Hi-Fi

One of the oldest and most respected names in hifi keeps on coming up with new innovations. Always a cut above the mass market, Marantz, led by world renowned designer Ken Ishiwata, strived to push specialist high quality sound solutions to a wider audience. Anyway having been taken over a few times they have unceremoniously dumped Ken and are now owned by a conglomerate that also own Denon, Polk, Definitive Audio and B&W. Who knows what the future holds?

The hottest bargain cd player and amplifier for the past few years has been the 6000 series from Marantz. For reasonable money you get super performance at a very reasonable price. New 6007 amp and cd models have improved sound, better clarity and dynamics. Prices jump up and down with the weather, phone for current.

In AV, Marantz’s slim amplifier series are a revelation in performance for the price asked. The NR 1711 is the best value, it's modestly priced at around £599 to 699 depending on the version, and it is a giant killer. It isn't the most powerful, but it drives good speakers to loud levels. It hasn't the most inputs, but you can connect 5 HDMI, 2 digital and 3 analogue inputs and that's more than most people need. Wireless connectivity and a streamer are also included. Recommended

The entire Marantz AV range follows their established path of keeping it simple, add extra performance, better finish, and a slightly premium price over the yama-den-onks mainstream competition.

Don't compare these with the usual over the top specs others crow about as a substitute for sound quality. Do you need a 9-12 channel amp? Then look elsewhere. If you want a real product with real performance then talk to us about doing it right this time, because I bet you know all the specs of the 'great amp' you bought last time didn't mean that you were thrilled by the sound after you had it home a week. Still you probably had lots of sound settings to play with, all of them aver age.

Next up is the SR5015 and 6015 which are better again and have more channels for £ 899/1149. Once you go beyond this then you have to also consider an Anthem/Arcam av amp which jumps up a performance level and price.