new marantz sr7002, sr8002 receivers - Page 35

No, I dare not claim the 8002 is "better than any" nor dare I claim it is better than "at least most" of the AV receivers out there. Having heard *only* the 8002, there is no ground to make such claims. My taste also may not be yours so you may dislike something that I like.

No attempt to put down the 8002 either. When compared against our ARC gear (an unfair comparison), the 8002 did not fall flat on its face. Its sound, when fed from the ARC CD2 sounded good so we kept it. The ARC gear takes 1 hour to warm up before we can play so for lighthearted listening, the 8002 is our "instant gratification" gear .

Please share the type of music you listen to and the quality you seek and then we can venture our opinions as to how the 8002 does with that type of music. I also lack knowledge of other A/V amps so that is a real handicap. Your input will educate us and we can turn around and make some comparisons based on real data you provide. Right now, we have no "common ground" to make real comparisons so it may be hard for you to discern what we are saying.

Wow! You have nice gear, especially that LP12 .

Can you share some more comparative data, if you have more, between the Pioneer and the 7002? May be pick a piece of music and talk about how they defer?

This is not critical of course, I am just curious how other amplifiers compare to the Marantz and how solid state gear has changed over the years. We have been pleasantly surprised by the Marantz.

Thanks!
Cal

I have a sr8200 up for grabs 650.00 pm me for details or for sale or you can bid on it ... http://cgi.*********/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...0%3D%26fvi%3D1
sorry about whoring this system out but its a great deal, and id rather see it go to someone who knows what there buyin then some joe smoe.

CA
I have listened to a lot of receivers over the past year. Denon, Onkyo, Integra, Pioneer, some NAD, Bryston?(I think) and some other esoteric brands that made my ass clench they were so expensive.

I can confidently say that I got the best bang for my buck with the 8002. It sounds the best (music or theater) of any that I listened to at several times its list price. I like the NAD brand but they had issues for a while with background noise/static, not sure how that was addressed. NAD didn't have the HDMI1.3 anyway.

The closest I found in comparison was the 4308 and it wasn't enough to sway me. I like the fact that 8002 is minor revision of the 8001. 2nd generation products are always (*always*) less troublesome than 1st generation. So far, I've found nothing to change these opinions.

I actually started researching the ARC tube line after reading your posts and that looks like real audiophile level stuff (beyond what my wife would understand anyway....."What's a preamp, why is it $1000 and will it work with the remote control?"...most know the conversation I'm talking about). I'm thinking down the road that might make for a great addition to my den for music listening only with a pair of great speakers. I'm a music nut but have budgetary constraints. FWIW, I think you've been very fair explaining your preferences for ARC and Marantz...and you've piqued my curiosity on the tube stuff.

Thanks

First, I appreciate you not making judgements when you haven't tried other gear. Many people like to do this.

For my home theater, it is 90% movies and TV and 10% music. But that 10% music is what I really cherish. I don't get a lot of time to listen to music but when I do I want it to be special! Most music I listen to I do in 2-channel. Here are some artists that I listen to a lot: Phish, Allison Krauss, Nickel Creek, Radiohead, The Cure, Pink Floyd, Mars Volta, Tool, The Beatles, and Yes.

I have pretty wide tastes in music but really like great musicianship and originality. If you've listened to the likes of many of these bands, their music gets very complex. Stuff from Phish, Yes, and Mars Volta is just nuts as far as the thickness in the sound and amount of parts going on simultaneously. Radiohead is all about creativity and they use a lot of effects layered together. Some of their albums are just amazing on a good stereo. I consider them the modern day Pink Floyd.

When I listen to music I like to hear it as clean as possible and love a great soundstage (as most of us in this thread do). Right now using my Onkyo 803 recevier that is several years old, I feel it sounds excellent with simpler stuff. The likes of Allison Krauss and Nickel Creek sound great when it is just a few acoustic instruments and vocals. When I listen to very busy music like Yes or Mars Volta (Prog Rock and such) things tend to get kind of muddy and I seem to lose separation. Also, at high volumes I get ear fatigue pretty quickly.

The thing I've been wondering is, is it my recording that are muddy on the busier music I own or is it that my gear is just not producing it cleanly? This I hope to answer with a new receiver as I personally feel it is mostly my receiver. I use Aperion 633 towers (www.aperionaudio.com) for my fronts which I think are excellent and are starving for some better signals.

