Marantz MODEL M1 Wireless Streaming Amplifier

[GiBo61]

What about the ‘Switching, digital end-to-end amplifier topology’? Maybe the PCM5121 is for the subwoofer output?

Yes, I guess you are right if this Is a full-digital amplifier.

 

[pehu63]

Fairly sure this has the TPA3255 inside, like the WiiM, quite good specs.

 

[DRC]

Fairly sure this has the TPA3255 inside, like the WiiM, quite good specs.

Fairly sure it does not!
“The amp is a marriage of Axign's AX5689 digital Class D amplifier controller with the power stage from Texas Instruments' DRV8932 quad half-bridge driver chip.”

Marantz Model M1

With HEOS built-in, and support for numerous streaming services, Marantz's bijou Model M1 network-attached amplifier pulls off a blend of minimalism with supreme flexibility To some readers, the Model M1 might appear an unusual product to carry the Marantz moniker. After all, for the last few...

hifinews.com

 

[pehu63]

Fairly sure it does not!
“The amp is a marriage of Axign's AX5689 digital Class D amplifier controller with the power stage from Texas Instruments' DRV8932 quad half-bridge driver chip.”

Marantz Model M1

With HEOS built-in, and support for numerous streaming services, Marantz's bijou Model M1 network-attached amplifier pulls off a blend of minimalism with supreme flexibility To some readers, the Model M1 might appear an unusual product to carry the Marantz moniker. After all, for the last few...

hifinews.com

Right, I see multiple references to AX5689. It is bridged design, corresponding to the 4 big coils, two for each channel.

However, the driver chip you mention only does 1.5 Ampere. More is needed to drive a 100 watts.

 

[Miker 1102]

I find it a bit strange that an expensive amplifier from such a powerful brand doesn't have features that allow us to better adjust the sound, like a room correction system and parametric equalizers. JBL released a 5.1 receiver for $599 that has room correction via a mobile app

The Jbl is awful. The Matantz is getting good reviews. I'd be shocked. if it sounds 600 dollar better than the Wiim pro. However, I would love a more powerful wiim. It lacks just a little punch.

 

[caioferrari]

The Jbl is awful. The Matantz is getting good reviews. I'd be shocked. if it sounds 600 dollar better than the Wiim pro. However, I would love a more powerful wiim. It lacks just a little punch.

In Brazil, I can have a M1 but can’t have a Wiim. They doesn’t sell here or Paraguay.

Just waiting for M1 measurements to pull the trigger.

 

[MelodiousThunk]

I finally got a WiiM Amp Pro and a Marantz M1. I must say that I definitely prefer the M1’s sound to the Amp Pro’s sound. That being said, I do have an issue with the M1. When at low volume, I get a swirly hiss emitting from my speakers. The hiss is not audible at higher volumes, but I do find it to be a bit annoying at low volumes. The HEOS app is better than I remembered, but I still think that WiiM has the best app at the moment.

 

[Chazz6]

The HEOS app is better than I remembered, but I still think that WiiM has the best app at the moment.

Yes, the HEOS app is second rate. BubbleUPnP is versatile, it is third party which has some advantages, and the developer is very good at keeping it up to date and chasing down any bug. It is almost freee. It is not as pretty on your Android screen as other control apps, and some parts of its functionality do require you walk up a learning curve.

 

[ban25]

I finally got a WiiM Amp Pro and a Marantz M1. I must say that I definitely prefer the M1’s sound to the Amp Pro’s sound. That being said, I do have an issue with the M1. When at low volume, I get a swirly hiss emitting from my speakers. The hiss is not audible at higher volumes, but I do find it to be a bit annoying at low volumes. The HEOS app is better than I remembered, but I still think that WiiM has the best app at the moment.

What you're describing actually sounds like a high noise floor in the DAC.

 

[Chazz6]

What you're describing actually sounds like a high noise floor in the DAC.

Another source of hiss is the connections. I had a hiss problem with a coaxial cable connection; it went away when I used the optical Toslink alternative to make the connection.

 

[MelodiousThunk]

What you're describing actually sounds like a high noise floor in the DAC.

Thanks for the info. I’ll have to look into this more.

 

[MelodiousThunk]

Another source of hiss is the connections. I had a hiss problem with a coaxial cable connection; it went away when I used the optical Toslink alternative to make the connection.

