Price Paid:  $500.00 from Audiogon

Summary:
When I first auditioned this DVD, I was really impressed. By far, the best stand-alone CD player I have ever owned (I don't use the DVD). I also heard Marantz makes pretty good CD players.
An outboard DAC is not necessary for this although some use this CD as their transport.
This CD shines.

Strengths:
Good sounding CD. A little bright in my opinion.

Weaknesses:
Slow in reading media (DVD or CD). The door opens slowly compared to other CD players I have owned.

Similar Products Used:
Rotel RCD 855, Sony DVP-S7000,

Price Paid:  $500.00

Summary:
Great player, but now I think that it is expensive for the price. Players have become more affordable, so you should be able to find a machine of this quality for a lower price. My requirement when looking was for sound that was good CD player quality (having digital media, I didn't just want good picture - it needed to be good everything). Also, not buying the whole 5.1 surround thing, the sound quality had to deliver pure sound to be put through a Rotel amp (ie - no bells & whistles, just pure clean stereo sound). The Marantz delivers. Note though that the CD sound is not as good as my Rotel CD player & I do not use the Marantz to play CDs. The difference is small, but having the CD player, might as well use the better of the two. The sound quality is unbelieveably better than an old Sony CD carousel I have. Picture quality is great - I have a Loewe TV with Scart input & I invested $100 in buying a serious cable to run between the DVD player & the TV. Result is a sensational picture (best I have seen on any DVD/TV combo) and high-grade sound quality. The player is slow - you will hear that from everyone - this is just loading, I have no trouble in layer transition. As far as I am concerned, it is a small price to pay for the quality of the output. You may disagree if you need things to happen fast! I am slightly concerned that I get error messages every now & then when loading a disc (the player is less than 18mths old), but it is still under extended warranty, so if that ends up being an issue, I'll get it fixed. Still, not what you expect from a player in the high end of the market. Recommendation - use the foyer shoot-out scene from Matrix to audition the player - you'll see what people talk about...

Strengths:
Great sound quality, Amazing picture quality, SCART plug, component out, Region code free

Weaknesses:
It is slow, and the remote is still not easy to use (even after using it for a year). After 18 mths, I get an error ever now & then when it loads a disc.

Similar Products Used:
None

Price Paid:  $300.00 from Audiogon

Summary:
I love this player. For anything under $500, it's a great buy. Yes, it's kind of on the slow side, but it's an older model player. The best part about this player is the sound quality. I don't need a separate $1000 CD player when I have this. And it plays everything.

Strengths:
Build, picture quality, fantastic sound (plays CD-R's and CD's perfectly.)

Weaknesses:
Slow (if you're a crackhead)

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer 434

Summary:
I just got this player a couple of days ago. First my intention was to go for the 7010 because of all the horror stories about slow operation, but i got the 7000 at a real good price. In my case the operation seems ok, layer change takes 1-2 seconds as it does on all the DVD players i tried. I heard of some poor souls who had to wait 5-10 seconds for the layer to change.. Too bad.. Maybe this varies? I dont know, but this Playa' seems good.

Picture looks good and the sound is pretty much what sound should be. In my case i now use this as a cd player also. It definetly sounds better than my old Sony.

Now im almost there and my home theater will be complete

My setup is this:

Marantz DV7000 (Ofcourse)
Marantz SR7000 Reciever
Philips PW32 9525 TV
B&W DM605 S2 as front
B&W DM602 S2 as rears
And soon a B&W LCR6 S2 Center channel

Og det lyder rigtig fedt!)

PS: Thanks too all who submitted their reviews on this site, that has helped me alot in purchasing almost all of my equipment!

Strengths:
Picture, looks, sound, quality

Similar Products Used:
Keenwoodxx xx , Creative DXR2 DVD ROM, Sony Playstation, Panasonics DV535

Price Paid:  $599.00 from local dealer

Summary:
Returning this unit tomorrow after two weeks of use. I wanted a DVD player that did DVD and CDs equally well. This unit came highly recommended for the task. I loved the video and audio improved over my Sony DVD player. Video image was clean and colors were perfect. Audio was smooth and refined...if not a tad laid back at times (none of that digital hash you get with cheaper players!).

User interface and operation were both unacceptably slow. Today, I returned to my dealer, who also had the newer 7010 on display and I compared the speed of the two. Chapter advances were much faster on the 7010. It took the 7010 four seconds to load and start playing a DVD. It took the 7000 ten seconds!! The DVD layer changes on my 7000 were unacceptably slow at 3-4 seconds. I have not experienced this yet on the 7010. The 7000's on-screen display did not indicate track number and was therefore pretty useless, as my equipment rack is in the back of the room. The OSD on the 7010 shows track number.

I'm returning the 7000 tomorrow for a 7010 ($50 more and worth every penny). I'm certain I'll be equally pleased with the video and audio performance without being frustrated by slow and clunky operation.

Two stars for value as you should get excellent processing speed and OSD/GUI at this price point and the 7000 does NOT deliver.

Overall rating is a 4 vs. a 3 on the sheer merits of audio and video performance alone. After comparing this unit to the 7010, I strongly recommend the 7010 for its improved speed and OSD/GUI. The 7010 player is far more worthy of additional stars. I'll review it in a couple of weeks.

Strengths:
Audio and video quality. Sturdy build quality.

Weaknesses:
Remote, s--l--o--w operation. On-screen display(s)

Similar Products Used:
Panasonic DVD-A110, Sony DVP-550