As far as my room it is pretty small. I only sit about 7-8 feet from my fronts and have about 4-5 feet behind me. It is all carpet but no special wall covering, just paint. This is why I was wondering if a top end receiver will suit me just find without going with an external amp.

As far as home theater movies and such, I would prefer to get something that is considered more "musical" and assume it will be fine for movies.

As of now, my plan is to get the 8002 here in a few weeks and hopefully be thrilled with it. Then if I feel I want to give it a bit more oomph down the road, maybe I can add an external amp next year, though I prefer not to. I just don't really have the room for an external amp without giving up some other gear (which I don't wanna do).

If anyone has any comments based on my tastes please help me out. I'd love to hear from Marantz owners or if you have suggestions of any non-Marantz products that would be fine as well. Right now, I'm feeling pretty confident about my choice of the 8002 but always willing to take suggestions.

Thanks,
Mike

Thank you for the info, dmcdayton!

Marantz has had a long reputation for making good sounding equipment, so I bought the 8002 based on comments here and that long reputation. It was a "nervous" purchase of course, getting something that may be "bad". Thank goodness it worked out! Glad to know you see it as best value.

I stumbled into ARC by accident. Was out shopping for a cheap $500 Integrated Amplifier; knew nothing about any brand at the time, the salesman decided to play an entry level ARC system and my jaw dropped. After several more back and forth listening sessions, the $500 price limit went out the door. My wife was apprehensive as heck until she heard the system and her jaw too dropped. So no regrets since.

We had a Denon amp (circa early 90's), Phillips CD player, Technics turntable and a pair of Polk Monitor 10B ($700) at the time. Sadly, I could never listened for more than 10 minutes (no joke) without my ears ringing so the system sat mostly unused. I thought it was the "cheap" speakers. We packed away the Polk and turntable, switched to a pair tiny bookshelf JBL and played at very low volume, with the treble turned down half way. That was how we listened to music for 10 years; sad.

Hearing the ARC in that showroom was a revelation. They played it through a pair of Thiel 7.2 speakers and I sat for an hour listening to a whole CD without any fatigue. I was still not sold on so called "hi end", so I resisted. Bought the amp and line stage first, still used cheap monster cables and the old phillips CD player with the barely used Polk speakers which I almost tossed. It was good, but not as good as the show room.

Next came a new ARC CD player, then came the new cables and that pair of Polk sang like never before. So I started to believe in cables and good sources. The Polk proved though good components are needed before good speakers. AFter the Polk, we got a pair of used (old frugal habit dies hard) Thiel CS2.4 to complete the system.

I will encourage you to audition the Audio Research gear even if you have no intention of buying. It will help identify a future upgrade path. Unlike some other tube gear, ARC is a fully differential, fully balanced tube gear. It will take RCA or run single-ended but sounds best with XLR connectors. For a tube amplifier, it is fast, dynamic, no soft mushy tube woosh . Do be careful though, you may get really hooked and find it extremely hard to resist .

I am finally going to run the 8002 signal to the ARC tonight and watch a movie just to see what it will sound like. Will report what we hear.

Happy Listening!

I am not using the 7002's amps for critical listening, using the pre outs to go into my Vincent SP331 amp. My sole purpose behind chopping and changing receivers of late was to find something that could double as a dedicated 2 channel, within reason financially and sonically. Yeah I know, if you want to get to 2 channel, the best is to have 2 seperate systems which is what I am now leaning towards.

By far the 7002 has the least fatigue on me when listening to music, when in Pure Direct mode. I dont care for any of the network, MP3 or tuner features. I wanted a receiver that had the latest decoding, easy on the ears and that was pretty much it.I am very happy with the 7002. It was after finally getting the 7002 I decided that I needed to concentrate on my 2 channel system. I could have sold it, spent more money on an Integra pre/pro or Anthem but even that amount of money spent from I have read will not get me to "one system for HT and 2 channel". Why stop there, what about Cary Audio, the new Marantz pre/pro..it never ends. I decided to stick with the 7002 I like and focus on improving my 2 channel.

My SP331 is a pretty good piece of tube and solid state and I will be getting a demo preamp tomorrow and this could tell me how good the preamp section in the 7002 is. What ever comes out of it, my 7002 is going to stay.

