Marantz 15s2 thoughts


Picked up a brand new Marantz 15s2 integrated this week. SO far I have about 50 hours on it.

I've seen Marantz gear labeled as warm and tube like, but so far i'm not hearing any of those qualities. Probably still needs a lot more hours on it. I've noticed that the CD input that is tied to an input buffer has sharper/fatiguing treble compared to the regular line inputs. The phono amp is hot in the treble as well. This is my first Marantz product, great build quality and potentially a one box solution (integrated + phono + headphone), but I was expecting a warmer sound, even out of the box.

What is the break in time on Marantz products?

I use a Rega P5 w/ Dyanvector 10x5, Transporter, Cardas & Tara Labs IC's, Audioquest Rockefeller, B&W 705 or BB&W CDM7SE's, and a REL Starta III
jclyle
Thats what i'm thinking Jaybo. I'm downgrading from the CJ CAV200, that amp is one of the smoothest integrateds i've heard.
Give most solid state amps 150 hours or more to really settle down. 300 hours is not unreasonable. It might help to include a few heat-up/cool-down cycles in there as well.

Try to avoid spending more money to address the "issue"
while you're waiting :)
Thanks for the reminder Auxetophone! I bought the Marantz hoping it would be an end-all to get me off the merry-go-round and free up cash by selling off other components. I've got about 75 hours on it and the sonics haven't changed much. There was a change in the first 5 hours though. I bought from Crutchfield so I have 60 days to return it.
i have a marantz CD player. They take a very long time to break in. The local hi fi shop still noticed a difference throughout the first year of their units. Once broken in, they do sound terrific
Their sources are very smooth, warm. I would imagine applying the same voicing to their integrated amps may be too much of a good thing when combined together. I would still give it some time before making a final verdict.