Marantz PM7200 Review

Good Points
Awesome sounding amp for very little £235 in my case.

Bad Points
Dont expect anything but a nasty edgy noise for the first few months.

General Comments
The Marantz PM-7200 Audi Amplifier has received mixed reviews. I read as much as I could before purchasing. However, so many mags HI-Fi choice and What Hi-Fi recommended it so highly I thought I would give it a go despite reading so may dissapointing reviews.


Out of the box the first problem is the sheer dimensions of the amp its a big, big amp. Add to this the heat it produces, which is considerable. You must have at least 1M vent space above the box (never,ever put anything on top of the amp). However, there is a reason for all this heat. The rich deep resonant tones it produces once fully run in.



At first the sound from the amp was totally dissapointing. Harsh, tinny and very bright with virtually no bass. So I thought I would give it a thorough 48hr work out and see what happened. I did not turn the amp off and just kept a CD on repeat. It still sounded awful, and was now amazingly hot. I thought something must be wrong with the amp. I visited my local Audio-T (Amp not purchased from them but they are always very helpful)and told them my problems. They smiled and said your doing the right thing just give it a few more weeks, in a knowing sage like manner.



Weeks and weeks passed and the amp remained on the whole time. The end result is just amazing. Jamiroquai's Planet Home shakes the house and only a quarter turn on the volume knob. The amp has now been on for nearly 4 months and provides an instant glorious sound. Bjorks voice on post is amazing. Classical and Jazz is the area where the 7200 is outstanding due to its clear and faultless delivery. Soul and dance are equally rewarded especially female vocals. The 7200 has an abillity to find little sounds that have just been lost on kit of a similar price else where.



However, the amp does have a sting in its tail. Its brutal honesty will leave a poor recording sounding just dreadful. Some of my record collection (About a third) sounds appalling run through the Marantz. This is not the fault of the 7200 but a reflection of its power to reproduce what has originally been recorded. Yet others are only being truly heard for the first time.



If you have the patience to let the Marantz run in you will be rewarded ten fold. I could not recommended it enough.



Equipment: NAD521BEE/ Project II/ KEF Q1/ Atacama Nexus 6/ Gale HyperLatz 250/ Cambridge-Pacific.