I have not broken in the 7002 yet (yes I hear the cackling, sniggers of those non believers ) and have not had time to test the different outlets on my HT5000. Last time I had the Musical Fidelity A5 integrated in my rack I plugged it into my HT5000 and its really didnt sound good until I bypassed it and went striaght into the wall....odd huh ?


But Cal to answer you query about how different it sounded.....when I used had both my vsx-94 and 7002 going via the SP331 amp, I really liked the sound from both receivers. in auto surround on both units they really sounded similar, somewhat bright, but the 7002 had a bit more detail. In Pure Direct mode, I believe the 7002 is much better.

Hi Mike,

I tried to mirror your situation as follows:
BD30 --> 8002 --> ARC LS25 --> ARC VT200.

BD30 to 8002 is via HDMI.
8002 to ARC LS25 is Pre-Out L/R RCA to Processor-IN.
LS25 to VT200 is XLR connectors.

Processor-IN just means the LS25 passes signal through to the amplifier.

Listened to The Beatles' "LET it BE" album, remastered digitally in 1987 by EMI, Wow! Before the above hook-up, playing it through the 8002 amplifier section got me tapping my feet and swaying; very nice.

Playing the same album through the above hook-up, we were off our chairs and groovin'. So in a nutshell, your plan to buy the 8002 now and then add an amplifier later will work just fine, just get a real good amplifier.

If you want as much details as possible, then please do get good CD and DVD player and such sources and good cables. While the 8002 is not perfectly neutral, it sure loves good sources. WOW! I did not expect how sweet it can be.

Using the 8002 by itself, I was still detecting enough "brightness" that pushed me to use STEREO mode with the TREBLE turned down to -3 or -6 depending on Material. Now, with the ARC amp, no more brightness! I have the 8002 in STEREO, TREBLE set to 0 and it sounds fine.

Where I used to play limited classical selection through the 8002 as background music, I now can play all our collection through the 8002+ARC combination. It is sweet enough now to interrupt my work and make me listen.

One nit is that the resolution and speed still cannot match the full ARC system. This shortcoming is most obvious when a soloist plays a staccato passage. The 8002+BD30 combination via HDMI cannot resolve the individual note in the staccato passage even with the VT200. The overall presentation of a complex piece is ever so slightly slower or a bit laid back. But c'mon, one has to be really picky to be upset by this. There is a reason why ARC exists .

Well, off to get some popcorn for our "Transformer" showing starting in 10 minutes. Cannot be late!

Cal

Thanks Neville for the info. Good to know. I plan to use the 8002 to drive the surrounds and run pre-out from 8002 to let our ARC gear drive the front speakers.

Happy listening!

I still have problem watching dolby true hd and dts ma track on my Marantz8002 receiver. I am using panasonic BD30 player and 8002 pre out to anthem poweramp . There always has pop sound (few times) throughout the whole movie . Is this the audio drop out problem or something else ? Same goes to Toshiba A35 to 8002. The funny thing is other than this 2 sound formats , the rest of sound formats is fine and no problem at all . Now really unsure if this is 8002 or player problem since no one has reported it before.

CAL, one day I will own ARC's... my uncle has them playing thru Maggies....*sigh* now that is real music

For those of you that need HDMI cables, monoprice is running a sale on 6' 1.3a 28AWG/Ferrite cables for *way* below normal price.

Bump. I speculate that this has something to do with Source-Direct mode, where EQ is forced to be off. It looks like, if the data rate is multiple of 44.1 KHz, the software (bug) thinks it is in Source-direct mode.

Any thoughts ?

I just posted the following in the Yamaha RX-V1800/3800 Thread--would be interested to hear the same info from Marantz owners (just switch the references b/w Marantz and Yamaha ).

Hi all--i'm seriously interested in an RX-V1800 to replace my 6 year old RX-V1200 (which I've really enjoyed but it's time for uncompressed audio and I could also use some extra power to drive my new Dali Ikon 6 front speakers). I've never had any problems with the 1200 (unlike a couple of Onkyo's I owned before it) and I really like its sound qualities.

