Marantz PM-12 Integrated Amp and SA-12 SACD Player Special Editions
Marantz has unveiled its 12 Series integrated amp and SACD Special Edition models.
Marantz revealed its 12 Series Special Edition models today, the PM-12 Special Edition Integrated Amplifier and SA-12 Special Edition SACD Player with DAC-Mode. Perhaps, more importantly, these are the first to be released post-Ken Ishiwata-san.
The latest Special Edition models are said to draw upon the achievements made through developing the acclaimed KI Ruby series. We are told that Marantz's Sound Masters have applied more considered component selection and tuning over countless listening sessions to create the PM-12 and SA-12 Special Editions, both priced at £2,999.
Marantz PM-12 Special Edition Integrated Amp
The PM-12SE integrated amplifier sports a fully discrete two-stage design with separate power supplies for the pre-amplifier and power amp section.
Boasting 100W per channel into 8ohms, high-quality nickel-plated copper input terminals and high-purity copper speaker connections, Marantz promises signal purity throughout.
The PM-12 Special Edition is equipped with a moving coil/moving magnet phono stage, married to the Marantz Musical Premium Phono EQ circuit along with Marantz HDAM tech. Here again, the aim has been uncompromised signal purity, we're told.
Marantz SA-12 Special Edition SACD Player / DAC
Where most would add a DAC into the PM-12SE integrated amp, Marantz has left it an utterly analogue design and so avoiding any potential interfering electrical noise. Instead, they have drafted in the SA-12SE SACD player is not only capable of spinning SACDs, CDs, as well as compilations on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, but its asynchronous USB input can also crunch formats all the way up to PCM/DXD 384kHz/32bit and DSD11.2MHz. The SACDM-3 SACD/CD mechanism has been designed in-house for purely audio.
All PCM file formats are transformed to DSD using advanced filtering and proprietary processing before the Marantz Musical Mastering Conversion converts the 1-bit data stream directly into an analogue signal - all without the use of a conventional digital-to-analogue converter. Additionally, the USB port and optical and coaxial inputs are isolated to block noise from internal and external sources.
Finally, the dedicated headphone amplifier features all-discrete construction and HDAM-SA2.
The Marantz PM-12SE and SA-12SE will be available in September in both a black or silver-gold finish, each priced at £2,999 / €3300.
For more information, check out Marantz.
Jay Garrett
StereoNET’s resident rock star, bass player, and gadget junkie. Jay heads up StereoNET as Editor for the United Kingdom and Europe regions. His passion for gadgets and Hi-Fi is second only to being a touring musician.
Posted in: Hi-Fi
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