Reviews of Marantz VP4001? - Page 2

I got them from fleabay. Also verified the warranty is valid.

Hopefully by the time bulbs are needed the price will come down. I am curious why the xv-z3000 or dt-500 bulbs would not work, then again the internal design may be different. Since the warranty is so long, it is probably better to get the genuine Marantz bulb anyway.

those are all valid possibilities. However, hopefully by the time I need a bulb or the 3-year warranty has expired, there will be a 3rd generation 1080p that will be about the same price. I thought long and hard about it and concluded that I would not buy any of the current 1080p at the price they are. I would not even buy some if there prices were halved. There comes a point when the visual PQ is so incredibly good that spending a few grand more for little gain if any does not make sense. That's where I am today.

tradewinds- you mentioned that your parents had an epson 400 and then switched to the marantz so let me pose a question if i may?

after rebate and a $350 store credit i happen to have at that store with a good return policy "rhymes with roscoe" i can pickup a 400 for not a whole lot more than it's model number.

no we know what the vp4001 will cost so since you've seen them both, would you consider the vp4001 to be 700 bucks better?

i'm so unbelieveably tmpted to jump on the vp4001 but like you said above visual quality can only get so good and money is money. i do admit though that the comparison is a lot skewed because of the store credit.
i probably wouldn't be wavering if it weren't for that.

thanks.

It was my in-laws. They got the 400 from roscoe too. In any case, do I think it is $700 bucks better, IMO a definite yes. Now here is where there might be differences between some of us. First of all, I am not a fan of LCD. I do not want to have convergence issues or need to replace the LCD panels or even worry about it. In terms of PQ, the VP4001 is much sharper, vividly better colors and inky blacks. Even if the Epson was DLP, I could not have those things lacking for my preference. Some seems to be content with the PQ of a HD1000U, HD70, 400, hc3000 etc, I know I was not satisfied so I held out to get much better blacks from the VP4001. Now, this is because I am using it in a dedicated theater, if I were using it where more ambient light would be for sports or presentations solely, I would save and get one of the others. The thing I like about the VP4001 is that I can do movies and sports just by changing the iris position. YMMV.

i can't post deals but i think it's ok to say there is a very attractive deal offered today for Marantz VP4001 on a particular deal site.

Anymore hints on where the deal site is? I am thinking about pulling the trigger here.

I just received a Pany ax-100 from the place with a great return policy, and it looks a little fuzzy to me. I am thinking that maybe a DLP would be sharper. This is my first projector.

Has anyone compared the ax-100 with the Maratz?

Thanks,
Chuckie

Chuckie, actually the site I thought had best deal was not the best. post #31 is better.

Tradewinds,

Can you tell us if this projector does the 2.35 anamorphic scaling? I planning to do 2.35 setup and was wondering if an external scaler would be needed with Marantz.

TIA

How the hell did this PJ fly under the radar. I'm jelous because I know this unit is very nice for the money. It jumps to the top of the list of 720p DMDs on this board for the money, and thats saying something with the Sharp 12K and the Samsung H710AE that are both killers for the cash. I must tell you this PJ looks so good at the price of barging hunters. It's just the way of the world these day and we have at least Optoma to thank for it if not others. Regarless this PJ I bet throws one hell of a image. I want one just don't have the cash now but I must start to think How... how...how can I afford one?............. oh btw thanks Tradewinds for taking the plunge and reporting on it.

Some of you have had other projectors, especially tradewinds. How loud is it compared to others you have owned? The reviews of the Sharp version list this as a substantial detraction.

I do not believe it does.

That what I was wondering. I think it was tied to the xv-z3000 (which is also a great PJ from what I read and got opinions from owners). The VP4001 throws an excellent image. I wanted the 12K (long throw, could not work in my room), then the HC3100 (didn't want to go the import route) so I settled for this. Boy, am I glad I did. Would not trade it for the others at this point.

I have a dedicated HT room. I do not think it is distracting at all in eco mode. This is most likely the mode everyone will run it in anyway.

I need a new camara. I have watched pre-season NFL and HD movies also and all I can say is thank goodness I held off and took a chance on this one. It has awesome PQ.

