It was inevitable that Marantz, the dependable hi-fi brand, would develop its own wireless speaker. Even so, we were pleasantly surprised when the company announced the Horizon and its bigger brother, the Grand Horizon, towards the end of last year.
Known for its high-end audio and home theatre amplifiers, separates, and receivers, Marantz is now exploring a new venture with this duo of wireless speakers. But, as new as they are, the company’s 70-year pedigree is still palpable, and not just when you’re running your fingers over the marble base and seamless fabric.
Marantz says the Horizon was created for “a discerning listener who values beautiful design as well as outstanding performance,” and from the limited time we spent with it, we can say it delivers on both accounts.
Before we get to the good stuff, we’ll preface it by saying this isn’t strictly a review. Stuff reviews generally involve us living with the device and using it in our day-to-day, over and above any performance testing. While that wasn’t possible this time, the good folks at Homemation allowed us to set up camp in their showroom for a few hours to experience what the Marantz Horizon had to offer.
The Marantz name carries weight
The biggest question we had going in was: can it justify its R75,000 price? Having experienced some of Marantz’s other products, we kinda already knew the answer to that.
Just from the look of it, we could already tell Marantz didn’t hold back on build quality, its selection of materials, and the Horizon’s overall design philosophy, with its not-so-subtle nod to the famous Marantz porthole window. Instead of a round little window showing a VU metre, the Horizon fully embodies the porthole window design – or might look like a spare tire. Eye of the beholder, and all that.
The rubber part of this Marantz tire is finished with what Marantz calls ‘Radiance 360° Seamless EcoFiber’, which is made from recycled ocean plastics. We’re sure the turtles are grateful. It sits atop a circular marble base that adds considerable heft but also means it’s less likely to fall over in a breeze (or from the tug of a toddler).
With the Horizon, you also have the choice of plonking it on the optional tripod stand. That will set you back another R14,000 but might well be worth it, depending on how you plan to use your Horizon.
While we didn’t go through the setup process ourselves, we’re told it was a seamless one via the Heos app that hardly took any time or effort. We did have a look at the box it came in (you can tell a lot about a product from its unboxing process), and what we saw impressed us. There’s a carry bag included for added transport safety, although we wouldn’t make a habit of moving it around too much.
Plug in or remain untethered
The Marantz Horizon is marketed mainly as a Heos-enabled wireless speaker, but it does sport a decent array of physical connections, including analogue audio input, optical audio, Ethernet, USB Type-C, and an HDMI input with eARC/ARC support.
It will even decode a Dolby Atmos signal (but not DTS:X), making it a potential soundbar or multichannel speaker replacement, on paper anyway. As for wireless connectivity, the usual suspects are supported, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.4, AirPlay 2, and Spotify Connect.
During our listening period, we used the Heos app to stream music from Tidal and Spotify. It shouldn’t take long to get used to. We got the hang of it after tapping around for a bit. It was also handy for comparing the difference in streaming quality between the horribly low-res mess of Spotify and the hi-res bliss of Tidal.
The Heos app allows you to pick between three sound modes – ‘Auto’, ‘Sound Master’, and ‘My Mirage’. The first is self-explanatory and what we used for most of our testing, while the last one gives you a decent amount of control over how you’d like your music to sound, with sliders to change the warmth, spaciousness, and clarity.
Marantz says the Sound Master mode is “tuned for critical listening by the Marantz Sound Master.” This turned out to be a mixed bag. In some songs, like the 2004 remaster of Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams or Polyphia’s Playing God, the Sound Master Mode emphasised particular elements in just the right way that made them slightly more enjoyable, at least to our ears. But in others, like Grace Jones’ Nightclubbing, we found it overemphasised certain elements of the track for the worse.
Well, does it sound any good?
It shouldn’t surprise you to learn that, yes, the expensive wireless speaker made by the world-renowned audio company sounds pretty good. Halfway through the first track we played (Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody), it became obvious that Marantz had somehow found a way to put its well-known signature sound from its other products into its new speaker.
Initially, the Horizon offers a laid-back, widely enjoyable, and polished sound. The low end, produced by one of Marantz’s own 6.5in Gravity woofers, was impactful without dominating the rest of the mix. If you’re a basshead junky who only listens to EDM, you might feel the need to add a dedicated subwoofer but we reckon it’ll be enough for most folks.
There are three 2in full-range drivers that take care of the mid-range. These produce a mid-range with great clarity and tonal balance between the lows and highs. The highs are handled by a pair of 1in tweeters, which provide loads of detail and good separation. Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean, when not reproduced authentically, can be harsh and fatiguing to listen to with all that reverb, especially on the opening cymbals and hi-hat. Coming from the Horizon, we didn’t suffer any fatigue from that or any other song, for that matter.
Should you buy the Marantz Horizon?
The Marantz Horizon is one of the only speakers not made by Bang & Olufsen that manages to blend into its surrounding environment with ease and not stand out obnoxiously like a great big speaker on a stand. No judgement, if that’s what you’re after, but for those after something more refined, that’s partly what you’re paying for here. Of course, you’re also paying for the fantastic build quality, premium materials, and inoffensive, polished sound. Whether the price tag is worth it for you is something you’ll have to decide for yourself. If you’re in the area, maybe the Homemation guys will let you camp out in their showroom and hear for yourself.
