Back in the early days of my hi-fi walkabout, I lusted after the ingot-tinted pinnacle Marantz products. Anything ‘Marantz Gold’ represented, to me, some of the finest products offered by a multinational corporation. I wanted the widely celebrated, searing-furnace PM-80 integrated. I longed for the two-box CD-94/CDA-94, an iconic duo of early digital. The MA-24 Class-A monoblocks driving impossibly large JBL speakers also made an indelible impression. I would have killed for the stunning CD-15 CD player but avoided the slammer by settling instead for the over-performing CD-63SE which, alas, only came in black. In the early 2000s, the glorious MA-9S1 monos made a helluva splash. Yes, throughout its illustrious history, Marantz has sporadically offered extraordinary electronics tailored to discerning audio enthusiasts. Fast-forward to 2025, and the venerable brand has re-entered the premium market with the MODEL 10, a high-end integrated amplifier poised to join the ranks of revered Marantz immortals.
Role MODEL
In fact, the new Reference series features a trio of products. The MODEL 10 was sent along with a companion, the new LINK 10n Network Player which also doubles as a preamplifier/DAC. While not the subject of this review (that may independently come later) both the obvious synergies and the LINK 10n’s superb engineering provided an alternate viewpoint for juxtaposition vis-à-vis my own very different – and very traditional – valve-based preamplifier. Also announced as part of the new Reference ‘10’ series is the SACD 10, a massive matching disc player/DAC with the same high levels engineering, battleship build quality and styling. These flagship components are all engineered and built at Marantz’s Shirakawa, Japan manufacturing facility.
While the MODEL 10 is a well-featured integrated amplifier, its main purpose is to… well, amplify. There are no built-in digital-to-analogue converters or streaming capabilities. For that, you of course have the well-capable LINK 10n.
Yet, the MODEL 10 does offer a healthy list of features and connectivity options. You have the choice of two unbalanced RCA and two balanced XLR stereo inputs, a ‘Recorder’ input and output, power amplifier inputs and preamplifier outputs via both unbalanced RCA and balanced XLR, and a set of RCA sockets for the in-built Moving Magnet (MM) and Moving Coil (MC) phono stage. As you’d expect, all connector sockets are top quality.
Further socketry includes RCA in/out for remote control (internal/external switchable), F.C.B.S (Floating Control Bus System) mini-jack in/out triggers and a 3.5 mm mini-jack ‘Flasher’ option. A stereo/bi-amp switch, high quality copper plated SPKT-100+ proprietary speaker binding posts (two sets, allowing bi-wiring), and an IEC socket round out the rear panel facilities. The front panel supports a 6.5 mm jack socket for the onboard headphone amplifier. The MODEL 10’s chassis employs heavy copper plated panels coupled together without the use of visible fasteners. The bottom panel is supported by a hefty triple-layered copper plated slab. Even the only visible fasteners on the rear panel are copper plated, as are the chunky cone-like footers. The whole shebang weighs in at a substantial 33.7 kg.
Marantz has chosen to employ switching amplification based on Purifi technology in a fully balanced dual-mono configuration. The Purifi module is not an off-the-shelf unit, in fact, it's been heavily modified to comply to a desired Marantz standard. As Marantz Product Manager Adam Prangell (Masimo Consumer Australia) outlined:
Our engineers worked together with Purifi to create the right custom version blueprint for our needed amplification module and then they licensed it from Purifi, rather than just using their off-the-shelf version like others do. We then took that blueprint and chose our own custom components needed to manufacture the module in-house in Shirakawa. The same was also done for the switching power supply which is also built in-house with custom components rather than the standard components. This way we get the Marantz sound to where we want it to be. It's part of the sound tuning process done by the Marantz Sound Master. Unfortunately, we can't dig further into exactly which components are used, that's confidential engineering information however doing it this way our Marantz Sound Master does get the product to sound just the way he wants it.
The company engineers match the Purifi modules to a large bespoke, encapsulated and isolated toroidal transformer. The combination of technologies and stout power supply is said to provide high-current for low loudspeaker impedance loads. The MODEL 10 adopts Marantz’s latest discrete HDAM SA3 (Hyper Dynamic Amplifier Module) and ‘Current Feedback’ low Negative Feedback (NFB) circuitry, all supported via newly designed multi-layer circuit boards.
