Analog Source: Rega Planar 3 turntable, Syrinx PU-3 tonearm, Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood cartridge.
Digital Source: Lector, Creek Destiny CD players.
Integrated Amplifier: Creek 5350SE.
Loudspeakers: Monitor Audio Silver RS6, Epos M5.
Cables: Interconnect: MIT MI-350 CVTwin Terminator & CVT Terminator 2. Speaker: Acarian Systems Black Orpheus. AC: manufacturers' own.
Accessories: Various by ASC, Bright Star, Simply Physics, Sound Anchor, VPI.—Robert J. Reina
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I examined the Marantz PM5003's measured behavior using Stereophile's loan sample of the Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It" and www.ap.com); for some tests, I also used my vintage Audio Precision System One Dual Domain.
Before I test an amplifier, I run it for 60 minutes at one-third its specified power into 8 ohms. Thermally, this is the worst case for an amplifier with a class-B or -AB output stage. At the end of this period, the Marantz's case was warm to the touch and the grille above its internal heatsink was too hot…
John Atkinson returned to the Marantz PM5003 in April 2010 (Vol.33 No.4):
In our January 2010 issue, Robert J. Reina enthused over the sound of this inexpensive 40Wpc integrated amplifier. For just $449.99, you get a relatively solidly constructed amp with remote control, a respectable moving-magnet phono stage, and a headphone output. "The Marantz PM5003 is a stunning achievement," Bob concluded: "an uncolored, revealing, well-built gem with more features than anyone could possibly ask for at the price."1
But a cloud overshadowed an otherwise rave review. When I examined the…
Hang around long enough, and your reward is often to be taken for granted or ignored. Canadian electronics manufacturer Bryston Ltd. has been around since the mid-1970s, and while—if coverage by Stereophile is any indication—the company has hardly been ignored, it's often taken for granted.
That's due, in great part, to Bryston's inherent conservatism in every aspect of the company's public persona. Maybe they do privately cross-dress and throw debauched bashes and hang from chandeliers, but their public face is one of an engineering-centric, low-key, value-oriented organization…
Other changes made to the 7B SST include new output devices, increased power-supply capacitance, a new low-noise power transformer, new computer-modeled heatsinks, more direct connections and less point-to-point wiring, a new power switch, and new cosmetics. Bryston claims that all of the changes in the circuitry contribute to, per Bryston, "improved low-level clarity, focus, spatiality, and the elimination of haze."
Having never reviewed the 7B SST—or any Bryston amplifier—in my system, I have no idea how much sonic improvement, if any, has been wrought by these changes. But I thought…
Chad Kassem had sent along 45rpm test pressings of some albums by Nat King Cole that he's reissuing on his Analogue Productions label, using, for the first time, Capitol's original three-track master tapes. With the Brystons in the system, I listened to "When I Fall in Love," from Love Is the Thing (Capitol SW-824). Without first refamiliarizing myself with the sound of this track on a 180gm reissue of this album from the mid-1990s (Capitol/DCC Compact Classics LPZ-2029), it seemed that the 45rpm version produced a wider stage on which I heard a far more detailed rendering of the strings,…
I'll spare you the long list of the (virtual) discs and tracks I used, but among them were: Arturo O'Farrill's Live in Brooklyn (Zoho Music), one of the best-sounding CDs I've ever heard; Tommy Flanagan's Sunset and the Mockingbird: The Birthday Concert (Blue Note); Badfinger's Straight Up (Capitol); and the Beatles' The Capitol Albums Vol.1 (Capitol).
Oddly, it was the primitive-sounding The Beatles' Second Album, including the American meddler Dave Dexter's added reverb, that clarified both the differences between the amplifiers and the Bryston's basic personality. The first track, "…
It seemed only fair to give a listen to a pair of 7B SST2s that included the new transformers and compare them with the original units. John Atkinson also was kind enough to schlep over a pair of Parasound's Halo JC 1 monoblocks, which are similarly priced.
Revisiting the Original 7B SST2s
It took but a few minutes to hear what I reported in the review: the soft attack, murky sustain, and mutable decay. I revisited the Beatles' cover of "Roll Over Beethoven" and some of the other tracks, and added a few new ones, including "We Can Talk," from an exceptionally fine-sounding SACD of…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state monoblock amplifier. Output power: 600W continuous into 8 ohms (27.8dBW), 900W into 4 ohms (26.6dBW). Gain select and sensitivity: 29dB (2.3V in = 600W into 8 ohms), 1V setting; 23dB (4.6V in = 600W into 8 ohms), 2V setting. Frequency response: not specified. Distortion (IM or THD+noise): <0.005%, 20Hz–20kHz, at 600W; <0.007%, 20Hz–20kHz, at 900W. Noise measured with input shorted, 20Hz–20kHz: >110dB below rated output at 29dB gain (–75dBu), >113dB below rated output at 23dB gain (–79dBu). Slew rate: >160V/µs. Damping…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn, Cobra, Castellon turntable, tonearm, & stand; Artemis SA-1 turntable; Graham Phantom B-44 II tonearm; Lyra Titan i, Soundsmith The Voice cartridges.
Digital Sources: Playback Designs SACD/CD player & DAC, BPT-modified Alesis Masterlink hard-disk recorder, Meridian-Sooloos Music Server.
Preamplification: Manley Steelhead, Audio-Technica AT-PEQ3, Audio Valve Sunilda, Simaudio Moon LP5.3 (with outboard power supply) phono preamplifiers; darTZeel NHB-18NS, Musical Fidelity Primo preamplifiers.
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