Your actual user photo shows that it’s a much nicer looking unit than all the online promo shots do. Now you need the matching SACD player. 
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wow, that is handsome.
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For just a little more than the Pro-ject or the Fluance, this Audio Technica looks even better. Don’t know how it sounds in comparison though.
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What about this one? Does Marantz make good turntables? Do they compare well to Technics?
I wish I were honestly pure enough to say that I’m into this hobby just for the love of music. In truth, for me it’s 50% about music, and 50% about design and technology. I’m equally fascinated by both. And the Marantz table is another looker! But I have no frame of reference for where a Marantz deck fits into the SQ, performance and value department.
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According to Mr. Deal, the Clear Audio cartridge used on the Marantz is an $1100 cartridge. It’s just after seeing the Model 30 in house, it’s made me think I can’t just get a cheap ass turntable to go with it…
The Marantz looks like a killer turntable and the reviews are just as good. It is made by Clearaudio. Here’s a Clearaudio that can compete and maybe even better sound quality.
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Whelp…guess you’re going bigger than you guessed originally. As a rule, don’t get a cart that costs more than your turntable.
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In the promo shots it looks silver and gold across the front. In person, the only gold part is the Marantz logo. The side LED lights are a warm colored white, but not gold - I prefer less gold, so that’s good. The whole body is aluminum or steel, including the face plate with the logo and metal knobs. The textured slightly concave part on the side of the front panel is some sort of composite plastic, but doesn’t feel like plastic or cheap. Creating that 3D look out of metal would be very expensive.
Very oddly, even being class D, it runs equally warm with or without music playing. My class D S300 was cool as a cucumber no matter what was going on. The Marantz Model 30 runs just as warm as my class A/B Hegel, which I found surprising. A call to Marantz, and a 1 hour wait, I was told the continuous current to speakers with or without music playing, is by design, and the warmth is normal for the NCore.
I’m curious if amps like the Rogue Sphinx that use non NCore Hypex modules also run warm? There’s a clear contrast in operating temperature between the class D Marantz and class D S300. Interesting as I thought all class D ran cool.
The Stella is a great deal. I previously had a musical surroundings phonomena+ with the additional power supply. I preferred the Stella it the MS stuff is also good
I’m such a sucker for gimmicky things like the lights. Marantz even advises to turn them off for best sound. Looks like that tube glow! Very seductive. Or maybe like a big golf ball 
. iPhone over exposed it a bit, in real life it looks much less like a golf ball.
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At least they are honest, that the impressive optics (you pay for) not only have no contribution to sound quality, but even harm it
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@jazznut I say screw the sound, I like shiny things
I haven’t noticed any meaningful difference sonically off or on. But it looks way cool, so stays on.
Sure, was similar with the DS’ display.
I have a friend who had one and loves it.
A fan on top of a Class D amplifier seems unusual. I know you said it’s warm equally whether playing or not. Is it warm enough to require cooling assistance? Or is it just a case of having the fan on hand so you might as well use it?
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@Craig_Burgess I was surprised by how warm it runs, even at idle. In fact, it runs warmer at idle than during music playback.
Called Marantz and after a one hour wait, the tech guy said the warmth is normal for their design. Even at idol it’s designed to deliver current to the speakers to be in optimum condition for music playback.
They advised at least 6” of space above, which I don’t have.
Also, I’m letting it break in for a few days, so the fan, which I had anyway, seems like a good idea. And where I live there’s no need for heat or AC year round. The fan is just extra insurance.
Apparently the Marantz way of implementing the Hypex NCore 500 makes it run temperature wise similar to class A/B. Something I found surprising as the coolness of traditional class D appeals to me.
That’s interesting. Since your fan’s reading a temp of 83 or 85 (I don’t know which is actual temp and which is thermostat setting), I got out my IR thermometer and took a reading on my M700s, which are in a stack underneath my SGCD. The amps, which are always on, measure from 86.6 to 87.0 pretty much all the time, whether I’m playing music or not. I haven’t formally measured a really cranked session, but from touch I suspect it isn’t much warmer than that.
@Craig_Burgess with the AC Infinity fan, the SMART mode anticipates what it will take to keep the component from exceeding 85 degrees. Thus even at 83 degrees on the amp, the fan is running to accomplish that temperature.
The first day it arrived, I left the Model 30 on all night. It was very warm, no different than my class A/B Hegel or YBA integrated amps. And strikingly different than the cool running ICE modules of my previously owned S300.
Marantz is doing something different with their class D. Perhaps after flexing their multi million dollar design muscles their class D has evolved into class A/B
The M700s can be safely stacked. Marantz advises 6” above the Model 30. Something mysterious is afoot!
With the stellar phono the shiny blue lights inside are part of the circuit!
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