Marantz PM8100SA (2000)

Name: Marantz PM8100SA
Brand: Marantz

The Marantz PM8100SA is a stereo integrated amplifier released in 2000 at ¥69,800 in Japan. A revised "ver.2" followed in July 2003 at ¥75,000. It was positioned as inheriting the design philosophy of the PM-14SA and PM-17SA, Marantz's higher-end separate amplifiers, and as "compatible with next-generation audio" - meaning SACD and DVD-Audio multichannel sources. It carries Marantz's "Absolute SA Technology" branding, which referred to circuit acceleration techniques aimed at bringing integrated amplifier performance closer to perfection.

The multichannel flexibility is the interesting part. The PM8100SA has a 6-channel preamplifier section with a DVD input, so the owner can add an external power amplifier for multichannel playback. Marantz suggested the SM6100SA ver. 2. The preamp section uses a current feedback topology across all six channels for low noise and high slew rate. The power amp section is also current feedback, with LAPT output transistors and separate left/right heat sinks to reduce vibration and thermal crosstalk. The power supply uses a super-ring-core toroidal transformer and Schottky barrier rectifier diodes.

Rated output is 60W + 60W into 8Ω, 75W + 75W into 6Ω, and 90W + 90W into 4Ω. Total harmonic distortion is rated at 0.01% (8Ω, 20 Hz - 20 kHz). Frequency response is 5 Hz to 70 kHz (+0, −1 dB) in Source Direct mode, and the damping factor is rated at 100. The volume control is a motor-driven, die-cast frame unit. The speaker terminals are WBT items that take banana plugs and Y-lugs. The chassis is a double-layer design with an added 1.6 mm steel bottom plate. CD and DVD inputs route directly to the preamp section through dedicated relays, which bypasses unnecessary switching.

The PM8100SA was sold in several regional variants, including the PM8100SA/F1N. A used unit appeared on the Russian classified site Avito at 70,000 rubles. The collector record is thin beyond that. No period magazine reviews or detailed owner commentary were located in the archive's sources. Most of what is known comes from the Japanese spec database audio-database.com, which documents both the original and ver. 2 versions.

Known specifications:

- Rated output: 60W + 60W (8Ω), 75W + 75W (6Ω), 90W + 90W (4Ω)

- THD: 0.01% (8Ω, 20 Hz–20 kHz)

- Frequency response (CD, Source Direct): 5 Hz - 70 kHz, +0/−1 dB

- Damping factor: 100 (8Ω)

- Input sensitivity: Phono MM 2.4 mV/47kΩ; High level 210 mV/25kΩ

- S/N ratio (IHF A): Phono MM 85 dB; High level 110 dB

- Dimensions: 440 × 124 × 340 mm (W×H×D)

- Weight: 9.0 kg