Marantz Melody Stream M-Cr510 Review (Part 2)

Marantz Melody Stream M-Cr510 Review (Part 2)

Marantz Melody Stream M – CR510 In Sight

Sound quality

For the performance, I cut to the chase and test the Melody Stream’s mettle with a 24/192 FLAC download of Haydn’s String Quartet in D played from a USB fl ash drive. The unit’s energy and ability to deliver every last drop of detail is abundantly clear as the strings whizz along. Everything sparkles with the kind of clarity that’s surprising from a unit at the price and the Melody Stream seems happy to hit high volumes without hitting the buffers of distortion, maintaining a pleasing tonal balance. The bass in Jean Michel Jarre’s Oxygene Part IV (24/48 ALAC) can really trip up an inferior system, but here it remains tight and controlled while the treble of the synth glides along.

Marantz Melody Stream M – CR510

Similarly, with the 24/192 rendition of I’m Gonna Laugh You Right Out of My Life by Claire Martin you can’t help but feel enraptured by the delicate tinkling of the ivories and Martin’s husky vocals. The Melody Stream does a more than reasonable job too with lower-res sources. The Manic Street Preachers’ Rewind The Film is pleasing enough, but the orchestration feels marginally opaque and James Dean Bradfield’s vocals don’t resonate as convincingly as Richard Hawley’s.

Conclusion

Marantz deserves praise for producing the versatile Melody Stream. It’s a beautiful-looking unit with cutting- edge digital features, and could hardly be easier to use despite the relative complexity of its functionality. But unlike, say, wireless speakers people aren’t rushing to buy stylish network media receivers and it may just be ahead of its time. It lacks a couple of killer features – such as Bluetooth – that could potentially attract a much wider audience. But for what it is, the way it looks and what it does at the price, it’s hard to fault.

Marantz Melody Stream M – CR510