Excellent musicality-especially for "higher level mid-fi"

Instructions/remote

System:
Marantz SR-7000
NAD C540
Sony DVP-330
PSB Alpha A/V's (fronts)
Alpha Mini's (surround)
Image 8C (center)
Paradigm PS-1000 (sub)
Monster & Kimber Kable interconnects

First off, I've gotta thank everybody that took the time to write a review for this website, its soooo helpful. I spent about 2 months listening to various recievers under $1000. Wanted to replace a Sony STR-DE925, I had the output transistors replaced and it never sounded the same after (not that it sounded all that good in the first place...). Onkyo's were obviously geared towards more movies than music as were the Denons. Lotsa bells and whistles, but really lacking in a convincing 3D soundstage on stereo music. The Onkyo's (787 & 676) were a little more pushy on music, they tended towards an "in your face" presence and lacked a well defined soundstage (that is, not just wide, but deep, too). The Denon's (don't remember the model numbers, but they were both under $1000) were great for movies, dare I say better than the Marantz? However, I listen to 80% music, 20% movies, so this wasn't quite as important. The Denon's were pretty uninvolving on music, they lacked the impact and sensitivity that they exhibited on movie soundtracks. I listented to Sony's ES 333 and DB-940 and found them both to be overly bright, but in many ways that was a benefit on poor recordings. Soundstaging was pretty darn good on the 333ES, and when I listened to it with the Sony CDP-XA20ES, I was blown away! For everybody that likes to slam Sony, listen to this combination, very delicate handing of accoustic recordings, though slightly analitical. I wouldn't go as far as saying that this combination is a best bargain, but some may listeners may like the slightly cool sound that these components have. Don't write off Sony's just because they aren't known for great musicalty, they really aren't that bad. I auditioned the Pioneer Elite (sorry, don't remember the model number again) but found them to be the worst of this whole bunch. The Pioneer seemed very unrefined when I did an A/B comparison with the Sony's. Now if the Sony's sounded a little harsh on the upper end, the Pioneer was just flat out fatiguing. Too much emphasis on upper treble and bass around 100-200 Hz. My next audition was the SR-7000. Luckily I was able to listen to it with the same speakers and a similar CD player to I have now . I popped in a couple of my favorite CD's and was absolutly astounded with how this reciever just steps out of the way and lets the music through. I have never heard Dave Brubeck sound so good on such budget equipment. The soundstage was plenty wide and deep, but also had a vertical element. This was most apparent with a Ben Harper recording. Ben's slide guitar was rendered slighly lower than his voice which made for a very convincing presence. Textures were rendered very well also. It was obvious that Ben Harper uses a metal slide instead of a glass one. I also auditioned an NAD, but was weary of technical problems surrounding the Dolby Digital and DTS chips they use. One quick note on the NAD's: they sound wonderful on music, and if they didn't have the problems with the decoding processors, I would have gone with the NAD T760. I have heard that Nad is going to use the new Crystal processors next model year, so if you're shopping for a new reciever, definitly check the NAD's out. The Crystal DSP chips may solve some of the problems with NAD's on movies.

Now that I've lived with the reciever for about a month, I've gotta say that the SR-7000 is THE best buy for recievers under a grand. The remote takes a little to get programmed and such, but patience is a virtue. All in all, I highly reccommend this reciever. It allows you to not only hear the music, but rediscover it. Five stars all around!!

Similar Products Used:

Sony ES & DB, Onkyo, Denon, Pioneer Elite, NAD

Inputs/outputs,FM tuner,stereo performance,remote,solid build

Easy to select wrong surround mode

As we bought our B&W 602S speakers at the same time as
the receiver, I cannot comment on what part of the good
sound is due to the speakers and what can be attributed
to the receiver. The combination gives a very clear and
uncolored reproduction of the various jazz and folk CD's
we've played so far. The sound is very open, which is
really great for listening to vocalists and acoustical
instruments. The stereo performance of the set was most
important in our purchase decision and the receiver
definately delivers. The first test of the tuner part was
to see whether we could receive WFUV, which our previous setup could not receive at all. Big surprise: clean reception, not even the slightest flutter or distortion. This is more than I expected from an integrated tuner!
The remote control is really nice as it will not only
replace all other remotes you might have, but also allows
for setting up macros so only one press will set up all
components to watch a DVD. The downside? It takes a while
to set everything up...

-Geert

Similar Products Used:

Philips, Pioneer, Yamaha

looks, remote , 5 ch stereo

it ain't all its jacked up to be!!

