Price Paid:  $0.00 from Off A Friend

Summary:
G'day All : ) To begin with, YES I am a Marantz freak and in all fairness, I must also add that it does not mean that I'm just gonna sing praises when it's not earned. But here's where the MA700's are yet another Winner (with my ears being the judge, not the Brand). I bought these off a friend and my oh my, aren't they lovely!! As I am constantly moving my gear around and giving all my new purchases for my new home (which is under construction) a test run, these Blocs are really bringing out the best in all the media that goes thru them. And this includes, the badly engineered jobs as well. They have a fresh and open sound coz they are well broken in, are tight and in full control in the Bass region as well as crisp in the Highs. Admittedly, they can get a little bright on some material, but then again, I think that's coz the material is recorded that way. To keep this short, do have a listen to them if you ever get an opportunity to get them.

Strengths:
1.Bags Of Volume 2.Very Tight Bass Control 3.Crisp Highs 4.THX Certified (a bonus) 5.Sounds Comparable To Valve Amps When Warmed Up Well 6.Performs Superb In 2 Channel Application

Weaknesses:
The Rear Volume Control is a tad too hard to fiddle around with when it's installed.

Similar Products Used:
The Mono Blocs normally drive my Front L+R Floorstanders and is hooked up to : 1. Marantz SR4300 AV Receiver 2. Marantz DV4300 DVD Player 3. Accusound ES 55 HT Speaker System (An Australian Speaker

Price Paid:  $450.00

Summary:
I sampled the Marantz MA700 monoblock amplifiers for about 2 weeks. They had good bass performance and plenty of detail. For example, pianos sounded very detailed. Unfortunately, they were too bright for my Paradigm Reference Studio 100 (version 1) speakers. I found them to be too "fatiguing" when listening at loud levels. Also, sibilance was a problem. As compared to Rotel amps (RB-1080 and RMB-1095), I found the Marantz too bright, and could not listen to them for an extended period of time at the same (moderately loud) volume levels as the Rotel amps.
It's possible that the combination of the Paradigms and Marantz resulted in too bright a sound. These amps may be more appropriate for other speakers that are not on the bright side. I was hoping that the Marantz MA700s would work out, since I liked the idea of using monoblocks for future expandability (for example, if I wanted to upgrade to THX Surround EX in the future).

Strengths:
Plenty of details in sound. Monoblock allows greater flexibility and upgradability. You can buy exactly the number of amps you need. For example, you can buy 5 now, and buy 1 or 2 more in the future to upgrade to THX Surround EX or DTS ES.

Weaknesses:
Too bright for my speakers.

Similar Products Used:
Denon receiver, Rotel amps

Price Paid:  $400.00 from Local Retailer

Summary:
I have been shopping for a pair of new main speakers for nearly a year now. Along the way, I auditioned a pair of Paradigm Studio 100v.2s. However, the Paradigms were hooked up to a giant amp, at least 200wpc. Of course, the salesman said that my exist receiver, a Marantz SR-96 would be adequate to drive these speakers. I was not convinced, and so I called Paradigm and talked with one of their techies. Explaining my situtation, his comment was that the speakers would be, "underwhelmed." He was clear that they needed 200wpc to shine. This started my search for additional amplification. The MA700's were highly recommended in Stereophile and in Home Theatre Magazine. After sometime spent considering the Rotels, the Outlaw and its cousin, the ATI (both only 150wpc), I went for the Marantz. Am I happy! These babies took the pressure off buying a pair of new speakers. They made my very old towers (12 year old T930s) sing as they have never sung before. My wife (not an enthusiast) thought that I had bought a whole new bunch of CDs. That she immediately heard the difference says it all. In fact, she is as happy with the purchase as I am. Talk about a first! These amps make my old speakers sound flat out $2,000 better, all for just $1200 for the three of them. On top of that, they seamlessly fit into my system. I hooked them up to the left, right, and center preouts of my SR-96. The SR-96 has a remote output that interfaces with a remote imput on the MA700s, so when I turn on the receiver, the amps turn on following a slight delay. I then hooked the rear preouts to the main ins on the receiver, which openned up the sound in the rear channels as well. The overall effect is simply wonderful. Everything I have thrown at them sounds great. It has occasioned me to revist my entire music collection. I am hearing things that I have never heard before. Previously, the sound was just a little too stuck in the box (the cabinet). Now, it is right in the room. It is like having live music in the house every day and every night. I'll start looking for new main speakers again the beginning of next year. Till then, thank you Marantz.

Strengths:
Great presence, Wonderful imaging, Powerful base, Clarity, Detail, Price, Ease of use. Auto turn-on.

Weaknesses:
None that I can think of.

Similar Products Used:
SR-96

Price Paid:  $400.00

Summary:
Happiness is not the word I can use to discribe these amps. From the snap of a snare drum (which, incidentally you can feel at the base of your spine)to the breathyness of an alto sax, the detail and impact is flawless. A simple 1,3,5,8 chord on a vocal cd is presented with a live detail and presence unmatched by most other amps I have heard. The sub 100hz impact (w/o sub) is earth shattering. After switching out the amp 2 and installing the marantz, I found my speakers popping from bumping the magnet at the same relitive volume as the amp2.Just a side note..The Marantz are actually cost effective! My pre-amp, amps,cd player, dvd player,vcr....Is all marantz. I just have a funny feeling it will stay that way for a long time. 10 out of 10.

Strengths:
Not so much the power, but the mid-bass detail, sonic clarity and musical presence.

Weaknesses:
THey get a bit on the bright side at refrence/near reference volumes.

Similar Products Used:
Proceed amp2

Summary:
I was an amp slut until I found these babies. Now I've settled down to some good old reliable solid state sound, and I feel much better about myself. But seriously, I don't want to get rid of these- they are without fault. You need to have a very revealing system for it to be worth upgrading from these. I'm a very picky person, and these satisfy me.

Strengths:
Sound quality, flexibility of monoblock, high power, auto on/off,

Weaknesses:
Those darn binding posts

Similar Products Used:
Sunfire stereo, ATI1506, Marantz MA500