Marantz

Thanks Travis for the follow up.

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

Tbone, when you say $800, are you talking US dollars? Also, do you know the US list prices of the 9s1 amp and 7s1 pre? I saw one ad that if I read it right they were around $15,000 each.

I have heard the PM-14SA v2 and the PM-17SA v2 several times and the MA9S1s once (I live in Japan). Given their 'street prices', I think they are eminently respectable choices. Living in Japan, if I were going to spend <$800 on an SS integrated amp, I would undoubtedly choose the PM17 (or Denon's similarly-priced offering which I have not heard but which gets quite good reviews). I have heard the MA-9S1 in what appeared to be a 4-monoblock configuration powering B&W N800 Sigs - a very powerful, clean sound. I was very doubtful on the combination. I do not remember having heard the pre in a system though I have seen it quite often.

I have to admit I love the blue lights.

I would think they plan to make these available in the US, if not why the full page ad in Stereophile?

There's a good likelyhood that they will never be available in the US as many of their high-end products are for far-east or european markets only. I saw some amps that looked like the MA-9s1 on some website (something about designing the ultimate listening room, don't remember which) except they had 8 or so tubes protruding from the top of the chassis! They really looked like Model 9s from the future, very cool!