Richard I agree with your review as I stated in mine I use this piece for home theatre. I am interested in what you replaced yours with. If there is something available with all included and great music I want it. I have spent considerable time with this unit know, based on music I must downgrade to a four. Love the home theater, good thing thats what I use it for.

The AV 9000 is simply one of the best purchases I have made for my Home Theater. It is the easiest piece of equipment I have ever used. Once programmed the remote has disbanded the invasion I was feeling from the other 5 remotes it has replaced. The quality and looks of the AV 9000 are terrific and the sound is amazing, not just the Dolby Digital, DTS, and THX, but also the music when listening to cd's. It has more imputs then most pieces including numerous digital, s-video and composite video. I finaly have a piec that is great today, and will grow with future additions.

Let me put it this way..After I traded in my Nakamichi CA-1 for the AV9000, I had never thought that my system can sound so good. The highs are just right, the midrange is full and generous and the bass is solid and crisp. If you are into dance/house music where bass rules, you can never go wrong with this piece of equipment. As for the home theater piece (to be honest about it.. who cares??)Tested with: NAD 5000(CD Player),Morel Acoustics Speakers, 2 Velodyne F Series subwoofers.(That's all I need)

For those of you who want the result without the detail, I'll give you the bullet: Very solid, very good sounding product with no major negitives for its class. Very good value.
Now the details. I'll give a quick rundown of the features
- All the usual DPL, DD, DTS processing with full THX Ultra processing and certification
- Large number of both A/V (all with S-video) and Audio only analog inputs, four digital inputs
- Digital outputs (forgot how many)
- Component video switching with two inputs
- Two zone control
- Tuner
- RC2000 MKII remote (easily the best remote included with any component from any manufacturer)
- Lots of other stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting

SET UP:
Fairly standard for this type of component. Full on screen display. All the usual speaker settings. Delay can set be entering speaker distance in feet or meters. Test tone for all channels, all channel large or small. Bass limiter circuit with its own test tone (which is a good way to torture test both your sub and your room). Crossover fixed 80Hz (as necessary for THX certification). Still, a variable crossover would be nice.

A word about about the remote. This remote is a major asset to this pre/pro. I've handled the remotes to most of its competitors, and I like this one the best. Lots of real buttons layed out logically, with an LCD screen and soft keys for non-dedicated function. So far I've programmed it to handle my DVD player, TV, and cable box, and have had no problems controlling any of them.

SOUND - HT:
Can't say I've ever heard a processor that sounded better, even those that cost much more. Handled every thing I through at it quite well (DD: Fifth Element, Super Speedway, True Lies. DTS: Eagles - Hell Freezes Over). Super Speedway was very interesting because a one point it uses the front speakers for sound effects only, and pumps all the dialog and music through the surrounds. The system handled this quite nicely.

SOUND - 2 channel audio:
Wasn't expecting two much, given its price and HT orientation. Did some listening using my DVD player as the source, and was pleasently suprised. Good imaging and sound stage, no noticiable grain or tonal hiccups. This unit has what is called a direct mode. It works in both analog and digital modes. If this unit has a full analog bypass, it would be this mode on an analog source, but I'm not sure if it is implemented that way. What is nice about direct mode is that it removes all processing, including the sub cross over and output, even in digital. So if you want to use your sub for movies, but not for music, this will do the job without having to change the speaker configuration. VERY useful.

A friend brought over a higher end CD player (Adcom GCD700). We hooked this into the system and did some testing. Between the analog and digital outputs of the CD player running through the pre/pro, we didn't hear any difference in sound quality that couldn't be attributed to a slight level difference on the two different inputs. This CD player also has its own preamp stage and volume control, which outputs through a second set of variable level RCA jacks. We hooked this up directly to the amp channels driving my main speakers. We both though we heard an improvement, but we couldn't say this wasn't also attributable to a level difference. Overall, I have no complaints on how the AV9000 handles 2 channel audio.

PRICE/VALUE:
The unit lists for $1799. I got it for $1600. I was pushing for $1500, but the unit was brand new, he only had one left (yeah, I know, but that's what the computer showed in inventory), and the dealer had gotten more for it recently. As for value, this unit's most direct natural enemies are the Parasound AVC2500 and the Sunfire Theater Grand. All these units have very similar feature sets. Both of the others list in the $3K area, and go for mid $2Ks on the street. I've heard the Sunfire, and consider it no better. No one had the Parasound set up yet. In my mind, for a grand less, the Marantz is a no brainer. Looking at lower end units, compared to the Sony T-AE9000ES, the Marantz has more features, a better remote, better two channel performance, no apparent software problems, and is only $2-400 more. I haven't listened to the Sherwood AVC9080, so I can't make any definitive quality assessments yet. But the Marantz has more flexible switching and a better remote. Now the Sherwood is $5-700 less. But without judging the quality, I can't say which is a better value.

CONCLUSION:
Certainly a five star, especially when considering its price. At one point I considered the Sony to be the price/performance benchmark for pre/pros, but now this unit is. That's why I bought it.

