This IS301 dock system from Marantz looks pretty swish, particularly as the dock part can be rotated for wall-mounting, but it’s a little confusing. It adds Bluetooth remote streaming to your hi-fi, which is nice, can charge iPods (including touch, but not iPhone) when it’s powered up, and it allows for direct control of Marantz receivers, but what’s up with the S-video out on the base station?
The Marantz CR201 may not scream sexy by name, but by damn, it screams sexy by form factor. The standalone CD player may not tick the right boxes when it comes to functionality, but neither do your kids. The mirrored finish, blue LED-lit CD bay and USB connection for direct digital tune playing will allow you to appreciate music with super sexy styles. More »
Marantz rolled out another one of its higher-end 1080p DLP projectors for home theatre today, wrapping up this VP-15S1 in the same package as last year’s model but significantly enhancing the specs. The contrast ratio is punched up, from 6500:1 in the old model to 10,000:1 on this one, and it’s significantly brighter, up to 1000 lumens from 700 lumens before. Also updated is the colour processing, from 10-bit before to 12-bit now. But the most notable aspect of this new release is the severe price cut. More »
It’s hard to tell from this pic of the $400 Marantz PMD620 Professional Handheld Field Recorder, but this relatively small solid-state device is slightly larger than a deck of cards. Despite its diminutive stature, it’s packing pro-level features that podcasters will like, recording MP3 or WAV files in 16- or 24-bit rez. Its display screen uses OLEDs just like many cellphones, and it’s got a couple of high-quality omnidirectional condenser mics built into the top. If you don’t like those, you can plug in your own external mic, albeit with a 1/8″ input, not XLR (so much for that “Professional” braggadocio). The feature we like the most besides its good looks and compact size? It uses either SD or SDHC flash memory cards. Look for it to ship in November. [BB Gadgets] More »
As I become more and more enthralled by the simple home theatre setup fake surround sound bars provide, I’m surprised to see high-end Marantz get into the game that is otherwise known for midrange players. (This was announced at CEDIA, but I missed it then, and it deserves your attention now). Like the Yamaha YSP series, it uses delays and volume tweaks to emulate surround sounds; unlike the YSP-4000, it only has 6 speakers, a pair of tweeters, mids and lows, with 60 watts total, so you’re not going to likely get the same granular, discrete, faux-surround channel effect that the Yammy does using its 42 discrete drivers. They both have HDMI Inputs, but I have no idea if the Marantz does upscaling or audio surround. But there is a price differential of $1299 for the Marantz vs $1800 for the Yamaha. One thing: I don’t like the distracting silver strip on the front. [Marantz] More »
