On the earth of high-end dwelling theater, there are two manufacturers that are likely to dominate the AV receiver market – Denon and Marantz – so when both one launches a brand new flagship product, dwelling theater fanatics have a tendency to face up and hear.
This week, it is Marantz with the brand new Cinema 30, which is packed to the brim with all the newest capabilities that you simply’d anticipate to energy an elite dwelling cinema, similar to assist for 8K video, encompass sound codecs like Dolby Atmos and Wi-Fi for watching one of the best streaming providers.
The information comes sizzling on the heels of Denon’s new 8K AV receiver with Dolby Atmos launching, which is one other severely spectacular mannequin that we on the time thought was the top of elite dwelling theater gear. However now that the Cinema 30 has arrived, we could should rethink.
How does the Marantz Cinema 30 examine to Denon’s AVC-X6800H?
Marantz and Denon are each owned by the identical conglomerate known as Masimo (the businesses had merged in 2002 earlier than being bought off), however have lengthy established histories earlier than that.
Whereas their respective lineups of AV receivers could seem on first look to be very related, when put side-by-side there are some very refined design options that make them barely totally different. The largest being the enduring Marantz porthole, which is additional emphasised by the fold down panel that conceals a show and controls.
On the connectivity entrance, the Cinema 30 is simply as spectacular on paper because the AVC-X6800H although, with 8K assist for seven HDMI inputs, three HDMI outputs and 11 channels of amplification that Marantz says can lengthen to 13.4 channels in pre-amp mode if you wish to add an exterior amplifier. There’s additionally HEOS, Spotify Join, AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth built-in.
The Cinema 30 can be well-equipped to deal with all the newest spatial audio codecs, together with Dolby Atmos, IMAX Enhanced, DTS:X Professional and Auro 3D, with 140 watts per channel. It runs on a Sharc Twin DSP chipset with a 32-bit ESS Sabre DAC, which implies it will possibly decode something you throw at it.
Out of the model’s 2024 flagship fashions, it is too early to say which has the sting over the opposite however so far as specs go, they’re each vying to outdo each other. Denon at the moment dominates our greatest AV receivers information, however that may not be for for much longer.
The Marantz Cinema 30 is in the stores now (January 30) for the premium price ticket of $4,500 within the US and £3,900 within the UK.
