The perfect fit?

Marantz introduced its slimline series of AV receivers some years ago and if not still unique in this space, it certainly seems to dominate the area. It manages to reduce the height of the receiver from the usual dominant double-height to the lesser level of, say, a normal hi-fi amplifier component. This was originally possible by the introduction of HDMI removing all those four-plug composite connectors, and the rise of Class-D amplification reducing the space for power components and the need for large heatsinks and internal space to cool them.

But in addition it has achieved the physical shrinkage by keeping outputs down to reasonable power ratings and carefully choosing a feature set that will fit into the smaller dimension — in particular, the number of sockets that are fitted on the back panel.

All this doesn’t preclude extended functionality. The latest slimline unit, the Marantz NR1710 adds some interesting and useful new features.

Equipment

Smaller it may be, but the Marantz NR1710 still manages to includes seven amplifiers. Each is rated at 50W per channel. Too low? Maybe, if