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Marantz AV8801

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#1 ·
Marantz AV8801

Description:
The Marantz AV8801 11.2 channel A/V pre-amp/processor is packed with the latest audio and video technologies, all designed to provide you with the ultimate music and movie surround sound experience.
 

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#2 ·
Marantz AV8801

review by zuluwalker

A little background first, I have been playing around with separates for over two years. My previous Anthem AVM50, and Cary 11a were both quite good. While the Anthem offered oodles of options for inputs, my heart fell for the Cary with it's more conviencing sound. I would have liked to try a AVM50v...but now none of that matters. I have found a fantastic workhorse in the Marantz AV8801.

There are a number of cool inputs and streaming options available on the Marantz. A wide selection of control can be had from the remote App, though it comes with some effort for those not use to apps in general like myself (remotes have been my domain till now). A new limitation in my life with the Marantz is the removal of a SPDIF out (Coax and TOSLink). There are four zones potentially. Three HDMI out, though I only use one. And of course eleven balanced (XLR) and eleven unbalanced (RCA) outs.Two subs can be connected and both can be individually set. Lovely!

I consider myself more of butt man, than a ta-ta man. And when it comes to Audio over Video, it is Audio that turns my crank. Which is good because I just leave the video alone to pass through, so I won't get into that, I love my Epson 6010 and trust it. One day I will calibrate.

Audio is my core. And though my speakers are not top of the line or even audiophile midrange, I have fantastic hearing, and they bring me what I want for now. I drive the L, C, R, with 400 watts, I send 200w to the bass drivers and 200w to the mids and highs. I use two channels per the front three main speakers. Every other speaker gets 200w alone. I use a total of fourteen channels, three amps, to drive the speakers. I essentially can hear the breath of pianist during two channel, and the wind in most movies. I love the subtle details, they are addicitive. Once you hear something for the first time in a movie you already know so well, it drives you to seek out more detail in familiar content. I truly feel suspension of disbelief, I am lost frequently in a story.

It is being lost that too can become a much sought after place of escape. For two hours or more I belong to the director, and every story is much more involving for me when the audio draws me in. You can see a beautiful woman sometimes at store as you walk by, and even though you hear nothing you appreciate her beauty, but keep walking. Now on the other hand, give me a beautiful voice (and a good conversation) and I will stop and listen all day to her...even if she tells me to take out garbage and take down the Christmas lights. Not that I am saying my wife is better to be heard, than seen. She is very beautiful too, but perhaps this hole is deep enough now.

Using the Marantz is easy and intuitive enough for those who have navigated a setup menu more than once. I find it layed out easily. I am a no fear type owner. If I want to know what a setting does, I turn it on. If I dislike the effect, I turn it off. That said, I prefer more often than not to enjoy purity. And this baby has boat loads of that! Sound is clean, and filled with wonderful surprising details. I won't tell you it is warm, or coloured, or has the taste of oak nuts. I can't imagine why it would matter. I do enjoy the sound. It is substantial improvement away from my Cary, but most keenly in the quiet background. Dark quite moments are just that.

I am not sure if this helps at all so far. So this is my final thought to leave you with, I can say with a great deal of accuracy we rarely change the volume. The dynamic range is consistant in my theatre. I expect voices to be voice level, and gun shots to scare me. The inclusion of wides and heights has been such a new experience with Neo:X that my wife and I have both found ourselves with quicker heart rates and sweaty palms during movies that are favorites. The intensity in the movie is something I have never felt during playback before. I equate it to true terror, or a message from your nervous system that you are in danger...REACT!!! When Tom Cruise jumps from the sky scraper in MI:4 I cringe. When Batman punches his way through the group of goons in Hong Kong, I flinch. Hell, as the little red sports car in Cars races by I get pumped. We found the intensity has doubled, or trippled. And we now, have turned down our reference of volume to lower than before. I will still move it up for some guy's nights. But it is a very intense experience.

So, yeah...I like the new Marantz AV8801. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in fully maximizing their theatre. It is fun to be in there. I wish I could retire just to watch movies!

