Official AVSForum Marantz question thread. - Page 6

I did browse through here but didn't find a clear answer. I just receiver my sr7001 yesterday and noticed that with any source, this receiver doesn't drive the subwoofer. My subwoofer is working because it was connected to a HK-avr645 just 3 days ago. Anyone have insight on this ?

Nevermind, i fixed it on my own.

Here I was all set to purchase the Marantz SR8001 over the Pioneer Elite VSX-84TXSi (having heard about so many issues with the Pioneer, firmware updates, and lack of support) only to stumble upon this Marantz thread with it's issues. Is there no problem free 4 HDMI input A/V receiver out there? One that will just work as it should right out of the box? Ugh

As with most audiophiles- converted to Videophiles/HT meisters, you missed the obvious. Yamaha!

I walked down the same road for nearly 3 months seeking the holy grail of AV receivers in the under $2k realm. I concluded the same as you Marantz 8001, Pioneer 84TXi AND, Yamaha RS-V2700! I listened to them all and IMMEDIATELY knocked the Pioneer out as being thin sounding and having limited soundstaging and depth, when compared against the Marantz. (Pioneer since the 1976 Sx-1250 receiver and its brethren, has a history of being powerful but thin sounding from the lower mids down, with limited soundstage designed for JBL or similar speakers with bloated bass response).

Further listening revealed the Marantz very good sounding, powerful, VG depth and staging, if a tad midrange bloat (shades of Denon) but with limited video upscaling features for the older formats (VHS, Laser disk, DVD). Almost a winner UNTIL the info about LFE issues, older 1.1 HDMI logic and severe issues about the uncooperative Customer Service failure to provide consumer availability and timeliness of a new issue date. OOOooohhh, I forgot to add COST! Try as I might, I couldn't get this delivered for under $1400-$1500 with all of my contacts!
IMHO, not worth the wait nor the chance that the technical issues are NOT resolved or in our lifetimes. (Not at this price!)

I decided on the Yamaha RS-V2700.

HDMI 1.2a, upscaling via composite, component, HDMI to HDMI out, or to component out.

4 in-1out HDMI, 3 zones of operations, NO LFE or firmware issues(at this time) and the always outstanding Yamaha Service(2yrs). Added to this, the Yamaha sonics, which has always been quite good. Solid construction, interchangeable power cord. One caveat has to be brought up: This unit runs warm to to very warm and requires good ventilation (So whats new here? Don't all good fanless units?) just be aware of that so you have no surprises from the A/V ignorant which surrounds us!

Sonically compared to the Marantz, the bottom ends are comparable (if not slightly faster due to the 36,000ufd of caps), mids equal, highs based on which cabling you use, it could to either unit. Using audio quality Interconnects to judge: With Kimber Hero, the Marantz wins, with Straightwire Serenade, the Yamaha wins.
Using the strict HDMI feed, the differences are not as readily detectable.

From a speaker cable perspective, its a toss up- using Kimber 8TC or Straightwire Serenade. The Serenade (though much more $$$)is a smoother cable overall when used in a traditional AUDIO system.

As for price, I bought mine for $1050.00 w/tax delivered and haven't looked back. It will take me months to figure out all of the possibilities. Right now its the engine for :
Pioneer Elite Pro 1140HD
Scientific Atlanta 8300HD STB /DVR
Oppo 981 DVD
Pioneer Elite Laser Disk
Sony SVHS recorder player
Paradigm Mini Monitors v5 (front)
Paradigm CC290 v5(center)
Paradigm Atoms v5 (rear)
SNELL Basis 300 Subwoofer
HDMI cables -6ft Monoprice.com -24g- # 2219
Speaker cables-
Audio Quest Type 4
Straightwire Serenade
Kimber 8TC

I hope this litany helped you in some way.

I got my sr7001 for a good price here on avscience. Honestly after I adjusted the lfe and everything else, it works and sounds exactly the way I want it to. Audyessey eq worked well, but still had to do some manual adj.

Wow, that Yamaha sounds like a good deal! I haven't listened to that particular unit, but have always been impressed with the Yamaha sound overall, though I've always found them better suited to classical-type music than the stuff I generally listen to (a pretty wide range of stuff, but a large amount of electronica and rock).
As for RubberpupLA's complaint about there seeming to be no problem-free four in HDMI receiver? The impression I've been getting from everything I've read here and elsewhere, is that if you want problem free operation, you're going to have to wait at least another year or two for HDMI to get it's kinks worked out. I honestly don't think I've read a single thread here without someone having some sort of HDMI problems with just about every peice of equipment out there. It's just a poorly implemented technology right now. It'll get to where it's probably reasonably usable, but it's not there yet.
(I of course blame the content producers for this tech not working as advertised with the majority of components right out of the gate. Actual good, consistent operation, features, and the desires of the consumer have unfortunatly taken a back seat to the copy-protection desires of the movie and music industry. If that hadn't been a concern, we could easily have had a much better, easier to use, more reliable, and standardized solution for "one cable connections" long ago. At least that's what I think...)

