the look

not worth the money in a million years

for this kind of money I got the impression I baught a "my first Sony". Look at Rotel for the best value buys I would like to say.

Similar Products Used:

rotel 921

open silky sound, imaging, soundstage neutral, good detail

cheap binding posts

better sound than everything but mcintosh. Excellent value.

Similar Products Used:

pioneer rotel mcintosh

Looks, sounds neutral, that's about it...

doesn't thrill me, sounds COMPLETELY LIFELESS!!

Please read my review on the ROTEL RA-972.

I think this amp could be a good choice for some people, but not for me; I think it sounds too bright and it doesn't thrill me. It sounds completely lifeless. I feel it only reproduces sound, and doesn't bring music to life with ethusiasm. Soundstage is shallow and it lacks authority and impact and that with 95 watts/ch on tap!
I think the Rotel RA-972 is a much better buy and considering it has only 60 watts/ch it really outclasses the Marantz PM-7000 and even the PM-8000 in terms of dynamics, impact, control and authority..

disapointing, I wonder how this amp could win the EISA 2000 awards.

Marantz should do much better than this!

Similar Products Used:

Arcam Alpha 8R, Rotel RA-972, Thule Spirit A60, Marantz PM-8000

'natural' sound, strong built, high output

None for the price, maybe some mids, but that's part of the 'natural sound'

System used:
amp.- Marantz PM7000
CD- Yamaha CDX
Sp-Mission M783
Monster Cable used.
Great value for the money. Got really good sound. Of course, if u r used to McIntosh, it'll sound kind of weaker but still awesome. I do not agree with some of the ratings (e.g. 2 stars) 'cause u have a hard time to find better amp in this price category. It sounds really strong, as it supposed to, at least with my M783s. A little weakness in the mid range but definitelly not critical. I give it 4.5 stars.

Similar Products Used:

NAD, Yamaha 496,596, Harman/Kardon

Performance/price ratio, build quality, power

Cluttered, Marantz-only remote control

There are few competitors in the 7000's price range, especially considering its power. The PM-8000 sounds noticably better (i.e. warmer, smoother) in Class-A mode (30 watts), but I didn't think it warranted the extra $250.
For my speakers (Quadral Taurin MKIII) the PM-7000 sounds great (markedly better than my previous Sherwood 100 Watt amp). The most important thing I learned when trying out many different amplifiers is that in this class the differences between different types and (A) brands are minimal, and the difference between 60 and 100 Watts is hardly noticable.
I chose the PM-7000 mainly for its attractive price and power and am very satisfied with it. It's a great amp for people that want good sound for a sympathetic price.

A minus is the Marantz-only remote control (RC8000PM), which is obviously designed by an engineer with no sense of ergonomics. All 44 buttons have the same size and are layed out in 11 rows of 4 buttons. So i still have to get me a universal remote that can control my amp, my tuner (ST6000) as well as my Sony CD player.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz PM-8000, NAD 370, Denon 1500

A/B speaker connections, mute button, decent remote.

Incredibly awful binding posts on the back, runs hot, and does not sound as warm as my Marantz PM-17 reference integrated.

This is a fine amplifier, but has a problem with binding posts, which are two-way at best (if one is charitable). The holes to stick bare wires into are very small, and not very deep at all, allowing only use of high-gauge wires. I've not tried pins, but they may work. Binding posts are plastic.

I also noted that the binding posts were spaced very closely together, making connecting two sets of speakers difficult.

Unit sounds less sweet and powerful than the PM-17 (though rated as having higher wattage), but is there for the most part, and drives my speakers (Norh 4.0s) well. The unit does run relatively hot, even when it is not playing anything.

Last issue: power cord not socketed, but this is expected on an integrated at this price range.

Overall, still recommended.

Similar Products Used:

PM-17 reference integrated

Able to pump out very good bass, sweet vocals, spot on imaging and impressive power reserve

A little midrange is missing and need to pump up the volume to sound its best

Got this amp for quite some time already, the more I listen to it, the more I like it. This is one AMP where you can just sit there and listen to it for a very long time without feeling fatigue.

Vocals is very very sweet and accurate, bass is detailed and controlled, however I am missing a bit of midrange. This AMP like all other marantz stuffs needs careful system matching to sound its best, avoid metal tweeter speakers at all cost as the PM7000 is a bit bright sounding.

Built quality is simply excellent and has tons of power to play around. Very difficult to find a similar AMP of such calibre at this price point. No wonder it won European Amplifier of the year award.

Similar Products Used:

Nad 320, 340, Audiolab 8000A, Kenwood, Rotel

Heavy quality, in combination with the right speakers/cd player it sounds great for it's price

A bit flat, but I myself don't see it as a weakness, others may.

I use this amp with a pair of B&W CM4's and a Marantz CD6000OSE. I've bi-wired the speakers and ofcourse used high quality interlink cables. I've listned to a wide selection of music styles (Trance dance. rock, jazz, blues, Classic) And I have to agree with the other reviewers that you have to play it quite loud, at low volumes it sounds a bit weak/low powered, But when playing loud I think It sounds great. However you've got to use the right combination, as with everything.

I also tried (couldn't help it) to turn up the bass to it's max when listning to trance dance music, all I can say is wow!!!(ofcourse the speakers help A LOT)

For it's price it's a well balanced amp with a bit flat sound, but that's how I like it...

If your willing to spend money on good cables, good speakers and a high quality CD player, you should take a one eye look to this amp.

regards

Similar Products Used:

Denon, HK

features, power, accuracy

this amp is a great value. It is rated at 95 watts rms but actually measures at 115. Sounds quite powerful compared to other 100 watters. The sound is accurate and natural sounding. Nice high end and airy. Could be bright for some. The bass is fast but not exceptional. Soundstage has good depth for the price and some heigth. Very good imaging. This amp provides a little of that "true, in your room live sound " that we all want, but to is not up what you can get from amps 5 to 6 times the price, like krell. Not for lovers of the soft rolled-off "british sound"

Similar Products Used:

kenwood, pioneer, teac, mccintosh, krell

Price, features, build quality

Flat and narrow soundscape, weak basses and middle, remote

I bought this amp for its attractive price. At first I was very pleased, but then I started to notice that most sounds were coming out of my treble speakers. This amp is really bad on middles and not much better at basses. So I agree with other reviewers below that this amp has a neutral sound which can be listened to for a long time without becoming tiring, but this is because the sound is rather flat and cold and uninspiring.
The more I listened to it, the more frustrated I got, so I decided to spend some more money for a better amp (what's the lifetime of an amplifier? 10, 15 years? In my opinion that warranted spending a few hundred dollars more).
My new amplifier is a Rotel 972, which is kind of the opposite of the PM7000. It has an extremely open, warm and wide soundscape, which not everyone will like, but everything sounds so much more smooth than on the PM7000.

My recommendation is to compare the PM7000 to a few competitors that are just 1 grade above it and then decide if the you're willing to pay a few hundred dollars more for (much) better sound quality.

Having said all this, I think that the PM7000 is a good buy in its price range.