Marantz MM9000 5-Channel Amp

Ron-P

A local A/V shop has these amps for $699.00. Here are a few of the specs.

Continuous power output (RMS) into 8 ohms
(<.03% THD, 20 Hz - 20 kHz)
Front left and right channels 150 + 150 W
Center channel 150 W
Surround channels 150 + 150 W
Input sensitivity 100 mV/1 W Output
Input impedance 20 k½
Frequency response (-1 dB) 5 Hz to 100 kHz
Signal to noise ratio 95 dB

Looks to be a a good deal, opinions?

My thoughts are to leave my RT25i surrounds wired to the SR5000, then bi-amp the RT55s and wire the CS400 direct.


Peace Out~:D

juice21

ron, that seems like a great price for this amp! i demoed some marantz monoblocks at a local marantz dealer here and the mono's sounded great. effortless!!! they were the m500's (125W/channel). they were paired with some def tech's. they were $300/block, so it was $1500 for me to upgrade and i didn't have the cash. i've been wanting to go back to listen to the mm9000. i think they had it for $900+ or something, but cheaper than the mono's. i know the mono's have alot of advatages over the multi channel amps, but the mm9000 looks like a great product. are these demo models that are $699???

TroyD

Ron,

When I checked out the mono blocks, which were very cool, the guy told me about that amp. According to the salesman (who is a good dude and I trust him) the 5 ch amp is a very good amp but if he had the choice, he would go with the monos. You can find the mono blocks for about 235 or so each on the web......win/win deal either way, though.

Troy

Ron-P

They are not demo or referb's, brand spank'in new.

Troy, did he say why he would go monos over the multi-channel? The mono's are 25watts less and other than stand alone units I cannot see a reason why. More power for less with the 5x.

I am hoping to see my Xmas bonus by end of next week, if all goes well, I'll be amped.


Peace Out~:D

TroyD

Ron

To be honest, he didn't get in to specifics, really, other than if given a choice, mono blocks are generally the better way to go. Generally with a mono block space is not a concern so there generally are fewer trade offs or compromises to accomdate the chassis size. Salesman-speak, not mine. Also, I didn't listen to that amp so I really have no basis for comparison. I did listen to the MA-500's driving a pair of Paradigm Studio 100's and they did so very, very well IMO. I think, either way, it's a win-win deal.

Troy

Aaron

There's two big advantages to mono blocks (that I can think of):

1) they don't share a power supply (transformer) with other channels. In a typical multi-channel amp (2+ channels), a channel can rob power from other channels.

2) they don't have other channels to contribute noise and interference to their components.

Other people may argue that they're better, because you can move them closer to the speaker and run a longer interconnect rather than a long speaker wire, but I don't buy that one. Maybe it's true, maybe it's not. In my opinion it doesn't make sense to get monoblocks unless you're talking about mega-buck amps. I think for the money you could get a better multi-channel amp.

Aaron

wangotango68

check out outlaws 5 channel amp im thinking about buying after the holidays outlaw audio model 750 5-channel amp

scott:cool:

juice21

aaron is right on the noise interference and power supply points. i never heard the longer innerconnect for less speaker wire though, (don't really get it either). basically many people choose mono's over multi's for the same reason people finally upgrade to seperates vs. recievers. sure, many recievers say it puts out 5x100W, but put it next to the mm9000 and it won't even be a contest. this is why people will spend the $ for seperates. going to a monoblock is the ultimate in this. each amp gets its own power supply and nothing else can eat it's power/amperage/voltage, anything. so like a reciever, the multi amp is still multi-tasking, (well the same taskx5). when you eliminate this, it can run at prime conditions and to be honest (although i haven't heard the mm9000), i would bet that the 125W/channel of the m500's will out-play the 150W/channel on the mm9000(mush in the same way the seperate am will outplay many recievers rated at a higher wattage as well). but hey, for less than half the price of mono's you are going to have some kick **** power and sound.

Ron-P

Hmmmmm....I may have to go down and look at the mono-blocks. They want $225/ea for the 125watters. Didn't think about the power supply situation.

Peace Out~:D

juice21

225 is a good price, my local dealer wants 300 for them. the nice thing with the monoblocks is that you could start with a stereo pair, then add you center, then rears. (makes it a little easier on the wallet if need be.)

Aaron

so like a reciever, the multi amp is still multi-tasking, (well the same taskx5). when you eliminate this, it can run at prime conditions and to be honest (although i haven't heard the mm9000), i would bet that the 125W/channel of the m500's will out-play the 150W/channel on the mm9000(mush in the same way the seperate am will outplay many recievers rated at a higher wattage as well).

I really don't think monoblocks will have more power than a multichannel amp (assuming they use the same amplifier design). The only time when you'd experience more power in a monoblock would be under extreme conditions where the channels would rob power from each other (i.e. you've run your amplifier up against its supply rails). I also don't think it's accurate to say that monoblocks will outplay multichannel amps in the same way that separates outplay receivers. The performance increase will be much, much smaller. The differences you'll notice with monoblocks will be in areas like detail, signal-to-noise ratio, imaging, soundstaging, etc. Again, all of this is under the assumption that we're comparing similiar amplifier designs, just in multichannel or monoblock form. I'm not picking on you Juice, I just don't agree.

Aaron

hoosier21

The one good thing about a five ch amp, is one power cord. 5 monos to plug in can be a pain if you don't have the outlets.

wangotango68

outlaw audio model 750 amp


scott:cool:

juice21

i do agree that the upgrade in the monoblocks isn't as extreme as uprgading from a reciever to a stand alone multichannel amplifier, but i do think that the monoblocks will out perform the multi-channel amplifiers. i have not listened to the mm9000, but demoing the m500's, they sounded effortless. not strain, huge soundstage, rich layering. i've never heard a multi-channel amp sound the effortless. i mean we pushed them hard, and their seemed to be no limit. at some listening levels, i do agree that the audible differences will be very slight, but once you start to push these things, the mono's are amazing!!! i guess what i am trying to say is that, IMO the monoblocks are bulletproof. you can push them to their limits and their is no chance of channel-robbing power from anywhere.... just my .02

ron, i would test drive the monoblocks before purchasing the mm9000, and again, for half the price the mm9000 may be your choice. the mono's are awesome, but not sure if they are quite twice the value(unless you got the cash to burn).

Ron-P

No cash to burn here, but I am leaning towards the monos. One reason is that I will not amp my surrounds ( RT25i's ), they could not handle it. So, I am only looking at three monoblocks. I may start with two and work into the third for the center later.

I will listen to both, but from the comments above, I'm leaning towards the mono-blocks.


Peace Out~:D