Both are desktop DAC/amps, $3500 against $2999. This page puts them side by side on the only three things a maker can be held to — power, output impedance and noise — and then asks the question that actually matters: which headphones do they treat differently?
The Matrix element M2 reaches 100 dB on 567 of the 567 models here, the Marantz SACD 30n on 552.
| Specification | Marantz SACD 30n | Matrix element M2 |
|---|---|---|
| Power into 32Ω | 50 mW | 1.2 W |
| Power into 150Ω | 11 mW | 380 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 5.3 mW | 280 mW |
| Power into 600Ω | 2.7 mW | 140 mW |
| Output impedance | not published | 11 Ω |
| Output noise | not published | not published |
| Price | $3500 | $2999 |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 552 | 567 |
A figure marked not published is missing from the maker’s own material, which is not the same as being good or bad. Where one of these two publishes a number and the other does not, the comparison on that axis cannot be made at all — and saying so is more useful than guessing.
15 headphones reach 100 dB on the Matrix element M2 but not on the Marantz SACD 30n — HiFiMAN HE-6se V2, HiFiMAN HE6 Remastered, HiFiMAN Susvara, 12 more.
552 of the 567 models here reach 100 dB on both. That is a power count and nothing more; whether either source suits a given headphone also depends on the two lines above.
Each has a page of its own with every power figure traced to what the maker published and a full headphone list: Marantz SACD 30n and Matrix element M2. Or put either against your own headphones in the source comparison tool.