Price Paid:  $120.00 from Craigslist

Summary:
My previous amp was a Yamaha rv905. I initially started looking for new amp after purchasing a used set of Def Tech speakers as my receiver would cut out in surround sound mode. It turns out that it was just a bad center channel, but decided to upgrade anyway. I found a two year old Marantz SR7500 on craigslist, and purchased it for $120 (steal!). Since I thought my receiver was pretty high end, I was pretty skeptical that newer/better receiver would actually make a difference in sound. Boy was I wrong! Music comes alive with this new receiver! If you every find the opportunity, especially at the price I did, buy it!

Strengths:
Clarity of sound. Programmable. Elegant design.

Weaknesses:
At the price I paid, absolutely none.

Similar Products Used:
Yamaha RV905

Price Paid:  $600.00 from accessories4less.com

Summary:
now that i've had a few days to review my new reciever i can say....
this Marantz sr7500 is the bombsmack.

after the MRAC ( marantz room calibration) mic. was setup it took about 30 seconds of test tones to get my room setup correctly and completely flat response on its built in eq network.
very musical reciever, it took what my onkyo 503 was doing and somehow gave it life.
i am extremely happy with it's clartity, hearing parts of movies and songs i've never had the privilege of before. almost a VIP ticket to everything the recording artist intended.
the surrounds are more lively and full sounding.
the power is more than any one house should have.
the sub sounds more flat and extended.
frequency response and tonal quality is spot-on with a warmth that makes you smile while listening to music.
and speaking of music, the soundstage has opened up, higher and wider with a good bit more depth than the onkyo. now that may be the reciever or the new marantz dv4600 dvd player, one of them deserves a pat on the back.
i've listened to more music this weekend than in these last couple months and i'm sure it's a direct result of the marantz sr7500...

after the reciever has burned in and has had a few months of time under it's belt , i will review again but for now it has to be the biggest amplification bargain out there.

Strengths:
everything

Weaknesses:
no hdmi switching ....
however thats not a deal breaker considering they haven't stopped revisions to the format yet and i only have one hdmi input. if i get more i will buy an external switch.. and there is an upside to running the video separate the reciever will run the audio "pure direct" with all the vid circuitry off for cleaner sound with no vid interference.

Similar Products Used:
2006 onkyo 503, 1992 JVC surround reciever.
This reciever is running...
PSB image series T-45 towers, Mb Quart center channel, PSB alpha B-1 surrounds on monster wall mounts, and a DIY 15" sub vented / tuned to 18hz with 300watt bash amp.
sources:
Marantz dv4600 dvd, xbox360 prem. w/ HD dvd add on, dish network VIP211 through HDMI.( all others are component/ dig. opt)

Price Paid:  $600.00 from accessories4less.com

Summary:
now that i've had a few days to review my new reciever i can say....
this Marantz sr7500 is the bombsmack.

after the MRAC ( marantz room calibration) mic. was setup it took about 30 seconds of test tones to get my room setup correctly and completely flat response on its built in eq network.
very musical reciever, it took what my onkyo 503 was doing and somehow gave it life.
i am extremely happy with it's clartity, hearing parts of movies and songs i've never had the privilege of before. almost a VIP ticket to everything the recording artist intended.
the surrounds are more lively and full sounding.
the power is more than any one house should have.
the sub sounds more flat and extended.
frequency response and tonal quality is spot-on with a warmth that makes you smile while listening to music.
and speaking of music, the soundstage has opened up, higher and wider with a good bit more depth than the onkyo. now that may be the reciever or the new marantz dv4600 dvd player, one of them deserves a pat on the back.
i've listened to more music this weekend than in these last couple months and i'm sure it's a direct result of the marantz sr7500...

after the reciever has burned in and has had a few months of time under it's belt , i will review again but for now it has to be the biggest amplification bargain out there.

Strengths:
everything

Weaknesses:
no hdmi switching ....
however thats not a deal breaker considering they haven't stopped revisions to the format yet and i only have one hdmi input. if i get more i will buy an external switch.. and there is an upside to running the video separate the reciever will run the audio "pure direct" with all the vid circuitry off for cleaner sound with no vid interference.

Similar Products Used:
2006 onkyo 503, 1992 JVC surround reciever.
This reciever is running...
PSB image series T-45 towers, Mb Quart center channel, PSB alpha B-1 surrounds on monster wall mounts, and a DIY 15" sub vented / tuned to 18hz with 300watt bash amp.
sources:
Marantz dv4600 dvd, xbox360 prem. w/ HD dvd add on, dish network VIP211 through HDMI.( all others are component/ dig. opt)

Price Paid:  $759.00 from Internet

Summary:
Overall great receiver for the price. Better than Onkyo, Sony's and other brands you find at the big stores. Features/connections are a plenty. Configuration is not hard to figure out.

The receiver is simple, classic looking. It has a panel that is covered which adds a high end look to it. Better than all the clutter you see on the machines out there.

Very musical and especially capable with loud action movies. One of the best remotes i've seen that comes with a receiver. Will add more comments as i play with it more.

One additional bonus is the dolby surround headphone output. I was in for a surprise when i hooked this up. The sound was clean and really felt like the sound is all around and not inside the head.

I would recommend this in the second hand market or for anyone looking to upgrade.

Strengths:
Musical. Capable of driving large speakers and fill the room with a wide, hauntingly real sound stage. Also great as a pre/pro connectd to a multi channel amp. Good sound separation.

Weaknesses:
On the pricier side but well worth it.

Similar Products Used:
Onkyo SR701 THX

Price Paid:  $621.00 from The Best

Summary:
I bought this SR7500 for less than a month even though it is an obseleted model with SR7001 already in place. I replace it with my old Yamaha AX2 which is also a very nice AV amplifier. I use the SR7500 with my DV7600 which has an HDMI interface. I thought that I had already all the very nice component cables, coaxial and optical cables, do I need to have an amplifier with HDMI interface and have to pay extra 500 bugs for this? So I decided to buy this obseleted model and connect my the DV7600 to my LCD TV directly through HDMI just for video transmission.

I took my new AV receiver back home myself. I was a bit disappointed of its weight and found that it weighs only around 15kg whereas my old Yamaha AX2 weighted 22kg. I started to have doubt on its quality.

After I got back home, I unpacked it and hook up everything, including a DVD recorder, PSII, DV7500 as well as all my speakers. I could not wait but first try the stereo effect by listening my favourite CDs and it produced very warm and sweet sound quality. The sound stage is so wide and every thing was so clear to you. I find it more enjoyable now when listening to audio CDs.

I then tried the MRAC and in just few minutes, the setup was complete. So this is the time for my DVDs. The setup was very accurate except that I had to reset my front speakers to small even though they are a pair of KEF Q3. People told me that Marantz is not too good for action movies. But with this SR7500, I would say that it has done a good job.

The only problem now I have is that the volume has to set to a high level for a reasonable output which I think there must be something wrong in the setting and I will sort it out later.

The remote? It is good in terms of its functions. I like its LCD display which is much bigger than those of Yamaha. The shape is wonderful. Yet, it does not have enough buttons and when you have to control the amplifier, you must press on the Amp button to do so whereas for Yamaha, you can always control the amplifier together with another device you have chosen at the same time. The color? The worst that I have ever seen. But doesn't matter.

Well, I would say that SR7500 is a very good choice and I can play with this toy for some years.

Strengths:
Accurate MRAC
Good stereo sound reproduction
Easy to use and set up

Weaknesses:
No HDMI
Only up conversion of video is available
Bad looking remote

Similar Products Used:
Yamaha AX2