Marantz PS9200 (2001–2002)
The Marantz PS9200 was the company's flagship AV amplifier, released in Japan in November 2001 at ¥280,000. It arrived just as Marantz merged with Denon to form D&M Holdings, so it sits at the tail end of Marantz's independent engineering.
The PS9200 is a hefty piece of equipment: 22.3 kg, measuring 455 × 180 × 485 mm, and drawing 420W at full tilt. It's rated at 160W per channel into 6Ω across all seven channels (20 Hz-20 kHz), with maximum practical power of 210W per channel under JEITA conditions. The frequency response extends from 8Hz to 80kHz, though no tolerance figure is documented.
The PS9200 was built on Marantz's "Absolute SA Technology," a design philosophy aimed at high-density sources like SACD, and it was THX-certified. There's a wrinkle, though. Early production units supported the THX Ultra standard, while later units supported THX Ultra2. For PS9200s sold by March 31, 2002, Marantz offered a limited-time version upgrade service that rewrote the DSP and control software, which brought early units up to Ultra2 spec. A "PS9200 ver.2" designation exists in the wild, and a separate "PS9200A" model number also appears in service documentation.
The amplifier section uses current-feedback, high-power discrete amplifiers. The preamp stage uses low-impedance buffering and a low-distortion polysilicon resistor volume control. D/A conversion is handled by Cirrus Logic CS4396 chips, which are 192 kHz/24-bit converters used for all channels. For two-channel playback, four DACs operate in double differential mode. Two high-precision 24-bit DSPs handle the surround processing. The power supply is built around a large toroidal transformer with Chemi-Con capacitors, and the chassis is copper-plated for noise reduction.
Inputs and outputs are extensive for the era. There are seven composite and seven S-video inputs, two component and two D-terminal inputs, five optical and five coaxial digital inputs, an 11-channel analog stereo input bank, and a 7.1-channel direct input that can be repurposed as an AUX2 stereo input when unused. There's a 7.1-channel pre-out, a single 7-channel speaker output, and a headphone jack. Multiroom capability is built in, with composite video and analog stereo output plus a dedicated speaker output. External control runs through RC-5 in/out, multi-remote I/O, a DC trigger (two systems), and an RS-232C port intended for upgrades only. The included remote is a bi-directional GUI learning unit with an LCD touch panel.
Decoding support covers THX Surround EX, DTS-ES Discrete 6.1 and Matrix 6.1, DTS Neo:6, Dolby Digital EX, Dolby Pro Logic II, MPEG2 AAC, SRS Circle Surround 5.1, and HDCD for digital CD/DVD playback. A video-off mode stops the video processing circuits during music playback. The unit also has an auto-adjust function for speaker settings, a TV auto-on feature that senses video signals, and an on-screen menu system that works up to component output.
Surviving documentation on the PS9200 is thin in one respect: no THD, S/N ratio, damping factor, or input sensitivity figures are recorded, and no period reviews or owner reception information has surfaced. A used auction listing on Yahoo Auctions Japan showed a unit at ¥19,000, and a Japanese resale listing for a "PS9200 ver.2" mentions the original owner paid around ¥250,000 at the time. No consistent used-market pricing can be established from the record. The service manual runs 145 pages and includes block diagrams, PCB layouts, schematics, and a parts list. The user manual is 48 pages.
Known Specifications
- Type: AV amplifier (flagship)
- Release: November 2001, ¥280,000
- Rated output: 160W × 7 into 6Ω (20 Hz–20 kHz)
- Max practical power: 210W × 7 into 6Ω (JEITA)
- Frequency response: 8Hz–80kHz
- Power consumption: 420W
- Dimensions: 455 × 180 × 485 mm; 22.3 kg
- DAC: Cirrus Logic CS4396, 192 kHz/24-bit, all channels
- DSP: Two 24-bit processors
- THX Ultra (early) / THX Ultra2 (late); upgrade service offered for early units
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