Elektra 62117-1) is worth north of CA$350, I pulled it out for a quick listen to see if it’s worth $300 more than Standing on a Beach – The Singles (Elektra 96 04771), the other Cure compilation in my collection. Well, yeah, I guess there is a reason for its valuation. The Model 10’s phono stage had more than enough resolution to show me that Galore’s mastering is far superior, despite each compilation having its own distinct track listing. Through the Model 10, I could hear how much additional depth circled around Robert Smith’s voice on Galore, and how there was a thick glaze around the entire production on Standing on a Beach. There’s dynamic range on Galore, while Standing on a Beach sounds compressed to hell and back. This resolution of detail and reproduction of dynamics via the Model 10 point to a well-designed phono stage.

Perhaps the most endearing aspect of the Model 10’s phono stage was its somewhat laid-back highs, which were very slightly sweet and not the least bit grainy.

Listening through to the rest of Galore showed an impressive conveyance of rhythm, with “Just Like Heaven” especially making me smile and tap my foot along with the music. Standing on a Beach is a domestic pressing, and it was thin and cheap when I bought it new, so it’s no surprise that the highs are somewhat tizzy and out of control. The Model 10’s phono stage didn’t highlight the poor reproduction of cymbals, nor did it gloss over them.

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