The story
Founded by Saul Marantz in 1952, in New York City.1
The first Marantz audio product was designed and built by Saul Marantz in his home in Kew Gardens, New York City. In 1964, Marantz was bought by Superscope, a video production company. As a Superscope subsidiary, Marantz had a major influence in the development of high fidelity audio systems, and reached the high point of their success in the mid to late 1970s.
During the 1980s, while owned by Philips, a pioneer in compact disc technology, Marantz sold some very well received CD players, but other products in the line were not as successful as in the past. Beginning in the early 1990s, Marantz focused on higher-end components. In 2001, Marantz Japan acquired the brand from Philips and owned all overseas sales subsidiaries.
In 2002 Marantz merged with competitor Denon into D&M Holdings Inc., later named D+M Group. On March 1, 2017, Sound United LLC completed the acquisition of D+M Holdings. On September 23, 2025, Sound United was acquired by Harman International.
Company timeline
1952 Saul Marantz sells his first audio product, the "Consolette" pre-amp
1964 Marantz acquired by Superscope Inc.
1966 Beginning with the Model 25, and then 22 and 28, Marantz starts manufacturing its products in Japan through a partnership with Standard Radio Corp.
1974 A manufacturing plant is opened on the Péronnes-lez-Binche site, Walloon Region, Belgium
1975 Standard Radio Corp. changes its name to Marantz Japan Inc.
Read the full text
1980 Superscope sells the Marantz brand, dealer network, and all overseas assets (except U.S. and Canada) to Philips Electronics
1991 Marantz's new digital audio enhancement technology (Marantz Enhanced Digital Stereo) is introduced
1992 Philips acquires U.S. and Canada trademarks and dealer network
1997 Saul Marantz dies aged 85
2001 Marantz Japan Inc. acquires the brand and all overseas sales subsidiaries
2002 Marantz Japan and Denon merge to form D&M Holdings, to later be joined by other higher-end audio equipment brands such as Boston Acoustics
2008 Philips sells its remaining stake in D&M Holdings, ending a 28-year relationship between Philips and Marantz
2014 Marantz Professional acquired by inMusic Brands
2017 Sound United LLC acquires D+M Group
2019 Ken Ishiwata dies aged 72
2022 Masimo acquires Sound United LLC
2025 Harman (owned by Samsung) buys Marantz, Bowers & Wilkins, Denon and Polk from Masimo
From Wikipedia’s article on Marantz, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4