Marantz Model 30 Integrated Amp $3000 (100×2)
(5.1h, 17.4w, 16.7d, 33 lbs)
Count this as among my most surprising faves!
When Marantz announced they were going to come out with a 30 Series disc player and integrated amp, I KNEW the SACD-30n would drive the ball way out of the park. It features Marantz’s iconic MMM DAC design. I’ve heard MMM in prior players for a lot more money. To be able to offer this in a $3k unit was a can’t miss home run. I ordered the Model 30 integrated as the matching companion without expecting something special. Shame on me for prejudging.
We hooked up Model 30 with the SACD-30n, of course. We ran the pair through its paces with a variety of speakers.
My first challenge for the Model 30 was to run Magnepans. Maggies present a 4 ohm purely resistive load. Would Model M30 like 4 ohms? Yes! Easily. Model 30 loved the Maggies and ran them as if on cruise control. Model 30 was a great mate with any of the Maggies, keeping them mellow throughout the process.
Next up would be among the most sensitive speakers in our industry, the Arkansas built Klipsch Heritage lineup. Heresy and Forte run 99dB SPL. Cornwall runs 102. LaScala runs 105dB!
Please allow me to digress. We carried the incredibly efficient Avantgarde line in the early 2000s. SPL was about the same as the Ks. We learned with Avantgarde that highly efficient speakers revealed outright HISS with most electronics. Yep, electronics that we had thought to be very clean and quiet through moderately efficient speakers (Naim for ex) were completely unacceptable when played through the high SPL horn based speakers. Live and learn.
As we ran Model 30 into the Ks I was happily surprised the noise floor was dead zero. I was actually shocked that an integrated amp for half the price of a Bryston could be dead quiet and … sounded so smooth.
Lastly we ran Model 30 into a gauntlet of Bryston speakers. The Brystons have absolutely prodigious bass! Would Model 30 be able to control the Brystons and deliver a heavy, taut bottom end? It did- without breaking a sweat. We threw percussion galore at the combo and were delighted with how Model 30 propelled the Brystons- which will embarrass flimsy amplifiers.
Model 30 sounded smooth as silk with every speaker we ran. It was consistently warmer and delivered more sophisticated musical timbre than any integrateds in the $2k ish range. Imaging is precise, yet broad. Dynamics are well balanced and not splashy.
If I were to make a video equivalent comparison… I’d say the color settings are dead center. They’re not the least bit tilted towards “vivid” or bright.
Power is also more robust than I expected. There is plenty of push for all of the speakers above, including the hungry Maggies. The way Model 30 delivered drum kit dynamics to the Brystons, full figured speakers that like their power, was downright thrilling.
Model 30 is a full analog piece. The MMM DAC is in the SACD-30n. Model 30 has a serious phono section (MM&MC) that is housed on its own PC board, within its own mu metal enclosure. It has a massive toroidal transformer. The output section is a robust N-Core design residing right at the output jacks. The preamp section features discrete hand matched JFET transistors to deliver sublime musical textures. Congrats to Marantz for producing an affordable integrated amp that, like SACD-30n, is made in its top factory in Japan.
Model 30 has won me over as more than just a second banana for the superstar that is the SACD-30n. Model 30 has great chops on its own and I’m happy to endorse this combo, at a reasonable $6k, in front of the best speakers you can afford! It’s clear that Model 30 is more sophisticated and refined than any integrated we’ve encountered for less money- which makes it eminently worth its asking price.
