Best Compact Streaming Amplifier, 2024-2025 – EISA
Highly Commended Award – Hi-Fi News Magazine
Compact 100-Watt Wireless Amplifier with Powerhouse Features – Now Roon Ready
The Marantz MODEL M1 is a wireless and wired streaming amplifier engineered with performance and versatility in mind. Enjoy your favorite music or TV shows with seamless connectivity from one elegant, compact device.
Born from decades of Marantz heritage and engineering expertise, this new generation of wireless streaming amplifier transforms the way you listen to music and watch TV throughout your home.
Analog and digital inputs plus built-in streaming and HDMI make listening enjoyable and easy, regardless of source. Stream from Spotify, Pandora, Tidal, and more or enjoy your own music file libraries. HDMI eARC (Audio Return Channel) adds uncommon flexibility to this stereo amplifier by enabling TV sound through your stereo. All functions can be controlled with the free HeOS app for Apple and Android, or with the wireless remote from most TVs.
The Marantz MODEL M1 is now Roon Ready. With Roon, you can seamlessly integrate your high-resolution music library, explore artists’ catalogs, and stream with precision.
"Best Compact Streaming Amplifier"
The Expert Sound and Imaging Association (EISA) gave the M1 its Best Compact Streaming Amplifier Award for 2024-2025.
According to EISA, "Don’t be fooled by the MODEL M1’s diminutive size and minimalist design. Thanks to its 2x100W digital Class D power stage and wide-ranging feature set, Marantz’s compact amplifier effortlessly drives loudspeakers to take care of both music and TV audio needs. Integration of the HEOS streaming platform and control app, plus AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth connectivity, make music playback easy, while HDMI eARC, Dolby Digital decoding and subwoofer support cater to movie nights via a 2.1 system."
Highly Commended Award
England's Hi-Fi News magazine bestowned its Highly Commended Award upon the MODEL M1. "With HEOS built-in, and support for numerous streaming services, Marantz's bijou Model M1 network-attached amplifier pulls off a blend of minimalism with supreme flexibility."
"The Marantz M1 is a smart compact amplifier that fits many roles. At its core, the M1 is a cool-running Class D design capable of driving most speakers, and without straying too far from Marantz’s core values. Enhanced with good streaming capabilities and a keen selection of functions, when paired with compact speakers, it’s an audiophile answer to compromised soundbars."
"What Does a Future-Fi Amplifier Look Like?"
"What does a Future-Fi amplifier look like…?" asks John Darko, darko.audio, June 18, 2024.
"Marantz has answered that question with its all-new Model M1: a streaming amplifier whose dimensions suggest a MacMini that’s spent six months in the gym and whose woven-mesh top shows us a novel way of ventilating the internals: 100wpc into 8 Ohms (or 125wpc into 4 Ohms) of direct digital circuitry where the incoming PCM signal is converted to PWM so that it can switch the output stage devices directly. Ergo: no interceding DAC."
"This is not your Grandad’s Marantz. Heck, it’s not even your Dad’s Marantz. Just add loudspeakers and tuck it away out of sight."
"Rhythm, Drive and Engaging Dynamics"
Previewing the MODEL M1 at a dealers' conference, What Hi-Fi? magazine's Kashfia Kabir notes, "Even in a not-so-perfect setting and with a brief listen, songs were delivered with a good dose of rhythm, drive and engaging dynamics. It sounded pretty clear and organised, and it certainly went loud. I've tested the Award-winning B&W 607 S3 speakers and know them pretty well, so their fun, energetic sonic signature was easy to pick out, and they seemed to pair well with the Model M1, which sounded powerful enough to drive the speakers with ease and oomph."
True Marantz Power and Sound Quality
MODEL M1's 100W per channel of high-quality, low-distortion amplification delivers pristine sound anywhere, while a subwoofer output delivers room-filling scale in larger spaces.
