Marsh A400s Amplifier
JuanR
Posts: 718
So...I decided to give my tubes a little rest and I picked up this Marsh A400s amplifier, after all, I had a Sunfire TGR401 solid state pre-amp collecting dust...
Other equipment used:
Tidal
Cary X-Citer dac (spdif! ONLY way this dac shines also!) @tonyb
Bel-Canto uLink
Tyler Acoustics D10's
This amplifier shines when using the Balanced XLR circuit, but not so much, using the unbalanced RCA's. BIG DIFFERENCE!
unbalanced sounded like it only had half the gain and lacked all the sound details. When I purchased this amplifier I asked the previous owner what he used and he said he only used the unbalanced section... He mentioned he went with a Parasound A21 and he preferred that over the Marsh. I'm guessing he never fully experienced the Marsh! I tried both ways and the Balanced XLR's makes this amplifier a different beast! PERIOD!
Let me put it to you this way, I played Take 5 by Dave Brubek and my 12 year old son came downstairs to see what I was playing because it sounded so good. He plays the Sax and said he wanted to learn that song because he loved how it sounded.
This amplifier is a keeper! BUT you must use BALANCED or you will never know what this thing is capable of.
NOTE: the speakers were bi-wired as recommended by the manufacturer of the amplifier. I did not try it jumpered.
Hopefully some day I can try a McCormack amp, just to compare.....for now I am super happy with the Marsh!
Juan
Other equipment used:
Tidal
Cary X-Citer dac (spdif! ONLY way this dac shines also!) @tonyb
Bel-Canto uLink
Tyler Acoustics D10's
This amplifier shines when using the Balanced XLR circuit, but not so much, using the unbalanced RCA's. BIG DIFFERENCE!
unbalanced sounded like it only had half the gain and lacked all the sound details. When I purchased this amplifier I asked the previous owner what he used and he said he only used the unbalanced section... He mentioned he went with a Parasound A21 and he preferred that over the Marsh. I'm guessing he never fully experienced the Marsh! I tried both ways and the Balanced XLR's makes this amplifier a different beast! PERIOD!
Let me put it to you this way, I played Take 5 by Dave Brubek and my 12 year old son came downstairs to see what I was playing because it sounded so good. He plays the Sax and said he wanted to learn that song because he loved how it sounded.
This amplifier is a keeper! BUT you must use BALANCED or you will never know what this thing is capable of.
NOTE: the speakers were bi-wired as recommended by the manufacturer of the amplifier. I did not try it jumpered.
Hopefully some day I can try a McCormack amp, just to compare.....for now I am super happy with the Marsh!
Juan
Comments
-
Marsh is no slouch , nice grab....congrats.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
I agree that the sound was improved with the balanced connection on the 200 I had.
-
Did you take any pics of the guts?
-
Did you take any pics of the guts?
I did not open her up, and I don't have plans to do so in the near future. I will tell you that this amp is very musical and should be able to handle most speakers out there. I bet your LSiM 703's would sound fantastic... -
Sweet. Nice pickup. That amp would have good synergy with the Tyler’s that’s for sure.Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
-
Found a nice review: https://hometheaterhifi.com/volume_7_3/marsh-sound-design-a-400-amplifier-8-2000.html
Interesting: "Also included is a power filter integrated into the power supply so that even those without line conditioning should enjoy excellent performance from this amplifier." -
If you have a balanced pre-amp and your speakers can be bi-wired.....this amplifier can make music sing, your speakers will shine. I got lucky and got it from the original owner, BUT - he said he never tried the balanced section...and that is the BEST section on this amplifier. Unbalanced - this amplifier is totally different and I can see why he wasn't totally satisfied.
-
Found a nice review: https://hometheaterhifi.com/volume_7_3/marsh-sound-design-a-400-amplifier-8-2000.html
Interesting: "Also included is a power filter integrated into the power supply so that even those without line conditioning should enjoy excellent performance from this amplifier."
I guess it has its own built in power filter... I'll take it!
