Marantz v. McIntosh Tube Gear

pen_man

Active Member
I have a Marantz Model 7 preamp that I like a great deal after Terry DeWick worked his magic on it. In addition, I have a single Model 9 and would love to find it a mate. However, I have never really heard a Marantz tube amp. I am somewhat familiar with McIntosh tube gear and the McIntosh sound as I own several Mc amps. Would someone please compare the Marantz sound to the McIntosh sound. How, for instance, would the sound of a Marantz 8B differ from a McIntosh MC 240 or MC30's? Please note that I am not asking which sounds better as that is very subjective and I am sure the responses would not necessarily favor either camp. I am curious as to how the two sounds differ from those that have heard both.
 
How, for instance, would the sound of a Marantz 8B differ from a McIntosh MC 240 or MC30's? Please note that I am not asking which sounds better as that is very subjective and I am sure the responses would not necessarily favor either camp. I am curious as to how the two sounds differ from those that have heard both.
The difference in sound more than anything is the signature of the EL34
output tube vs the 6L6GC output tube. That is my experience hearing both.
All are extremely well designed so it is apples and oranges so to speak IMHO.
I have never seen any response to that question that did not include personal prejudice, sometimes extreme, myself.


Carl
 
Carl's right. EL34's sound quite different from the 6L6/5881 family. IMO, EL34's have smoother and slightly richer midrange performance.
 
Do they have the dynamic range of a 6L6? If so, are they as dynamic with the low frequency response as a KT-88?
 
Sure Tonedeaf thanks for the offer. Since my last post, I picked up a Marantz 8. To me, the 8 sounds closest to the MC-225 of the McIntosh units that I have. I am not sure I could describe the differences. Frankly, the two units sound more alike than different IMHO. I also find that the 8 has more in common than points of difference with my MC-60 mono blocs using KT-88's. I suppose my conclusion at this point is that EL34's are hard to differentiate from 7591's and KT-88's in a well designed circuit.
 
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