Marantz PM-KI-Pearl-Lite Amplifier Review and Test
Product Type: amplifier
Price: $2290
Reviewed By: Greg Borrowman
Magazine: Australian Hi-Fi Jan-Feb 2012
Distributor: QualiFi Pty Ltd
Who Sells What/Website: Marantz
I started off auditioning the Pearl Lite in its ‘Source Direct’ mode because I am a great believer in first impressions, and I was sure that the ‘Source Direct’ model would certainly give me the best performance the Pearl Lite is able to give. So although I was expecting good performance, the fact that I was still impressed—and impressed I certainly was!—is all the more significant. The overall sound quality was outstanding, delivering the music with a depth and solidity that was immensely satisfying to the ear. The richness and warmth of massed orchestral strings was glorious whilst at the same time the higher harmonics of the violins were just ‘edgy’ enough to be true-to-life without the treble descending into synth-like parody.
Bass response was quick and responsive, able to reveal the underlying pulse of the music as a continuum while still maintaining more-than-ample reserves to cater for transients, or the momentary contributions of other low-frequency instruments. In terms of bass, I was delighted to find that my auditioning coincided with the release by Move of Peter Sheridan’s CD Monologues & Dialogues, which contains 21 pieces for various low flutes. On this CD Sheridan plays all low flute parts (alto, bass, contrabass, subcontrabass and hyperbass flutes, multi-tracking where necessary) with the other performers being Sheridan’s wife, Lisa Maree Amos (C Flute), and Jane Hammond (piano). I confess I had not even heard of a hyperbass flute (much less heard one… live or recorded) before hearing this recording, and hearing one played is ear-opening, to say the least! To put this into perspective, the hyperbass flute is capable of playing E-1, or 41.2Hz… a note that is fully explored on track 20, titled Groaning Oceans. In homage to Paul Hogan, Peter Sheridan’s liner notes say of the hyperbass’s sound on this track… ‘creepy sounds, evocative doom-laded partials, final groans from far beneath the murky depths… sound world that slips further downwards into the abyss of even-darker frequencies…now that’s what I call a flute!’ However, although the sound on this track is amazing, I think my favourite track featuring the hyperbass flute is Differing Dialogues, which was written by Melbourne composer Vincent Giles, but my absolute favourite track on the disc—at least for the moment—is Stanley M. Hoffman’s Mediations and Memories, despite his ‘borrowing’ of the melody from the opening of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. If you’re a flautist and you haven’t yet visited www.lowflutes.com, I’d visit right now!
When I re-auditioned all the same tracks with the ‘Source Direct’ button switched off, it was obvious that the differences were so slight that I would have my work cut out for me. In the end, I had someone else switch the Source Direct button on and off while I was auditioning, to get something more approaching a true A–B (albeit not the requisite ‘double-blind’ version). However, this also was less than ideal, because there was a small volume difference between the two settings, which meant I was more likely to prefer the louder (Source Direct) setting for no other reason than that it was louder. (For new readers, this is a well-documented psycho-acoustic phenomenon. For some reason, when presented with two sounds that are identical in every way except for volume, the ear will ‘prefer’ the louder sound. It also works with non-identical sounds, so if you hear a demo of two different loudspeakers, the ear will prefer the sound of the pair that’s being played the loudest, even if the quality is actually inferior to that of the pair that’s being played at a lower level. Some unscrupulous dealers have been known to exploit this effect to clear out slow-moving stock from their stores. Another psychoacoustic phenomenon is that when presented by two identical musical items—one following the other—we humans ‘like’ the music better the second time it’s played, even though nothing has actually changed.) So it was no surprise that I preferred the sound of the Pearl Lite in the Source Direct mode. However, it wasn’t just the volume: when using the amplifier with large floor-standing speakers, I think the bass response was definitely superior—though I am talking about very tiny differences.
Who Sells What: Marantz