Disc Players

During the course of our exclusive review, editor PM spoke with Rainer Finck, Marantz's Senior Acoustics Engineer (Europe) and the man responsible for implementing Hypex's Class D technology in its recent series of amplifiers. 'It took us several years to find a good quality Class D module that met Marantz's audio standards', recalls Rainer. 'Our solution, developed in cooperation with Hypex, was first introduced in the PM-10 amplifier.'

Marantz is not alone in choosing a Hypex, nCore or even the very new Eigentakt Class D module [see NAD M33, HFN Aug '20] – all from the pen of Bruno Putzeys – but every brand has its 'twist'. 'The key to retaining the "Marantz sound" while using Class D', reveals Rainer, 'lies in how the Hypex modules are driven. Engineering the ideal analogue predriver/preamp stage and power supply is fundamental'. And what of the latest Eigentakt modules? 'We are always looking for ways to improve the performance of our products further, so we continuously evaluate all kinds of new solutions available on the market.'

Marantz is on something of a roll with new players and amplifiers, having just announced a 30 series. 'Yes, while the 10 and 12SE are our reference series the 30 range is the beginning of a new area for our core products. There's a lot of trickledown from the 10 series and KI Ruby separates here, and this new design will be used to replace our 8000 series, 7000 series, and so on, over the next few years.'