BTW: does anyone have this mounted from a 10 foot ceiling? What mount are you using?

tradewinds,

Would you say this PJ is better/brighter/sharper/quieter than the Sharp 12K ? Also I read reviews that z3000 has stray light coming out from the chassis. I was able to confirm this problem with the ceiling mounted z3000 at Best Buy. Do you see this problem with VP4001 ? Also the z3000 was not particular quiet either. The colors do pop off the screen though....very impressive. I still haven't decide whether to get this or spend another $1200 to get the Optoma HD80.

I do not have a 12K or have I seen one. I can only go by what I read here. I do not think the light coming out of the Marantz is anything more than would be expected. Was the z3000 running in eco mode? I really do not think the VP4001 is loud in this mode. Many of the PJs, unless you are sitting in a quiet room listening will be different once you sound system is going. For parts movies that the sound went away, the PJ was not noticeable IMO.

For me it was an easy decision, get at great 720p for now until I see what the field and prices of the 1080p were in the next year or two. I wanted to not compromise on anything, i.e. sharpness, contrast ratio, black levels, lumens, 3D like PQ that really popped. I found what I was looking for and some more.

If I hadn't just gotten the Samsung 710 2 weeks ago I probably would've sprung the little extra for this instead. I understand why the Samsung is getting blown out at clearance prices with the reliability issues, but I don't understand why this one is.

Fortunately I like my Samsung a lot and the difference in price can get me another lamp if I need one. I just hope that down the road we'll see some price drops like this on the one year old 1080p projectors.

I keep reading other places that this PJ has true lens shift. Is that true? Can one of you guys that owns one give me the final answer on that? That would be significantly different then the Sharp XV-Z3K as it only had a small digital lens shift because of its 768 resolution--not super helpful. True lens shift like the 12K MKII would rock?

Thanks,

bdbaba

It has digital picture shift no optical lens shift. Besides the warranty from Marantz, is there any difference between this projector and the $500 sharp dt-500's on fleabay? Is Marantz pulling a Runco and just applying there own name plate?

The Samsung 710 for the money is a killer pj also I wouldn't even give it a second thought.

Yes, there are many differences. It has been described here before. Also, from all sources at Marantz, this PJ has been engineered by Marantz themselves with some of the same OEM manufactures used by SharpVision. I asked specifically to ensure it was not just their name on it. I have not seen the dt-500 to make a comparison.

If I had not purchased already, one of my concerns would be the black levels apart from the reliability issues of the Samsung. I don't think there is many out there that can touch the black levels of the VP4001 which I think does extremely well with both movies and sports.

Is there any way that one of you VP4001 owners could post a pic of the menu screens? I'm curious to see if it is the same or similar to the Sharp models.

Moe

Aloha tradewinds.

Are you on the islands? Maybe on the windward side?

I was wondering about the fact that I read the Marantz is ISF'd from the factory. Does this seem to be the case?

Also, one problem i had with the XV-Z3K was the fan noise--pretty loud for a short throw PJ. How is the fan noise for you--did Marantz quiet it down some?

Mahalo,

bdbaba

luckily not on the islands at this time. I have not had to adjust the Marantz. It came D65 calibrated. When I get it mounted and use up some hours I will then take a look, but OOTB, I did not see a need to.

I really have never had a chance to see the XV-Z3K to make a comparison. I run the VP4001 in eco mode and have not found it to be distracting like the IF 4805. There is no noise from the color wheel (I believe this is one of the things they borrowed from the S1, i.e. the dynamic fluid bearing motor idea), just the normal hot air being moved out by the fan. I find some of my other components more noticeable.

I think it is rated at 30 DB, not sure if this is in eco mode and how this measurement was taken. Really don't know if there is a standard way all manufacturers take this measurment. Here are some charts for comparison.

http://www.josaka.com/Content/2000/Decibel-Chart.htm
http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/cdpc_decibel_chart.gif
http://www.mastergasgenerators.com/images/decibels.gif
http://alexandriava.gov/tes/DEQ/imag...ndlevelscr.jpg

Thanks tradewinds,

Fun charts.

Lucky your not on island? You don't like it here? Other then the crowded roads, cockroaches, centipedes, mold, rusting expensive equipment, barking and biting pit bulls, and expensive shipping, whats not to like?

I sill love it.

Have great day.

bdbaba