Marantz Receivers

From Classical Guitar to 2200 Receivers and SR9600, Marantz is a fine instrument.

Saul Marantz was a classical guitarist who hung with the likes of Andres Segovia, widely considered the father of the classical guitar. Mr. Marantzs real love was music, and listening to music was the passion that drove him to build his first hi-fi equipment from the basement of his home. He was never satisfied with sound he achieved from the hi-fi gear of the 1950s, so he built them better, before recruiting talented engineers like Sidney Smith to assist in his vision.

Their early products were the model 7 and 8 preamplifiers and then the model 8B power amplifier. Who can forget Marantzs legendary 2200 line of receivers from the 70s? The indigo blue lighting that illuminated the tuner and amps analogue meters touched off a distinctive look, as high quality sound riveted audiences for nearly a decade, making it the most successful receiver ever made.

Marantz went through some painful changes in the 80s, prior to their sale to D&M holdings that restored pride in the Marantz name. Like many audio manufacturers, they went through a period during the dawn of the digital age (late 1980s) where they put out a lot of lower end, budget offerings that just didnt stack up well with their previous generations product lines.

Today Marantz is part of D&M Holdings, which also owns McIntosh, a prestigious audio equipment company, as well as middle high-end manufacturers like Denon and Boston Acoustics. Marantz is proudly added to that list. D&M has helped restore the Marantz swagger; the name is synonymous with their superior quality equipment for any price range. With both their rich history of impressive designs and reputation for wonderful sound, Marantz has a loyal following today.

Marantz receivers might not be sold at every big box electronics warehouse you go to; theyre not as widely distributed as other brands. But if you find a place that sells them in your area, they deserve an audition whether youre looking at receivers in the $500 range all the way up to around $1500. Marantz has a flagship model that is THX Ultra certified: the SR9600 is truly a state of the art machine that sells for $4000.

Pick any receiver from the Marantz line and it hits you with a distinctive black faced component with a brushed aluminum look and significantly weighty feel. Thats the look and feel of quality engineering. You only have to move the dial on the front to feel the nicely balanced attention to detail in their fine receivers. Marantz is definitely one of those companies who would routinely outdo their own specs and produce gear that stands above their own price category.

Their lowest price point receiver is impressive; even at the low price point of $400 you can see the high end specs. This receiver is rated at 80Watts per channel with seven amps of discreet power. In an age where too many receiver and amp manufacturers feel the need to stack their numbers to make any receiver appear to have over 100 watts, Marantz coolly specs theirs at 80, which is the mark of honest conservative rating (if not fine engineering) that is indicative throughout their product line.