Need some advice.
I have a Sony Bravia 1080p TV.
I am very interested in getting the Marantz SR8001 for my home theater.
Do you know if this is compatible with the PS3? Can this tuner successfully pass 1080p from the PS3 to the TV?

This is a deal breaker for me if it does not work together.
Thoughts or advice appreciated.

Thank You!

D-

I have the sr7001. It works beautifully with thr ps3. No problems whatsoever!

Actually the 2700 has 3 HDMI in and 1 out.

and it runs so hot that several posters in the Yamaha thread have mounted multiple fans on the unit trying to keep it operating. Several posters reported the receiver shutting down do to overheating......

So the "real" answer to Rubber question is ......... No, unfortunately all of the current crop of HDMI switching AVR's have "issues" of one type or another... you must find the one that causes you the least amount of grief, or wait for the next round of receivers that should start this summer.

Thanks Ginovino,

I looked at the RX-V2700 (as far as I can tell from both Yamaha and a search there is no RS-V2700) and passed on it because it only has 3 HDMI in. I have a PS3, Tivo HD, Oppo DV-981HD, and a Toshiba HD-XA2 which all have HDMI outs. I was looking at the Pioneer and the Marantz because they both have 4 HDMI in.

Funny thing happened to me this morning turning on my Marantz sr8500 the display read "CHECK DSP ROM" turned it off and back on and everything was ok. Any ideas?

OK guys, after a lot of research, and a blind leap of faith regarding PLIIx over PCM and 7.1 PCM, I purchased a SR7001.

This unit was not in stock at AV Science and was on backorder for several weeks... hmm... sounds like a mid-product-life update.

I got it in, and have been nothing but happy with it (some HTPC DVI-HDMI issues, but who knows where the problem lays there). Here's what I have personally tested:

1) HDMI connectivity for Toshiba HD-A1, Sony PS3, and DVI-HDMI from my HTPC.
2) 7.1 channel activity on Sony PS3 (played Resistance and did a pan in the area of directional sound, a helicopter hovering, verified sound from rear surrounds)
3) Dolby PLIIx Movie matrixing over high-bandwidth True HD from the HD-A1 (Watched V for Vendetta and got good sound on rear surrounds during back alley fight)

I think #2 and #3 are the big sticklers for the guys on this thread, right? Is there a firmware version I can easily check and report back to you guys on? What other tests can I do? Maybe this means a PCM fix is coming for all the exsisting owners?

This is good news now if only Marantz can comment on owners who bought their units earlier...

Hey guys, great thread for us 7001/8001 owners.

Just got the 8001 set up and it has been incredible.

So far only one issue, which I also posted over at the projector forum.

I finally have my system ready to go and I can't get seem to get my JVC RS1 projector and JVC DVHS player working together.

I had success plugging my JVC 40K DVHS directly into my RS1 via component. It looked outstanding!

I'm using my Marantz 8001 to do all the A/V switching to two displays via its two HDMI outputs. I have the JVC 40K DVHS via component, Toshiba A2 via HDMI, PS3 via HDMI and DirecTv DVR via HDMI all running into the Marantz and out via HDMI 1 to a Panasonic 50" plasma and out via HDMI 2 to the RS1.

The problem is that every combo works except the JVC 40K to the JVC RS1 combo. Even the JVC 40K to Panny plasma works like a charm. I keep getting the error message on the RS1 that the "frequency of the input signal is out of range". The JVC manual states that the solution to this problem is to "input video signals that can be used". Well....duh!

Anyways, I don't think the problem is at the source (DVHS) or with the Marantz b/c the component signal passes w/o problem to the Panny plasma's HDMI input.

Any thoughts?

Don't know if Richard or Kevin are still monitoring this thread, but I'm interested in whether the Function Rename ability can be tweaked via the next firmware update.

Currently, when you rename the function (input), the old name still appears first when cycling through the inputs with the left control knob. Rename DSS to Xbox 360, and DSS will show up as you cycle through. After a few seconds, it settles on the rename, but by then the source material is either on screen or coming out of the speakers.

Many receivers address this with a true function rename, and there's no need for a "key" to be placed by the receiver for guest or family members to decipher which input is the iPod, which is the Wii, which is the Xbox 360....

