The Marantz Stereo 70s: A 2CH HiFi AV Receiver?

Marantz Stereo 70s vs their Mannequin Sequence

The
$3,000 Mannequin 30 built-in amplifier launched a brand new design language for
Marantz when it arrived on the scene in 2020. Although its symmetrical entrance
panel and basic porthole hearken again to some Marantz merchandise of yesteryear,
the Mannequin 30 is decidedly not cashing in on the recognition of retro aesthetics.
It appears to be like nothing like the unique Mannequin 30 built-in amplifier from 1970.
As a substitute, it’s an unabashedly trendy design. On both aspect of the brand new amp’s
raised central panel, a curved and textured backplate is subtly illuminated,
permitting its futuristic sample to be seen from throughout the room. These daring
design selections may not please all people, however the brand new look has been successful for
Marantz. The corporate has now integrated these styling components into a complete
new era of merchandise, together with bigger AV items just like the AV 10 processor

and AMP 10 sixteen-channel amplifier. However for my part, the brand new Marantz
livery appears to be like greatest on slimmer gadgets — of which there at the moment are a number of. And when
an organization has a product catalog as numerous as Marantz’s, it may be arduous to maintain
monitor of what’s what. The topic of this text is the brand new Stereo 70S ($1,000), which might greatest be thought
of as a slim, two-channel AVR. However how does it match into Marantz’s ever-growing
lineup of similar-looking elements? Right here’s a fast rundown earlier than we dive
deeper into the Stereo 70S.

Marantz Mannequin 30 ($3,000)

It
all began with the Mannequin 30, an all-analog purist piece for extra old-school
audiophiles. If you’d like the Mannequin 30, you’re both spinning vinyl, otherwise you
have a separate CD participant, streamer, and/or DAC. The one built-in function
you’ll discover on the Mannequin 30 is a phono stage; there’s no built-in streaming, no
DAC, and no management app. However the amp
isn’t a complete throwback piece. The Mannequin 30 reveals Marantz’s dedication to utilizing
Class D amplification in its higher-end gear. (The remainder of the amps we’ll
focus on are cheaper, and use Class AB.) Contained in the Mannequin 30, you’ll discover Hypex NCORE modules that enable the amp to ship
100 watts per channel into 8 ohms,
and 200 watts per channel into 4 ohms.
Thanks largely to the high-current double-shielded toroidal energy
transformer, the Mannequin 30 feels heavy for its dimension, weighing in at 32.6 kilos.

Marantz Mannequin
40n ($2,500)

For
barely much less cash, you may get the all-in-one Mannequin 40n,
which incorporates options like a DAC, an HDMI enter, wi-fi connectivity, and
built-in streaming through HEOS. The Mannequin 40n changed the cheaper PM7000n,
however sounds considerably higher due to an amplifier part based mostly on
Marantz’s all-analog PM8006 (which stays certainly one of my favourite built-in amps
at its value level of $1,500). The Mannequin 40n took the Class AB amp from the
PM8006 and beefed up the facility provide, doubled the variety of output transistors
per channel, and successfully elevated its present functionality. The Mannequin 40n is
rated to ship 70 watts per channel into 8 ohms, and 100 watts per channel
into 4 ohms.

Marantz Cinema
70s ($1,200)

Subsequent
comes the Cinema 70s, the smallest member of Marantz’s new Cinema Sequence of AV
receivers. The Cinema 70s
is all the pieces you’d count on from a typical AVR, besides it’s about half the scale
and appears a hell of lots nicer sitting on a credenza beneath a wall-mounted
TV. In addition to its slim form-factor, the Cinema70s is a reasonably commonplace 7.2-channel receiver, delivering 50 watts per channel, and providing six HDMI inputs (three
are 8K-capable), Dolby Atmos, HDMI video upscaling, HEOS streaming, and Audyssey MultEQ
room correction.

Marantz Stereo 70s
($1,000)

And
that leads us to the most recent member of Marantz’s slimline receiver household, the Stereo 70s. As its title suggests, the Stereo 70s is a two-channel system with no
surround-sound aspirations. However in some methods, it’s extra like an AVR than a
conventional built-in amp. This “stereo AVR” product class began with
Marantz’s now-discontinued NR1200,
which happened to serve a specific sort of buyer. People who’re doubtless
to decide on a stereo AVR just like the NR1200
or Stereo 70s take heed to music in
the identical room the place they watch TV and films. They aren’t drawn to the
issues of {surround} sound, however they do need higher audio from TV, motion pictures,
and gaming. They’ve a number of HDMI sources, like a PlayStation and/or Xbox, an
Apple TV and/or Roku, and a Blu-ray participant. Whereas many individuals on this scenario
would go along with a soundbar, music-lovers who desire a wider soundstage and true
stereo imaging wouldn’t be glad by a one-speaker answer — particularly if
they’re including a turntable or CD participant to the combo. For them, the Stereo 70s is the proper answer. It combines
Marantz’s means to make great-sounding but reasonably priced two-channel elements
with the corporate’s in depth expertise delivering feature-packed residence theater
receivers.

