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The **OFFICIAL** Marantz AV7702 Pre/Pro

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460K views 7K replies 452 participants last post by  Sam Ash 
#1 · (Edited)
#4,231 ·
Even if DTS:X is added to the AV-7702, the AV-8802 will still be more desirable for more than this one reason. The 8802 has better DACS and it is fully HDMI 2.0 HDCP 2.2 compliant. So the AV-8802 will still sell, the 7702 is no threat. Just bombard Marantz with requests for DTS:X for the AV-7702. Think about that!
 
#4,232 ·
I can't see the $2K 7702 being competition for the $4K 8802, in my mind they are in completely different price points (but cost can be a very personal thing). I would much prefer to have the 8802, but family wanted a vacation to Disneyworld. I ended up with the 7702 and an upcoming ride on Soarin' and Haunted Mansion.
 
#4,239 · (Edited)
1st off, I'd like to give a good old fashion disclaimer. I have no idea if the 7702 will be offering an upgrade or not. I've not been told a thing. So anything I say from here on out is just a guess as Marantz has not confirmed anything to me or any other dealer. If fact, I'm not so sure Marantz knows yet and that is a sincere statement. It will eventually be a business and resource decision.

I remember what an operational management professor at the UofMN told me 30 years ago: Price, quality, and service. Pick two of the three. Anyone who attempts to deliver all three will be out of business or lose money on that product. When you pay 2X for a product (8802) you have more of a right to expect a higher level of service. In this case, service means options and support. After all, I suppose the 7702 could also offer some sort of HDCP 2.2 upgrade too. But they simply cannot offer this same level of service on the 7702.

We all know that service costs money. When I have a wish list for companies including Marantz, invariably the question always concludes on how they can allocate precious resources. Then let's talk about resources. I do know this. Marantz spent an immense amount of time making Auro 3D work inside of the platform. They are charging for it but as Waboman mentioned, how many people are willing to pay for it? It takes a lot of $200 bills to add up and pay for hundreds of hours of engineering time. I assume that they didn't add Auro3D to break even. I bet if 80% paid for that Auro3D upgrade, they would have offered this DTS:X upgrade. That would be a no-brainer but I bet under 5% bought the upgrade. Heck, maybe only 2-3% bought the Auro3D if my customer base is accurate/representative. To reiterate, I am just thinking like a business person and have absolutely no inside info.

Anyone that I sold a 7702 to I explained not to expect a DTS:X upgrade. Because no promises were made by the manufacture and surely not by me. I promised them that if it was not supported and it was defined that the upgrade was important to them, I would go out of my way to make sure they were very well taken care of in the pending product upgrade/update cycle. But I am guessing only 20% of my early 7702 adopter customer base even has an immersive sound layout. While we are at it, maybe 25% have a 4K capable set. So while D&M pays attention to the early adopters they cannot make business decision based off of 20% of the people who expect DTS:X.

My guess is D&M will make a decision about their resources and figure out what makes the most sense in a business mind set. No one has to worry about DTS:X for many more months because currently it isn't happening for many more months. There will be more technology on the horizon that you will want. So for those who bought or are planning on buying a 7702 enjoy what you have now. By definition, there is never a perfect time to buy a prepro if you place a mandate on having the latest and greatest because you are 6 months away from wanting the next great feature.
 
#4,255 ·
That would be a no-brainer but I bet under 5% bought the upgrade. Heck, maybe only 2-3% bought the Auro3D if my customer base is accurate/representative.
That's because it's such a PITA to implement Auro alongside Atmos because of the different speaker locations and hoops to jump through to change setup configurations, whereas it looks like switching between Atmos and DTS-X will be straightforward.

The big question for me is whether the DTS-X upmixer will offer something sufficiently better and/or different than DSU.
 
#4,240 ·
^SteveH,

Great post.

Reading between the lines, I'm thinking that Denon/Marantz management does keep track of all those owner's who did pay for the Auro up-grade and have crunched the numbers to compare how much it's costed them to date in terms of engineering. There is also an internal rate of return that the bean counters would charge for this exercise.

Adding up all the numbers, I'm guessing that Denon/Marantz management figured out that the Auro up-grade wasn't paying for itself somehow and most likely the DTS:X upgrade wont either. The bean counters are going to show how the experiment failed with red numbers to the bottom line.

Since only a minimum number of owner's did do the Auro upgrade, it's logical to extrapolate the same for DTS:X. Doesn't make much business sense to offer this since it's just going to loose more money for the company.

When Auro upgrade became available - there should have been a significant response by a great number of Denon/Marantz owners wiling to pay the extra $200. With the money flowing into the accounts of Denon/Marantz it would have sent a strong message to Denon/Marantz management. The opportunity to offer another paid up-grade to DTS:X would have stood a chance.

