Sounds great in all modes; TV, DVD, CD. I like the 5 channel setting.

Programming the remote is bizaro! The manual is no help. All I use the remote for is control the volume and swith to different modes. Not sure how to increase and decrease treble and bass response!

Company needs to make the product easier to use. Should had bass and treble knobs on the front of receiver!

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha

Amps are clear, clean, and reasonably powerfull. Beautifull, detailed, yet very warm "musical" sound - the amp performance is what you would expect from a more expensive unit. The remote is also quite good. Construction is solid. Plenty of digital inputs. DTS decoding is noticably better than my previous receiver. The FM tuner is better than on my previous receiver.

Bass Management. No AC3 RF demodulator. No phono pre-amp.

I bought this receiver used (barely) to replace my Denon 3600DTS primarily because I'd finally become 100% fed up with the Denon's occasional, yet persistent analog switching glitches that their service center couldn't reproduce when I sent it in. Also, I needed more digital inputs.

The Marantz SR7000 is an outstanding unit for the price. It would be very, very difficult to find anything else in this price range with two-channel music performance on this level. It also seems to handle 5.1 sources as well as anything else I've used. In many areas, it sounds better than the (much more expensive) Denon it replaced. Primarily, the "highs" from the SR7000 are just as detailed, but more natural-sounding than on the Denon. The midrange from the Marantz is noticibly stronger, and more "life-like" than on the Denon (and I thought the Denon was/is excellent in this regard.) A nearly perfect match for my ribbon-tweeter speakers. In a nutshell, the Marantz SR7000 has a "knack" for making a decently produced CD sound as if were the original, master recording.

However, here's the "rub". The bass (mis)management system on the Marantz SR7000 is the receiver's achilles heel! First off, the built-in, non-adjustable 100Hz crossover is just plain TOO HIGH for critical, two-channel music listening! For a receiver that is marketed with the slogan "because music matters", this seems like a darned ridiculous oversight. Also, the SR7000 doesn't allow use of the subwoofer in "direct" (digital bypass) mode - what the F?!?! What's the point of that?!?! Additionally, the SR7000 handles its bass (mis)management differently for different surround modes - it's too complicated and unpredicatable - switch to another surround mode, and you've got a different method of addressing the subwoofer. If you're unfortunate enough to have a combination of large fronts, small center, and small surrounds, things get damned near un-managable and unpredictable. For example, in Pro-logic mode, from a non-Dolby Digital source (like Laserdisc or VHS) - you have to set ALL of the speakers for "small" to get the subwoofer to kick in. However, with a Dolby Digital encoded two-channel source, the bass (mis)management system has a slightly different approach. Insane! Don't even get me started on the DTS Movie vs. DTS Music modes - they handle the bass completely differently. In a nutshell, this receiver's engineers assumed that we consumers are too dumb to set-up our systems the way we like, so they've built in multiple, intrusive, "automatic" bass (mis)managament configurations into the system that cannot be overridden, and adjusted to my liking.

I now bypass the receiver's bass mismanagement system completely, and I'm using my subwoofer's adjustable crosover, and I'm more or less content. The Marantz bass mismanagement circuits are completely useless to me.

Meesh

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR3600DTS

everything

binding post

I've had this receiver for about a year now and I love it. Before I bought it I listened to every recvr I could. I took my dynaudios with me and the marantz just kick everything else in th A** in it's price range and above. Since then I've set it up with some paradigm's and ny 2 channel stere and home theater is totaly kick ass.

Similar Products Used:

nakamichi

Price, great for both HT and music.

bass management, manual

I purchased this receiver after I was told to read the reviews on this site. I have had the receiver for close to a year and am very happy with it. There are several areas of weakness, however I feel that this is the best unit for the price. Sure, everybody can rip into the weaknesses of the unit, but let's face it, this is not a $5,000 receiver. The first unit I purchased had a problem with the power cutting out and Bay Bloor exchanged it for a new unit with no problems.

As for weaknesses, here is my list:
- remote not backlit
- bass management system, for some reason, with dolby surround, my sub-woofer is not active unless I change the centre channel and surrounds to "small", however with dolby digital and dts, I can leave the speakers on "large (any thoughts on which setting is best)
- as with everyone else, I will agree that the manual sucks, this site has been great for figuring out some of the various quirks
- I don't find the receiver is as warm as everyone says it is (could be my speakers, could be my ears)
- can't change to 5 channel sound from remote (although I haven't really decided if I like this feature, sucks for music, but OK for TV when company is over)
- can't program remote to change the amp volume when in TV mode, need to go to store and learn the signal from another remote