I have ruled out all cables as possible sources of the hiss.

 

[DrStranger]

I finally got a WiiM Amp Pro and a Marantz M1. I must say that I definitely prefer the M1’s sound to the Amp Pro’s sound. That being said, I do have an issue with the M1. When at low volume, I get a swirly hiss emitting from my speakers. The hiss is not audible at higher volumes, but I do find it to be a bit annoying at low volumes. The HEOS app is better than I remembered, but I still think that WiiM has the best app at the moment.

How is the Dolby Plus mode on the M1 with two speakers and movie's?

 

[MelodiousThunk]

How is the Dolby Plus mode on the M1 with two speakers and movie's?

I very rarely watch movies, so I can’t comment on that. However, I am on my second M1, and I am still having issues with static, hiss, and intermittent pulsing. I have moved everything to different locations in my house and have tried different cables, speakers, and an AC filter. Unfortunately, nothing has helped. The WiiM, on the other hand, is working great. I am about ready to give up on the M1.

 

[DRC]

How is the Dolby Plus mode on the M1 with two speakers and movie's?

I have the Denon Home Amp rather than the Marantz M1 (and no hiss). One thing to note about Dolby Digital Plus is that the LFE channel is not played through the subwoofer. Using any of the numerous videos that test Dolby Atmos/Digital produces silence with the LFE channel.

 

[DrStranger]

I very rarely watch movies, so I can’t comment on that. However, I am on my second M1, and I am still having issues with static, hiss, and intermittent pulsing. I have moved everything to different locations in my house and have tried different cables, speakers, and an AC filter. Unfortunately, nothing has helped. The WiiM, on the other hand, is working great. I am about ready to give up on the M1.

Thats too bad. I am currently looking for an minimalistic alternative to a normal AVR, since the price of AVR's are still psychotic here in europe, so taking something like the M1 and giving me a "phantom" -like surround, might meet my needs since I am a movie fan.

 

[DrStranger]

I have the Denon Home Amp rather than the Marantz M1 (and no hiss). One thing to note about Dolby Digital Plus is that the LFE channel is not played through the subwoofer. Using any of the numerous videos that test Dolby Atmos/Digital produces silence with the LFE channel.

Ooo I have not heard about this one. How is the Digital Plus in movies? Do you get some kind of "surround effect"? When you say LFE, you mean Left channel and you don't get any Sub effects, correct?

 

[DRC]

Ooo I have not heard about this one. How is the Digital Plus in movies? Do you get some kind of "surround effect"? When you say LFE, you mean Left channel and you don't get any Sub effects, correct?

There is a virtual mode that provides a surround effect.
LFE= low frequency effect (.1) channel. The LFE channel is not present on the amp, but the subwoofer plays the bass from the main channels below 80Hz or whatever the LPF setting. Confirmed by Denon support 'it does not support the LFE'. In that case, support for Dolby Digital Plus seems like a waste of time.

 

[DrStranger]

There is a virtual mode that provides a surround effect.
LFE= low frequency effect (.1) channel. The LFE channel is not present on the amp, but the subwoofer plays the bass from the main channels below 80Hz or whatever the LPF setting. Confirmed by Denon support 'it does not support the LFE'. In that case, support for Dolby Digital Plus seems like a waste of time.

Ok, understood. Thats too bad.

Thank you for the clarification.

 

[MelodiousThunk]

UPDATE: Here’s an update of my previous post. When using the M1 I get a swirling hiss that seems to shadow the music and a pulsing when nothing is playing when using Def Tech Demand D15’s and D17’s. I just connected the M1 to some cheap Phillips speakers from a bookshelf unit in my garage and the issues seem to not present themselves. I am now wondering if there is some sort of compatibility issue with the M1 and the Def Techs? My WiiM Amp and WiiM Amp Pro drive the Def Techs without issue. I am a bit confused. I may have to buy some other speakers to pair with the M1. Is anyone else driving Def Tech D15’s or D17’s with the M1? I really prefer the sound of the M1 but the noise is very distracting.

The following is recorded audio of what I have tried to describe above. The volume on the M1 is very low and I captured the sound with my iPad mic right next to the tweeter of a single D15:

https://soundcloud.com/ryan-matzen%2Fmarantz-m1%2Fs-amNUq1GZY3P