The Cinema 40 is the current top of the range for one-box Marantz AV receivers, outperformed only by the separate flagship AV 10 and Amp 10 multichannel preamplifier and power amplifier combo — and those come in at more than $25k the pair.
Here it’s everything in one box for $5000, and a big box it is for this, the highest of Marantz’s integrated AV receivers, its bulk softened by the company’s recent style upgrade featuring a scooped-out frontage etched with a receding spherical grid pattern.
The amp is bulky partly because there are so many connections on the fairly crammed back panel, but mainly because this is a powerful nine-channel amplifier, a number which not only allows a larger surround system than five- or seven-channel receivers, but also more versatility for how you use any leftover channels.
So you could use the full nine to power a surround system of 5.1.4 or 7.1.2, or have a lesser surround system and choose to biamp your front speakers or to enjoy additional zones of audio — the Cinema 40 can actually handle three separate zones, one with video, the other two audio only. What fun! Let’s put it through its paces.
Build & facilities
As the top model in the range, Marantz has thrown everything into the Cinema 40: not only