Strengths:
- sounds awesome (I'm not an audiophile and don't know all the proper techno terms, but end of the day what really counts is the way it sounds, I compared it to other receivers in the same price range it sounded much better than them all, can't explain why, but just does)
- learning remote and macros
- price
- having fun upgrading various components such as the speakers, digital cable, DVD player, speaker cable and connectors and each time the SR-7000 has been able to keep up and make my system sound even better

Conclusion:
Like I said, I'm not an audiophile and don't know the techno terms, but the SR-7000 is awesome for the the price, but it definately has it's quirks. The biggest problem I have with the unit is the bass management system and I am constantly fiddling with the settings to try and get it right. To some people this would be enough to turn them off the unit, but I can live with it. If you want a better unit, you'll have to shell out quite a bit more $$ to notice a big difference. Having owned a cheaper TEAC receiver before, I can appreciate the quality and sound produced by the SR-7000. I'm constantly searching for great DVDs and CDs which make my system shine and just love listening to the sytem with a high quality DVD or CD.

Ugrading my speakers to the PSB line was amazing, also great value for $$. The use of the Tributaries digital cable is a worthwhile investment (subtle difference, need good speakers to notice the difference).

My system:
PSB 5T - main
PSB 9C - centre
PSB 2B - surrounds
Mirage BPS-150 - sub
Ultralink bi-wire speaker cable
Tributaries Silver digital audio cable
Pioneer Elite DVC-36 DVD player

Nice warm sound, great for music on movie soundtracks, price vs. performance, smooth looks, easy to use and great service from Marantz and accessories4less.com. Overall for home theater it is fantastic.

Remote is ok... not as bad as most people say though. Manual is so bad it got a laugh out of me but the amp is fairly intuitive to set up if you've ever used an amp before.

I find it difficult when bargain shopping for the best bang for the buck to really compare receivers unless they are in my setup in my room with my speakers and my movies. So I bought this amp after months of research on this site and the price was unbeatable. I opened the amp up, set it up quickly and started watching my movie collection and it sounds so much better than my old Onkyo.

Where I really noticed the difference was in the music on my DVDs. It came through so much warmer and cleaner than before and literally filled my room like I hadn't heard before. I was thrilled. Every DVD I have sounds better. Gladiator in DTS was riveting. Braveheart, Last of the Mohicans DTS, the Crow DTS, Predator DTS, Empire of the Sun... just to name a few. Movies with good music really take advantage of this thing. The sound effects and gunshots and voices sound wonderful too, but the real difference is in the music as far as I can tell. The little subtle things I've never heard before are great. And for under $600!? I made the right choice.

I like the use of the amp and found it easy to set up and control. The on screen display was useful, way better than my old amp. I still like Onkyo but this Marantz puts them to shame for the price. The 500 series Onkyos can't touch this thing. Maybe the 989 is better, but it also costs 4 times as much. And that's a maybe. For my bucks I'm waiting a few years and adding on a Marantz MM-9000 amp. That'll be my next upgrade.

Accessories4less was very helpful when purchasing it. They did everything they said they would. I had a question when setting it up and had it answered in a few hours. In fact I emailed Marantz too and they also got back to me in a day. This is a refurbished unit but aside from a teensy scratch on the front nobody would ever know it. A year warrantee keeps me happy.

So from one AV dork to another I recommend this product. I've heard a number of good Onkyo amps (Tx-ds555, 575, 595) and think this is a better product. I can't compare it to B&K or Denon because I've never heard them in my setup, but I don't wish to hear their amps now because I am content which is rare, I'm picky and love this stuff.

I'm using smaller speakers with it, only a Polk Audio C245 center and RT-400 fronts and RT f/x rears. With a Velodyne sub. For me it has enough power but these speakers are easy to drive. I'll be upgrading to some medium sized Pradigms or B&Ws next year which are more demanding so I'll report then.

All my listening is done from movies in surround sound (dolby digital or DTS) from a Sony DVP-s9000es DVD player with digital coax.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo TX-ds555 for many years.

DPLII, SIX Channels x 105 watts, Nice Remote, Great Sound, Enough Dig Ins/Outs, 5-yr Warranty, Banana Plugs for all speakers, Multi-Room/Source

Rear Center Channel Currently Dead, S-Video Out added lots of video noise (had to use VCR out for clean signal, which eliminates On-Screen Display), DTS-ES but NOT ES Discrete, already broke a optical dig in connection (not the units fault)

This is a review of the SR-7200, not the 7000.

I must admit I did a lot "reviewing" of systems based on info from this website. I originally had ordered the HK AVR 510 based on these reviews, until I realized there was a whole new wave of six-channel receivers coming out with Dolby Pro-Logic II (a must have, from what I've read). HK was coming out with the AVR-8000, but too pricy. Onkyo has the Integra 6.2, but I couldn't find any info on it, and there are no on-line retailers?? Denon came out with the AVR-3802, which was supposed to address the lack of warmth in the amps of the 3801, plus add DPLII... but still a little too pricy.

