Marantz MM7055 5-Channel Power Amplifier Hands On Preview

gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
If you’re in the market for five channels of high quality amplification, the Marantz MM7055 might be just the ticket. At a price that won’t require you to sell a kidney, one gets a quiet, attractive, amplifier that won’t give you a hernia when you place it in your equipment rack. It has plenty of real world power, even when driving speakers with impedance dips into the 3-4 ohm range.



Read: Marantz MM7055 5-Channel Power Amplifier Hands On Preview
 
C

corey

Senior Audioholic
There's a typo in the specs section, I think. It says 40 watts / channel. The 140 watts cited in the text seems more in line for a $1200 amp.
 
bears_t2

bears_t2

Junior Audioholic
Only 2ch rated? The Monoprice is 7ch rated for 1500.00. And its 200 watts.
 
Steve81

Steve81

Audioholics Five-0
Only 2ch rated? The Monoprice is 7ch rated for 1500.00. And its 200 watts.
As mentioned in the article, the MM7055 isn't for guys who focus solely on amp power for the dollar. While it's not exactly an apples to apples comparison (5 vs 7 ch amp), there are a few things worth keeping in mind...

1. At 93 pounds, the Monolith isn't something I'd personally enjoy lugging into my HT, or shipping back in case it needs service. Even with a relatively robust, custom built cabinet, I'm not sure it'd handle that kind of weight either, let alone most cheap cabinets.

2. The Monolith gets quite hot. David Vaughn at S&V measured a temp of 152 degrees after a 75 minute session, so you'll need to plan for cooling accordingly. The MM7055's active cooling helps deal that problem, and it's also relatively silent.

3. Power...everybody fights for that last watt. 101W is so much better than 100W, right? In this case, both amps have been benched by S&V, so we have some idea of what they're capable of.

With 2 channels driven into 8 ohms, the MM7055 delivered 130.7W with 0.1% THD+N, while the Monolith 7 delivered 215.9. That's a difference of 2.2dB. With 2 channels driven into 4 ohms, the MM7055 delivered 215.8W with 0.1% THD+N, while the Monolith 7 delivered 345.6W. That's a difference of 2.0dB. With 5 channels driven into 8 ohms, the MM7055 delivered 107.8W with 0.1% THD+N, while the Monolith delivered 185.8W. That's a difference of 2.4dB. Not exactly a lot to write home about here in real terms.

4. Price...Yeah, the MM7055 isn't a screaming bargain at full MSRP, but there's always some room to negotiate that down a bit. With Monoprice, that may or may not be the case. The price of the Monolith 7 also doesn't include shipping, which bumps that up a bit.
 
hk2000

hk2000

Junior Audioholic
I may have said this in the Monolith discussion, but I'll say it again: 2 Outlaw 5000s for the same $ or less and you end up with 10 channels! So you can bi-amp the fronts and still have enough left for a 7- channel system.
 
Steve81

Steve81

Audioholics Five-0
how would this amplifier compare to the emotiva xpa gen3
Hard to say much about the XPA Gen3 line as there aren't any full reviews/bench tests published yet to reference. Still, judging by the spec sheet, a 5 ch XPA Gen3 should represent a step up in terms of power.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I may have said this in the Monolith discussion, but I'll say it again: 2 Outlaw 5000s for the same $ or less and you end up with 10 channels! So you can bi-amp the fronts and still have enough left for a 7- channel system.
What do you use for active crossovers?
 
P

Pun

Audiophyte
Hard to say much about the XPA Gen3 line as there aren't any full reviews/bench tests published yet to reference. Still, judging by the spec sheet, a 5 ch XPA Gen3 should represent a step up in terms of power.


Yea that's why I've been trying to research before I get one or the other because I have the gen 2 xpa for 2ch and it's great but since they changed the whole amp on the gen3 I'm not sure
 
Mika

Mika

Audiophyte
I own a Marantz SR7007 receiver (with multi channel preamp outputs) and was considering this MM7055 multi channel matching amp solely to match the brand, but after seeing the internal construction I have to say I am very dissuaded from the purchase. Marantz is asking for $1100+ for a five channel amp that does not even use a toroidal transformer, and weighs a mere 35 lbs, which is not an indicator of solid build quality! Any competent amplifier will use a toroidal transformer for its power supply and if it's 5 channels or more should weigh in the ballpark of 50-70lbs. My Emotiva XPA-5 Gen 2 has a massive toroidal transformer and weighs a hefty 70lbs! I don't mean to rip on Marantz, I respect the brand and like I said own the SR7007 and am largely pleased with it, but I will pass on the MM7055.
 
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slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
I own a Marantz SR7007 receiver (with multi channel preamp outputs) and was considering this MM7055 multi channel matching amp solely to match the brand, but after seeing the internal construction I have to say I am very dissuaded from the purchase. Marantz is asking for $1100+ for a five channel amp that does not even use a toroidal transformer, and weighs a mere 35 lbs, which is not an indicator of solid build quality! Any competent amplifier will use a toroidal transformer for its power supply and if it's 5 channels or more should weigh in the ballpark of 50-70lbs. My Emotiva XPA-5 Gen 2 has a massive toroidal transformer and weighs a hefty 70lbs! I don't mean to rip on Marantz, I respect the brand and like I said own the SR7007 and am largely pleased with it, but I will pass on the MM7055.
Torroidial vs. EI Transformers--there are advantages and disadvantages to either!

Torroidial tends to have less problems with electronic noise. But, tends to have more problems with mechanical noise.

In all honesty, it's very difficult to claim that one style is clearly superior to the other. It depends on the application. And, the cost is about the same too.
 
S

Steve Douglas

Audiophyte
You state that the Marantz might not be the best bang for the buck but fail to say what you think is. Also, no mention of the balanced XLR inputs which so many amps, including the Outlaw 5000 fail to supply.
 
Steve81

Steve81

Audioholics Five-0
You state that the Marantz might not be the best bang for the buck but fail to say what you think is.
What can I say, I'm not a fan of promoting other products when I'm writing a preview article about a particular piece of equipment.

Also, no mention of the balanced XLR inputs which so many amps, including the Outlaw 5000 fail to supply.
It's in there:
The rear panel boasts both RCA and balanced XLR inputs, which is switchable on a per-channel basis.
 
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