Marantz Model 10 Integrated Amp - Purifi Class D Weighs 74lbs!

[gene]

The Marantz Model 10 Reference Integrated Amplifier ($15,000) is the most powerful single-box amp the company has ever made. Co-developed with Purifi, the power amp section delivers 250 watts into 8 ohms and 500 watts into 4 ohms with SOTA noise and distortion performance. It’s also gorgeous and weighs a hefty 74 pounds despite being a Class D, high efficient design.

Marantz has done some slick things to make it a unique offering such as:

• Latest generation of HDAM preamp circuits with linear power supply for the line level circuit paths.
• Customized Marantz designed SMPS power supply for each channel.
• The design is fully balanced from input to output.

The chassis design is a thing of beauty as can be seen in the photo above but the price of entry may be a bit much for most audiophiles. What do you think?

Read: Marantz Model 10 Integrated Amplifier Design Overview

 

[ryanosaur]

Wow. Even without the rest of the deets, that still is super impressive. Especially the price!

Now that the post is complete. Still, Wow. Nice write up Jacob.
Definitely impressive.
Def out of my league.

(If I ever need to buy an integrated, right now I would be eyeing the one Buckeye is working on. And then still be able to pay off one of my credit cards!)

 

[adk highlander]

Very cool. Already have my Michi so I don't know how this would be an real upgrade but happy to see them release this model.

 

[TankTop5]

It’s a statement piece

 

[Bobby Bass]

Beautiful looking amp as all Marantz gear is IMO. A dream receiver but at $15K it will remain just a dream for me. Thanks for the snapshot review.

 

[quattro_98]

It’s cool that Marantz is using the new Purifi modules in such a unique product. In the high end audio market which is full of overpriced products with poor performance, this will provide high power, load independence, and low distortion.

1ET9040BA Amplifier Module

purifi-audio.com

 

[lovinthehd]

Seems overpriced for what it is but then 2ch integrated amps I don't need in the first place. Good power but would love to see a bench test at 2 and 1 ohm, too.

 

[TLS Guy]

That product seems squarely aimed at the audiophool market. Not having any digital inputs, and no bass management in this day and age, makes it not very useful and awkward to use in most systems now. I would have thought that has a very limited market. They will be lucky to see a return on investment on that product.

 

[TankTop5]

Seems overpriced for what it is but then 2ch integrated amps I don't need in the first place. Good power but would love to see a bench test at 2 and 1 ohm, too.

I think what needs to be clarified or established is that these higher end class D amps are CAPABLE of being load independent but that depends on the power supply. Better SMPS power supplies are coming out but most OEM brands aren’t implementing them and going for an in house design instead. That said I think 1 ohm near power doubling is a ways off although a couple may be stable at 1 ohm. I think the newer 1040 (don’t quote me on that) is about as good as it gets currently into 2 ohms, 400/700/1200 @8/4/2 roughly.

 

[TLS Guy]

I think what needs to be clarified or established is that these higher end class D amps are CAPABLE of being load independent but that depends on the power supply. Better SMPS power supplies are coming out but most OEM brands aren’t implementing them and going for an in house design instead. That said I think 1 ohm near power doubling is a ways off although a couple may be stable at 1 ohm. I think the newer 1040 (don’t quote me on that) is about as good as it gets currently into 2 ohms, 400/700/1200 @8/4/2 roughly.

If you have speakers that present a load of 1 or 2 ohms, you need different speakers!

 

[TankTop5]

If you have speakers that present a load of 1 or 2 ohms, you need different speakers!

I don’t disagree but they do exist and it would be nice if amps existed to power them that don’t single-handedly contribute to global warming

 

[TLS Guy]

I don’t disagree but they do exist and it would be nice if amps existed to power them that don’t single-handedly contribute to global warming

It is not that simple. Just because an amp will drive a low resistance on a workbench, does not mean it will not blow up driving a speakers of the same numerical impedance rating, not at all.

The reason is that in a resistive load current and voltage are always in phase. But current and voltage are vectors and have direction as well as magnitude. So it becomes apples to oranges with resistance to impedance and factoring in phase.

So you can not look at impedance without looking a the phase angles. The reason is that currents can, and likely will be much higher at times than into the resistive test bench load. A real red flag is if the impedance drops below the DC resistance of the VC. That is a real amp buster, as there is certainly resonance going on.

I few years back, I spent an interesting afternoon with Billy Woodman, owner of ATC, at his works in the beautiful Gloucestershire countryside, wide of Stroud. He showed me how these low impedances and negative phase angles are amp busters, and yes all amps.

Now I don't design speakers that are potentially lethal to amps. Not only that but the bass will be poor quality bass.