The MODEL 10 is rated at 250 watts per channel into 8 ohms from 20 Hz to 20 kHz with a Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) of 0.05%. Frequency response is given as 5 Hz to 60 kHz at +0dB/-3dB and between 20 Hz and 20 kHz at +0dB/-0.3dB. A 4 ohms load will command 500 watts per channel with identical 20 Hz to 20 kHz parameters and the same THD. A Damping Factor of 500 (8 ohms, 20 Hz to 20 kHz) is relatively high, promising good control of the low frequencies. While Marantz suggests the MODEL 10’s impedance drive spans from 4 ohms to 16 ohms, it stayed cool as a cucumber while driving my Wilson Audio Alexia V speakers which dip below 4 ohms for a large portion of their wide bass response.
The MODEL 10 features a ‘Marantz Musical Premium Phono EQ’ offering three Moving Coil gain/impedance settings, all at 400 µV. The ‘Low’ impedance setting is given as 33 ohms, the ‘Mid’ sees an impedance of 100 ohms and the ‘High’ setting is rated at 390 ohms. The Moving Magnet option is 3.6 mV at 39 kohms. While my system configuration doesn’t allow the testing of integrated amplifier phono stages (turntable/amp/speakers relative locations), I did test the phono stage onboard the LINK 10n. I’d guess this would be of a very similar (if not identical) design to the MODEL 10’s. It proved to be a super-quiet, detailed, dynamic and spatially generous phono and I’m confident the MODEL 10’s would be equally competent.
I mentioned styling above. Man, this thing’s a looker… and it’s built to the highest standards. Controls and buttons feel super solid, providing assured confidence with respect to functional precision and longevity. The MODEL 10 will no doubt be an heirloom treasured by the next generation of music lovers. A genius touch, as far as the aesthetic design, is the top panel which features a metal grille window providing a view into the guts of the circuitry. The electronic componentry is immaculately laid out and an interior LED lighting system (dimmable) provides an even brighter picture. I liked the way the subtle internal lighting scheme provides a clear view of the ‘Marantz’ logo atop the large transformer’s metal housing.
Another bank of white LEDs is used to provide a dimmable back light around the edges of the brushed aluminium centre fascia panel. The fascia sits, seemingly, semi-detached from the larger secondary, fish-scale-sculpted panel. Written words are only descriptors… in person, it all looks rather delicious.
The front panel features a centrally-positioned circular ‘porthole’ window housing a High-Definition TFT colour display (dimmable in 20 steps) which animates as the amplifier is activated. The graphics show the company name, the Marantz star icon, as employed in past premium products, finally settling as an informational/navigation status display and then VU-style meters. When activated, a cool volume level shows both a numerical 0.5-step graduation and a circular setting line which follows the porthole’s circumference. On either side are large rotary knobs which control input selection and volume. An On/Off button and a 6.5 mm headphone jack socket rounds out the controls. The MODEL 10 is supplied with a full function quality remote control which has been custom designed for the ‘10’ series products.
The company states the MODEL 10 has been tuned by the ‘Marantz Sound Master’ who had a hand (and ear) in shaping its sound quality (à la Ken Ishiwata). Again, Prangell explains:
Yes indeed there is a Sound Master. Yoshinari Ogata is the Marantz Sound Master. There is a different Sound Master who is responsible for Denon as well that is Shinichi Yamauchi. Both these Sound Masters are fully responsible for the sounding of everything we make under each of their brands, respectively.
Super-MODEL… 10
For reasons relating to human nature, where many resist and even fear change, early switching amplifiers have been seen as either the industry’s saviour or the Devil’s work. Things have moved on from the early days of switching amplification where, like any new technology, improvements over time have reached a point where it’s competitive against any legacy tech. In fact, there are a number of companies at the leading edge of this technology producing OEM modules for the industry at large.
In the past, concerns with Class-D/switching amplification have been centred around high frequency extension and somewhat inferior tonal precision, which unfairly gave rise to the narrow generalisation that “they’re good for subwoofers only” (look at the EV space for another example of blatant agenda-based disinformation). How wrong. Especially in the case of MODEL 10.
As described above, Marantz has employed Purifi modules for the MODEL 10. Detractors rest easy… Serenity now! (IYKYK). Indisputably, this is a highly sophisticated implementation.
The MODEL 10 is a sweet amplifier, with superbly rendered highs and a truthful tonality to voices and instruments which is on par with the best amplification, whether valve, solid-state or hybrid. In fact, it shares some of the better hybrid traits by combining a full-bodied midrange and clear highs with controlled bottom end.
