Schu Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 I know i have seen a few of these Maranz Monoblock individual amps sell in the garage section... how do people feel about these marantz ma500 and ma700 amps? has anyone run these before and what did you think for music? do they impart a sound or hum? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 I've never had a MA700 but I have had several MA500s. As many as 5 of them at one point. I always thought that the MA500 was a very nice amp. I never experienced any unusual noise or hum out of them. I think quite a few here have used them and always spoke favorably about them. My only complaints about them was their trigger system. It seems to be some manner of proprietary method rather then 12V. As I recall it's expecting a video level signal to make the amp(s) power up automatically. The other memory I have of them was that they struggled with 4 ohm loads. Or I may be thinking of another Marantz amp I once owned. Not real sure about this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silentprofecy Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 I've enjoyed the 3 MA 500's that i have for front use on my Heresy's. I mainly use them in support of my Onkyo to reduce the stress of my set up but have used them during social gatherings without hiccup. They're pretty musical i would say. I've only experienced a hum one time which was from a bad source. I also have the same complaint regarding the trigger system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted October 6, 2011 Author Share Posted October 6, 2011 thanks... can you guys further expound on the trigger issue? I am not sure I fully understand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Rather than use the standard 12 volt trigger system that many other amps have Marantz chose to use something unique to Marantz equipment. If you're using a Marantz preamp or A/V receiver with "remote out" connections you'll be fine. Any other preamp or receiver that has the normal 12V trigger system will not bring MA500s out of standby. In my case the solution was to power them by the switched outlets in my power management console. The preamp triggered PM console which in turn powered up the amps. Of course I could have just pushed the power buttons to power them up but I'm extremely lazy. I like my entire system to power up with the push of a single button. Even better when that button is on a remote so I don't have to pry my lazy a$$ off of the couch. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted October 6, 2011 Author Share Posted October 6, 2011 I got it... did you guys wire them using pre outs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 how do people feel about these marantz ma500 and ma700 amps? has anyone run these before and what did you think for music? do they impart a sound or hum? Shu, I have owned (5) MA-700's and (2) MA-500's. I think they are great. No hum ever and an overall low noise floor. The MA-700 is very potent and musical and the MA-500 sounds just like it with a "little" less punch. Either amp should be very satisfying to a HT setup or 2-channel rig. I would still own each one of them if my TV stand(at the time) was deep enough. I have used both amps with my Marantz 2252b as a preamp driving Heresys, Quartets, and RB-5's. Each setup sounded wonderful. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted October 6, 2011 Author Share Posted October 6, 2011 ty sir!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superedge88 Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 I've used 3 used marantz ma-700 amps for going on 2 years now and absolutely love them. I simply have them plugged into my APC power center which powers them up automatically when I turn my receiver on. They are modestly rated which is always nice, I had mine bench tested at pushing about 360 watts into an 8 ohm load. If you want the actual owners manual I posted it for free download online at this link. http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/2141726/marantz-ma-700-pdf-august-9-2010-1-21-pm?tr=77 I had to search high and low to get the user manual, all the other "manuals" were just the advertisement that stated the specs for the MA500 and MA700 but didn't talk about any of the set up configurations, and features. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 thank you very much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elitedemo Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 i had 10 ma500s and didnt have a hum, very nice cost effective but the trigger system does suck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dysmae Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 I've owned three ma500s and currently own a ma700 for my center channel. I don't get any standby hum at all from the ma700. If you put your ear up to the tweeter while running the ma500s, I could hear a slight clip sound. I also bridged two ma500s to get 250watts, and it sounded great, but it did introduce a lot of white noise that was too distracting. My Denon receiver puts out 120wpc, and the ma500 at 125watts was an improvement, but not enough for me for the price I paid. The ma500 did sound brighter than my Denon though. I would highly suggest the ma700. Learn from me. Be patient and wait for a good price on the ma700. I see them pop up on Ebay for about $180 every once and a while. You gotta move quick though. At that price, they only last about a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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