As I have said before, I design for reliability in my systems. That is probably the most difficult task of all.

The bottom line is that if you see a speaker with and impedance dips down below 3 ohms associated with a phase angle greater than 45 degrees negative, then leave that speaker in the store.

 

[Jobiwan62]

WOW! Does anyone know if they are compatable with SDA like on my Polk L800s?

 

[MrBoat]

The price of this amp reminds me to be happy that the speakers are the star of the show. I have speakers I could drive with a turd and the music will still come out hi-fi.

In spite of all the glitz and glimmer, it feels a bit too rebadge-ish to expect such a price. I reckon this is a Marantz extra that they don't need to sell a whole hell of a lot of.

 

[Verdinut]

I don’t disagree but they do exist and it would be nice if amps existed to power them that don’t single-handedly contribute to global warming

The pro audio QSC DCA series of power amps are designed to handle 2 ohm loads, so do the Crown DriveCore series amps.

The Crown Class D DriveCore series won't generate much heat. So won't the QSC DCA series which have class AB output circuitry but use a SMPS power supply with cooling fans.

I'm using some QSC DCA amps in my HT system. This series of amps is used in Cineplex theaters across North America. You can't kill those amps:

https://www.qsc.com/resource-files/productresources/amp/dca/q_amp_dca_2ch_specs.pdf

My 7 Channel System

SYSTEM: MARANTZ SR5010, 3 QSC DCA 1222 AMPS. DRIVING THE FRONT CHANNELS IN ACTIVE BI-AMP CONFIG. QSC DCA 1824 (4 CH. AMP.) FOR SURROUND CHANNELS OPPO BDP-95, REVOX B77, TEAC AN-80 (NR), AUDIO-TECHNICA AT-LP1240, SHURE M97XE, HITACHI HCA-8300, PANASONIC TH-50PZ80U, FURMAN PS-8R, APC H15 FRONT...

forums.audioholics.com

 

[everettT]

I don’t disagree but they do exist and it would be nice if amps existed to power them that don’t single-handedly contribute to global warming

There are more than a few amps that have little trouble driving low impedence loads, just many of those can't deal with extreme phase angles. Bruno Putzeys, when he was still designing for Hypex, said the NCore had no problems driving the 1 ohm load from a pair of Apogee full range ribbons, though they didn't list specs beyond 2ohm. I use one of the QSC DCA series mentioned by @Verdinut for a stereo setup and wouldn't hesitate to use one for powering a 2ohm subwoofer with it. It drives Satori 9.5" woofers with ease below 25hz in room.

 

[Verdinut]

There are more than a few amps that have little trouble driving low impedence loads, just many of those can't deal with extreme phase angles. Bruno Putzeys, when he was still designing for Hypex, said the NCore had no problems driving the 1 ohm load from a pair of Apogee full range ribbons, though they didn't list specs beyond 2ohm. I use one of the QSC DCA series mentioned by @Verdinut for a stereo setup and wouldn't hesitate to use one for powering a 2ohm subwoofer with it. It drives Satori 9.5" woofers with ease below 25hz in room.

As a matter of fact, QSC recommend using a DCA 1222 to drive four of their 8 ohm speakers connected in parallel per channel as surrounds in some theaters.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Certainly looks awesome.

I'd definitely buy one --- if I had $15K as pocket change.

 

[Swerd]

Very nice looking piece of audio jewelry! It's an impressive looking statement for Marantz to display at audio shows. At $15,000, I wonder how many Marantz really expects to sell.

That integrated amp is well above any price I'd pay. I'm quite happy with what I have, and I'm not looking to buy anything. Apologies to Gene for what I next say …

Just for grins, I added up the prices for the various pieces I now have. My present 5-channel HT system (phonograph, cartridge, phono pre-amp, BR player, Roku streamer, TV set, AVR, 2-channel amp, and speakers) cost about $8,433.

My speakers alone cost $5,650, about 67% of the total. In contrast, my AVR & 2-channel amp cost about 20%.

Some of these prices are a best guess, and many are from years ago. I didn't count costs of pieces I no longer have or use. I also didn't count the costs of my DIY subwoofer or of the attic antennas I use for local TV and FM broadcast. I haven't accounted for inflation at all. This is clearly a quick & dirty, apples-to-oranges comparison.

 

[gene]

It’s cool that Marantz is using the new Purifi modules in such a unique product. In the high end audio market which is full of overpriced products with poor performance, this will provide high power, load independence, and low distortion.

1ET9040BA Amplifier Module

purifi-audio.com

Marantz is NOT using this off the shelf module from PuriFi. Their design is based on it, but its entirely built by them from the ground up including their own SMPS power supplies.