Cannot compare to the MF as I have not heard one. The Marantz PM8004 does IMO sound amazing and is certainly worth consideration. Happy hunting.
Integrated amp with HT bypass & phono stage
I'm looking for an integrated amp with HT bypass and a very good phono stage. I have my eye on a Musical Fidelity A308, but wondered if there was anything comparable with an even better phono stage. I know this is a compromise and at some point will invest in a standalone phono preamp but wife's constraints force me to find a single box solution for now. I'd be grateful for your recommendations.
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Another enthusiastic recommendation for the Marantz PM8004. TAS Review here. It even has an excellent discrete MM phono stage. The level of resolution, refinement, and speaker control has to be heard to be believed on this $999 unit. It also has direct inputs to the power amp that can be switched in from the front panel. That works as the HT bypass. I heard this amp driving a $10K pair of Sonus Faber Cremona Ms to perfection. You'd never guess it was anything less than a $5K stack of separates. |
I had the Denon PMA 2000ae (replaced by the 2010), it had the ht bypass, I don't remember if it had phono stage. All Luxman integrated (the class AB 505u, 507u and my actual 509u, the class A 550AX and 590AX, the tube amp SQ38u) have the home theatre bypass ("separate" button on front panel, through the "main in" rca input on the back) and MM/MQ phono stage. |