Marantz Stereo 70s: an AV receiver for two-channel sound fans

When it comes to home theater, most folks want to get as close to a cinema experience as possible, and that means mutlichannel surround sound formats like Dolby Digital, Dolby Atmos, or DTS:X. But for those who believe that nothing beats the purity of a traditional stereo setup, the new Marantz Stereo 70s is an AV receiver that blends support for the latest video formats with simple and powerful two-channel amplification. It will hit Marantz.com and select retailers on September 5 for $1,000.

Marantz has a history of packing a ton of tech and power into very small enclosures, and at just 4.1 inches tall, the Stereo 70s will fit in a lot of places that a normal AV receiver can’t. It’s available in both silver and black, which should further help the unit to blend into your living space, regardless of your decor.

You get six HDMI inputs, three of which are 8K compatible, plus a single HDMI output with HDMI ARC. Why not eARC? Well, eARC is designed to deliver lossless multichannel sound over HDMI, but since the Stereo 70s doesn’t process multichannel sound, the capabilities of HDMI ARC are sufficient for its needs. Alternatively, you can send TV sound back to the Stereo 70s via its optical input.

A second coaxial digital input is also available, as are three analog inputs, plus a dedicated moving-magnet phono input.

With 75 watts per channel (two channels powered), you can connect two sets of stereo speakers to the receiver’s rear terminals, and these can play separately or simultaneously. On the inside, the Stereo 70s makes use of Hyper-Dynamic Amplifier Modules (HDAMs), which Marantz says have been developed to dramatically outperform traditional chip-based operational amps found in conventional audio products.

The internal digital-to-analog converter (DAC) can handle up to 24-bit/192kHz digital audio, with additional support for DSD files. Thanks to its Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity (with an Ethernet jack for a wired option), the receiver can be used as part of a HEOS wireless multiroom whole-home system, or you can stream directly to it using Apple AirPlay 2 if you own Apple devices.

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