JT3,

Beautiful system you have. The Pearls look great together. Looking forward to your review and more pics.





Dave

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McIntosh, Marantz, Rega, LSA, Sound Applications, Oyiade, Symposium Acoustics, Kimber Select, Echo Busters

I was thinking of getting the pearl cd player my self. I never liked the ref units via marantz before only because I couldnt stand the color, even though they were really great units, but the pearl in the black looks great.

I am setting a demo later this week with this unit. What unit are you comparing it to?

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Main system~ Mcintosh 501(x2) ~ Mcintosh c2300 ~ Mcintosh Mc 303 ~ Marantz 8003 and 7004BD ~ Esoteric DV-60 ~ JL Audio F110 (x 2) ~ Music Hall MMF (Benz silver cart) ~ Audience AU24 E Interconnects/Audio cables/ Power cords ~ Ricard Gray 400 Pro (x3) w/ kubala Power Cords ~ PS Audio Outlets W/ Dedicated Lines

To follow up...

What I like about the Pearl units is they have pedigree and history...similar to Mac, Land Rover, Mustang, or Porsche 911, they have gone through many iterations to arrive at their current state. They celebrate Ken Ishiwata's 30 years with Marantz. Only 500 pairs were made, and both are based on the Reference series line and then tweaked by Ken. He tuned the products "to reproduce music exactly as the original artist and recording engineers intended." I'm a big Ken fan, here's a fun interview to check out.

Ken Ishiwata interview

"Design of Hi-Fi is very much a science, but without understanding music you won't be able to make good Hi-Fi. What I mean regarding science is not only electronics - you must understand mechanical influences, acoustics, psychoacoustics, and many other sciences when designing Hi-Fi... It's not simple, you got to really listen and understand music and its harmony. To love music is the important thing." - Ken Ishiwata

A passionate member off sacd.net posted these, I thought to share them here as well.




The player is quick loading, silent and weighs in at a hefty 32lbs. It has 2 filters, after listening to both I leave it on 1, which is the factory default. Filter 1 also does not perform any filtering of DSD data. Which leaves me to SACD playback - wow! My collection has been expanding. Very detailed, 3 dimensional with most CD's and able articulate the slightest texture, especially with SACD's. Notice no balanced outputs, as the amp doesn't have the inputs either.

CDP internals

The amp barely gets warm after extended listening. It's rated at 90w x 2, and weighs in just under 45lbs. The knobs have a very nice solid feel to them. My only complaint is the volume and source knobs are plastic, and I wish they were spun aluminum instead. Trivial I know, but the treble and bass knobs are metal, and everything else about this amp is first rate. The oversized WBT connectors on the back are a nice touch for swapping cables. Memory is beginning to fade, but I believe it has a somewhat more laid back character, but more controlled in comparison to my previous integrated, the lovely Mac-6500.

Amp internals:


After a few months, I am happy. What's most difficult to write about is any glaring weakness of either unit, and I just can't find much to harp about. Since I redid everything down to the power cables, it was a fairly dramatic change over the previous set up. But as the heart, the Marantz pair is very refined, easy on the ears. It's my opinion these units operate optimally together.

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Marantz Pearl Duo - Kimber - Usher BE718

Thanks for the update JT3.

There was a a very nice write up a year or so ago in Hi Fi News about Ken Ishiwata. Sounded like a very interesting guy.

Jim

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AMP's: McIntosh 1.2k
Pre Amp: Mcintosh C-1000 & C-1000P
Sources: McIntosh MCD-500 & MS-300, Olive 4HD, SonoS, Pro-Ject 6 PerspeX
Other: McIntosh MEN-220
Speakers: MBL 111e
Cables: Transparent Ultra MM2
Power Protection: APC S-15 on sources, PS Audio PPP (2) on amps

Beautiful gear, congratulations.

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Chuck


McIntosh C2200, MC352, MR85, MS300, MCD205
PMC OB1 Speakers, Bryston BDA -1 DAC
Rega P3-24 w/ TTPSU and Ortofon Black Cartridge, JL Audio F112 Sub, Sony HD Tuner(modified)
Aural Harmony Interconnects, PS Audio Soloist Premier, PS Audio Noise Harvestors, Alan Maher Design Filters

Great pics and player. I love my SA11 and other Marantz piece, now if only the SA11 would stay out of the repair shop.

Dave

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McIntosh, Marantz, Rega, LSA, Sound Applications, Oyiade, Symposium Acoustics, Kimber Select, Echo Busters

Saw these at a dealers shop, they look beautiful and feel like a they are definitely wort their weight... These new Marantz pieces are pretty cool... I bet they sound very nice through your Ushers.

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PMC Western Region Representative
PAD wire & interconnects, PMC OB1i, Halo A21, Pro-Ject RM5-SE w/speed & phono box mk.II