Audiophilepure

Have I found ANY type of music that the Marantz doesn’t excel at? Not yet. But I’m still listening… What makes the Marantz so strait-laced in its proclivities? The bass is tight and very tuneful. The pitch of string bass and cello notes is easily followed whether the instruments are bowed or plucked. The bass extension (subwoofer driven off the Marantz’s preamplifier output jacks in my system) is prodigious. For example, try “Flight of the Cosmic Hippo” by Bela Fleck or “How Great Thou Art” by Valor. The Marantz brings it on in the bass.

The Marantz’s midrange is very dynamic without ever becoming brash (this is a very tight rope to walk). I like to test amps with complicated music like the Seekers’ and the Pentangle’s live performances. If the voices and instruments remain discreet instead of blending into mush, the amplifier is doing its job. The Marantz does. Another test for midrange is Goran Brevogić’s “Maki Maki.” The voice is somewhat recessed at times in relation to the instruments and other general musical mayhem in the background. If the lower-volume comments and asides are clearly audible in this piece, then the amplifier has got exceptional midrange definition. The Marantz does.