Then I read about the Marantz 7200 coming out, and after seeing the reviews from the 7000, figured this would be a great unit, and immediatley returned the HK510. Took a chance and ordered from an on-line retailer at a great price ($679), and got one of earliest models (not sure if this was so wise). Setting up was fairly easy, but my next set-up I will allow enough space to walk behind the system. I broke an optical digital in jack trying to spin this unit around to add more connections.

The remote was fairly easy to set up. No codes, so you have to manually learn codes from all your remotes. Time consuming, but worth it... I wish the remote had a few more macros and was backlit, but good overall.

The manual didn't seem too horrible, unlike reviews from 7000.

The sound is really good. I originally had basic cable, and the DPLII didn't do much to add to the crappy sound, but I have since gotten a dss, and DPLII does appear to work wonders with a decent input.

One of the first things I noticed when hooking up the DVD player, is that the S-Video Monitor Out to TV did not look as good as it did coming straight from the DVD. I played around with the connections, and realized that the S-Video out added noise to the signal (not sure if it was due to the OSD, or just something bad). I now use the S-Video VCR out to the TV and the picture is perfect. The only prob with this is that you lose the OSD. Will send in for service in a little while, just want to be sure to catch all the bugs before I send it in. Plus, I have a time with a 5-year warranty.

Just got my rear center speaker, but haven't been able to get it working yet. Turned on the speaker using the OSD, but no sound to the rear. Will try to fix tonight.

Another issue is around DTS-ES. From what i understand, the 7200 has DTS-ES, but it's the matrix version, NOT the discrete version. Denon fans will gloat over this, but I don't think it's that big a deal...

Another thing I noticed is the difference in sound levels... DPLII is quite a bit softer than Six Channel Stereo or CS5.1. It would be nice to be able to increase the overall volume (lower or higher) based on these settings. It's easy to think one sounds better just b/c it's initially set louder...

Bought a Marantz CC-4000 OSE cd player to go with the system, and it sounds GREAT! The only complaint is the lights from the CD player don't match the receiver better... very minor complaint.

Would've have given a 5 if there weren't a coupl of minor bugs...

I guess that's it... BTW - Here's my system:

Marantz SR-7200 A/V Receiver
Marantz CC-4000 OSE 5-Disc CD Changer
Hafler DH-200 Amp (used for passive sub)
Visonek Sub (Passive)
PSB 300i (front speakers)
PSB 100ci (center speaker)
PSB 400 (rear speakers)
PSB 100c (rear center)
Sony DVD Player (cheapie)
Hughes DSS w/ Digital Out
Acoutic Research Pro Connections w/ AR 12 ga spkr wire
IXOS Banana Plugs

Similar Products Used:

None worth mentioning...

Warmth, tonal quality, simplicity of panel controls - very attractive

Not very powerful for it's rating, God-awful remote and equally bad instruction manual

I've only had this product for about 3 months now but am in general very pleased. Please note I ONLY use this in stereo mode as I've not yet purchased a surround-sound set-up. I was looking for the AV receiver that would equal a normal, dedicated two-channel receiver. While I do not consider myself an "audiophile", I am definitely a serious music lover and did not want to compromise on stereo sound quality for a few bells and whistles for an AV receiver.

The sound is very warm and rich (I've used it with my old old dbx speakers - made before they sold out, PSB stratus silvers and my new Mordaunt-Short MS908s which are coincidentally distributed by Marantz of America). I don't know how else to describe the way it handles music. For no other reason than this I would buy it again in a heartbeat for the price I paid ($700). All my further comments are just comments and should not be construed as advice not to purchase this if you can find it out there.

The remote has been developed by idiots. It looks great and if someone who is an expert on it (might require a masters at least) is demonstrating it to you it is possible you might not recognize it is nearly useless. If you are a total techno-freak you probably will enjoy the challenge of programming, then using this controller. If you want to use it at night you can pretty much forget it since it is't backlit. The manual is even more confusing than the remote. In truth I'm not much of a manual guy but I've never had to be, I've never had something I can't figure out intuitively - until now.

Also, my experience suggests the 100W rating is a little boastful. My speakers have impedence's of 6-8 ohms and I generally have to bring it up to 0 dB to get strong sound out of some of my recordings. I can always get enough power for even the loudest uses (which I suppose is all I need it for), nevertheless my sense is that there is little "headroom" beyond that setting and for some reason that makes me a little disappointed.

Despite all this, I wish you luck if you want to find an AV amplifier that will produce as wonderful stereo sound as this component. I will deal with all the other annoyances to enjoy this most important quality.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo, Adcom

I'm wondering.

Technical problem, speaker binding posts and world's worst manual.

