Hi-Fi World – September 2019

http://www.hi-fiworld.co.uk SEPTEMBER 201 9 HI-FI WORLD 51

OLDE WORLDE

£230 amp of modest specification
and appearance. The Marantz visual
heritage of the past – gold, chunky
switches and that bold distinctive
font were all absent. The no-
nonsense and easy-to-use PM66-SE
was capable of delivering 50 watts
per channel to (8 Ohm) speakers,
supported headphone listening, could
accommodate two tape decks for
dubbing (I’d like to see genuine tape
loops on modern designs!) and even
came with basic remote-control
facilities. Its remote was covered in
buttons – but few of them had any
effect on the amplifier. They instead
operated a selection of other Philips-
era Marantz products. The remote
changed volume or muted the sound
altogether.
Tape apart, this modest Marantz
amplifier catered for CD, tuner,
aux and phono – all on gold-plated
phono sockets! Specifying an MM
stage for the PM66-SE, destined for
a market distinguished by cut-throat
competition, was a brave move given
that CD was dominant at the time.
All of these functions came to
the PM66-SE Ki, which boasts its
elite status to the world with a little
golden ‘KI-Signature’ plate on the
front panel. If you haven’t guessed by
now, ‘KI’ refers to Ken Ishiwata, the
legendary ‘golden-eared’ hi-fi engineer
and Marantz brand ambassador (a
role he relinquished only recently,
after 41 years at the company). There
were also well-received ‘signature’
CD players available from Marantz in
the mid-to-late 1990s, some priced
to match the PM66-SE Ki. Those who
wanted hi-fi without the hassle could
opt for one of these players when

buying the amp.

The PM66-SE ‘tweaks’ Ishiwata

was responsible for are quite

extensive, and go beyond the badge

and use of chassis copper-plating

• as well they might, given the £170
  premium over the standard product.
  Most obviously, the conventional
  mains transformer was replaced by a
  more substantial toroidal variant.
  There were other component
  changes, notably a switch to
  audiophile components (mostly
  capacitors) in key parts of the amp’s
  circuitry. Interestingly, these changes
  are documented in the PM66-SE
  Ki service manual that you’ll find
  on the Hi-Fi Engine website. If you
  own a PM66-SE, you could in theory

implement much of Ishiwata’s fine-

tuning; note, however, that as over

twenty years has elapsed since the

PM66-SE Ki was introduced the

chance of obtaining key items like the

mains transformer is remote – unless

you can extract it from a scrap unit.

When it was launched, the

PM66-SE Ki caused a stir. The subject

of favourable comparison with more

expensive amps, it won various

awards, was regularly recommended

by the hi-fi press and sold by the

container load. Listeners praised its

detail, presence and clarity.

And it still sounds pretty good

by today’s standards. Working in

conjunction with a Cambridge CXN

v2 and a pair of Rogers GS5s, my

own unit – which was sold to me

Build quality is fairly typical of mass-produced hi-fi gear with SRBP

circuit boards, ribbon cables and pressed-metal chassis parts.

Ishiwata replaced the PM66-SE’s conventional mains transform-
er with this expensive toroid – that likely accounted for a sizeable
slice of the price difference.

The volume control of the PM66-SE Ki (and the

PM66-SE on which it’s based) is motorised for

armchair operation by remote control.