The pre-amplifier weights 13.6 Kg. The packing cannot weigh anything more than that. A single person can carry the carton easily. My shelving is heavier than this at 15 Kg. But it’s curious how our brain works. The carton feels so light that I can carry it with one hand.

However, when lifting the unit out from the box, 13.6 Kg suddenly feels pretty heavy and solid.

And here’s the Marantz undressed. The sticker on the bottom right is hideous. That and the Spotify sticker will be gone once everything is setup. This Marantz is too big for me to take photos in my usual style. Do not have a dark back drop or table big enough to get the shot I want. And honestly, I do not want to wait any longer than I have to set this up. So this photo will do.

Cannot resist trying out the volume dial even when it’s powered off. It just does not have the same feedback compared to my Marantz SC-11S1 stereo pre-amplifier. In fact it feels worse than the Denon 3808. Not that big a deal as I never used the volume dial on a home theatre pre-amplifier anyway.

The small circle under the volume dial looks like a IR receiver. This may be another small issue in my setup as where this new pre-amplifier is going to be placed, sending IR codes to it may be a problem. Hopefully my Harmony remote has a wide enough beam, or I can get home automation to work well so I can do away with IR altogether.

Overall I like the good clean looks of the Marantz (after I have removed the stickers of course). A hard power off button will be nice but I doubt the AV8805 will consume > 1 W on standby.

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