[IlliniHoops]

Have narrowed down my purchase to either the NAD or Marantz. Haven't read a whole lot of reviews on either. Any thoughts from owners? Not really an audiophile- will use primarily as a HT receiver- but want something that does well playing cd's as well. Will initially run w/ my polk rm-6600 5.1 setup- but will eventually u/g to towers/ possibly6 .1.


Any thoughts? Any Practical things I should think about?


Thanks.

 

[gatt767]

I would go for NADs T763. The receiver is quite flexible, interms of software and connectivity! The T763 will drive low ohmage speakers with ease and the transformer and power supply built in are very generous. If NAD says that it will deliver 100 Watts /channel at any load, the receiver will pump out the power claimed!


As regards to the formats covered by the receiver, all major formats are covered, except DTS24/96. NAd seems that its planning to upgrade its current receivers installed with an RS232 port with DPL2x.


I own a T762, with Firmware version 1.18 and I am quite pleased with this product

 

[bcause]

well if u do decide on the 7400 make sure u get it from someplace where u can walk back in and get your money back...


read these before u make up your mind. this is not to say that all are like this but many are and my money was tied up for 3-4 weeks until i was pretty much forced to buy another piece ( yammy 2400 ) at a price of $100 higher then elsewhere... so much for supporting your local B&M

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...highlight=crap

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...highlight=crap

 

[IlliniHoops]

bcause- thanks for the reply.


I guess the question is:


Has anyone had any luck at all with the Marantz SR-7400???


Has Marantz fixed the problems in their newer shipments?

 

[ontheinside]

A dealer I talked to said that the new units are working perfectly and that Marantz is either fixing or replacing the problem units at the dealers request.

 

[IlliniHoops]

I spoke to an authorized net dealer (think hifi) tonight- who basically said they hadn't sold the Marantz's long enought ot have an opinion- which struck me as odd. Wasn't exactly positive on them-- then again, wasn't negative.


I do know that I haven't been able to audition the Marantz in person- since no one has them in store/ close- so I am still soliciting opinoins.


Any new thoughts on the NAD?

 

[Steven]

I have several on the street with customers and have had no problems with them. It's a nice receiver with great sound and features.


Good luck

 

[Tex-amp]

I own a 7200 with no problems. I recently heard the NAD 763 and was impressed. I have not heard a 7400.

 

[maldical]

Went to my local authorized dealer and talk with someone who does setup and calibration and they sell mainly Marantz and Integra. He said he never heard of the problem some people are claiming but was more familiar with the Integra line. So I went ahead with the Inetgra. Didn't feel like gambling.

 

[Felgar]

I bought the NAD 763 after demoing it against a 7200 - not entirely fair to the 7400 I realize. I needed 3 components which the 763 has and makes the price increase from 753 to 763 worth it IMO.


My main beef with the NAD is no lip-sync delay... I still might take it back and get the Yam 2400 because of that.

 

[Mike Dzurko]

I haven't tried that particular NAD, but I've had good luck with NAD in general. I have had a Marantz 7400 in system for a couple of weeks now. Everything seems to work just fine, no dropouts through the #1 dig coax input. IT does run hot, but that is true of many good amps. Initial impressions of sound quality are very positive for this price range.

 

[IlliniHoops]

Mike- thanks for the reply. Since you have the unit--


are there any items/ issues that I should be aware of that would be a negative for the Marantz that I should consider?


How is the power? Does it appear the ratings are reasonable (I read that the 5400 rating seem to be honest)


Is ths remote ok?


Does the pass-thru/ up-conversion work? Surround modes decent?



Like I said in my earlier post- I'm not trying to get over the top-- just looking for a solid HT receiver that can also stand on its own for music- w/o going separates or spending more than around $1,000.

 

[Mike Dzurko]

Quote:

Originally posted by IlliniHoops Mike- thanks for the reply. Since you have the unit-- are there any items/ issues that I should be aware of that would be a negative for the Marantz that I should consider? How is the power? Does it appear the ratings are reasonable (I read that the 5400 rating seem to be honest) Is ths remote ok? Does the pass-thru/ up-conversion work? Surround modes decent? Like I said in my earlier post- I'm not trying to get over the top-- just looking for a solid HT receiver that can also stand on its own for music- w/o going separates or spending more than around $1,000.

I haven't really had the time to do much "critical" with this unit so take my words for what they are. No complaints, seems to have adequate power and sounds good overall. I will probably use a separate power amp for the mains and may also do a two-channel separate preamp pass through setup.


Overall, I like the unit quite a bit. Seems to offer a lot for the price and the remote is pretty easy once you get used to a couple of quirks.

 

[archiguy]

I had the Marantz 7400 for a couple of weeks. Sent it back because of the audio dropout problem and several other minor issues. I've got the Yammie 2400 on order, been waiting on its arrival. From the research I've done, it appears to offer much more bang for the buck (and the bucks are equivalent) for HT purposes. For primary musical usage, I might have been more willing to have the Marantz changed out for a "fixed" model. Plus, the Marantz is a helluva handsome component, very well-designed from an aesthetic viewpoint - it would win a beauty contest with the Yammie hands down!


But then, A/V components are for listening to, not looking at, right?

 

[Felgar]

I've always liked the look of Yamaha's orange display - just seems right to me.

 

[IlliniHoops]

I hear you on the aesthetics part-- the NAD's minimialist approach hits me different ways on different days. It is definitely unique!


If I popped for the NAD- I would probably have to get some matching NAD components- like a cd/dvd player-- or otherwise the system would look funny.


I currently have a Pioneer 563A (silver)- cd/dvd player- and a silver Sony tv (which will be replaced). My current Sony receiver matches closer to the Marantz- and doesn't look too bad with the other components from other manufacturers.


Then again- I know it's more about the sound/ performance not the looks.


Decisions, Decisions.

 

[Felgar]

I like the minimalist approach - it has a simple elegance that sits right with me. If they only would have incorporated a that lip-sync feature!!!

 

[IlliniHoops]

I'll agree- it does look pretty cool on the right type of rack- driving a couple of nice/ real wood-looking towers.


Have you had any probs with the lip sync delay? where would i see that? dvd playback? Satellite tv? Is it from digital connection or analog?

 

[gatt767]

Within my setup I have nad/sony/toshiba, and look quite good within the rack

 

[Felgar]

To be very clear, the problem is all with the source - the broadcaster does not ensure that the audio and video streams are in sync before broadcasting. I've noticed a lot of HD material can have this issue, esspecially on my local cable carrier when they put a show on their "demo" channel.


DTS tracks on many DVD's (Superbit Mask of Zorro for instance) seem to be fairly problematic too; be it an analog or digital connection to the receiver. Basically what happens is that the sound comes a little before the picture, so a character's lips will not match exactly what he's saying. You need a pretty decent TV to see it, and it's also fairly well accepted that digital displays like DLP's and Plasma's make matters worse by buffering a few frames which adds delay.


And yes, I have had problems. On one hand I'm tempted to say that it's source-dependent and not my concern. But on the other hand if I got the Yamaha 2400 or Denon 3803 I could effectively deal with it. So for me it boils down to the question of whether the NAD sounds that much better than the Yamaha to warrant putting up with lip-sync issues. I still haven't decided yet - I'm finding it a very hard decision.