Marantz KI Pearl – Back in Black
The ‘KI’ in the new Marantz KI Pearl stereo SACD player and integrated amplifier duo is short for Ken Ishiwata. Ken, Brand Ambassador for the company, says the two black Pearl products are his ‘gift’ to the hi-fi industry, to celebrate his 30 years with Marantz. That might sound arrogant from anyone else, but coming from the man who developed the legendary Marantz CD-63 MkII KI Signature –and in the process created a generation of European and Far Eastern audiophiles who associate Ken’s name with high-performance upgrades – this is a gift many would be happy to receive.
The Marantz KI Pearl pair both sport a thick aluminum cover on an even thicker copper-plated chassis, an encased toroidal transformer, carefully selected components (including specially adapted Marantz HDAM-SA2 and HDAM-SA3 amplifier modules). The Marantz KI Pearl SACD player (£2,499.90) features a top-quality SACDM-10 transport mechanism with a special Xyron tray loader, partnered with a Cirrus Logic DAC CS4398 converter with selectable filter options and an optical digital input. The matching Marantz KI Pearl integrated amplifier (also £2,499.90) delivers a claimed 90W/ch into eight ohms and 140W/ch into a four-ohm loudspeaker load. It also features a constant current feedback MM/MC phono stage a discrete two-stage power amplifier (with a direct input) and a buffered CD-direct input circuit. US prices and availability have yet to be confirmed.
Both products are finished in a sumptuous silk black and will be limited to just 500 units each. Owners will also receive a specially commissioned book and accompanying SACD of live jazz recorded by Ishiwata himself.
In fact, Ken Ishiwata’s link with Marantz goes way beyond those 30 years he’s worked with the company. As he explained in a press conference at the top-swank London restaurant, The Ivy, he was born a year before the launch of the first mono LP and Ken’s audiophile epiphany happened young; he heard the Marantz Model 7c preamplifier of a friend’s father. Unfortunately, the then 10 year old Ishiwata was hardly in a position to afford such a high-end masterpiece, so he did the next best thing – he borrowed the preamp and ‘reverse engineered’ a 7c copy. When this preamp failed to work, he began a painstaking analysis of replacing and tweaking components inside his copy preamp until it stopped oscillating and started making music. The die was cast; Ken Ishiwata’s reputation since that time has been built on taking a fine product and finding out how to make it even better.
www.marantz.com/kipearl
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Comments
This is s straight PR release that holds no interest.
Has Sircom actually seen a live one?
What does it sound like.
No-one outside of Marantz has seen a live sample of the KI Pearl system yet. For that, we will have to wait for the Munich High End show.
In truth, there isn't much known about the KI Pearl equipment aside from what appeared in the press release and that is geared toward UK readers. As such, it lacks key US information (such as price and availability) to warrant inclusion in our News section. However, our brief interview with Ken Ishiwata's is important (and not to be found on any press release), because he rarely discloses information about his audiophile past, and deserves inclusion as a Blog post.
Alan Sircom
Editor, Hi-Fi Plus Magazine
London, England
editor [at] hifiplus [dot] com
Ho Hum,once more another VFM company heads into the "unaffordable by any but the well-heeled" camp, leaving the rest of us buying 15-20 year old used gear that we CAN afford - even Ferraris get cheap occasionally! All my non-audioloony friends are still shocked by the price of my "audiophile bargain" system - expecially the turntable!
@audiorenegade,
There might be a difference in outlook between Marantz inside the US and the rest of the world. In Europe at least, the company has long retained its high-end roots as well as its lower-priced product line. Uniquely, it's one of the few companies that has managed to uphold a reputation for both.
The KI Pearl is nowhere near the top of the Marantz line-up. In fact, the top of the range will set you back something like three times the cost of these two models. Remember too that when Marantz meant 'Saul Marantz' back in the 1950s and 1960s, the products were all high-end models.
Marantz is not a daft company. It would not sacrifice its value-driven range for the sake of 500 SACD players and the same number of integrated amps.
Alan Sircom
Editor, Hi-Fi Plus Magazine
London, England
editor [at] hifiplus [dot] com
A very interesting write up on the man KI.
I bought a Marantz PM14 KI Mk II used and it sounds fab with my B&W CDM9NT's also bought used. I also have a Marantz DR-17 (Cd-recorder) In South Africa hi-end is far more expensive than in the USA - so I buy most of my Hi-Fi used.
OK, volks... quick Munich-y update.
I've finally heard the KI Pearls in one of the atrium rooms at the High End Show in Munich, with the duo (alongside the Clearaudio-derived Marantz turntable) driving a pair of Mordaunt Short Performance 6 LE floorstanding loudspeakers. Not for very long and not in a room that comes even close to decent (a square box with a glass wall, sandwiched between two home theater systems).
In this brief listening though, the Pearl duo aren't far off living up to the reputation. They do all the things classic Marantz players and amps do, but more so. So they are clean, dry and fast sounding. They are also very like products like the CD-63 Mk II KI Signature, writ large. No more details are possible due to the room and the limited musical choices on offer, but they sound promising.
Alan Sircom
Editor, Hi-Fi Plus Magazine
London, England
editor [at] hifiplus [dot] com
Once again the Black Pearl appears to be very poor value for money like the overweight Marantz SA-7S1. which I sold after a waste of time 750 hour burn in. My buyer put it up for sale I month later. Both players in my opinion are very inferior to the Sony XA5400ES which has surround sound via HDMI and sounds as good as my upgraded CD94 for RB CD . Kal Rubinson Stereophile says he has not heard a better SACD/CD player and unusualy for me I agree . it is a steal if you can find one..
Hmm, didn't know the "classic" Marantz sound was "clean, dry and fast". Depends on how you define "classic" among other things I suppose (I assume we're talking Japan-era SS here -- apples to apples), but when I sold hi-fi in the early 90's (at a store that handled both hi-end and quality mass-market), the moderately-priced Marantz players and receivers distinguished themselves from the comparable Sony and Yamaha gear firstly by having more depth, body, liquidity and richness of tone. Not they weren't as clean and fast too -- in fact, cleaner (if not super speedy in absolute terms) -- but they certainly were far from dry. BTW, I own the M-S Performance 6 speakers (regular edition), and though I've never driven them with Marantz gear or anything in this category, they are on the somewhat dryer side above the low bass...
I agree, the Mararantz sonic signature is not what I would describe as clean, dry and fast. The above description - liquid and smooth is how I would characterise it. This is certainly the case with SA-7S1, which is a very good machine and whilst the Sony XA5400ES offers good value for money it is clearly an inferior machine, although whether the difference in performance justifies the difference in price is another matter. The CD94 is outclassed by modern budget players and I don't understand the fascination with updating potentially unreliable (because of their age) 20+ year old cd players that have long since had their day.
Although, perhaps somewhat on the contrary, the KI Pearl is a more aggresive (relative to the typical Marantz sound) than the SA-7S1 and 'faster' sounding, although still overall quite musical with detail and punch. At £2.5k it represents good value for money in audio terms when compared to players up to £10k. The more expensive Marantz players are invariably commended for their ease of compatibility, ie., they always sound refined, but this is a little misleading as they do need to paired with high quality kit to show their true quality otherwise they can seem overpolite. I have been fortunate to have experience with an endless number of CD players and I would certainly recommend the SA-7S1 and the KI Pearl and for that matter the Sony XA5400Es, although I use an Accustic Arts DAC and Transport.
Anyone have any experience with the KI Pearl vs. Marantz SA-11s2 SACD/CD player? They are priced very close to each other.
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