Marantz Stereo 70s Easy, However Function Wealthy

As
a stereo receiver, the Stereo 70s
foregoes any try and take care of {surround} sound. Customers will merely join a
pair of audio system, and maybe a subwoofer or two. (The Stereo 70s has two subwoofer outputs, however they
are wired in parallel and so will not be unbiased.) However like a typical
multichannel AVR, the Stereo 70s
gives a number of HDMI inputs, with HDMI-ARC, HDMI video upscaling, and lots of of
the most recent gaming options. It additionally gives the user-interface advantages of an
on-screen show. It has Spotify Join, AirPlay2, TuneIn web radio, and
in fact HEOS, the multi-room streaming platform utilized in many Marantz (and
Denon) merchandise. By way of HEOS, the person can entry a wide range of streaming
providers, together with Amazon Music HD,
Tidal, iHeart Radio, Soundcloud, and extra. Due to two-way bluetooth, the Stereo 70s can obtain bluetooth audio from a
cellphone or pill, and in addition re-transmit audio to Bluetooth headphones.

The Stereo 70s
is about 4 ½ inches tall, about 15 inch deep, and 17 inches vast. Contained in the
svelte case you’ll discover a ClassAB amp rated to ship 75 watts per channel
into 8 ohms, and
100 watts per channel into 6 ohms. Notice that no 4-ohm ranking is given. This
means that the facility provide is probably going not as beefy because the one within the
(considerably dearer) Mannequin 40n, which makes use of a double-shielded toroidal
transformer. That amp ideas the scales at nearly 37 kilos, whereas the Stereo 70s
weighs simply 18.5 kilos. In equity, the Stereo 70s continues to be heavier than many
low cost 5-channel and 7-channel residence theater receivers in the marketplace. The facility
amp within the Stereo 70s is a completely discrete Class AB design, and the receiver
advantages from the usage of Marantz’s proprietary Excessive Dynamic Amplifier Modules
(HDAM) — tiny preamplifier modules situated between the amount management and energy
amplifier. These include totally discrete circuitry with hand-selected
elements, and so they take the place of conventional operational amplifiers that may emit background noise.
In keeping with Marantz, the usage of HDAM permits for a quieter sign path, leading to a quieter
background from which music can come alive. It’s value noting that that is the
first time a Marantz slimline
stereo receiver has included HDAM. (Marantz has been utilizing HDAM in its high-end
merchandise because the early Nineteen Nineties.) For these conserving rating at residence, the extra
costly Mannequin 40n
has HDAM included in its structure, however the multichannel Cinema 70s AVR doesn’t. However, the
Stereo 70s lacks the built-in room correction discovered on the Cinema 70s.

HDAM
is one factor, however HDMI is one other. Whereas the Mannequin 40n has only one HDMI enter, the Stereo 70s has a beneficiant six HDMI inputs, three
of that are able to 8K. For these fortunate few with 8K TVs, the Stereo 70s can upscale any 1080p or 4K sign to
8K. All of those inputs help HDR, HLG, Dolby Imaginative and prescient, HDR10+, and Dynamic HDR. Players will recognize the inclusion
of ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and VRR (Variable
Refresh Fee) help. Audio inputs embrace three analog inputs, one coax, one
toslink, and a USB A enter for enjoying recordsdata from a storage drive. A moving-magnet
phono enter is included for
vinyl followers. Preamp outputs enable the usage of a separate energy amp, and the Stereo 70s even has Marantz’s preamp mode, which
disconnects the loudspeaker outputs, lowering distortion and growing the max voltage out from preamp. The amp’s “Direct” mode
bypasses tone controls, whereas “Pure Direct” tuns off the show circuitry for essential music listening. When
your digital sources are lower than pristine, the M-DAX function can be utilized to
enhance the sound of low-res audio from sure streaming providers (
you, Pandora). On the opposite finish of the digital audio high quality spectrum, the
inside DAC can deal with Hello-Res Audio as much as 24/192 and DSD as much as 5.6 megahertz.

Conclusion of Marantz Stereo 70s

Whereas
newcomers to Marantz is perhaps understandably overwhelmed by alternative, it doesn’t
take lengthy to parse out the variations between the brand new Stereo 70s and its
similar-looking stablemates. The Mannequin 30 stands alone as an all-analog affair,
for techniques through which sound high quality and energy output are paramount, and the
comfort of an all-in-one system isn’t required. The Mannequin 40n is for
audiophiles who recognize the build-quality and energy of high-end gear — and
are prepared to pay a premium to get these issues — however who additionally need the
comfort of built-in streaming and the flexibility to attach a single HDMI
system, comparable to a TV. The Cinema 70s is a comparatively reasonably priced and unusually
handsome 7-channel AVR. Lastly, the Stereo 70s is for folk who worth the
means to have each good-sounding music and the HDMI connectivity to hook up a
number of sources — with out cable spaghetti popping out from behind the TV —
all within the context of a clear and easy two-channel residence theater. Which one
most appeals to you? Share your ideas within the associated discussion board thread under.

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