Marantz Model 30 with 1723 Monitors

[neil-h]

Just in case anyone is interested in the Marantz Model 30 with the 1723 Monitors this is my take on the pairing and ONLY my experience. I have an NAD C-370 that’s been around for a good while. One day, I started thinking, maybe I’m missing something because of all the new integrated amplifiers out there. So, taking the plunge, I purchased the Marantz (luckily with a 60 day return policy). The Marantz (a modern class D) as reported by some, has a pronounced midrange and an extended low end. They were correct in my experience. To make this to the point, it was too much of a good thing in the midrange, just way to much. The low end was so extended, I just couln’t get it dialed in with my subwoofer. If I wasn’t using a sub, it probably would have been great, but the midrange still wouldn’t work. I’m not into tone controls and really don’t think it would have solved the issue. So, what I found in my trial, was the NAD was very neutral from top to bottom and the Arendals seem to love this kind of amplifier. This was a very important lesson for me if purchasing another amplifier in the future. I’m sharing this experience as it may be helpful to anyone looking to change amplifiers. I’m not saying the Marantz is a bad amplifier at all, it will certainly be loved by many, in my opinion it’s just not neutral enough for my liking.

 

 

 

 

[Jared Beskow]

Thanks for your take on the Marantz Model 30.  I have a Marantz 7015 but have it hooked up to other speakers and not my Arendal 1723 towers.

Curious, what type of music did you play with the Marantz 30?

Thanks!

[neil-h]

Hi Jared

I played modern jazz, male and female vocals both jazz and otherwise, and new age as well. All high quality recordings. No rock or classical.

[Lukas]

Hi Neil,

Thank you for your feedback on the Marantz.

I am personally a big fan of the new bigger Yamahas and the new Technics, as I told you in an email before.
Maybe you can get your hands on one of those?

 

 

[neil-h]

I’m in a unique but not rare situation. Retirement is next June. My NAD is about 20 years old. I never would have thought, it could hold it’s own with a $3200.00 integrated amplifier. To my surprise, it did very well. My concern is, how much longer will the NAD keep working. My experience shows in about 20-30 years, caps degrade and can often fail. I’ve recapped several pieces of equipment in the past and was surprised how much the sound “improved”. The aging process has a slow change over many years, for the most part, we don’t even know it’s happening. I’m in that time range on my amp and this is why I’m considering a new amp. In my mind, the jury is still out on modern class D amps. Maybe the right one has not been in my hands yet. The Marantz was more detailed but the downsides were much more prominent. I know many people love the Marantz. This is the first time in all my life, I realized neautrality is what I’m after in an amplifier. The Arendal Monitors are so good, they deserve a good amp. I have to get past my bias about Yamaha and Technique amplifiers that really were not all that great when I was young many years ago. It is a great time to be alive with all the great advancements in technology. The Arendals prove this.

 

 

 

 

[Raffaele Spataro]

Neil, I own a Marantz AV8805 and have them hooked up vis XLR to external amps and I have to say that not all amps are created equal. I presume that the NaD has toroidal power amps built and they are a neutral sound. The Marantz DACs have different materials and sometimes those can change the way sound comes out of them because of the class D amps built in. I’ve owned many speakers from Klipsch to Polk to RBH to Martin Logans back to Klipsch then got SVS and now Arendals. Klipsch’s were bright speakers, RBH’s sounded great but at high volume the midrange were flat, SVS’s sounded fantastic they gave a great sound stage, now that I own Arendals the sound stage midrange and lower frequencies are superior than every speaker I owned above. I think its a personal problem I have because no matter how a good of a system I have there is always something missing in the sound and now I realize its just that I have to get used to it. I want to buy the Anthem AVM-70 8K thats coming out soon and that would definitely be a nice upgrade from the Marantz I own now.

[neil-h]

Thank you Lukas for the information. I may need try one on those amps.

 

Hi Orion,

I know what you mean about chasing the ever perfect sound. It is a costly adventure for sure. Sometimes I believe I’ll run out of years left in my life before the perfect system is in my living room. The Arendals are going to stay put. I’m extremely happy with them.

[Lukas]

I worked at a high-end hi-fi/home-cinema shop all my life and I can tell you guys, don’t get too hung up on technology.
It is not a specific part of the amp that creates “sound”. It is a combination of a thousand little things.

And of course the combination with a specific speaker. So I always recommend trying as much as possible in your room with your speakers. (I know it may not be that easy)

Just an example: I lent an amplifier to three customers and got three different opinions about it. They were the absolute opposite spectrum. One said it sounded too warm, the other it sounded way too bright and the other said it was perfectly balanced.