Cable Asylum

Interconnects, speaker wire, power cords. Ask the Cable Guys.

Return to Cable Asylum


Message Sort: Post Order or Asylum Reverse Threaded

Marantz Owners and Cabling

97.106.54.83

Posted on January 29, 2023 at 08:28:24
Chris K.
Audiophile

Posts: 400
Location: West Central Florida
Joined: August 15, 2001
I've become friends online with a fellow music enthusiast after he wrote a letter to Stereophile mostly dismissing the significance of cables. He owns Marantz gear (integrated amp and SACD player, each in the $3,000 range)) and is a bit critical of me for my choices (Parasound amp, SST Thoebes II preamp, NuPrime transport, etc.). He loves Marantz, thinks I should get it and be done, and suggests I forget about cabling as being important. I did try a lower priced Marantz universal player a few years ago, but found it overly warm and veiled. At the time I owned a TEAC CD-1000 and when I hooked it up again, there was no comparison; the TEAC was clearly superior.

As I suggested to my friend, my unscientific hypothesis is that Marantz owners either don't care much about cabling and/or that Marantz gear simply may not highlight differences as much in cabling as other equipment does. So, I did a quick search among our inmate systems here using "Marantz" as one search term and "Parasound" as the keyword in a separate search in order to see what the dominant types of cabling are in various setups. To be fair, I looked just at the top 25 results.

First, I categorized two ways: 1. Systems using predominantly Monster, generic, DIY, or other basic non-audiophile brands available at Best Buy, Walmart, etc. 2. Systems using primarily audiophile brands (Audioquest, Kimber, Cardas, Straightwire, MIT, Analysis Plus, Wireworld, Acoustic Zen, Shunyata, Morrow, Audience, and numerous other names we all recognize).

Results I found are this: One inmate had a system with both Parasound and Marantz. Out of the 24 remaining Parasound systems, 21/24 had a majority or all of their wires being audiophile brands. I then looked at 24 Marantz systems and found only 9/24 using audiophile brand cabling primarily. In fact, a couple of the Marantz systems didn't list a brand, but simply described it as "copper" or "cheap" in addition to the DIY ones, etc.

So, and I'd love owners of Marantz gear especially to chime in, do Marantz owners simply not care that much about cables or does Marantz equipment not call attention to cable quality or types as much as other brands might?

 

Hide full thread outline!
    ...
Personal observations on cabling, posted on January 29, 2023 at 11:26:21
Mike K
Audiophile

Posts: 13976
Location: 97701
Joined: September 23, 1999
I use balanced interconnects, so I don't think there's gonna be a lot of differences no matter which brand of XLR's I use. I use Anticables level 2 speaker cable (solid), and it is a vast improvement over previously used stranded speaker cable (I forget which brand it was); I use Audioquest NRG4 power cables, which replaced some older Volex cables and some generic
cables; I remain unconvinced of any superiority of the Audioquest. What I think really makes a difference is use of a power regenerator - I use a PS Audio P3. I use a Blue Jean Cable hdmi cable between my transport and dac.

I don't obsess about cabling and I'm not going to spend big bucks on it.
My advice is to use balanced interconnects, solid speaker cables, and
good quality power cables conncected to a power regenerator. Oh, use dedicated circuits if you can.

Lack of skill dictates economy of style. - Joey Ramone

 

RE: Marantz Owners and Cabling, posted on January 30, 2023 at 06:15:38
ABliss
Audiophile

Posts: 1482
Joined: March 16, 2001
Contributor
  Since:
August 3, 2002
Speaker cables and interconnects makes a big difference with any brand of equipment you use. You just have to take the time to listen with a open mind free from cost biases.
Especially going from generic to anything in the $500 range.
After that I think it's mostly bling.
As for power, I hear no difference in good quality 14 gauge power cords compared to oversized expensive ones.

 

I mostly agree, posted on January 30, 2023 at 06:36:19
Jack G
Audiophile

Posts: 9740
Joined: September 24, 1999
One doesn't have to pay a lot for good cables. You can always shop used, or buy from a place that has a return policy, which is very common these days.
As for power cords, I hear a difference but most seem to make things sound worse. While I've tied a bunch on PCs over the years, I've mostly stuck with the same ones I've had since the late 90's.
Jack

 

RE: Marantz Owners and Cabling, posted on February 2, 2023 at 15:54:15
pbarach
Audiophile

Posts: 3307
Location: Ohio
Joined: June 22, 2008
I have a mix of Denon, Marantz, and Parasound equipment. The only cable change that made a difference was upgrading my speaker cables from lamp wire ("zip cord") to 12-gauge Blue Jeans cable.

But when visiting a friend who has much better equipment than I do, I hear differences in interconnects and speaker cables.

 

RE: Marantz Owners and Cabling, posted on February 12, 2023 at 11:31:27
fantja
Audiophile

Posts: 15524
Location: Alabama
Joined: September 11, 2010
Chris K.
most Audiophiles dismiss "cables"
Which Marantz does your on-line friend own? Marantz and Parasound can co-exist in a System. One does not have to spend much on Cabling. Exercise careful system-matching.

 

RE: Marantz Owners and Cabling, posted on February 12, 2023 at 12:01:11
Chris K.
Audiophile

Posts: 400
Location: West Central Florida
Joined: August 15, 2001
I agree that both can coexist in the same system. My point of inquiry is on why it seems as though Marantz owners care less about their choice of cabling than others based on my rudimentary survey. My friend has a Marantz Pearl integrated amp and a comparably priced Marantz SACD player. Ironically, since I made this initial post, he has switched to a Musical Fidelity integrated after ten years with the Marantz! Nevertheless, his views on cables remain essentially unchanged.

 

RE: Marantz Owners and Cabling, posted on February 23, 2023 at 22:31:42
mrjdub33@aol.com
Audiophile

Posts: 381
Joined: June 8, 2008
I'm using Wireworld Silver Eclipse 8 rca and xlr between my Maratntz 30n sacd and Musical Fidelity Ms8 preamp to an Parasound Halo Jc5 ,prior to this was Morrow Audio which I still use for my speaker cables.

 

Page processed in 0.029 seconds.