‘Made to be a treat for your eyes as well as your ears’: Marantz just unveiled the successor to the CD player I use and love, with a matching amp that includes hi-res Bluetooth and HDMI as well as great turntable support
One of the things I love about quality hi-fi is that it's often made to be a treat for your eyes as well as your ears. The new Marantz Model 70 integrated amp and CD 70 CD player definitely come into that category: I think they look stunning.
I'm probably a little bit biased because my CD player is a Marantz (the CD6007 that this one makes obsolete, no less) and I love it dearly. But both new models promise serious substance to match their style.
The Model 70 and CD 70 are the successors to the acclaimed PM6007 and the aforementioned CD6007, and Marantz promises that both deliver what the brand calls its signature "warm, detailed and deeply musical" sound.
But there are significant upgrades that should make this new generation an even more luxurious listen.
The Marantz Model 70 is an integrated amp with HDMI ARC and Bluetooth, with the latter offering transmission and reception via aptX Adaptive, aptX HD, AAC and SBC. In addition to the usual audio connections there are preamplifier and subwoofer outputs.
The 50-watt Class A/B amplifier features an upgraded topology with an enhanced power supply and larger toroidal transformer, which Marantz says delivers greater dynamic expression, improved speaker control and increased authority across all kinds of speakers. It includes a high-quality MM phono stage for your turntable and a high-performance ES Sabre DAC for digital audio sources.
The Marantz CD 70 features the same DAC as the Model 70 plus additional proprietary HDAM (High Definition Amplifier Module) circuitry to deliver "detailed, expressive and emotionally engaging reproduction of compact discs, extracting every nuance from treasured music collections," Marantz says. There's a USB-A port on the front for your digital files, and support for hi-res formats including FLAC HD, ALAC, AIFF and DSD.
As with the Model 70 amp, the circuitry has been optimized to reduce noise and preserve detail; there's an upgraded power supply, "strategically deployed" copper hardware and a double-layered chassis base with rigid isolation feet.
As with their predecessors, the Model 70 and CD 70 aren't terrifyingly expensive. The official price of the CD 70 compact disc player is $750 / £499 / AU$1,000, while the Model 70 integrated amp is £749 / AU$1,455 (no US price was given, but based on the UK/AU price differences from the CD 70, we'd assume around $1,100).
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Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than twenty books. Her latest, a love letter to music titled Small Town Joy, is on sale now. She is the singer in spectacularly obscure Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind.
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