Marantz is set to take advantage of a resurgence in demand for “good sound gear” with the release of new two-channel sound gear along with new network products.
Last week during an exclusive interview with SmartHouse, Scott Browning, Marketing Director at JB Hi Fi, said that “quality” was making a comeback in Australia as the price of flat panel TVs fall.
He also claimed that “networking and communication was essential” in almost any products that JB Hi Fi was selling.
Among the new product range introduced by Marantz, which is distributed in Australia by Qualifi, is a standalone network audio player which is the first stand-alone digital music player (DMP), which can be added to existing sound systems to add playback of non traditional music sources.
They have also introduced a networked CD-receiver, and two networked Blu-ray/SACD/DVD-Audio universal players. All are DLNA 1.5-certified to stream content from a networked PC.
Marantz is also introducing new 3D Blu ray players, which are the Japanese company’s first 3D players to stream music, video and photos from a networked PC, as well as the first to stream on-demand video from Internet video services such as the Telstra BigPond Movie service.
The players, which are the brand’s first 3D-capable Blu-ray players (via a third-quarter firmware update) connect to the NetFlix service and YouTube.
They have also introduced four new A/V receivers (AVRs) and a new preamp processor. According to TWICE these are the brand’s first with 3D-capable HDMI 1.4a connections and Audio Return Channel.
The new AVRs have Audyssey post-processing audio technologies, and include the brand’s first AVR and preamp surround processor with Audyssey Dynamic Surround Expansion (DSX) post-processing technology, which adds front-height channels as well as two left-right image-widening channels to a 5.1 system.
The lineup also includes the brand’s first networked AVR, the SR7005. That model is also the brand’s first AVR with embedded Internet radio.
Other new networked audio products include the brand’s first CD-receiver, the M-CR603 Network CD Receiver and a stand-alone NA7004 Network Audio Player.
The DLNA-1.5-certified NA7004 Network Audio Player can be added to existing sound systems to add playback of non traditional music sources. The component, for example, streams audio from a networked PC, incorporates embedded Internet Radio tuner, accesses Internet music services, and features iPod-compatible USB connection to play back music sent in PCM digital form from a docked iPod. The component also features a back-panel M-XPort to connect an optional Bluetooth stereo receiver.
