jasonbf

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $700.00 from Dmark

Summary:
The best way to sum up the Marantz PM-94 is to quote Sam Tellig from the September 1988 Stereophile..."Without a doubt, this $2900 model is the finest integrated amplifier I've auditioned, and the most beautifully finished, beautifully built integrated I've ever seen...The midrange is glorious...The PM-94 sound Class A...The PM-94 has a beguiling sweetness that can only be described as musical...It is almost tubelike--I say 'almost' because it is sweeter than most tube amps I've heard."
With that overview, its obvious that this is not a muscle amp...It is MosFet and pure Class A to 35 watts...It is sweet and subtle like SETs, not dissonant like most Class A/B bipolar transistors...If you obsess over tonalily like most reviewers obsess over resolution you will love it...It reproduces the human voice like no other transistor amp I've ever heard...In the final analysis, of course, it's all a matter of personal taste...
One note of caution...The PM-94, like all pure Class A amps, runs VERY hot...The supplied cage, while gorgeous with its rosewood sidepanels, does not provide adequate ventilation...If you search the forums, there are reports of solder joint failure due to heat fatigue...Those people had to dismantel their units and resolder the faulty connections...The solution is to remove the cover and run the unit open...It doesn't look pretty, but it runs much cooler, and should last indefinitely...Mine has had no problems after 15 years...
December 2007 Update...Since the initial review, the unit has been moved into an open location where the uncovered structure was visually intrusive...A cooling fan solution was devised...Two 120 mm ultra quiet, low speed (900 rpm) fans, gold grills to match the PM-94, large foam rubber feet, and a wall-wart plugged directly into the variable AC outlet of the unit...With the case restored and the two gold trimmed fans on the top, it looks superb and very high-tech...All the cage metal on top is now cool to the touch while on, and the fans are not audible beyond one foot!
One other "tweak" I failed to mention in the original review...Tellig, in his 1988 commentary, opined that the preamp section was perhaps not the equal of the output amp...What I had found was that the little U-jumpers on the rear of the unit were the culprit...I replaced them years ago with .5m of Goertz silver micro-purl interconnects...The difference was not subtle; the PM-94 was transformed!
A few words regarding the phono section...It is superb...The sound texture is remarkably open and expansive...Tone quality is entirely consistent with the unit as a while...Classical piano is rich and resonant; voices are those of real human beings, and strings (the Achilles heel of transistors) are completely natural...
An all around winner for musicality...

Strengths:
MosFet output runiing pure Class A to 35 watts, with Class B transition to 140 watts for dynamic peaks
Tonality like no other transistor amp I've ever heard...
Superb phono preamp...MC with high quality step-up transformer
Pre out / amp in allowing external connections
Direct in for Phono/CD bypassing all processing

Weaknesses:
Runs VERY hot...Supplied cage does not provide adequate ventilation...
No remote

Similar Products Used:
Accuphase P-400 amp...Manually switchable between 50 watts pure Class A and 200 watts Class A/B

Price Paid:  $500.00 from ebay

Summary:
WOW!! What a great purchase. I decided to unload my Mcintosh system that took up way too much room and buy this intergrated amp. Needless to say I don't miss the stuff at all!! From the moment I fired this amp up and threw some music in the cd player I found the sound to be as clear and detailed as the mac. It has a look that shows that it was well built. I cannot say enough about this amp. If you find one buy it....You won't be let down!

Strengths:
Well built. Great sound!

Weaknesses:
No remote...(I'm just lazy)

Price Paid:  $700.00 from Damark

Summary:
These are hard to find on the pre-owned market. I saw a preowned one offered on EBAY a couple of weeks ago and it sold for nearly $500 US.
I love my PM-94 and it drives my pair of 1.6QR Maggies' 4-ohm loads just dandy. Audiophile friends of mine says it sounds great, like a premium high-powered tube rig. Possibly the MOSFET output transistors running pure Class-A mode are the contributing factor.
The preamp section handles various phono cartridges quite well. A quality CD player will play transparently through this preamp section.
The Marantz PM-94 may very well be the best integrated amp that was ever produced, and certainly seems to compete with most any preamp and amp separates in terms of transparency, power and headroom. My audiophile friends say that it also sounds "musical".
If the signals are excellent going into its RCA input jacks, then those same signals are also excellent coming out of its speaker terminals.
I sincerely believe that Marantz should recreate and seriously market the PM-94 integrated amp again. It is THAT good of an audiophile product.
140 watts RMS/8ohms-per-channel of pure class-A musical delight!

Strengths:
Well-built quality. Seems to be a "heavy-duty" amp/preamp.
Beautiful "Marantz" appearance. I've had this PM-94 now for several years - very reliable and trouble-free.

Weaknesses:
The amp section runs as Class-A mode, so it runs very hot to the touch; seems to run nearly as hot as a tube-type amp.
Be sure to have at least 1-inch of ventilation space above it to help dissappate all of that heat.

Similar Products Used:
Compared it with listening tests of several of Today's high-end amps and preamps, both tube and solid state.

Price Paid:  $700.00 from Damark catalog

Summary:
I purchased this amp in 1991 for $700 new. It listed for $2000. I also purchased the matching tuner. I have used this amp for all of these years with no problems (except as listed above in weaknesses). This amp is built to last and has features that only high end amps employ. A cooper plated chassis, Mosfet circuitry, Main-in/Preamp-out for using as a preamplifier. I have connected my powered subwoofer to these inputs rether than wiring through the speaker terminals. This is a super great integrated amplifier. It weighs 51 pounds. It also has a separate bass/treble for each channel. A CD direct switch bypasses all of the potentiometers for added clarity. You can actually hear the difference when using CD direct. When I purchased it you could get either Rosewood or Oak sides. I chose the Oak. If I remember correctly, you could also get it in Black or Goldtone front, which Marantz is noted for.

Strengths:
Excellent amplifier. Loads of power and built to last.

Weaknesses:
Had minor problem with delay circuit when powering up. Happens on a very rare occasion. Slap the right side of amp, solves the problem. Used electronic cleaner--fixed it.

Similar Products Used:
Have matching STA-54 Tuner.

Price Paid:  $450.00 from Private owner

Summary:
It is evident to me that there were not too many of these animals made. It's almost next too impossible to find any info or even someone @ an audio shop that is familiar with the product. I think that is good news for those of us that want an exceptional product at a reasonable price (if you can find one). This Amp is not really an integrated amp (other than it being in one case). There are outputs for the preamp and inputs for the amp on the back connected with a few bars. In other wards, you can use this product as a stand-alone preamp or amp. This Idea really appealed to me because I will eventually use the amp as two channels for a home theater. I've never used a product that was so versatile from a sonic perspective. Ever type of music as well as movies sound phenomenal. This piece is a great stepping stone and can be a valued part of your ever growing sound system for years to come....you will not be disappointed

Strengths:
Raw power....I have Power hungry speakers and this does the job.

Weaknesses:
None detected yet

Similar Products Used:
Adcom GFA 555, Adcom GFA 555 II, QSC 1400 with a bunch of different pre amps: Adcom, Dynaco, Rane, and Acurus.