I really wanted to like this unit, after extensive research and shopping. Unfortunately its positive attributes have been overborn by the fact that I have just had to take it in for warranty work to try to cure its irritating habit of cutting out all audio when a DVD, CD or even TV feed hits any kind of louder passage. And I am not talking about the kind of volume that would be disturbing the neighbours. This was occurring regularly even at low overall volume levels.

I do not think it was anything to do with the way I had the unit connected, but then who would be able to tell given the unintelligible nature of the manual. It is as bad as so many others have noted. I'm no techno whiz, but I can read. That's not enough with this literature. You also need Jo-Jo's Psychic Hotline. I have no idea what they were thinking when they wrote that thing.

Two e-mails to Marantz on-line looking for advice went completely ignored. Not even so much as a "Sorry we can't help you." So much for customer service.

Front speakers - Mission 774
Surrounds - Mission 700
Centre - Energy AC300( 6 Ohm but I was assured the unit could handle that.)
Sub - Mission 700ASi

My first amp 30 years ago was a Marantz and I was looking forward to rejoining the family. Sadly, I got better service from the vintage, used Panasonic SA-GX490 that I bought for $50.00 at a police auction and that went back into service today. Maybe they'll fix my problem and win me back, but for now I am not a satisfied customer.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic SA-GX 490

Everything

The manual

Hi all,

I also have a Marantz SR7000 and have noticed something interesting and was wondering if any of your receivers do the same thing. Basically, if you go into the system menu and go into "speaker setup", if you put the front speakers to "large", make sure subwoofer is selected as "yes" and have the surround mode dial (opposite the volume dial) set to "auto" (not stereo, matrix, hall, etc...) and have a subwoofer hooked up it does something funny when you listen to a regular Music CD. Turn on your sub and pop in a music cd. You SHOULD notice that the receiver does not send a signal to the subwoofer. However, if you now turn the surround mode dial to "stereo", the subwoofer should get a signal from the receiver. Now, go back into the speaker setup and switch the front speaker size to "small" (the subwoofer option should now be turned off automatically) and put the surround mode dial to "auto". Pop in a music CD and press play. If your receiver is like mine, the SUBWOOFER WILL RECEIVE A SIGNAL! How weird is that? Weird as in, your speaker setup does not have the subwoofer option selected (subwoofer is set to "no") thus your subwoofer should not receive any LFE signal from the receiver. DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE THIS HAPPEN??? Email me and let me know.

Thanks!

Sound Quality, Bass Delivery, Warmth, Construction, Price,

Manual, No phono inputs

I bought a Yamaha Pro-Logic receiver when the technology first became available. I am both a film and music buff and this machine served my LP, CD and Laser Disc needs well. When I bought my first DVD player in 1998, I immediately felt the need to further exploit this wonderful new medium. Money was an issue because I had just bought a new house that needed "a little TLC". Almost three years later I was ready to begin shopping for digital amplification.

I began my research by visiting various high to mid end stores and narrowed my search to Rotel and Parasound equipment. For just under $2000 I could have gotten a really nice amp and pre-amp. When my wife became pregnant, I realized that my time listening to music and watching movies would be shortened with the arrival of a new and quite helpless family member. It was time to lower my price range.

I'll try and be a bit less long winded for those of you that want to get to the meat of the story. Nakamichi stuff sounded tinny and cheap. Yamaha equipment was a bit better, but lacked in bass and seemed to rely too heavily on gadgets. The same went for Denon. Integra makes a good product, but it still didn't have that "separates" sound that I thought I could find for around $1000. I heard about Arcam and was turned off when I went to a respectable store and they kept Arcam in a different listening room from other products in its price range. The guy wouldn't let me compare the $1100 Arcam unit to the $800 Marantz unit.

I finally found a store that allowed me to compare the 7000 to the top of the line Nakamichi as well as some amp/pre-amp combos by Adcom and Parasound. To my surprise, the Marantz was warmer than all and drove the floorstanding KEFs more efficiently. The 7000 was much much cheaper as well. At this, I was sold.

About a month later, I was ready to buy. Unfortunately, the unit had been discontinued. After being turned down by several stores, I believe that I found the last unit on Long Island!

To put it bluntly, the thing kicks ass! My B&W DM310s have a new life. I never realized how good these speakers really sound. Every album sounds like I am listening to it for the first time. I found out that my old Yamaha couldn't even drive my 8" bass drivers! The Marantz makes my speakers sound like they have twin powered bass drivers! That is with the bass level set flat.

This is, by far, the warmest and most natural sounding receiver that I have ever heard and I recommend the 8000, the 7000 is no longer made, to anyone looking for a powerful, efficient, "separate" sounding receiver at a reasonable price.

Thank you Marantz. My CD collection never sounded so good.

Where can I buy a phono pre-amp. Radio Shack doesn't sell them anymore.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha RXV670