REST OF SYSTEM (pieces used in evaluation):

Speakers: B&W Matrix 803, 805, and HTM
Sub: Definitive Technologies PF15TL
Amps: Parasound HCA1500A, HCA1203A
DVD Player: Panasonic A310
CD Player: Adcom GCD700 (not mine)
Display: Toshiba TP61H90

every dang thang.

nada dang thang.

The best $1700 I ever spent.
Had a Sony ES-9000 pre and it sounded like s--t on music.
music on the marantz is on par w/music only pre's costing $3000+.
best DTS/AC3/THX proccesising i have ever heard!
we all hear units different, but give dis thang a listen!

Sound Quality, Build quality, Remote

None

I bought this Preamp originally as a way to integrate my new Sony DVP-9000ES progressive scan DVD/SACD player into my system without having to do a A/D conversion to play the SACDs. The TAE-9000ES Preamp converts all of its incoming analog signals to digital and then back to anolog, (stupid). I was only looking for an analog preamp to use with my existing system but the options are limited. The salesman convinced me to try the Marantz since it has a 6 channel direct input which bypasses all internal processing and does not do an A/D conversion of the incoming analog signals. I was very hesitant as I have pretty much been a "SONY MAN". I have to say I was extremely surprised and elated when I put the Marantz into my system. Not only did it pass the SACD signal through untouched which allowed me to here SACD in all its glory, (SACD is awesome!), but it did a better job on Dolby digital and DTS than my Sony TAE-9000ES. The sound was much more seemless and detailed than on the Sony, which surprised me greatly. The Marantz is dead quiet while the Sony has a hum that no amount of line conditioning, upgraded cables, etc. will fix. Believe me this is painful to admit. I've been a Sony fan forever and I have had the TAE-9000ES for two years. But the truth of the matter is that the Marantz in about 10 minutes made me realize that I had been missing alot in my music over the years.
There may be better Preamps out there but I haven't heard one that sounds better than the Marantz. Like the Sony they may have more bells and whistles but the Marantz has excellent sound quality. The 24/96 D/A converters in the Marantz are excellent. They are so good that I can't see spending any money on an external D/A converter; spend your money on something else.
One word of caution however; If you like all those psuedo surrond modes for music, like the Sony has, then get something else. The Marantz does an outstanding job on decoding Dolby Digital, DTS, THX, and 2 channel stereo, but the other modes stink. But with the sound quality of the Marantz you may be like me and come to find out that good 2 channel stereo is better anyway! Believe me I don't miss the hall, live, stadium, etc. modes from the Sony because the Marantz does 2 channel so well you don't need them. The since of space and 3 dimentionality with the Marantz makes it a moot point.
If you value sound quality above all else get the Marantz; If you like bells and whistles get a receiver; or I have a Sony TAE-9000ES I'll sell you.

Similar Products Used:

Sony TAE-9000ES, Sony EP9ES

The Mk 2000 remote, loads of features for the money, the remote, the amazing sound quality, the remote, the build quality....did I mention the remote?

It can't read your mind.

Last year I finally got involved in home theater. I wasn't looking to spend a great deal of money, so I started off on the low end of things. I purchased a Pioneer DVX-608 receiver, Panasonic A110 DVD player and Cambridge Soundworks 308 speaker package to start. For around $1100, I had a very nice beginner's package.

But I'm one of those people who's never really satisifed. I'm always looking at the newest products on the market, and I'm always stopping in at the local electronics stores to listen to components that are the next step up from whatever I currently have. And when you have a $400 receiver, just about everything is a step up....

So, earlier this year, I decided to take the plunge into separates. I found a Marantz MM-9000 Power Amp for $850 NEW (God bless Ebay)! To match up with this impressive amp, I looked around and finally found a used Denon AVP-8000 THX preamp. Add some higher-end used speakers, and again, I had an excellent setup. But the Denon was actually somewhat of a disappointment. The biggest gripe I had abount the unit was the fact that there is a 2 second delay in the audio turning on in DD mode--if you pause, scan, or skip chapters, the audio doesn't turn back on immediately. There was also a fairly noticable hum in the center channel that could be heard from my listening position at low-top-mid volumes. Finally, DD mode actually seemed to be slightly soft and less detailed compared to my Pioneer! I'll chalk this up to the unit being 4 years old and slightly banged up as opposed to being a bad design---all other sound modes were awesome.

This time, I finally decided to pony up and get a brand new preamp. After some searching (and extensive reviewing on this site), I came down to 2 choices: the Marantz AV-9000 and the B&K Reference 20. In the end, I chose the Marantz because the price was $600 dollars lower. Sound quality and features between the two were extremely close, and the B&K is a *very* impressive unit, although it is not worth the extra money in comparison to the Marantz.

So how is the Marantz? Words fail to do justice to this preamp. The DD mode is simply amazing. The sense of space and clarity is simply fantasic. CDs and radio stations are very clear. The build quality is very good, but not quite as good as the Denon (the Denon weighed 30 pounds---that's just a preamp, folks!) but very impressive nevertheless.