For superb audio performance with any audio source, the M1 is Sound Master tuned, designed, and built by Shirakawa Audio Works in Japan to create the Most Musical Sound in your home. Adding to the audio quality is Marantz Musical Digital Filtering (MMDF), a unique and sophisticated digital filtering technology that reveals the natural detail and tonality in sound.
High-Resolution Digital Direct
However you choose to stream your high-resolution music, MODEL M1 has you covered, with support for HEOS, AirPlay2, Bluetooth, Spotify Connect, and more.
You can use many online music streaming services from the HEOS app. Depending upon your geographical location, there are several options to choose from. Download the HEOS app for iOS or Android by searching App Store®, Google Play™ store or Amazon App Store for "HEOS."
Listening to Internet Radio
The HEOS system includes access to more than 100,000 free internet radio streams from all corners of the globe via the TuneIn radio service. Just select the TuneIn logo from the “Home" screen and browse among the 100,000 stations neatly organized into popular categories and select a station that appeals to your mood.
Marantz Multi-Room
Create a multiroom musical experience with the MODEL M1 as your home's music hub. The expansive feature set yet diminutive size of M1 makes it the ideal partner for multi-room listening.
The HEOS system is a true multiroom audio system that automatically synchronizes audio playback between multiple HEOS built-in devices so that the audio coming from different rooms is perfectly in sync and always sounds amazing! You can easily add up to 32 HEOS built-in devices to your HEOS system.
Just connect the HEOS built-in devices to your home network using an Ethernet cable and the HEOS built-in device will appear on your HEOS app as a new room in the Rooms screen. At your convenience, you can assign a name to the HEOS built-in device to indicate which room you have it placed in.
TV Sound with Soundbar Simplicity
Unveil superb sound from movies and TV programs with MODEL M1 using HDMI eARC and onboard Dolby Digital+ processing.
You can use your TV's IR wireless remote with the M1. Connect the M1 to a TV that supports the HDMI control function with an HDMI cable and enable the HDMI control setting on the TV to perform basic operations on this unit (changing the input source, turning the power on and off, adjusting the volume) with the remote control of the TV.
Not to worry if your TV does not support the HDMI control function and remote control preset function. Use the M1's remote control learning function. This enables you to operate this unit with the TV's remote control.
This Device is Roon Ready
The Marantz MODEL M1 is now Roon Ready. With Roon, you can seamlessly integrate your high-resolution music library, explore artists’ catalogs, and stream with precision.
Roon Ready devices are network players with Roon’s own streaming technology built right in, connected over your ethernet or WiFi network. These devices make bit-perfect high-resolution audio simple because they require no configuration, they give you access to the best audio quality, and they provide stable, reliable playback.
Listen in one room or group multiple Roon Ready devices for synchronized playback around your home, regardless of brand. These products have been certified by the Roon test team, which means you can trust that you'll get the best experience and support from your device.
Note that a subscription to Roon is required.
"Every Ounce of Texture and Clarity You Could Hope For"
"It wasn’t merely the power of the bass that impressed. The nuance here was appreciable. It was the exact opposite of one-note bass, in that even the deepest notes were melodically distinct and the fundamental of every note was clearly audible," reports Dennis Burger, soundsttagesimplifi.com, October 15, 2024
"And the rest of the audible spectrum followed suit. The slap and rattle of the bass strings, the clack and bap of the drums, the nasally harmonics of Mike Doughty’s inimitable voice – all of it was delivered with every ounce of texture and clarity you could hope for."
"Well-Rounded" Design
"Despite its size, the Marantz Model M1 is equipped with a wide range of connections. It supports both analog and digital inputs, making it well-rounded," observes Simon Mendel, 7review.com, September 2, 2024.
"At the end of our test, we have to admit that the Marantz M1 won us over. It combines a modern, compact form factor and extensive connectivity with the refined, warm sound that we’ve come to expect from Marantz over the decades. Bravo!"