Marantz's CINEMA Series 2 Adds a 32-Bit Eight-Channel DAC Across Four Receivers — and Makes Dirac Live a Paid Upgrade on Three of Them

Marantz has refreshed its CINEMA receiver lineup as "Series 2," updating the CINEMA 50, 60, 60 DAB and 70s with a newly implemented 32-bit, eight-channel DAC, expanded video and gaming features, and — most notably for shoppers — a change to how Dirac Live room correction is distributed across the range.

The lineup and pricing

According to Marantz's parent company HARMAN, the four models and their launch prices are:

• CINEMA 50 Series 2 — $3,000 / €2,100 / £1,850
• CINEMA 60 Series 2 — $2,000 (APAC and the Americas only; no euro or UK pricing given)
• CINEMA 60 DAB Series 2 — £1,250 / €1,450 (Europe only)
• CINEMA 70s Series 2 — $1,500 / £950 / €1,100

Per-channel amplification figures weren't included in HARMAN's release but were reported by Forbes: the CINEMA 50 Series 2 offers nine channels of amplification at 110W per channel, with processing for up to 11.4 channels. The CINEMA 60 Series 2 steps down to seven channels at 100W per channel, while the CINEMA 70s Series 2 also runs seven channels but at 50W per channel. No per-channel power figure has been published for the CINEMA 60 DAB Series 2.

A DAC across every channel

The headline hardware change is a newly implemented 32-bit, eight-channel DAC fitted across all four receivers, which Marantz describes as enabling simultaneous high-resolution digital-to-analog conversion on every channel. Neither HARMAN nor the other sources name the specific DAC chip or its manufacturer, and no reviews of the new receivers exist yet, so it's too early to say what the change means for sound in practice.

Video and gaming updates

All four Series 2 models add 1440p video pass-through — Forbes specifies this runs at 120Hz — plus compatibility with AMD FreeSync for variable refresh rate gaming, sitting alongside the range's existing HDMI 2.1 feature set. The CINEMA 50 Series 2 alone also picks up a Dolby Atmos Channel Expander, per Forbes's reporting.

Dirac Live: the big change for buyers

The more consequential shift is in how Marantz is packaging Dirac Live room correction. The CINEMA 50 Series 2 continues to support the full Dirac ecosystem out of the box — Room Correction, Bass Control and Active Room Treatment (ART). The CINEMA 60, CINEMA 60 DAB and CINEMA 70s Series 2, however, now ship as "Dirac Live Ready" rather than with the software included, meaning correction is available only as an optional paid upgrade on those three models. Neither the price of that upgrade nor whether Bass Control and ART are bundled into it has been disclosed. This effectively extends Dirac Live upgradeability further down the CINEMA range than before, but it also means buyers of the three cheaper receivers will need to budget for an additional purchase if they want room correction.

Networking, control and diagnostics

Marantz says the Series 2 receivers get an updated HEOS multi-room platform, which the company describes as more responsive with expanded multi-room capability, along with Web Control 2.0, HDMI Diagnostics 2.0 and a new Channel Level Monitoring feature. Low-latency Bluetooth LE Audio is also planned for the range, but Marantz says it will arrive via a future firmware update rather than being available at launch — no timeline for that update has been given.

Design and tuning heritage

Forbes notes that Marantz continues to point to its "Sound Master" tuning process and use of copper hardware as part of its design approach for the Series 2 receivers. These are presented by Marantz as part of its stated engineering philosophy rather than as measured or independently verified sonic improvements, and should be read that way.

Release dates: sources disagree

There's some inconsistency across outlets about when the Series 2 receivers actually go on sale. HARMAN's press release — the primary source for this kind of detail — states that the CINEMA 50, 60 and 60 DAB Series 2 launch on 12 August 2026, with the CINEMA 70s Series 2 following on 15 September 2026. Forbes reported an on-sale date of 15 August 2026 across the board, while HiFi Pig gave 15 August for the 50/60/60 DAB and 15 September for the 70s, explicitly flagging that its dates were pending confirmation. Given the discrepancy, HARMAN's own release is the most authoritative source on timing, but readers should be aware that other outlets reported a slightly later mid-August date for the non-70s models.

The announcement itself came via HARMAN's newsroom on 6 August 2026, with Forbes's coverage appearing the day prior.

What's not yet known

Marantz hasn't said which existing CINEMA models, if any, are being discontinued as Series 2 arrives, nor has pricing for the Dirac Live upgrade path been announced. With no reviews yet published, there's also no independent assessment of how the new DAC or other changes affect real-world performance. As with any launch report, prospective buyers may want to wait for hands-on coverage before deciding between the full Dirac-equipped CINEMA 50 Series 2 and the three Dirac Live Ready models below it.

This article was written by an AI system from Into The HiFi AI Desk, generated from the following sources, with no human editing pass before publication: HARMAN Newsroom, "Introducing Marantz CINEMA Series 2" (6 August 2026), Forbes, John Archer, "Marantz Unveils New Cinema Series 2 AV Receiver Range" (5 August 2026), HiFi Pig, "Marantz CINEMA Series 2 AV Receivers" (6 August 2026).