Ratings
Design4
Features4
Performance5
Quality5
Value4
Overall4
 
#4 ·
Marantz AV8801: Practical Use

review by brolicbeast

Jack of All Trades, Master of Most

The relationship between home theater enthusiasts and a/v processors is a bit of a cyclical conundrum: We invest significant fiscal resources into devices guaranteed to achieve partial obsolescence within three years. Once partial obsolescence is realized, additional investments are sometimes required for a new device or updates to the existing device. This full viability of a processor's functionality can be pared down to as narrow a window as a single year if the A/V industry is at the cusp of a technical breakthrough like HDMI 2.0. There are exceptions to this-Anthem's Statement D2V processor, for example-however, more often than not, a processor's life-span is very limited. As I write this in July of 2013, HDMI 2.0 approaches and the longevity of all HD products must be questioned; however, sometimes, the value of a component lies not in the longevity of its feature set, but in its raw ability to outperform and outlast its competition. That being said, features can and do matter. One of the most feature-laden A/V multi-channel processors available at this moment in the a/v industry timeline is the Marantz AV8801-a popular choice for music and home theater enthusiasts alike with very little competition at its $3600 MSRP price-point. The Marantz AV 8801 has a bevy of features-many of which will go unused by enthusiasts. As such, this is a review of the Marantz AV8801 through the lens of practical enthusiast use. The fancy, oft-times useless features will be skipped for this review, as they have been chronicled in many other locations.

The Set Up

I spent the last three years enjoying the Integra DHC 80.X series of processors. I first purchased the 80.2 model in 2010, and made the lateral shift to the 80.3 model in 2012. I was thoroughly impressed with the sound and ease of use that the Integra products provided. Needless to say, the Marantz AV8801 had some Shaquille-sized shoes to fill. The hardware replacement was extremely easy, although I will offer a bit of advice: when dealing with any processor of this complexity, it is paramount that you label your cables (name tags from an office-supply store work wonders in this regard). I simply unplugged my cables-an enjoyable mix of WireWorld, Emotiva, Better Cables, and AudioQuest brands-from my Integra DHC-80.3, removed the unit from the rack, slid the Marantz AV 8801 into the rack and connected the cables. Easy set-up, right? Not necessarily.

The Marantz AV8801 and I did not start on the right foot with each other. Upon first start-up, the processor would not output audio or video signals. Now, I generally give any new product a chance to get adjusted to my fairly complex HDMI-based video chain, so I gave it a week of troubleshooting, and after much trial, error, and advice from fellow enthusiasts, I ran the first-time setup out of desperation, and voila! Perfect operation. To all potential owners out there, heed my words carefully: run the first-time user setup, no matter how advanced of a user you think you are. We don't need the user setup, but the unit might.

After this issue was solved, it was time to run Audyssey XT32, which provides precisely one ba-jillion gazillion filters to the sound. (See footnote 1) Running Audyssey was a breeze, with a great GUI that guided me through every step of the setup. Audyssey is best done with a tri-pod or boom stand; I used the latter to perform my measurements and once complete, all consternation regarding my setup issues melted away.

Listen Up

What this Marantz AV 8801 does very well is sound. Movie demonstration material ran the gamut from the bombastic final thirty minutes of Oz, the Great and Powerful, to the entire nuanced soundtrack in George Clooney's too-soon-forgotten The American. The audio mix of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen had more crunch than usual and the crowd scenes from Hugo sounded very believable. And then, there is the final assault on the Skyfall ranch in James Bond's latest adventure, which was riveting from start to finish with spectacular audio moments in nearly every shot. Other scenes played through the AV 8801 were: 1) Transformers (Desert Battle), 2) Tron: Legacy (Welcome to the Grid), 3) The Hunger Games (forest-fire scene), and 4) Fantastic Four (Rocket Launcher vs. the Human Torch). Each of these played back at -5db below reference volume were an absolute joy to experience, but when I cranked each one up to reference volume, I was utterly and completely transported to the land within the screen and I now find myself re-visiting my favorite scenes from each film at reference leve.

Through the Marantz AV 8801, Hans Zimmer's Man of Steel soundtrack was conveyed with sheer gravitas when required, capably spewing the growing beast that is Dna, while preserving the subtleties of piano decay in the track This is Clark Kent. Anthony Evans' Let it Rain was extremely crisp and the bass that kicks in at the first chorus was very defined-more defined than I've ever experienced. This track serves as a reminder that Redbook CD quality music is STILL a superb source of audio, despite the high-resolution files now widely available. The song Polly Come Home from Robert Plant & Alison Krauss' album Raising Sand is a song that, although far from the crispest I've heard, is a very moving song. Played through the Marantz AV 8801, I could almost feel Plant's sorrow with every word.

