Aaronelvis

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Wow. So warm in class A mode that it is like an audio duvet. Flick it into A/B and it has enough power to fly large floorstanders to the moon.
The warmth makes it a perfect partner to my Wharfedale Diamond 9.6s, which are ruthlessly revealing.
Plugged it in, turned it on, and found myself singing and dancing all night long.
I paid $700 second hand for this, which is more than I was comfortable with. Now I am glad. A very, very fine amp.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Well, maybe it's too late but I felt so compelling to write this review. Why? Simply because i want to let you know about this excellent int. amp.
I have owned this amp for 4 years now, during this period I have listened to a lot of amps and owned nad 370(sold), creek 5350se, and YBA integre. Compare to the above mentioned 3 amps::
1. Nad 370 can;t keep up with pm7200 in all aspect except in bass. no contest here. That's why I sold it.
2. creek 5350se is refined, smooth and the most neutral amp of the a.m. Compare to pm7200, it;s a bit more detail in high, but pm7200 had better mids(especially vocal, almost tube like), and surprisingly more musical and involving.
3. YBA integre, the best among all amps I have(one of the best of all amps i have listened to, no doubt). Tube-like mids/high + solid state well controlled bass, this is the only amp I know capable of so far. Big, deep sound stage, life-like realistic presentation, you almost forgot if you are listening to HiFi system. piano sounds like piano violin sounds like violin and so on.
Listening to Pm7200 simply reminds me of the YBA integre, whew quite close ! So now you know how good this amp is ! For so little money you pay for it, the reward is fantastic. So if you had one, Keep it, or you have to pay more that 3 times(creek cost usd1500) to get equal performance! Cheers

sixstringrock

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.50 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $70.00 from cash genaraters

Summary:
very very top class amp my fravit amp ever great sound look i use with monitar audio and marantz cd5400 and denon tuner qed innterconcts and black rodium speaker cable

Strengths:
sound class-a mode awsome

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
i have used yamaha wont come any were near to this

eebine

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
3.50 of 5, 14.00 votes

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Audiotronics

Summary:
This is my first submitted review of an audio product so I apologize to all if my audio lexicon is a little lacking, but here goes; I just purchased the PM 7200 this week. It replaces my Onkyo Integra A-807, a reliable and award winning amp in it's day. So is there a performance difference? I am trying not to sound overly enthusiastic, but I can easily claim the Marantz brings out at least 50% more musical detail than the Onkyo. I'm not slogging the Onkyo, but this is a very easy assertion to make. The sound stage, clarity and listening experience has far exceeded my expectations. I actually did not set out to purchase this amp per se...I started out thinking about buying the new Energy RC70 speakers, but I was able to borrow the 7200 from my local retailer for an at-home trial. It took less than an hour for me to decide this amp wasn't going back to the store. It's that much of an improvement to my set-up.

I don't claim to be an audiophile, but I can and do appreciate listening to music, both critically and simply for background pleasure. So nuance, sound stage, transparency etc...are all important factors. The 7200 is powering my Cambridge D500SE and a pair of Dahlquist QX10's, good equipment but definitely not "audiophile". Since I've added this amp I effortlessly hear details on every CD I've played that the Onkyo did/could not reveal.

The only other amp I tested, in-store, was the Cambridge 740. It is a very nice amp, but at close to twice the price, I cannot think you get twice the performance of the Marantz. What the Marantz does do is make my equipment sound significantly better, and for a net $200 outlay, isn't that all that really counts!

Strengths:
Lots of detail. I play the amp in the class A setting, and I mostly listen to Jazz and folky/acoustic style music. For the money I am very satisfied and my value/performance ratings factor in the price I paid.

Weaknesses:
Maybe a tad weak in the midrange, but for the price and paired with the level of equipment I own I really don't have legitimate complaints. It does run warm in class A so I no longer leave the amp continually powered up, like I did with the Onkyo. And like any decent amp, the 7200 will not flower-over harsh or poor quality recordings...

Similar Products Used:
Onkyo Integra A-807

arnout

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.69 of 5, 13.00 votes

Price Paid:  $499.00

Summary:
This is a follow-up for the review I wrote August 28, 2004.

Since I recently bought me a pair of new speakers (AE EVO 3's), I got interested again in reading about hi-fi.
I had auditioned various speakers before I chose the AE's (the review will follow soon) which in some cases were partnered with different amps than mine.
I found other models, like the Denon PMA 1500AE, Rotel RA-03 and Rega Brio 3.

The Marantz PM7200 isn't the most powerful, detailed and exiting amp out there.
Comparing it to other amps, while serious listening to various aspects like drive, insight, dynamics and soundstage it honestly comes short in some aspects.

Mostly in reproducing the colors and timbres of the source as neutral possible.
In my experience this means that other amps, especially the Rotel, do not add something other to the signal than the amps own drive.
The tone color of the source stays the same, but the amp will give the source its own drive and rhythm and some amps, like the Denon, can make voices and instruments sound a bit bigger.

A said the Marantz isn't entirely neutral.
It sometimes prettifies tones and colors, but as a result it will sound pleasantly refined.
With the Rotel you'll hear more detail, but this includes details you do not necassarily want to hear also.

What the Marantz doesn't add to the material is a strong forward moving drive.
It appears to be a somewhat reserved and gentle conductor, a bit less extravert than say a Valerie Gergiev.
Its tendency to prettify colors and tones with great refinement would make the Marantz PM7200 more a conductor like Pierre Boulez in its more recent recordings.
With a sense of the big picture, not adding too much own character in tempi and dynamics, big dynamics only when asked for.

All this at the cost of some excitement, that's true, but to my ears more balanced than any other amp in its price range.