Marantz PM-10 – Stereo 200W Power Amplifier

To help this amplifier achieve audiophile-grade quality, Marantz has optimized each section of the amplifier for its specific task, the way a separate preamplifier and monoblock power amplifier would. It uses a dual-mono design with separate power supplies for the preamplifier and each of the channels, with one transformer dedicated to the preamp to help ensure that the signals passing through that section aren’t affected by the high power output stages. There’s also a dedicated supply for the microprocessor controlling volume adjustment, input, selection, and more, ensuring that virtually no noise from the control section leaks into the audio path.

The purely analog design of the PM-10 ensures that noise from digital circuitry doesn’t interfere with the analog signals passing through it. Purest Mode deactivates any superfluous circuits to give the signal the cleanest possible path through the amplifier. There’s also a Power Amp input, which takes the signal straight from the input section to the power stage to let the PM-10 work as a pure power amplifier.

The mirror imaging of the layout, in which identical components are handling the positive and negative portions of the signal, helps cancel out any potential interference, noise, or errors. Additionally, the balanced design uses stronger signals than unbalanced designs, meaning the signal is less susceptible to outside interference and noise.

The PM-10 uses a fully balanced layout, from the input section all the way through to the final power amplifier section. It has two sets of balanced inputs, along with conventional unbalanced line-level RCA inputs and a phono stage; the signal from these inputs is converted to a balanced signal before passing through the amplification stage.

The bridged amplifier uses two separate amplifier stages per channel to drive one speaker, with one amp pushing the cones and domes and the other pulling them back. With that much control on how the drivers behave, the amplifier can make them start and stop moving more precisely, augmenting the definition and speed of the system; this means that it can play music with better rhythmic and spatial controls, while also making voices and instruments sound more realistic.

The bridged amplifiers in the power output stage allow this control to be combined with a high power output of up to 200W per channel to two channels at 8 ohms, and can also handle demanding speakers or those whose impedance varies with frequency, thanks to its 400W per channel output to two channels at 4 ohms. This helps ensure that even large, power-hungry speakers driven at high levels sound clean and distortion-free, and that the drivers are doing what the music demands.

The onboard HDAM SA3 is part of a current feedback topology designed to provide wide frequency and dynamic ranged, as well as fast block capacitors to provide a fast response to demands for high current. The same current feedback design is applied to the phono stage, which can be used with either moving coil or moving magnet cartridges to help ensure the best possible playback of your records.

• Double-layered, copper-plated chassis helps reject mechanical and electrical interference
• Non-magnetic aluminum panel casework
• 0.2″ thick aluminum top lid and solid aluminum front
• Machined aluminum feet
• Pure, solid copper speaker terminals
• 4-layer symmetrical PCB
• Constant Current Feedback phono EQ
• Toroidal power transformer with two SMPS
• Nickel-plated CD and Phono RCA inputs; others are gold-plated
• D-Bus
• Linear Drive Power Supply (pre-amplifier stage)
• Linear volume control
• Bi-Amp and Multichannel options
• Schottky diodes
• Input buffer amp on all inputs
• Double-layer bottom plate
• Low-noise LCD
• System remote function