On a cold, clear February morning, I attended my first inperson press event since the beginning of the pandemic. Marantz had invited me to a small group session in a suite at the Equinox Hotel at Hudson Yards but gave no indication of what was in store. After two years without live press events or audio shows, I was not going to spurn the offer no matter what would be presented: I was hungry for hi-fi. Upon arrival, I learned that Marantz would be featuring just one new product, a streaming integrated amplifier, the Marantz Model 40n ($2499). Sure, I’m in.
A short introduction linked present-day Marantz to seminal Marantz products from the 1950s, represented visually by the distinc-tive Marantz center “porthole,” first seen facing forward on the Model 9 amplifier and now embraced as the company’s core design motif. That porthole was originally a bias meter; today it contains an alphanumeric display.1
The Model 40n was the solo star of the show, so several units were set up en suite. One was set between a pair of floorstanding speakers next to a turntable and below a large video display. During the demo, it played digital and analog music as well as video sound fed to it via HDMI-ARC. Another unit was set on a bookshelf, bookended by a pair of small speakers playing music stored locally, guided by the HEOS app. A third sample was tucked into a cabinet in the dining room, playing music from web radio and Spotify (via Spotify Connect).
The frequency balance was neutral, with tight, clean bass, an open-sounding midrange, and an extended but unstressed treble.
However strong and important the link between the Model 40n and legacy Marantz products, the 40n is not your Grandpa Saul’s integrated amplifier. It’s a multifunction device that does phono, digital, and streaming and utilizes for the simplest quick start. The 113-page owner’s manual, available for download on Marantz’s website, proved essential to making full use of this multitalented integrated.
