Marantz PM5005 With Dave Slagle's Transformer Volume Controls

[SET12]

I have used several pieces of Marantz gear over the years.

I decided that I needed a 2ch SS Integrated Amplifier for a backup when I am working on my tube amplifiers and an amplifier for general use for my wife who once owned a vintage Marantz while in College. So she was right at home with the PM5005. I also bought a used Marantz Tuner to with it.

I purchased a pair of these for a passive preamp project after hearing them at a fellow AKers home

The price is a very reasonable $350/pair at Intact Audio http://www.intactaudio.com/atten.html
These are fully assembled ready to go, just put then in a box and wire up the in and out jacks. In my case I wired in a high quality switch for two inputs.



So after I finished the project I had two Mono Block TVC's as they are called to use with my Monoblock Amplifiers.

Hook Up.

I fed the Marantz CD input with the TVC's and my CDP fed one of the inputs of the TVC. Then I turned the Marantz's volume control all the way up effectively taking it out of the signal path. I turned the TVC all the way down as I hooked it up.

Marantz Sound.

The Marantz sounded like a $500 mid-fi product to me. A little lean, a little compressed and a somewhat small sound -stage which basically was kept between the speakers. Not what what I'm accustom to, but the amplifier was pleasant nothing really harsh. Its sins were those more of omission rather than commission.

Marantz with the TVC's.

I was unprepared for what I heard from the Marantz. The TVC's transformed the PM5005 into one of the most musical sounding SS amplifiers That I have ever owned. It was as though the amplifier should of cost thousands and not a few hundred dollars.

The sound-stage more than doubled its width and depth. Its image height was very good as well. I have an 18 ft wall that my speakers are set up on with them 9ft apart and the Marantz with the TVC's was able to image through my side walls, I was estimating imaging as wide as 30 ft and sometimes more. images were nice and round with very nice body. You could easily hear the layering of various recordings. The bass was extra nice very detailed and very full. I wouldn't say the amplifier was the punchiest but it was so easy to listen to and you weren't drawn to any one thing, just involved in everything.

Speakers I used are a highly modified pair of Klipsch R-28F's with outboard crossovers. Here http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/in...r-drive-crossover-replacement-project.698764/

I can tell you I will never listen seriously to any amplifier with out the TVC's as the one thing I learned was how damaging conventional controls really are and this goes for resistor ladder controls as well.

My hats off to the designers of the PM5005 as its basic amplifier circuit uses trickle down technology that you can really hear with the TVC's.

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Hi people, I spent yesterday afternoon in a 4 hr phenomenal listening session, Everything was sounding very very good. I don't know about the Marantz Amp, maybe its just opening up with hrs on it but what? things where really nice and full, with a lot of roundness and of course lots of space one recording after another. The I put Adele 25 into the CDP and the system just exploded.......

I had to turn my average volume down some 6db because Adele's vocal range form softest to loudest was so wide, one of the widest I have ever heard. The recorded ambiance of her environment enveloped my entire listening room and was well past the side walls. But the thing killed me was the sheer dynamic range just blew me away (a note: this is the thing that Don noticed when he was here listening to a piano) I thought something in the system is going to give but nothing did other than my breath being taken away. Those TVC's really breath is all I can say, without them its a different story at least with the Marantz Amp anyway and probably many others. Then there's my 26 yr old heavily modified Sony X77ES CDP with the Burson Discrete OP Amps and of course the extra energy reserves I installed and boy do you obviously hear those as well! So I guess the system screams with range like no other system that I have owned.

In conclusion, I know everything works together but those TVC's I give a huge portion of the credit for the systems enhanced performance. Had I known about them years ago I would of ran for them. Who says you need an active preamp? I could just build a simple gain stage of course nothing I typically do is simple but then I guess I would have an active preamp. But do I need it? I don't think so...

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[SET12]

NEW HIGH END LISTENING SESSION WITH THE TVC's


I got together with the founder Carl (roozer) of my local audio club NEWAS http://www.newaudiosociety.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl and NEWASer member Greg (squidboyw).

We listened in two rooms one was maybe 10ft x 12ft room that he made work. It had a SS Odyssey Power amplifier with a $2000 Cambridge Audio CDP that had a very nice digital volume control. Even in that small room the TVC expanded on the space in the recording and the slam factor was better as well as a higher level of detail was heard without any harshness whatsoever. Greg also concurred.

The Second room was in Carl's basement which for a home in Wisconsin was one of the Largest I have ever been in, it was just huge. Maybe 80 or 90ft long. It was split into two rooms and we were in the smaller of the two, side walls, wall to wall might of been at least 40ft. He was set up over to one side of the room, I myself always prefer symmetrical set up for even reflective recorded room ambiance, but the floor area that the equipment was setup on, he had said, had some kind of acoustic treatment that absorbed acoustic reflections. I guess the previous people living there were musicians. Anyway that area had a way of enhancing the listening experience which offset any other setup prospects for him.

In the photo's you'll see the Krell Amplifiers, the Main power amp between the speakers and the line stage in back on the right side of the equipment stands both are running in Balance Mode. The Krell amplifiers more than a decade ago retailed $14,000 for the power amplifier and $7000 for the line stage that I was told and it does have a reference phono board installed. The turntable is about a $10,000 VPI with its speed control to the left of it. The CDP is a McCormick probably in the 4-$5000 range running in single-ended mode. Last but not least are the speaker cables. Dominus by Purist Audio Design they are $10,000, yeah $10,000/pair and they are liquid filled to quell mechanical vibration.

Speakers were Talon's about a $4000 mini monitor that could reach down into the low 30's for bass but being out into the room it was unlikely that they would reach that far down.

Also on hand were a brand new set of $11,000 Merlin's that we listened to briefly, and wow they were real Hi Rez, Carl the owner of these thought they needed to be worked with in set up to tame some of the Rez down a bit I could hear where poor recordings were not going to fair well with them. But still they are a buckle your seat belt kind of speaker. In the past at audio shows I have always heard them with tube gear and never with SS.

So we listened to the Talons I'll have to get the name of the recording that we used for comparison. But the recording threw out the largest sound stage that I have ever heard. I would estimate it was at least some 40 feet wide. Speakers were maybe 9-10 apart so lateral imaging extended some 15ft or more to the left and right of each speaker. And now that I think of it, it was likely more! And this was with the TVC's installed!!!!!

We had installed the TVC between the CDP and the Krell line stage. We turned the TVC all the way down then turned the Krell all the way up controlling the level with the TVC. I'd say we never were more than mid level on the TVC. We did some A-B-A comparisons. I really noticed that the lateral definition was much better with the TVC and the stage size of course was also wider and deeper.Everything was more compressed without the TVC. Still with the Krells volume was still a very large presentation with a lot of space, but the TVC for me drew me into the recording everywhere and its as though there was more air separating the performers making it easier to focus on them individually.

Carl wanted to try the TVC direct to the power amp but I was out of time.

As I was packing up Carl noticed that his small sub was turned off, he normally adds a little of it under 40hz. This really surprised him as normally its very easy for him to pick up on that his sub is off. But in this case with the TVC it was never missed. We figure it must of been the TVC's transit enhancement that might have come across as extension of the bass.

In the end we all thought there were improvements in many areas with no negatives really to be heard. Its hard to be picky when so much good is happening.

All in all it was a great time and much was learned.

I want to especially thank Carl for a great lunch and fine beer on hand.
As well as Greg for his listening opinion as well.