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Hi Fla Charlie, Fla Audiogatorjim here..... yes, I did

198.143.236.76

own both a Marantz 8 and an 8B. Both are superb amplifiers;I thought the 8B was just a tad better sounding. In my opinion,the 8B is deserving of all of the praise it has received. It is a well built and very nice sounding amp. To me, it is very smooth sounding with very nice midrange and a slightly rolled of high end. I wouldn't call it particularly sweet or euphonic or really tube-like sounding; just a very nice sounding amplifier in all respects. Not nearly as tube sounding as the Mac 275, in my opinion. (there are so many inmates that can better describe the attributes of these amps)
The Pilot is similar sounding to me but has a much more robust or accenuated lower mid and lower bass sound. This was immediately obvious on first listen. So, apparently, it's design gives the amp these characteristics, which to me, are extraordinary.
I have a pair of Beveridge 3's, which have vertical ESL elements that project through bending lenses that project the sound into a 180 degree dispersion. Very nice, kind of omnidirectional, not nearly as directional as say, Quad 57's and Acoustats. Sound similar to the wonderful Quad 57's - just a different dispersion pattern. Anyway, prior to the Pilot, I really needed and used a subwoofer with mostly poor, uneven results. It is rather amazing to me, that with this Pilot amp, the subwoofer is completely not needed.
I really like this amp.


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  • Hi Fla Charlie, Fla Audiogatorjim here..... yes, I did - audiogatorjim 07:20:56 03/11/07 (0)


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