Not so now.
 
#4,242 ·
Same here
 
#4,247 ·
It looks like my left rear problems with "Interstellar" were fixed by running Audyssey again. For the life of me I do not understand why you would get such different readings from one calibration to the next.

Thanks for the help.
 
#4,250 ·
It looks like my left rear problems with "Interstellar" were fixed by running Audyssey again. For the life of me I do not understand why you would get such different readings from one calibration to the next.

Thanks for the help.
And you never will....

It's a part of the Audyssey "experience" :) And by the way, there is a software setting to fix the variable calibration problem.
 
#4,261 ·
ok for something a little different...

I love the sound of my new 7702 in my movie theater, especially what XT32 does integrating subwooferage (especially since I added a second sub). I was wondering if the other Marantz pre amps that aren't for theater will sound better or as good as the 7702 in my separate stereo system. I haven't used subwoofers because they never integrated that well with my stereo speakers. Would a 8801 be a better fit or one of the stereo pre amps?
 
#4,269 ·
Well, I guess I just answered my own question. I won an 8801 on ebay last night. Guess we will find out :D
 
#4,265 ·
Just dropping a reference to the AV7702 I am selling over in the Audio Gear section of the classifeds...
 
#4,266 ·
#4,270 ·
Now I have to get busy building that infinite baffle sub in the music room to go with the 8801
 
#4,271 · (Edited)
Man for a few days I was all caught up in the DTS:X angst (will it/won't it), finally rational side of my brain regained control. In my situation it is irrelevant as in my current location I don't even plan to add overheads due to room limitations. :eek:

When I retire from the Navy in less than 4 yrs and move into a more permanent home with a dedicated HT I will then address the situation with a new processor.

( @SteveH and I fully discussed this prior to my purchase decision and is a significant reason why I went with the 7702 over the 8802).
 
#4,272 ·
I tried to update firmware on my AV7702 this week. The update did not complete successfully, and now the unit does not send video out on HDMI and I cannot access the setup menu. I am able to change sources and adjust volume, but there is no sound or video.

I've tried unplugging the unit for 15 mins, tried a "Movie-Music" version of reset and a "Game-A-DSX" reset. Nothing seems to help.

Does anyone have another suggestion?

Thanks!
 
#4,276 ·
Can u access the set up menu on the unit itself ( meaning if you drop down the front cover and hit setup can u scroll to firmware update that way?)
If you can , try rerunning the update
If you can't, other than resetting a bunch of times, I have no other insights. I would call marantz on Monday ( hope it's not bricked )
 
#4,281 ·
So says the marketing material. But there's a big gulf between what a technology promises vs how it is implemented in hardware. The claim of being truly speaker location agnostic is impressive, but do you really think that feature will be in first or second generation DTS:X receivers?
I would also like to ask you the same question, with your take on it, if I may.
 
#4,304 ·
Well, I'll start considering sending messages to D&M about a DTS:X upgrade when I see the first DTS:X encoded Blu-ray released by one of the studios. Until then the term "vaporware" comes to mind.
 
#4,305 ·
Can I make my own guess as to when the first Blu-ray title with DTS:X audio soundtrack encoding? /// Summer/Fall 2015, approximately.

* There is already a DTS:X demo disc. And I think that it is available too, like right now.
 
#4,321 · (Edited)
Yeah, shame on me for simple, stupid, impatience with the 7702. Of course it's a fine PRO, but I knew full-well I'd be interested in NEO X and it prolly wouldn't get it and knew full-well I'd want 4K for my projector and it certainly wouldn't be getting that, either...and yet I laid out a considerable sum for it, anyway.

Now the hope is to just lose $XXX on it, 6 months later.

There's a difference between never upgrading over a fear of things improving in the coming years (which is stupid) and simply rushing to get something that is missing significant features/performance that are less than 12 months away from arriving...and to boot- very surely to be less expensive.

James
 
#4,322 ·
And by the way...

I was never able to find ANY Marantz PRO or AVR with an "INPUT MODE" button, and the 3 Denon model Input Mode buttons I tried do not work with the 7702.

Does anyone have any model they were able to use with a Harmony to get the 7702 to cycle through input modes?

Thanks
James
 
#4,328 · (Edited)
Is it just me or has anybody noticed that the sound has changed over the last few months of owning the 7702. I feel like the sound clarity improved and the bass became tighter. It could have been the firmware update or the continued use or break in over the last few months. I think i am noticing a slightly warmer sound compared to when i first hooked up the 7702.
 
#4,330 ·
Good that you are enjoying the 7702 as am I. It is a very nice processor and the Atmos/Auro 3D audio have made movie watching more enjoyable. It is also great for 2 channel listening but I can't say that there has been any noticeable break in or that it somehow sounds better over time. :)
 
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