And the remote....my God, this remote is simply the greatest device I've ever owned. I've replaced six remotes with this single unit. Even if you don't have a Marantz component, go buy this remote! It is undoubtedly worth the money.

All in all, for the $1900 I paid for the unit, I am completely satisfied. Marantz has a customer for the forseeable future. I can only imagine what they could do with Dolby Surround EX. If they make a new version of this unit with that added functionality, I'll be one of the first people in line to get one.

And now for the nitty-gritty, my system:

Preamp: Marantz AV-9000 (obviously)
Power Amp: Marantz MM-9000
Interconnects: Audioquest Jade (soon to be upgraded)
Speaker Cable: Audioquest Type 4+
Speakers L/R: Cambridge Soundworks Tower 1 (don't listen to the reviews here, those people are full of it. Back these speakers up with some decent equipment, and they will rock you in HT applications. They are quite good for music as well, but they really shine in HT)
Speaker, center: Cambridge Soundworks Centerstage
Speakers, surround L/R: Cambridge Soundworks Surround 5.1
DVD Player: Sony DVP-S7000 (if you can find this on closeout, GET IT! It's simply amazing, and the lack of DTS is no biggie for me)
CD Player: el cheapo Sony 200 disc carousel...I think it's the 240 model or some such.
VCR: JVC S-VHS (stay away from JVC like the plague...if the Marantz is the best purchase I ever made, then the JVC is hands-down the worst)
Line Conditioner: Monster HTS-3500 (to be replaced by the HTS-2000)
TV: Mitsubishi 35" (God bless Mitsubishi--I still think they make the best TVs out there)

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVP-8000 (non DTS version)

Great build quality, great remote. Stereo/HT sound is incredible, and all the features that it's not enough space here to list

Useless DPS modes. I believe in listening to music just in stereo, so it's not an issue to me.

This year I decided to take a plunge and upgrade my HT to separates. I have bought 6 Marantz MA-500 monoblocks from eBay for $900US (as in previous review, God bless eBay) and then I started my search for the preamp. I have looked at Adcom, Rotel, Lexicon. Then I came on to Marantz AV-9000. After comparing the features and the prices, and listening to demos, I decided to go with Marantz. Besides, it matched my amps really well. I was able to find it for $1399 brand new. And I am glad I made that choice. The preamp is loaded with features. DD, DTC, THX Ultra cert, OSD setup, many inputs and outputs for any kind of connections, component video switching, just to name a few. The channel separation is excellent. Watching DVD movies was never more enjoyable. The remote replaced all the clickers on the coffee table, very easy and intuitive to use. Just a great piece of equipment!

Similar Products Used:

None

remote, dts, thx

none that i've found yet

easy to set up and use. great ht and music sound. plenty of inputs/outputs. component video switching. 6.1 upgradable. i played dts version of saving private ryan and was blown away. looked for 6mos. at hk, yamaha, denon and marantz rcvrs. choose the marantz for the musical performance as well as ht performance. after a month of listening, i'd make the same choice.

eqpt:
marantz av-9000 pre-amp
marantz mm-9000 amp
toshiba sd-4109x dvd/cd
klipsch
rf-3 f r&l
rc-3 ctr
rs-3 r r&l
ksw-12 sub

Similar Products Used:

harman kardon

G
GREAT SOUND QUALITY GOOD BUILD QUALITY AWESOME REMOTE
TONS OF FEATURES

UNUSABLE DSP MODES BUT WHO USES THOSE ANYWAY?

I WORK IN A HIFI STORE AND I AM CONSTANTLY SURROUNDED BY THINGS LIKE THE PROCEED AVP AND DOWN TO THE SONY 9000ES NOT TO MENTION HI END RECIEVERS. THE MARKET IS SATURATED WITH ME TOO PREAMPS AND AMPS FOR 2000 BUCKS SO WHEN I WENT TO DEMO THE AV9000 I WASN"T VERY ENTHUSED. WHEN I FIRED IT UP WITH MY B&W SPEAKERS AND MA 500 MONOBLOCKS THE FIRST IMPRESSION THERE IS NO WAY THIS SOUNDS LIKE A 2000 DOLLAR ME TOO PREAMP. THE PROCESSING DESTROYES THE 9000 ES AND COMES CLOSE TO THE PROCEED BUT WE ARE TALKING A PREAMP THAT COST MORE THAN DOUBLE THE PRICE. THE TUNER WORKED FLAWLESSY PULLING IN STATIONS I NEVER KNEW I HAD THE SETUP TOOK ALL OF FIVE MINUITES ARMED WITH AN SPL METER I SET IT UP LIKE A PRO. IF YOU WANT A NONONSENSE NO ME TO PREAMP AND YOU ARE HARD UP ON CASH GIVE THIS THING A LISTEN ANYTHIN ELSE MORE EXPENSIVE JUST BRING THE LAW A DIMINISHING INTO PLAY.

Similar Products Used:

ROTEL 985 PROCEED AVP SUNFIRE THEATER GRAND