For this writer, it’s always a pleasure to spend quality listening time with components which ease you into the music by providing a balanced, tonally correct presentation without harshness or bass bloat. The Marantz MODEL 10 ticked those all-important boxes more than comfortably.
Presenter of the SoundStage! Network awards for 2024 Kellylee Evans’ “What About Me?” from her Fight or Flight? album showed the MODEL 10’s excellent rendition of vocals via its superbly balanced midrange reproduction. Evans’ voice inhabited a firm central position within the large soundfield, with great clarity, presence and with utter control of what can, sometimes and in some systems, come across as a subtly sibilant recording. Quality components like the MODEL 10 can totally render sibilance as what it should actually be – a slight affectation, an artefact of close-miking via high-resolution recording equipment. Conversely, high-resolution reproduction equipment (enter MODEL 10 and the accompanying components) should manage the sibilance by showing a marginal, and natural, exaggeration to the ‘s’ and ‘t’ sounds. Here, once again, MODEL 10 shone.
The same control and thorough precision were shown on Rufus Wainwright’s “Heading For Home” from the Folkocracy collaborative album. On this excellent track, Wainwright plays second vocal to John Legend, and among the mixed instrumentation, both vocalists are individualised and recognisable due to MODEL 10’s highly fine-tuned midrange reproduction. It’s not the best recording in the world, yet it’s thoroughly engaging and highly enjoyable via MODEL 10.
It’s worth noting here too, that while in-house, the MODEL 10 was mated to my reference Wilson Audio Alexia V and, for some time, another highly competent speaker which was concurrently in for review. The MODEL 10 spoke with a consistently powerful and authentic voice while driving both speakers. Bearing a totally different design philosophy – being a waveguide-loaded tweeter mated to a dual woofer push-pull low frequency system – the review speaker mated superbly with the MODEL 10, a testament to the wide compatibility of this thoroughly engineered amplifier.
If the rest of your system allows it, the MODEL 10 can project marvellously generous sonic panoramas when handling orchestral works. One of my favourites is Jacqueline Du Pré’s interpretation of the Elgar Cello Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir John Barbirolli. Knowing the tragic background, sections of Elgar’s concerto should just about bring you to tears. The music oscillates from subtle nuances to brutal crescendos. The MODEL 10 tracked the dynamic swings effortlessly while also communicating the emotions inherent in the piece. MODEL 10 honours Du Pré’s instrument with purity and tonal beauty… it respects this recording’s status as a classic.
I’ve been getting into the Live At The Olympia album from jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal and saxophonist Yusef Lateef (multi-instrumentalist, really), for its mix of excellent musicianship and stunning recording quality (particularly for a ‘live’ production). The MODEL 10 brought Jamal’s and Lateef’s instruments to the fore with astonishing presence and focused imaging within a massive soundfield. I particularly enjoyed the brilliant pianist’s control and masterful playing while the amplifier gifted me, the listener, with a precise tonality that made the whole music sound… well, real. Drummer Herlin Riley smashes it too, with the MODEL 10 offering excellent tracking of wild dynamics.
Let’s take a look at the MODEL 10’s performance across the bass region. In my opinion, the MODEL 10 walks the line between the outstanding bass control, depth and dynamics of the best solid-state amplifiers (my own Gryphon Audio Antileon EVO Class-A monster being a leading example) and the full-bodied and nuanced presentation of the best high-power valve-based designs. In other words, it’s marginally leaner than a monster amplifier and also fuller, nuanced and more in-control than a valve one.
On “Lupafte” from Nenad Vasilić’s The Art of Balkan Bass album, showed the thorough control and deep detail skills of the MODEL 10. Vasilić hammers the double bass with the bow in an almost percussive way at the start of the track, then moves on to conventional plucking as the track develops. The hits are tightly controlled and dynamic, while the plucking can be heard to flow and decay naturally after the notes’ initial transient.
An especially good example of bass definition, speed and depth came via Syncatto’s “Look To The Sky” from the album Fiction where the talented Charlie Robbins showed his dexterity while the MODEL 10 kept up with the bass shenanigans.
Due to all those attributes, good ole PRAT (Pace, Rhythm, And, Timing) is preserved in a lively, snappy, toe-tapping way across other tracks like “Restin’ Bones” from Primus’ The Brown Album, “Accelerate” from Zander Zon’s Sonorous and many more of my oft-used bass torture tests.
