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In the Forum: Audio Discussions
In the Thread: Marantz MA-9S2 Monoblock Amplifiers
Post Subject: The Current SituationPosted by Paul S on: 11/17/2024
Just short of a year since my last post about these amps. Since then I have tried to take advantage of the amps' capabilities as I continuously explore Music of my choice, along with the presentation of that Music. At this time I have HUGE, powerful Sound when I want it, when the recording supports it. Though I rarely switch on the "power meters", I want to report here that I have not seen the meters' needles move more than 1/2 way during the loudest, most giantic orchestral passages (eg., Bruckner, Mahler, Wagner, etc.); I think this means about 30W. What does this mean? I think it means that the amps have "a very fast rise time" for both current and voltage, as LF is never slighted if the amps are getting the information from the sources. And this with fairly heavy 18" LF drivers. I also have beautiful, delicate, thoughtful Music when I want it, including most of what the ML2s did, in terms of pitch, tone, timbre, texture, body, on and on. and I need only change the recording to change the presentation. Again, these amps "support" proper scale. For people who wonder, the MA-9S2s are NOT "better" than the Lamm ML2s I wrote so glowingly about, years ago. Those amps are legendary for all the reasons I have cited. Rather, I have made the choice to go for more power and drive at extended frequencies and at high volume settings without going through the trouble of building and developing DSET amps, in defference to my age and health. Anyone striving for The Ultimate in home audio has a long road ahead of them, regardless of the topology they choose. I have to say, despite I continue to mess with my system, I do consider the MA-9S2s to be +/- a "shortcut". People might be surprised when I say that the sound and presentation I get from these SS amps are not so different from the ML2s, apart from the power. I wish, but the MA-9S2s cannot do "SET bass", but the bass they do is very close to SET quality, with much better extension and a great deal more power. Overall, I am happy I went the way I did, including in terms of Musical Satisfaction.
Paul SRerurn to Romy the Cat's Site