This article is on the new Marantz M1 all-in-one wireless streaming amp. The Marantz M1 features 100 watts of pure, warm Marantz sound, HDMI eARC, and a subwoofer out, all in a package that is both an installer's dream and easy to use. Plus, the improved HEOS app keeps the music flowing with an improved search and home screen. In this article, we will dive into all the features and technology packed inside this compact amp and help you decide if it's right for you.

Company History

From humble beginnings, Marantz got their start in the audio business. Unsatisfied with the available equipment, Saul Marantz designed and built his own preamplifier, which unknowingly would start a revolution in audio equipment. With the inconsistent recording techniques in the 50s, many different EQ curves were used in producing records. This led to Saul’s preamplifier including every EQ curve available at the time that could be selected from the front panel. Having this option was a first in the audio world, and after encouragement and help from his wife and friends, he started producing the Audio Consolette Preamplifier, and the rest is history. Marantz has since been a force in the audio world, with many music lovers choosing Marantz for its warm musical sound and solid build quality.

Features & Technology

Our team at Audio Advice was extremely excited when we first learned about the new M1 before its launch. With streaming becoming so popular these days, having an all-in-one streamer for your main system or for your office or bedroom is an awesome idea. While there are many options for a streaming amp, not all of them will sound the same. With this new M1, Marantz set out to not only make the user experience the very best but also make it sound significantly better than its competitors.

The Marantz M1 is different from other Marant products. It's small, measuring only 8.5” wide and deep, 3.3” tall, and 4.84 lbs. Being small means the M1 will fit in more places and situations than Marantz’s other high-end audio products. The Marantz M1 fits the bill for anyone looking for an integrated amplifier and a streamer that does not take up as much space as their conventional component counterparts.

The soft-touch casework and distinctive top metal grill give the M1 an elegant look that Marantz is known for while allowing it to remain cool and work flawlessly in any installation. The capacitive touch front panel controls and dimmable LED allow Marantz to maintain the look while keeping controls simple. In this new world of do-everything boxes, Marantz seems to honor their heritage while designing a device that is both installer-friendly and good-looking.

And to top it all off, these M1 units are built and manufactured in Shirakawa, Japan. This is the same factory that builds Marantz’s highest end reference products like MODEL 30, AV 10, etc. This is pretty unusual for a product at this price to be built at such a high end facility. Plus, they are tuned by Marantz Sound Masters. We’ll discuss that a little later on.

Updated App, Updated Experience

Marantz knows that the app experience can make or break the usability of an all-in-one device like the M1. Your music has become front and center with the new HEOS update for 2024. This new app experience promises to take these new Marantz products to new heights in usability and ease of use.

After listening to their customers, Marantz decided to change the home screen to reflect the needs of music lovers. The new home screen is all about the music, giving access to recently played tracks, favorite music, and preferred content from your music services. One of the coolest things is the ability to create HEOS playlists and combine content from different streaming services or your personal collection as desired. The New “Now Playing” display has been added to the bottom of the screen to keep you updated on what track is playing at all times within the app.

With universal music searchability, you can search for your favorite tracks no matter the service. Switching services just to find a song or album is no more, just use universal search, find the track or album, and play! The track could be on Amazon Music, Spotify, or your Tidal service. With Universal Search, it doesn’t matter; you just search, find, and play. HEOS supports Amazon Music, Pandora, SiriusXM, SoundCloud, Spotify, and TIDAL Hi Res although Qobuz and Apple Music are missing as of this article. Tidal Hi Res will give the M1 and any other HEOS device the ability to play tracks up to 192KHz/24bit natively. In addition to music streaming services, you can use HEOS to access and distribute music from locally stored content on media servers or PCs. (file types supported MP3, AAC, Apple Lossless, DSD, Flac, WAV, and WMA).

Shirakawa Sound Master Tuned

While the Marantz M1 is an all-in-one designed to be more compact and combine a lot of technology into one package, the designers knew they wanted it to be all Marantz in sound quality. Utilizing the talents of the expert sound tuners at their Shirakawa Audio Works plant in Japan, Marantz ensured that the M1 lives up to the standard Marantz has for sound quality. Utilizing Switching digital end-to-end amplifier topology, the M1 outputs 100 watts per channel, allowing it to drive most speakers to satisfying levels, and even has a dedicated subwoofer output.

Marantz Musical Digital Filtering is a digital filtering technology developed by Marantz to ensure that the M1 preserves the analog-like qualities Marantz amplifiers are known for, even when playing digital music. These unique oversampling techniques were first used in Marantz reference-grade products. These technologies allow the M1 to present music in a very musical and engaging way.

The Marantz M1 has an analog RCA input for legacy sources like CD players and a Toslink input that allows connection to older televisions that do not have HDMI eARC ports. The HDMI eARC input allows you to connect your television to the M1 and control the volume with your TV remote just like you always have(except with better sound). There is also an ethernet connection for wired network setups and built-in Wi-Fi for convenience. Bluetooth 5 allows you to connect devices like phones wirelessly to the M1 for music playback. There is a single RCA subwoofer output. Speaker outputs are on high-quality binding posts, allowing spade and banana plug connections.

