Marantz SR-880 A/V Receivers Reviews

Price Paid:  $130.00 from CMY

Summary:
Just bought it last week and initial tests revealed great tuner section. Powerful pulling power and very clean reception without hisses and buzzes which are quite common in my area as with my Sony STR V55ES and I paid USD 884 for that one. Surpringly, music sounds better with my old very basic Philips DVD player with MIT av cable than through analogue interconnects with my old very basic Pioneer CD player. Probably because the cables used for the CD are not of high quality. Partially tested Dolby Digital but only in 2.0 Surround. Not bad but lacks the finesse of the Sony ( but then, the technology is 3 years ahead although when first launched, the SR880 was much more expensive comparatively). Can't wait to go full 5.1 when I get my hands on centre and rear speakers at the AV show this weekend. Currently using MB Quart 20LC as fronts and PSB Alpha 5 subwoofers.The SR880 was bought as ancillary HT set-up and is only meant for the bedroom.Main use is for the radio and for that it deserves top marks. Will write second part of review after testing full 5.1 sound.

Strengths:
Great Tuner : clean, powerful, crisp. Many features. Solidly built. Great remote too that uses only 2 AAA size batteries as compared to Yamaha RXV 396 which uses 4 AAA batteries for such a puny remote.

Weaknesses:
Wish it has 5.1 input for upgrade with external DTS decoder. Possible with DVD player with built-in DTS decoder ?

Similar Products Used:
Sony STR V555ES 2001 model, Denon Pro-Logic circa 1996/97

Price Paid:  $500.00

Summary:
This is a steal of a unit works well for 2 channel and has all the inputs you need for HT.
Find one used its a great value.

Strengths:
Easy to use and set up

Weaknesses:
None

Summary:
LOOKING AT BUYING A MARANTZ SR-882. CAN'T FIND ANYTHING ON IT AT ALL. PLEASE HELP.

Summary:
I just ran across my reveiw (previous post) for the Marantz sr 880 given about a week ago and realized that I had 'Audiophile' marked in my reveiw. I am simply an enthusiast. Though I believe I have a very sensitive ear I by no means claim to have the years of comparing high end Audio equiptment, much less get paid for my personal views!
Anyways I felt like correcting that paticular part of my post.
In my opinion way to many people claim to be quite a bit more than they are when it comes to audio listening and reviewing, which is quickly obvious in their posts.
Anyways I'm in the process of finding the best interconncts and speaker cable for my system. So far Tara labs RSC cables are looking and most importantly sounding the best. the reference generation 11 seems best for my system for what I can afford (lessens the grainy sound a bit and smooths the highs out)

Price Paid:  $550.00

Summary:
Bought used at $550 it is well worth it for the price. Even though it lacks DTS, time is showing that that shouldn't be a worry.
The manual leaves MUCH to the imagination, so be prepared to experiment!
The DSP modes are of good quality, though I'd switch back to 'stereo' mode for any serious music listening. The sound is very bright and grainy regardless of mode. Marantz used to have a nice warm tone, what happened???
It does come with a great remote (RC2000) that can do just about any function short of cleaning your dishes.

Strengths:
RC 2000 (remote)
Features for (used) price - $550.00

Weaknesses:
Too bright and grainy sounding

Similar Products Used:
1st home theater receiver