Powerful and pretty – Marantz unleashes reference-quality home cinema components with a sense of style

A pre-amp and power amp you'll want to look at as much as listen to

Marantz AV 20 and AMP 20 home cinema components (lifestyle shots)
(Image credit: Marantz)
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Marantz has launched two new home cinema products, the AV 20 pre-amp and the AMP 20 power amplifier.

Designed for serious home cinema enthusiasts with a sense of style, the components are priced at £4,750 / $6,500 / €5,500 (about AU$9,880) each.

Marantz has taken its highly acclaimed luxury home theatre pre-amp and power amp and made them even better.

The AV 20 AV pre- and AMP 20 power amplifiers are based on their award-winning predecessors, but with a little bit of magic from the CINEMA 30 AVR too.

Both products feature the latest version of Marantz's porthole display and look stunning. There's selectable side illumination, sharp industrial design and on the AV 20, a fold-down front panel to conceal infrequently used controls.

Even the remote looks good – it's made from aluminium and is backlit so you can use it in darkened rooms.

Marantz AV 20 and AMP 20 home cinema components (lifestyle shots)

(Image credit: Marantz)

Marantz AV 20 and AMP 20: key features and pricing

The AV 20 features the most up-to-date Analog Devices SHARC dual-core DSP chipset and 32-bit two-channel DACs with dedicated jitter reduction.

It supports "all forms of incoming audio" including Dolby Atmos, IMAX Enhanced, DTS:X Pro and AURO-3D, and has Audyssey MultEQ XT32 advanced room optimisation. You also get optional Dirac Live Room Correction and Dirac Live Bass Control for good measure.

Marantz AV 20 preamplifier and AMP 20 power amplifier in a wooden cabinet

(Image credit: Marantz)

The AV 20 also features a first for Marantz – it'll offer Dirac Live Active Room Treatment in a future firmware upgrade. And of course, it works with Marantz's home operating system HEOS.

Marantz describes the AMP 20 as "prodigiously powerful".

It's a 12-channel power amp with 200 watts per channel at 8 ohms. and can be reconfigured to deliver multiple bridged-tied-load (BTL) outputs of up to six channels of 400W. It can also bi-amp up to six speakers.

Marantz AV 20 and AMP 20 home cinema components (lifestyle shots)

(Image credit: Marantz)

The Marantz AV 20 preamplifier has a recommended retail price of $6,500 / €5,500 / £4,750 (about AU$9,880). The AMP 20 power amplifier is also $6,500 / €5,500 / £4,750 (about AU$9,880).

Carrie Marshall
Carrie Marshall

Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).

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