The Marantz M1 has some extra features not found on many all-in-one streaming amplifiers. The volume can be set to limits between 80-100% and a balance control allowing plus or minus 15dB of adjustment. There are adjustable and independent high-pass/low-pass filters 40-250 Hz / 40-120 Hz, allowing you to tune in your subwoofer/speaker crossover points to allow a perfect transition between the subwoofer and your main speakers. This also allows you to take the bass load off of your main speakers, which will benefit dynamic range, total system output, and lower distortion. Bass and treble controls are included, allowing you to tailor the sound to your liking. Along with the ability to decode Dolby Digital+ content, the M1’s sound modes(Stereo, Direct, Virtual, Dialog Enhancer, and Night Mode) allow you to choose the sound profile that matches your needs.

Marantz knew the M1 would be used in multiple ways. Some owners will use the M1 as their main A/V component with a set of speakers, while others will use its whole home audio capability and run multiple M1s. The size of the M1 and its cool running nature even allow it to be installed where conventional components cannot, and it includes extra features and ports for custom installation. A 3.5mm IR input with IR learning lets you hook up remote IR sensors for multi-room remote use. The M1 is compatible with Crestron, Control4, and AMX control systems via TCP/IP. There is also a 12-volt trigger output. These are nice additional features not seen in many all-in-one devices on the market.

Performance

When we started to test the Marantz M1, we were very interested to see if the Sound Masters at Marantz’s facility in Japan succeeded in taking a different amplifier topology (Class D) and keeping that warm musical sound that Marantz is known for. We also wanted to test the new HEOS app to ensure that Marantz's changes improved its usability.

When we first took the M1 out of the box, we were impressed with its visual appeal and build quality. The materials used and industrial design are a step up from most other all-in-one streaming amplifiers on the market. Connecting the M1 proved easy, allowing us to plug in our ethernet cable or connect to our WiFi (we tested both, and both found they worked very well). We also found that the speaker's binding posts are of high quality and allow us to connect spade and banana connectors easily. We were ready to start listening after choosing our variety of speakers to test.

The new HEOS app impressed us with the changes Marantz has made. They have turned an app with shortcomings into one of the better all-in-one apps. We liked the new home screen and the ability to create one playlist from different streaming services, and we especially enjoyed the universal search feature. This allowed us to search for our favorite tracks without manually navigating the various streaming services. You don’t know how great of a feature that is until you have it. Believe us, it is a great feature that we hope will be widely adopted.

Jessica Pratt’s new album, Here in the Pitch, is a new-age folk album with a relaxed vibe. We connected the M1 to a pair of Bowers & Wilkins 704 S3 speakers. Some all-in-one amplifiers suffer from underbuilt power supplies and Class D output sections with decent RMS power but suffer when dynamically called upon. The Marantz M1 does not seem to suffer from this. The sound out of the B&W speakers had great body and tone, and the M1 could keep up even at higher volumes. Listening, we found that the Sound Masters in Japan succeeded in allowing the classic Marantz sound to shine on the M1. Vocals had good texture and body, and instruments were presented with detail and musicality. The bass had warmth but also allowed the detail to shine through. Bass is one area where Class D amplifiers shine in their ability to have tight control over the bass drivers, and the M1 showcased this talent.

Dua Lipa’s new album Radical Optimism. allowed us to test the M1’s ability to handle more dynamic bass and music with more drive. On the first track, we knew that this combination had the same synergy that we know this brand combination can create. The Bass was tight and detailed, allowing us to get the slam of the bass but with control. The midrange had good detail while remaining smooth. The treble followed the smooth trend with good detail. Imaging and soundstaging were also something to note for an all-in-one. The center image was good and locked in, while the instrument placement was good. The soundstage was not as wide as some of the upper-level Marantz integrated amplifiers, but this was somewhat expected as this is an all-in-one that has a lot stuffed into one enclosure. But for everything this little box does, it has commendable performance.

Overall Recommendation

The Marantz M1 is an example of an all-in-one streaming amplifier that bucks trends in performance. Generally, with all-in-one streaming amplifiers, you give up some musicality or amplifier performance in order to have a small, easy-to-live package. The M1, with the help of the Marantz Sound Masters in Japan, keeps the Marantz musicality flowing with warmth and listenability. Add to that the ability to easily drive any of the speakers likely to be paired with it, which is a testament to Marantz’s design team. We think the Marantz M1 is for anyone looking for an easy-to-install and live with all-in-one amplifier solution. Whether it is for your main listening room or having multiple M1s in a whole home music system, the Marantz M1 is a proper step up in all-in-one amplifier performance. If you are looking for an all-in-one solution that does not sacrifice sound for convenience, please give our knowledgeable staff at Audio Advice a call or chat online to see if the Marantz M1 fits your music-loving needs.

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