Marantz 1060 amplifier

For various reasons, the Marantz 1060 has earned an almost legendary status. It was not the top of the line, but still a "very desirable" amplifier, as they advertised it, with lots of features and very good specs (and sound) for that era.

The conception is an integrated amplifier based on capacitor-coupled concept, with single railpower supply based on Elna caps, so no complications and a good guarantee to have it maintained in the future if needed. The build quality is solid, with all brushed aluminium front and controls and a very vintage "faux bois" painted metal cabinet cover.

The refinement comes mainly for the pre-amplifier, which offer controls for bass (@50Hz), treble (@15kHz) bult also midrange (@700Hz). Besides the triple tone controls, you have high (@3.5kHz) and low (@100Hz) 6dB/octave filters, a loudness switch, a mono selector, a front mic input, two pairs of speaker outputs, 3 line level inputs plus a front AUX in, a standard phono MM input and a headphones output; but also a pre out/main in pair of connectors.

This single feature makes the Marantz 1060 a nice to have amplifier, because if your room and speaker demand more power, you can use the Marantz as a preamplifier only to feed a stronger external power amp.

The tonal balance tends to a warm sound, with good bass, slightly forward mids and rolled-off highs. The mid range - voices and strings in particular - is clear but never aggressive, just a bit forward especially on female voices. The level of transparency and detail is good for a vintage amp, if not as clinical as a modern high-level component costing three times its price, surely not fatiguing either.

In conclusion, it offers what we are all after as fans of the sound of those old days: that velvet touch, the warmth, the roundness and boldness of the best american and japanese devices.