Brianmgrarcom, I apologize for the convoluted nature of my post above - it must have been late [excuses, excuses :^)]. To clarify, I think the PM14 and PM17 are eminently respectable choices. Once you get into megabuckland, everything is subjective. Before hearing the MA 9S1s with the B&W 800 Sigs, I was skeptical about the combination of Marantz with the B&Ws. I should not have been - the combo was fantastic. The preamp is quite highly regarded by the Japanese audio press.
1) The PM-17SA Ver.2 integrated amp is JPY 120,000 at MSRP (the power amp without pre is JPY 100k) which is, at current exchange rates, just above US$1000. Low-mid-level Marantz can usually be found for 20% off which would put it at US$800. IMO, it is one of the best audio bargains around in Japan. The PM-14SA v2 is even better but costs almost twice as much (US$1600 street price).
2) I do not know the US list prices of the MA-9S1 or 7S1 but given the Japanese list prices, the USDJPY forwards, and the US dealership system, it would not surprise me that the monoblocks were $15k the pair. The preamp should be less than that. Japanese list is JPY 650,000 for a (1) monoblock (so JPY 1.3mil for a pair) and JPY 700,000 for the pre. In USD terms, that would be about $10k for a pair of the monos and $5.5k for the pre after appropriate discount to MSRP and translation to USD. An Aussie website suggests Aussie list prices about 60-80% higher.
3) Blackie's post describing an MA9S1 with tubes on top is the Project T-1, which is even more bucks. A picture is about halfway down the page
here. I think MSRP on this in Japan is USD$20k+ but I've never seen one in person.
4) For true retro, one can occasionally find the Marantz #9k monos (the recent reproductions) for about $4-5k used here in Japan. From everything I've read, they sound exactly like the originals.
Travis
