After offering budget receivers for many years, Marantz will drop two models from its range and pitch its medium- to high-end home theatre equipment instead.
D&M Holdings owns Marantz and Denon (which also produces receivers), and the company wants to prevent the two brands competing directly by keeping Denon as the "premium budget" option, according to Marantz's local distributor QualiFi.
As a result, QualiFi says Marantz will no longer be offering receivers under AU$1199, with the range now starting at the "budget" NR1501, which is a step-down version of the NR1601. Both products are slimline AV receivers that offer up-to-date features like 3D support and Audio Return Channel.
Having eradicated the 3xxx and 4xxx models, the range now starts with the SR5005 (AU$1699), which is a 7x 100W amp with the above features plus four HDMI inputs and Anchor Bay video processing. The SR6005 is a 7x 110W model, which adds six HDMI ports plus iPod/iPhone support.
The big daddy is now the SR7005, which ups the ante to 7x 125W, features a distinctive "porthole" display and includes network playback.
Other products include the AV7005 Network AV Pre-Amplifier (AU$3499), plus the all-in-one ER803 Blu-ray Receiver (AU$1999) and NA7004 Network Audio Player (AU$1499).