Neil Sumner

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
2.64 of 5, 22.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1300.00

Summary:
I used to love Marantz. Their old machines were a reference to me. As with many users I know, I must admit that at first the unit worked fine and delivered good audio and video. But... I have had this unit for about three months and have found more negatives than positives with this Marantz, like skipping on cd's that are lightly scratched that worked fine on any other cd players. Now after about 3 months, it suddenly skips on all DVD video, in some cases it doesn't read DVDs at all. It loads slowly, but this is not that big of deal. The picture quality and sound quality is good, not exceptional as my old Sony NS 900V. Progressive DVD picture quality is not so good, crisp, too smooth and not so detailed. The second problem is the audio part. Is enormous "week" for old Marantz reputation name. SACD sounds good on the Marantz, but I think the Sony and Pioneer DV-563A might sound better.It sounds clean, but very flat, lifeless, and sometimes digital. By comparison, my 2 years old Sony has better stereo imaging, more dynamic and natural sound than this Marantz. I am disappointed.

Strengths:
Contstruction and appearance. Good remote.

Weaknesses:
Progressive picture. Poor CD and SACD sound quality. Very slow loading. Not very tolerant with scratched disks

Similar Products Used:
Sony NS 900V Pioneer DV-563A

Price Paid:  $0.00 from Sound Video

Summary:
I looked at just about every popular player I could find before deciding on the 8400. Many of the unit's I considered costs over twice as much. While some might think it hard to consider a DVD player costing in excess of $1000 a value, I honestly think this player is. It has a long list of attributes: a high build quality, great on screen displays, runs silent, is quick to load & track, plays just about everything and excell's at both music and video. What more can you ask of player? Many of the hyped or glitzy high end units I reviewed didn't come close in sound or picture to what the Marantz provided. If you are looking for a versatile piece of equipment with excellent performance characteristics then you should consider the 8400. I purchased mine from Steve at Sound Video. I have always found him to be very knowledgeable and informed while being very competitive on price. He is definitely worth a visit: sales@soundvideo.com

Strengths:
user friendly on screen menu's, high build quality, quiet operation, seems to play everything and does it well

Weaknesses:
None so far that I've found.