My question is this--I'm down to this or the Marantz sr7002, both of which seem to be on the warmer side of sound quality (as compared to onkyo, denon, etc.). I've listened to both receivers, but NOT side-by-side as I can't seem to find a good place that demos both in New York City (places have either one or the other). Sound quality is the major determining factor for me, as otherwise it seems like both receivers will do most everything I'm using them for (PS3 as Blu-Ray, HD-DVD, 360, music, etc all displayed on a 52-XBR4). Was anyone who bought the Yamaha also considering the Marantz? What made your decision? Any thoughts that might prove useful? They both seem like good pieces--the Yamaha maybe a few more features, the Marantz at least a reputation for being slightly more musical?

I'd really like to hear from anyone that was considering both--but all opinions are welcome. Also, it seems like from the thread that, for the most part, as far as bugs, people seem happy with their Yammis, but are there any serious bugs that might trip me up with my equipment that I might have missed (it's hard with a 62 page thread). Thanks in advance!

I had them both in my home and liked the marantz better. More detailed midrange, sound seemed cleaner than the yamaha. I think the yamaha had stronger bass though. I ended up purchasing the marantz.

No receiver is perfect, I think the yamaha makes an popping noise when you skip chapters in hdm.

Didn't see much in this thread comparing it to Integra. Anyone try the Marantz 7002 or 8002 against Integra?

This I was actually able to do in a store (both hooked up to Dali Ikon speakers fwiw). I forget which model Integra to be fair (it was whatever they had out there) but I didn't think there was any comparison between the two, at least for those speakers (this is all so speaker dependent imo). The Integra was a LOT brighter than the Marantz, which sounded, at least to me, more natural and warmer, so I strongly preferred it. I do like detail and I think that you could argue the Integra was slightly more detailed for highs, but I just found the Marantz more pleasant and musical. Again, I think how the receivers match up with the quality of certain speakers may make a big difference, so with other speakers maybe the Integra would be better. Just my opinion from that listen.

Thanks! Do you know if the popping is only with TrueHD/DTS HD-MA or also with MPCM (since that's mostly what I'll be using w/PS3 anyway)?

Also--anyone else have an opinion?

This sounds great I have just purchased the sr-8002 and Dali Ikon 6 speakers. I haven´t gotten the reciever yet .I was worried that this combination would be to bright, so you have just put my mind to ease.
Thanks

Glad to help--as mentioned above, I bought the Ikon 6 a while back (December) and absolutely LOVE them--i doubt you'll be disappointed. What made you decide on the Marantz and the 8002 in particular? (I'm considering the 7002, not sure the extra cash for the 8002 would be worth it for me--my system is in a relatively small room).

When I demo'd the Integra and Onkyo's, they were running so hot. I didn't need/want the video processing nor the additional heat that comes with it.

Thank you all for your input. The 8002 and Integra are at the top of my list. I have not been able to hear them side by side. Your impressions parallel mine so far. Any further feedback is appreciated. I will be pairing them with Aperion 532's in a 2400cf HT/ playroom with some sound treatment. I will be upgrading a HK.

mchuckp it seems we have some common ground. I have considered the Aperion 632's but am quite pleased with the 532's and am not decided if I want to risk a "upgrade." I would love to see your impressions if you match them up to the Marantz.

Best Regards,
Derek

I am using a PS3 and haven't had any popping so far.

No popping with Panasonic DB30 and Toshiba A1

I wanted to get the best AV reciever for my new speakers. The 8002 has a torodial power transformer wich I gather comes from more high end stuff. I am not sure there is a real world difference in AQ but at that moment I could afford it so i bought it
The reason I went with Marantz is that they are supposed to sound a little better than the other usual suspects, and after viewing all the different threads on all the other brands the Marantz seems to have the fewest issues.

Regards

I just bought the 7002 and I have not had time to hook it up. I read the owners manual, and have a question. In your main listening room, can you output video from 1 source while outputting audio from another source simultaneously ?(e.g. watching TV while listening to a CD)
Thanks

Interesting. I've noticed that as well, but didn't give it much thought as I'm still playing/tweaking other settings. I'll take a closer look later this week when I'm not so busy.

PCM is ok on my setup . Seems like I am the only unlucky one and need to try another BD/HD player to confirm before changing the Marantz 8002 . Or could it be due to the pre out problem because I am using 8002 as a pre pro only .

Are all your audio components plugged into the same ground?

What is the pre out problem that I missed? I was just thinking about using the 7002 as a pre pro.

What should I be doing other than using this a pre pro to prevent this occurrence?

No popping for me running a Toshiba A35 HD to 8002 via HDMI and bitstreamed.