Saul Bernard Marantz, founder of the Marantz Company, was born in 1911 in New York City and from an early age was interested in electronics and music. In 1947, while working as a commercial artist and growing increasingly dissatisfied with the hi-fi audio equipment available at the time, he decided to develop his own preamplifier. With his eighth grade education, a brief military electronics course during WW II under his belt and the help of his wife, Jean, he built a prototype preamplifier.

This prototype was demonstrated for his friend, Mike Plum, a salesman for Harvey Radio in Manhattan. Plum then extended an invitation for a demonstration for the "gang" at Harvey. Impressed, Harvey then informed Marantz that if he could build 100 of them, they would sell them. The 100 were sold out before production was completed and the rest is history.

Early products were enthusiastically received, and Marantz soon developed a reputation for supplying the best quality equipment on the market, putting out high performance audio gear and constantly improving its products. Designs were initially all tube, however in the 1960s the company made the shift to transistor technology. The Model 9120 power amplifier was even used by NASA in tracking stations around the world as part of the Apollo space program.

As Marantz's popularity and reputation grew, so did its product range. In 1964, Superscope acquired the company, though Saul Marantz remained in charge for a few years before resigning. The new increase in funding and production capability, with new factories in Japan, allowed for the development of a wider range of products – preamplifiers, power amplifiers, integrated amps, tuners, turntables and speakers. The 1960s was a decade of great growth and expansion for Marantz, with no loss of the quality of product that Marantz was renowned for.

In 1980, Marantz was acquired by Philips, and as a result the design and cosmetics of the brand changed radically, losing popularity with many audiophiles. In 1983, Marantz introduced the first CD player. The 1990s saw the move into video, with two THX-certified amplifiers hitting the market to great acclaim, and an LCD video front projector.

Marantz is still producing high quality audio equipment under the parentage of Philips, though many say the sound quality of these newer products is vastly inferior to the original Marantz classics. The focus is now on broad-spectrum consumer features, such as Dolby surround sound home theatre systems.

Saul Marantz passed away in 1997 aged 86.