Conclusion

The Marantz AV 8801 is a processor that I can absolutely recommend. Were this an audio-only review, I would give it 5-stars in a heart-beat; however, the frustrating set-up and high MSRP do work to its detriment. All in all, the AV 8801 is the best A/V processor on the market right now (in the context of the wallets of mere mortals) and I am proud to own it. The A/V experiences that it has provided me with over the last few months have been nothing short of breathtaking. If this processor is in your budget (and even it's not), it absolutely deserves your consideration. Does it make sense to purchase a processor at this price with HDMI 2.0 on the horizon? Instead, ask yourself this question; do you plan to replace every piece of equipment you own with HDMI 2.0-enabled gear the second that it's announced? I didn't think so. Skip Starbucks for a month; drive below 55MPH on the highway; telework three days a week; bottom line: do what you need to do in order to get a Marantz AV 8801 in your rack.

FYI: Features You Will Not Use:



  • Instaprevue


  • Internet Streaming (most HT devices already do this.)


  • Picture Adjustments


Associated Equipment



  • JVC DLA-RS56 w/ 3D Package


  • Legacy Audio Focus SE Loudspeakers


  • Legacy Marquis HD Center Speaker


  • Infinity Primus 360 Towers (surrounds)


  • Oppo BDP-105 Universal Media Player


  • HTPC powered by Jriver Media Center 18


  • Cables: Wireworld Chroma 6 | Better Cables Silver Serpent | AudioQuest Diamondback | Emotiva X-Series


Footnote 1: One ba-jillion gazillion is not an actual number and was stated purely in jest.

ProsCons
Believable sound; top-notch aestheticsFrustrating setup; somewhat high MSRP

Ratings
Design5
Features5
Performance5
Quality5
Value5
Overall4
 
#5 ·
Marantz AV8801: Practical Use

review by brolicbeast
My question is about your speaker setup. I was told that all your speakers should be the same brand except the subwoofer. I noticed you use a different surround speaker brand than your fronts. Is it okay to use a different brand speaker between the fronts (left-right front and center) and the surrounds (back speakers)?
 
#11 ·
Marantz AV8801 A Great Sounding Processor Worth A Lot More

review by agent305

I am using their newest flagship processor the Marantz AV8801 with a Proceed Amp5 (5) Channel amplifier and my theater has never sounded this good. With Audyssey MultEQ XT32 which corrects the sound of dual subs in addition to the other channels, 4K video passthrough, and 32 bit DACS, I don't think I'll be replacing this Marantz anytime soon.

I sold a high end brand processor and replaced it with this Marantz AV8801 and although I put 5k back into my checking account this was not a downgrade. I highly recommend this Marantz Processor if you want some serious Home Theater Audio.

It has 11.2 channels including dual subs, audio return channel (ARC), plenty of video processing options, and dual HDMI outputs for multi-room usage.

Setup was pretty easy considering all the available options. I used the Audyssey XT32 auto setup and it sounds awesome. I did make a couple of changes manually after the auto setup. I changed the speakers to small and crossed them at 60 HZ. I have (2) 18" Velodyne Sub's and the Audyssey XT32 dialed them in perfectly with smooth tight bass.

All of my source components are hooked to the Marantz via HDMI and the Marantz balanced outputs go to my (5) channel amp. I send the video from the marantz AV8801 via HDMI to my JVC Projector.

The remote is back-lit and the menu system is pretty straight forward but if you like to do tweaking glancing through the owner manual is recommended.

I have some non-audiophile friends that I brought over to watch a movie without telling them that I had changed any of my home theater gear. They had been over in the past when I had a previous high end processor in use. After watching a movie with the Marantz AV8801 leading the charge they made a comment how terrific the audio was. I just smiled. This processor not only sounds great but it put cash back in my checking account. Highly recommended.

ProsCons
11 Channels, Dual Subs, Balanced Outputs, 4K Video, Audyssey XT32 Room Correction, 32 Bit DacsNo Printed Owner Manual Included, Only CD Rom

Ratings
Design0
Features0
Performance0
Quality0
Value0
Overall4
 
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