I would appreciate an official, or semi-official, response to this concern. I know it's likely not a big deal for many, but to me it's a glaring user interface issue that I and my family just happen to encounter every single day. I have the SR7001 purchased in November '06.

Thanks

The rename thing makes the remote and big knob on the unit(s) completely unusable.


I am soooo thankfull I recieved a Harmony 880 for xmas about the same time I was setting up my SR7001. I have like 11 sources. There is no freaking way I could use my system without the Harmony let alone somebody else.


This has to be one of the dumbest design flaws I have seen in a while in any electronics.

I mean what good is a component rename if you can't really use it on the remote or the even the knob on the unit? Well with the Harmony it is slicker than snot for sure.

What res do you have the DVHS set too? If its 1080i via component it should not be an issue. Did you run the component to the RS-1 or are you trying to transcode/scale the Component to HDMI?

The DVHS is set to pass 720p or 1080i via component with no conversion. The other option it gives me is to convert 720p to 1080i so that everything is sent out 1080i. Neither option works.


Initially I ran the component from the DVHS straight to the projector and it worked flawlessy but the projector can't seem to accept the signal if the Marantz converts it from component to HDMI. Which is odd b/c my Panasonic plasma has no problem accepting the signal after the conversion. Therefore the Marantz is perfectly capable of converting 720p/1080i component to 720p/1080i HDMI. I'm baffled.

I want to preface my question with the statement that I am a complete noob with a lot of terminology so forgive me ahead of time!

have an old AR subwoofer hooked up to a ZR6001. The sub will only wake up when there is a 5.1 digital signal. I thought that in Pro logic mode even if it is just a regular Dolby stereo signal that it would still send LFE to the sub. It doesn't. I can't get any music to go to the sub either. The only time the sub will wake up is on an HD channel with 5.1 or on a DVD. I am able to get the sub to work with the test tone, but it seems way underpowered. I raised the SW setting on the receiver to +10 db and the gain on the sub all the way up. It really doesn't have much output. I have no problem upgrading my sub, but I am wondering if the receiver is working properly. Currently considering the HSU 3.3 since I have a fairly large room.

I have large AR towers with 12" woofers, so I have the speakers set to large and then have the signal sent to "both" so I get bass to both the towers and the sub. Changing the speaker to small makes no difference...

Am I totally missing something here, or should I be able to get the SW to engage with these other signals? I have until Saturday to return or exchange and I have been thinking about upgrading to the SR7001. It is an additional $1K since I only paid $300 for the ZR6001. I like the idea of not having to work around my HDMI cables with the fiber optic and the 7001 should fix that.

My AV9000 used to remember the settings after a power outage, but starting about 2 years ago, if the power is interrupted at all, the settings are wiped.

I know there is a battery. I read an ad for an AV9000 for sale, and the owner said he had the battery replaced: $35 for the battery, $125 labor.

I repaired a surround output jack a while back--good as new. I took a glance inside recently, but I didn't see anything on the visible boards that resembles a battery. If I can find it and get a replacement, I could probably do the install myself.

If you want the SR7001 I would suggest you return your 6001 and then email Richard who started this thread... the price difference would be worth your time.

Can the sr4001 do 7.1 lpcm thru hmdi and overlay dolby pro logic IIx with 5.1pcm. Thanks John.

Although I can't say with 100% certainty (I'm only 5.1), everything in the manual leads me to believe that it can do both. I just got my 4001 set up this afternoon and I'm very pleased so far.

I just return the HK 247 for the yamaha rx-661 today at BB. I'm going to see what happens with the yamaha after it's all hook up today. I was looking for a stop gap receiver until all the new ones come out.

AFAIK, there are 7001/8001 users like myself who cannot get 6.1/7.1 PCM to work. I am still waiting for Marantz to officially confirm if there is a firmware upgrade....

So much for the documentation.

I just bought the 8001 and haven't even opened it yet and saw this forum and post. I emailed Marantz tech support and the VP of marketing replied to me:

My email:

The reply:

So don't fret, there is a firmware update.

If you don't mind write Kevin back (or post his email address and I will gladly contact him) and ask him when this update took place (if you buy one built after such and such a date it already has the firmware update) and also ask him what button combinations you push to see which firmware is on a receiver.

With this information folks can check receivers before they take them home or check theirs at home to see what their options are.

You also might ask what procedure is for folks that already own the units and need them updated?

Well hook that baby up and tell us if it works already!!!

Hey Richard, if you send me a replacement, I'll be glad to test the hell out it.

Unforunately I'm in the middle of moving, so I can't test it out just yet. However I did write back for more information. I will post as soon as I get a response.