Price Paid:  $8.00 from Sound Advice

Summary:
This is an excellent receiver. I upgraded from a pioneer elite and when I first turned the 7300ose on I could hear the difference. The sound is much more full and rich. It is very clear and detailed. If you put a bad recording thru it the Marantz will let you know. You will hear every flaw on the dvd or cd. Dvd's are great with this receiver. I get the feeling that I am hearing the sound track exactly as the director wanted me to hear it. Runs warm but not hot. I have been very satisfied with this receiver and would not hesitate to recomend it to anyone.

Strengths:
Clear and detailed sound gold plated terminal very,very musical Channels are discrete from each other

Weaknesses:
Setup menu is slow and doesn't respond to comands until several pushes on the joy stick. Not always but alot of the time

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer,Pioneer elite

Price Paid:  $1100.00 from Sound Forum (www.sou

Summary:
This is a very good reciever. Is it worth the extra over the 7300 (now 7400) I will let your budget decide. Personally, I say yes. There is an improvement in audio quality and power that is noticeable. The question to ask is the improvement worth the extra $. I noticed this reciever made my speakers (Paradigm monitor series with a PW series sub) sound better than ever. In S-direct mode the sound is phenominal. I can speak volumes about this reciever however in the end hearing it for yourself is the best solution. Let your ears decide (it would be best if you go to a dealer that has your speakers or equivilent; the dealer I went to sells paradigm so I had them hook up my speakers to hear it has I would) As far as the S-direct mode not allowing the use of a subwoofer. Think about it ,the S-direct mode skips all audio processing therefore it skips bass management. If you want a subwoofer during S-direct just hook your sub to the front L/R pre-outs instead of the subwoofer pre-out then set the subwoofer to none, set your front to Large and your done. The LFE on DVD's will be diverted to the fronts with the sub so no LFE will be lost. My system: Marantz SR-7300OSE Paradigm Monitor 9 (Front L/R) Paradigm CC-370 X 2 (Front and rear center) Paradigm ADP-370 (Rear L/R) Paradigm SW-2200 (Subwoofer)

Strengths:
Power, audio quality, # inputs good for most systems.

Weaknesses:
Remote sucks (of course I was never planing on using it since I already owned a home theatre master).

Price Paid:  $0.00 from Hi-Q A/V

Summary:
My dealer, Marty at Hi-Q in Thousand Oaks, CA recommended the 7300OSE as a solution to the audiophile conundrum: "How do I keep decent stereo music sound and add DVD/surround capability". Good news...it works! The OSE delivers very clean, musical quality. Perhaps a little extra bass bloom, and "air" in the HF, but never harsh or grainy. Noticable improvement in "Source Direct" mode. Good power supply. It drives my Dynaudio Contour 3.0's to satisfying levels in stereo, but runs a little short of power in surround with the Dyn Audience 120 center and Jamo 100 surrounds. Still, the surround sound field is clean and clear, deceptively quiet so it shocks when the crash and bang arive on the sound tracks. Many smiles from visiting friends. Music in stereo is delightful. Front end is the Arcam DV88, providing superb CD stereo, and DVD playback. Music sounds clearer, more detail, using the analog output of the Arcam, but still excellent with the 7300OSE's digital input. Next step is an outboard power amp with auto turn-on for the mains...as in the Sterophile review, the Contour 3.0 woofer "fluffs" on loud bass peaks as the 7300 runs out of current to control woofer travel...not "thunk" as in bottoming out or distorted, and the receiver recovers instantly. Great unit, satisfied customer.

Strengths:
Clean, clear sound, pleasing quality Analog and digital inputs for all sources Source Direct for best quality Solid clean power right up to max levels Fairly easy to operate

Weaknesses:
Small monochrome display Weak speaker binding posts fixed, ungrounded power cord

Similar Products Used:
Nakamichi AV2 rcvr, Adcom GFA750, McCormack DNA.5, VTL preamp

Price Paid:  $900.00 from online

Summary:
I have to say that I am becoming more and more impressed with this reciever every day.I am an audiophile and I wasn't expecting to hear such good sound out of a reciever that I bought to make a home theater for the wife and her friends. In fact after I bought it, I was really unimpressed with the sound and thought it sounded a little lifeless and dull. But as time has gone by and I tweaked a few things the sound has become very,very good in true audiophile fashion. I first used a PS Audio Ultimate outlet and Analysis Plus speaker cables with my Paradigm Reference studio 100v2s and Studio CC and Adp surrounds. My source is a Sony DVP999ES. I thought it sounded ok but I wasn't really impressed and started thinking I should get rid of it and go to seperates. But just on a whim, I bought some new double run biwire speaker cables from a company called Signal Cable and the things I didn't like previously changed. The soundstage became more focused and the bass seemed to become slightly more defined. It seemed as though a clarity and transparency emerged that really brought this system into the realm of seperates that has kind of surprised me. I wish the reciever had a little more power but I can say that I no longer feel the need to upgrade. The sound is that good. It definatel benefits from the right cables and source equipment.

Strengths:
Very good sound , extremely musical

Weaknesses:
Might have a hard time with difficult to drive speakers

Similar Products Used:
No other receivers but high end stuff like Bryston BAT Musical Fidelity and Sim Audio

Price Paid:  $0.00 from N/A

Summary:
A fairly well rounded receiver. The "OSE" version is nice with the gold plated connectors, beefy power supply, HDCD decoder. Setup was easy. Going from my old receiver(Sony GA7ES) to the SR 7300 OSE was a huge change. It's a very clean and powerful receiver that sounds great for music and HT. Most of the surround modes are usable which is suprising to me since I usally don't care for them. Especially the Circle Surround modes. My B&W 602 S2's and Velodyne SPL 1200 work well with the Marantz. The remote is one of the most aweful looking things I've ever seen but it "learned" and controlled about 95% of the functions from all of my other remotes. Setting up macro's was a breeze. No upconverting of video from composite to S-Video. But a nice OSD and menu screen. All in all this was a great buy.

Strengths:
Crystal 192 KHZ/24 Bit D/A's on all 8 channels. RS 232C Terminal. DD EX and DTS ES. Massive Power Supply and transformer, HDCD decoding, gold plated connectors, and OSD.

Weaknesses:
No upconverting of video signals from composite to S-Video. No THX Certification. No OSD through Component out. Remotes look and joystick control.

Similar Products Used:
Sony GA7ES (not really similar though)