Audiolab 8300A and Marantz PM8005

AndrewVT

New Member
So I'm currently in the process of auditioning these two amps as an upgrade from my current amp which was a Mies i100. So far I've listened to the Audiolab but not the Marantz as it was out of stock. I'll have a listen to it once it's back in.

Does anyone have or had one of these amps and can offer your opinion on them. From what I've read so far, and heard from listening to the Audiolab. The Audiolab is more of a neutral sound and I'm told the Marantz is more on the warmer side. I prefer the warm sound myself having had a tube amp once. So thats a plus on the Marantz's side. But I love the simplicity of the Audiolab. I mostly listen to LP and some CD. With a whee bit of iTunes media.

My current setup is as follows:
ProJect Debut Carbon Esprit TT with Ortofon Red. (May be upgraded to Blue or a Nagaoka MP150/200)
Mies S1 and Castle Warwick speakers which I bounce back and forth between.
Denon DA300 DAC
Sony CDP397 CD player

Cheers!
 
I have had a PM 8005 as my modern amp in a system for 2 years. I also owned a couple of different Marantz 22xx receivers in the 70s as I sold them as a company reported in the 70s while in college. This amp is very solid, resolving, transparent and maybe a little warm, depending on how you run it.It has tone controls covering treble, midrange and bass which help with certain poor recordings. It also can bypass the preamp controls direct to power amplifier. I probably do that 80% of the time. It is built in the Japanese factory that makes Marantz Reference gear and is well made. I compared it to the next level up Reference amp and while not as resolving it was very good. I didn't feel the extra $1000+ was worth it. I listened to a number of other name amps from Rogue, Yamada, others before buying it. I also have a vintage system right next to it running on an upgraded McIntosh MC250 power amp. That is much more warm, tubelike so I can say to me the Marantz is more neutral, resolving and modern sounding. I got it for about $1k new. BTW, it does have a 3 year warranty which was a plus to me. I have not heard the other amp you reference. Certainly once the Marantz is setup it can be very simple to run. I like the broad functionality it offers. BTW, it is paired with Kef R300 and a Sony SACD 5400ES.
 
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