Marantz recently launched four standalone Blu-ray players aimed at consumers with deep pockets, as the cheapest of the fourt models is available at $549.99.
It's obvious Marantz is aiming for a niche consumer market currently avoided by Sony, Samsung, and the companies with reasonably priced Blu-ray players.
The top of the line "ultimate quality" UD9004, which will ship in August with an MSRP of $5,999.99, includes the ability to play any 12cm digital audio or digital video disc, 36-bit Deep Color, and has a Vertical Stretch feature for home theaters. The "high-end universal" UD8004 Blu-ray player, offering similar features of the UD9004, will retail in October with an MSRP of $2,199.99.
The Marantz Blu-ray players normal consumers can afford, the BD7004 and BD5004, can be purchased now, with prices of $799.99 and 549.99.
"Marantz engineered every detail of our new Blu-ray players with both audio and video purists in mind," according to Kevin Zarow, Marantz America VP of Marketing and Product Development. "Whether a customer is looking to add to an existing Marantz home theater system or just looking for an ultimate-quality single-source component, Marantz now offers best-in-class performance at several price levels. With these introductions, we have clearly established our leadership in the growing Blu-ray arena."
All four Blu-ray players support Profile 2.0, and have the ability to play MP3s, WMAs, JPEG files, using SD/SDHC card readers.
Even though most standalone Blu-ray players are aimed at the regular consumer market -- with more players available for less than $399 -- it's unknown how much demand there is for the high-end Blu-ray player. Although I have a Blu-ray player, I certainly don't feel the need to upgrade to a player with a retail price tag of $2,199 or $5,999 -- an opinion I'm sure most of you share with me.
If anyone ends up purchasing the UD9004 or UD8004, I would certainly be interested in hearing how they perform.
