By: Nigel F. Maynard
Luxury audio products brand Marantz says it is applying its high-performance experience to the wireless speaker category. The company claims the two radically advanced new models will transform customer expectations in the market.
“Introducing the Marantz Horizon and its larger sibling, the Marantz Grand Horizon, two luxurious new wireless speakers crafted for passionate, discerning listeners who demand both exceptional sound and timeless elegance,” the company says.
Marantz says the two models elevate and seamlessly integrate the timeless elements of the company’s design ethos, incorporating instantly recognizable elements such as the brand’s iconic circular porthole motif.” Here, the porthole is reimagined as the core element of each speaker’s unique circular form.”
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The speakers combined with carefully arranged lighting and elevated trim materials that add to the units’ architectural symmetry, the company explains, resulting in a tactile audio experience you can see, hear and feel. Each model is wrapped in Marantz Radiance 360-degree seamless ecofiber, a bespoke, sustainable fabric made from recycled ocean plastics. “The three-color fabrics have a glowing, luxurious feel thanks to embedded gold lurex elements, further enhancing the unique warmth of Marantz’s design and sound,” the brand says.
Three finishes are available: Midnight Sky, Moon Ray and Marantz Champagne. Each is complemented by a finished natural marble base that is color-matched to accentuate the elegance of each design. For users who prefer alternative solutions to incorporating wireless speakers into their home, Marantz also offers a American walnut tripod floor stand as an optional accessory for Horizon, while wall brackets are available for both models if desired.
Marantz says both models are powerful single-speaker wireless solutions that are able to fill even substantial rooms with full-range sound. Both are designed around a unique configuration of high-frequency and midrange drive units that radiate outward from a single central subwoofer, ensuring a spacious listening experience, the company adds.
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“Key to this powerful sound is proprietary Marantz Rise amplification, based around highly responsive and thermally efficient GaN FET technology and offering a prodigious 310W of output in Horizon and 370W in Grand Horizon (FTC power output rating),” the company says. “This muscular core propels an array of high-quality Marantz Gravity drive units, each of which employs powerful neodymium magnets for the ultimate combination of accuracy, responsiveness and low distortion.”
At the heart of Horizon is a 6.5-inch subwoofer, which is complemented by two 1-inch silk-dome tweeters and three 2-inch full range drive units. The larger model, Grand Horizon has an 8-inch subwoofer, three 1-inch tweeters and four 3-inch midrange drive units.
Both Horizon and Grand Horizon have been designed as contemporary and completely connected wireless speakers able to meet the needs of every modern luxury consumer. Built around Marantz’s HEOS wireless music platform, they can access music content from a wide range of supported streaming providers including Amazon Music, Deezer, Spotify and TIDAL, with more services planned to follow. For added convenience with mobile devices, Apple AirPlay2 and Bluetooth are also included, and even physical connected sources are well catered for. Horizon and Grand Horizon include analog, optical and even HDMI inputs, and can also access music from locally connected USB-C music drives. Onboard Dolby decoding ensures full compatibility with Dolby Atmos supplied via HDMI, too.
The Marantz Horizon is priced at $3,500, while the Grand Horizon is priced at $5,500.