Well, let's see. The REVERED Marantz tube pre-amp was followed by the REVERED Audio Research tube pre-amp, that in its day, was said to be the best pre-amp ever produced.
Since then, they have improved it over and over.
Evidently, they know what they are doing and my suggestion is to TRY ONE IN YOUR ROOM and see if it fits your system. YOU many not like it, but it seems that everyone from the Audio press to many customers think there is something there.
OR, they could all be 'wrong' and lying. One way to find out, I guess...
Cheers!