Marantz Melody X Black

After unpacking, let it come to room temperature for a while, and then connected my speakers (Alternating Gain) and turned it on. Connecting to WIFI was just via WPS, an update was downloaded and installed and we could get started. All this immediately worked very intuitively.

The Melody X takes the place of my Marantz PM-78 and CD5003. I streamed via a Chromecast audio. A set up that I have been very satisfied with for many years now. The first time I just played an "old-fashioned" CD and that certainly didn't disappoint. The sound seems a bit more open than with my old setup, which undoubtedly has to do with the difference between a 20 year old Class A amp and a new Class D amp. All in all a nice sound, with a good balance. A tone control is provided, but with everything on source direct I haven't felt the need to adjust anything yet.

Then the real power of this Melody, the connectivity. Spotify recognizes it immediately and that also works the way you want. Sound is just okay, period. The only caveats are that if you want to control the volume from your phone, for example, the steps are quite large and it can be difficult to set the correct volume. But I think that's more of an issue with the app than with the Melody itself, and can easily be solved with the remote control of course. With the Heos app you can control more functions of the Melody, this all works very intuitively. Streaming from sources other than Spotify like TuneIn radio also works fine.

Then the radio function. I don't listen to much radio, but if you want to, you can go anywhere with this. With the DAB+ tuner you can easily find the well-known radio offer, and with internet radio you can navigate through a folder structure that takes you to a large number of radio stations. Works great, and especially DAB+ sounds really good too.

And we're not there yet, because you can also connect your TV to it. If that TV has an optical digital output, that is. My TV itself doesn't have that, but the set-top box does. Until now I used a Philips soundplate for the TV sound, but with the set top box (Ziggo horizon) on the TV input of the Melody X you only have to switch on the case and it switches automatically. A handy learning function allows you to use the TV's remote control to adjust the volume. That works fine and the sound is (of course) much better than from the TV itself or a soundplate like I used before.

In short: a very nice device, with a really good sound and with the versatility that you seem to need these days. I'm very happy with it anyway :)

When it comes to sound quality, I'm honestly not easily satisfied. This is why I have been unwilling to part with my old setup for a very long time. However, when I got the chance to test this Marantz I wanted to make an exception to this rule. I myself am very familiar with the toppers in the HIFI world and Marantz is no stranger to me. The Melody X would therefore be a great opportunity for me to maintain the familiar quality, plus experience the comforts of living in modern times!

Before I started testing, there was already a big plus. The Melody X has the quality to control a wide range of speakers. For example, it is even possible to use speakers of 4 ohms with this system and many older speaker systems can also be combined with this new device. Out of the box there are a number of things that immediately stand out. The design of the Marantz is certainly beautifully finished with an eye for detail. The buttons also feel very robust and certainly not cheap. If you are used to older systems, you will certainly find this Marantz on the light side and the dimensions are suitable for people who have relatively little space but still want a stereo system.

There is actually nothing to complain about the I/O, although some may miss the phono output. For the rest, one has every other type of input from optical to analog. It is also possible to use the device as a bi-amp, which makes it possible, for example, to place one set of speakers in your living room and the other set in another. This principle is not new and was not super handy in the past because you had to go to the relevant room every time to operate the stereo, but nowadays you can do that via your phone or laptop! So very handy.

In terms of ease of use I can keep it short, this is simply excellent. The stereo performs updates itself (provided it is connected to the internet), can be operated via all kinds of streaming media, from Spotify, TuneIn Internet radio, Sound Cloud, Tidal, Napster, Deezer to your local music library, in fact everything is possible in terms of that.

Now the most important; the sound quality is very good. I have the installation with a passive canton sub and two canton satellite speakers. All in all, I can say that the Marantz drives these wonderfully and reproduces any kind of music beautifully.

To complete my review I have to be honest and also tell my one drawback. This is the remote control, functions well, but feels very cheap. Quite special as the stereo itself is very nicely designed. The remote control feels as if it was invented for a while.

My conclusion is that it may be a pricey device, but certainly future-proof! It is a very versatile stereo that besides the fact that the sound quality is good, it is really very convenient in any situation.

It was high time to replace my outdated (but good quality) installation. This device works perfectly with my Bose speakers, which have one wire in common (the so-called ground cable). This is not possible with most (cheaper) micro systems!