Marantz 2294 Manuals2300 - Page 2

HIGH

-END

AUDIO

GOING

FOR

THE

GOLD

THE

SOUND

OF

MARANTZ'S

REFERENCE

SERIES

COMPONENTS

TOOK

MORE

THAN

HALF

A

CENTURY

TO

PERFECT.

8

y

the

time

Elvis

recorded

"Mystery

Train."

and

years

before

Cadillacs

sprouted

tail

fi

ns,

Saul

Marantz's

start-up

company

was

fast

becoming

.1

force

to

be

reckoned

with.

And

its

early

creations

still

enjoy

esteem.

Pristine

exam-

ples

of

its

most

celebrated

models

now

fetch

many

times

their

original

prices

on

cliayThe

Marantz

Model

10B,

for

exam-

ple,

is

frequently

cited

as

the

best

-sounding

FM

tuner

of

all

time.

Which

is

all

the

more

amazing

when

you

discover

the

leg-

endary

product

was

introduced

in

1963,

just

two

years

after

the

creation

of

the

FM

format.The

company,

founded

in

the

basement

of

Marantz's

New

York

City

home,

has

since

blossomed

into

a

full

-line

manufacturer

whose

operations

arc

cen-

tered

in

Japan.

Fast

-forward

to

2006

and

it's

starting

to

look

like

one

of

those

"dej5

vu

all

over

again"

stories:

While

most

Japanese

con

-

BY

STEVE

GUTTENBERG

sunter

electronics

giants

are

moving

man-

ufacturing

to

such

countries

as

China

and

Malaysia,

Marantz

is

keeping

Reference

Series

production

in

Japan

to

ensure

the

highest

possible

quality.

This

fl

agship

series

now

includes

a

turntable,

a

stereo

preamplifier.

a

power

amplifier,

and

the

components

we

examine

in

this

review:

the

PM

-I

1St

stereo

integrated

amplifier

and

the

SA

-11S1

stereo

SACD/CD

play-

er.

Reference

Series

components

are

all

conceived

with

the

performance

-oriented

audiophile

in

mind.

Few

comparably

priced

high

-e

nd

products

can

touch

the

Reference

Series'

luxurious

look

and

feel.The

front

panels'

curves

are

set

off

with

crisp

grooves

host-

ing

soft

blue

backlighting,

and

I

must

say

these

Reference

components

look

pretty

darn

snazzy

at

night.

Push

a

button

on

the

amplifier

and

before

the

music

starts

you

hear

the

hushed

sounds

of

internal

relays

engaging,

leaving

no

doubt

this

is

a

seri-

ous

piece

of

gear.

Both

of

these

comps

,

news

feature

HDAM-SA2—Marantz's

complex

name

for

its

proprietary

modular

audio

circuit

topology

—which

is

said

to

reduce

distortion

and

deliver

the

purest

sound

ever.The

entire

lower

half

of

each

Reference

component

chassis

is

copper

-

plated;

whether

this

is

primarily

to,shield

the

sensitive

internal

circuitry

or

just

to

look

cool,

I

cannot

say.

The

amplifier

produces

100

watts

per

channel

and

sports

bass

and

treble

controls.

The

PM

-11S1

integrated

amplifier's

connectivity

contingent

accommodates

as

many

as

fi

ve

sources—i.e..

tuner,

SACD

player,

turntable,

etc

—plus

two

audio

ro

corders.The

inputs

are

of

the

standard

RCA

type,

and

there

is

one

set

of

profes-

sional

-style

balanced

XLR-type

connec-

tors.

Impressively

large,

gold-plated

speaker

binding

posts

provide

an

interface

for

two

sets

of

speakers.

With

the

addition

of

a

second

PM

-11S

1

,

your

installer

can

"bi-

amplify"

compatible

speakers.

Biamping

can

enhance

sound

quality

and

double

the

power

driving

the

speakers.

The

PM

-11S1

is

a

stereo

component,

The

SA

-1151

plays

both

CDs

and

Super

Audio

CDs,

but

like

some

other

high

-end

SACD

it

has

no

multichannel

capability

—it

plays

all

discs

in

stereo.

Its

champagne

finish

echoes

the

classic

look

of

Nlarantes

past

high

-end

audio

components.

®

•

tympana:.

w

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