Marantz MODEL 30 Integrated Amplifer - Silver

Marantz Borrowed a Name, Then Built Something New

The original Model Thirty was a wood-cased console amplifier from the early 1970s. This one shares the name and almost nothing else. It is built at Marantz's Shirakawa works in Japan, in black or silver-gold, and weighs 14.6 kilograms.

Power is 100 watts per channel into 8 ohms, doubling to 200 watts into 4. The front panel is a floating aluminum plate with the porthole display Marantz has used for decades. The lighting behind it dims, and it switches off entirely if you prefer.

A Phono Stage With a Loading Knob on the Front

The phono input takes moving magnet and moving coil. What is unusual is the front-panel knob for cartridge loading: MC low, mid or high, at 33, 100 or 390 ohms. Most amplifiers make you open the case or accept one fixed value.

There are six audio inputs in total, plus a power amp direct input and a preamplifier output. Two sets of speaker terminals, bass, treble and balance controls, and a headphone output complete the panel. A remote comes in the box.

Two Power Supplies, Because the Halves Want Different Things

Marantz gives the preamplifier its own toroidal transformer and the power amplifier a switch-mode supply. The preamplifier uses current feedback and Marantz's own HDAM modules, in SA3 and SA2 versions. The volume control is linear rather than stepped.

Total harmonic distortion is quoted at 0.005%, and the damping factor is a stiff 500. Frequency response runs from 5Hz all the way out to 50kHz. Signal-to-noise measures 107dB on the line inputs, 88dB on moving magnet and just 75dB on moving coil.

What the Phono Input Is Expecting

Moving magnet sees 2.3mV at 39 kilohms. Moving coil sees 250 microvolts at whichever of the three loads you pick. Line inputs want 220mV at 13 kilohms. Standby draw is 0.2 watts, and the amplifier powers itself down when left idle.

What Reviewers Are Saying

Writing for Stereophile in December 2020, Herb Reichert called the Model 30 "the first class-D amplifier that made me genuinely happy with how it drove the Falcon LS3/5a’s," and concluded that it is "clearly a speaker-friendly amplifier."

Brian Kahn covered it for Future Audiophile on October 16, 2023, calling it "a gorgeous, simple, easy-to-use audiophile component that sounds very good." Playing records, he reported: "The voices and instruments were both full bodied and neutral sounding."

What the MODEL 30 Leaves Out

Kahn was blunt about the feature set: "There is no room correction, bass management/subwoofer output, app control, HDMI connectivity, or streaming end point." Nor are there balanced inputs.

Who Is This Integrated Amplifier Best For?

• You run a moving-coil cartridge — three loading options on the front panel, no case-opening required.
• Your speakers are a difficult load — 100 watts into 8 ohms doubles cleanly to 200 into 4.
• You want two pairs of speakers — there are two sets of terminals, plus a power amp direct input for later.
• You want tone controls back — bass, treble and balance are all here, and all defeatable.
• If you want streaming built in, the Model 30 is analog and phono only. One of our network streamers takes any of the five line inputs, and the preamp output still leaves you free to add a subwoofer.

How Does It Connect to Your System?

Speakers go to the binding posts, one pair or two. A turntable goes to phono, then set the front knob to MM or to the MC load your cartridge wants. Five more line inputs cover CD, tuner and everything else.

A recorder loop and a preamplifier output are on the back. The power amp direct input lets you bypass the preamp stage entirely. Everything is single-ended RCA, so no balanced sources.

Then dim the porthole and forget the rest.

Pairs Well With

Building around the Model 30? Start here:

• Turntable: the MM and MC stage deserves one — see our Turntables.
• Speakers: 200 watts into 4 ohms drives a real pair — see our Floorstanding Speakers.
• Headphones: the front-panel output impressed Reichert — see our Headphones.
• Cables: two sets of terminals, two runs — see our Speaker Cables.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much power does the Marantz Model 30 make?

100 watts per channel into 8 ohms, and 200 watts per channel into 4 ohms.

Does it support moving-coil cartridges?

Yes, with three loading choices selected from the front panel: 33, 100 or 390 ohms.

Does it have a subwoofer output?

There is a preamplifier output, but no dedicated subwoofer output and no bass management.

Can it stream music?

The Model 30 is an analog integrated amplifier with no DAC, no network stage and no app control.

Are there balanced XLR inputs?

Every input and output is single-ended RCA.

Where is it built?

At Marantz's Shirakawa Audio Works in Japan, and it carries a detachable power cable and system remote.

See It in Action

Marantz introduces the Model 30 on its own channel:

Alpha Audio records the Model 30 driving three different speaker pairs, in a listening demo rather than a talking review:

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Learn More

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