It’s worth noting that the MODEL 10 acting as a power amplifier, by way of connection to the preamplifier outputs of the LINK 10n, proved to be a synergistically successful mating, as expected. I found the LINK 10n to be superbly designed, well-featured, and exquisitely built while performing on par as a worthy companion to the excellent-sounding MODEL 10 amplifier. I would hazard to say the same would apply to the SACD 10. One helluva trio!
I should mention that I spent quite some time with the MODEL 10 configured as a power amplifier by connecting to LINK 10n’s preamplifier outputs. What this showed was that the preamplifier stage of the MODEL 10 is exceptionally transparent (as is the LINK 10n’s, for that matter). The sonic qualities I’ve described above were consistent whether in ‘Power Amp’ mode or in the full integrated amplifier config.
Conclusion
It has been a while since the high-end space has been graced with a set of Marantz products that are firmly placed in the high-end tier. With the new trio of ‘10’ series products, Marantz has it all covered from digital source, through to preamplification and on to an integrated catering to turntable and headphone enthusiasts and which can also be configured as a power amplifier.
Yes, MODEL 10 eschews digital features. Tasking it with just amplification duties means that Marantz’s engineers could dedicate their full efforts into creating a hot-rod integrated employing the latest fully-modded amplification technologies from Purifi, a leader in the field.
As a company flagship, the MODEL 10 is also beautifully designed and exquisitely built. The most important part, however, is that the MODEL 10 performs superbly. It tenaciously controls the loudspeakers with grip, power and subtlety, despite those characteristics being seemingly contradictory. And MODEL 10 totally smashes other aspects of excellent audio reproduction such as spatial information, tonal qualities, dynamic expression and overall presentational precision.
If you’re a discerning audiophile who is looking for simplification, in terms of reducing the component and interconnecting cable count, the MODEL 10 is a single chassis wunderkind.
So, given their remarkable contribution to the Marantz brand, how would Saul Marantz and Ken Ishiwata, who thoroughly understood and valued evolutionary development, rate the MODEL 10? I think they’d echo the shout with a single voice; “A perfect ‘10’!”.
… Edgar Kramer
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Associated Equipment
- Speakers — Wilson Audio Alexia V, Axis Loudspeakers VoiceBox S (nearfield monitor), Vermouth Audio Little Luccas Mk.II Limited Edition, Atacama stands
- Amplifier — Gryphon Audio Antileon EVO
- Preamplifier — Supratek Cortese, Totaldac d1-triunity (periodically, direct to amplifier)
- Sources — Digital: 432 EVO Aeon Mk.3 Reference Music Server/Roon Core, Yamaha CD-S2100 transport, Totaldac d1-triunity DAC. Analogue: Transrotor Crescendo with Konstant Studio controller, Reed 1X Tonearm with upgraded internal wiring, Shelter Harmony cartridge, The Funk Firm Houdini cartridge decoupler, Supratek Cortese & REDGUM Audio RGPH2 phono stages
- Processor — DEQX PreMate (part of arsenal/casual use)
- Cables — VYDA Laboratories Orion Silver Reference HFC IC and speaker cables, PSC Audio custom design XLR, Vermouth Audio Reference loom,Tubulus Concentus USB
- Audio Rack — SGR Audio Statement MODEL V, Aspire Audio Belgravia amplifier platform (customised for Gryphon Audio Antileon EVO), Stereotech Aluminar Dark 3-tier rack
- Acoustic Treatment — Vicoustic Multifuser Wood, Wavewood Ultra, Cinema Round Premium and Super Bass Extreme
- Miscellaneous — Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro network switch, GigaWatt PF-1 EVO power strip, Les Davis Audio Viscoelastic CLD discs, Voodoo Cable Iso-Pods, Bocchino Audio Mecado, VRC Vinyl Record Cleaning system plus miscellaneous accessories
Marantz MODEL 10 Integrated Amplifier
Price: AU$25,000
Australian Warranty: Five Years
Australian Distributor: Masimo Consumer
+61 2 9196 8990
https://masimoconsumer.com.au
Marantz Electronics Ltd.
L5, Floor North Square II YBP
134 Godo-cho, Hodogaya-ku
Yokohama, Kanagawa 240-0005
Japan
+81 (0) 45 340 5566
www.marantz.com
