Basically, yes. A feature to push sales of a more expensive product, to make it look "better" than the cheaper one. I've once had the PM80, same feature, I ended up using it in class AB, not being able (back then - 30 years younger than now) to hear much difference. It even seemed to me the AB sounds better (probably because it was a touch louder), and the amp was running cooler.
Straigtforward, without weird experiments, using decent parts = usually a recipe for success.
It has definitely been used. It has some fine scratches and such but taken good care of.
According to this block diagram the processor loop is before the pre-amp section, the bass and treble control and the volume control. So if that is the case it is strictly a processor loop and not a pre-out.
This is interesting as well, just to debunk the myth of replacing old capacitors, considering the parts used in these amplifiers at the time, were the best of the best..
Previous turntables were often distinguished between those for eastern Japan and those for western Japan. Although the voltage was the same.
Ah I guess that's why its labeled processor and not pre-out or something like that. How nice of them to think about all those MiniDSP users
.Japan is not really a small country, 126 million inhabitants (11th in the world).
British Hi-Fi pretty much "owned" the review press in Europe at that time, the Germans following but behind, even in their own country.Being a now old UK based bod and in the industry at this time, I feel very sad indeed that these massive top line amps never really found their way over here in large numbers, although maybe they could be found in London's Tottenham Court Road stores which has huge ranges of everything except the smaller 'enthusiast audiophile' brands. I seem to remember the last was a PM94 which was black with gold lettering and wooden? end cheeks. Our upper-mid level market was mostly UK made badly measuring tat basically I now understand, with a shouted story (and contrived sound quality) to tell that we lapped up in our ignorance. Sony, JVC, this era Marantz, Yamaha and no doubt others, made good solid meaty stuff like this but were not to be seen in higher end HiFi stores as I believe 'we' had to buy in the entire range rather than cherry pick - not all of it was good and it rarely lasted for sale beyond a season or two if we were lucky. In any case, big-box amps like this were right out of fashion. Looking back I could weep at my/our ignorance
We did see the upper end Marantz CD players though - CD80 and 85, CD10 (which I owned for a short while) and the golden slimmer CD 17? from a later generation, which 'KI' had apparently looked at to deserve a 'Signature' badge (usually the kiss of death away from the press fervour).