I was interested in, good two channel stereo and soundfield flexibility for my A/V recveiver.
When I read that onecall was selling out on Sony 333ed for $389 I decided to jump on one, even though I had just purchased a marantz sr-7000 on EBAY. I figured I could demo them in home and sell the one I liked least..
My current home theater receiver was a nakamichi AV-1S.

In home I tested all three with a panasonic dvdc50 5 dvd changer, pioneer 300 cd changer, panasonic stereo vcr, optimus lx 10 tower speakers for front and rear, optimus pro cs5 center channel and a panasonic 36 inch tv.

The Nakamichi was excellent in 2 ch stereo, good in pro logic and dolby digital. The build quality is fair and the remote was excellent. The feature set was poor.

The Marantz was okay in two chanel stereo, goood in pro logic and dolby digital. The build quality was excellent and the remote excellent. The feature set was good. 5 ch stereo was ok. Two channel stereo was a disappointment. The receiver's amps colored the music on the bright side, closer to a Denon sound then a HK sound.
The Sony was awesome out of the box. Excellent in 2 ch stereo, better then the Nakamichi and much better then the Marantz.. Prologic and Dolby digital are excellent and the flexibility provided by the soundfields and equalizer are
unmatched by the other reveivers here. The build quality reeks of quality, like an acura or a lexus. The feature set is awesome. Now for the remote. the remote is not bad , but the manual sucks. If the manual explained how to use the remote and all of its features, probably so many people would not complain about it.

Final ranking
Five gold stars for the Sony ( its is excellent in all categories)
Four Stars for the Nakamichi. I rate it above the marantz sr-7000
Four stars for the marantz sr-7000. The most expensive reciever of the lot.Sounds at best OK, a tad on the bright side. Five channel stereo is a nice feature.

I ended up selling the Marantz to a fellow audio enthusist thru the maketplace. He thinkks it the best receiver he has ever heard.... I guess its all subjective SO ENJOY WHAT YOU GOT!!

Similar Products Used:

Nak AV-1S, Sony STR-DA333ES, Sony STR-DA777ES

Pure sound. No fuzzy stuffs. Quality built, the BEST A/V receiver on the market for the price. 2ch. stereo is excellent. Remote is almost perfect.

For the price... NONE!!!

I played vocal jazz, acoustic blues, rock, heavy metal, disco and classic... NO COLORATION AT ALL!!!
Don't look any further, it's the best in its class!!
Marantz created a superb machine.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo 777, Yamaha RXV1000, Sony ES333

Just a few lines to put an end to the legend of the "B" models :
In Europe, every BLACK faced SR7000 is labeled "N1B", and every GOLD faced SR7000 is labeled "N1G".
As I know that N means that the model is for 220V 50Hz (Europe), I guess U stands for 110V 60Hz (USA)
This being said, I am about to purchase my own, as soon as my dealer gets it (out of stock for the moment).

Outstanding music reproduction, DD and DTS sound great, nice remote (despite the LCD not being backlit), solid construction, good warranty, easy onscreen setup.

Ho-hum manual, no component video switching, not THX certified and no 6.1 or 7.1.

I want to thank everyone who has posted a review about the SR-7000 for helping persuade me to buy it. I just bought it down at a local authorized dealer yesterday (I figured it was worth an extra $100 to guarantee no problems with the warranty, dealing with an online company, etc., and the dealer through in a nice digital coax).

I absolutely love this receiver but I'll get my small (and they are small) gripes about this receiver out of the way. 1) Although it's not as bad as I was lead to believe by the reviews, the manual is at best average. 2) I may be a mechanically incompetent but the caps on the banana jacks were a pain to get off and I scraped up the binding posts in the process. 3) The LCD (important distinction) is not backlit- however, all the buttons glow in the dark. 4) This might be typical but there are no audio outs to accompany the monitor out- if I hook the S-VHS monitor out to AV-1 on my TV and run all my video components through my receiver, how can I have audio from the TV- if anyone knows the answer, please e-mail me. 5) This receiver isn't very HT future proof as it doesn't accomodate component video or anything beyond 5.1 without an external pre-processor. However, anyone who buys this receiver should know about the lack of component video and support for only 5.1. 6) I couldn't get the FM antenna to fit right so I used my old Yamaha's.

Now, the good. 1) The music reproduction in 2-Channel mode is incredible. I've never loved listening to music as much as I do now. I've listened to several sub $1000 receivers and I don't think I've heard one that I like as much as this. I'm not an audiophile so I don't want to abuse the jargon ('soundstage', etc) but it's a very warm, full sound and you can enjoy it from throughout the room. I have 6 ohm ADS LS-810s and they sound great so I'd assume the high current is at least somewhat high. 2) DD and DTS sound great. The separation of sounds to each speaker is incredible and yet you feel completely enveloped and it doesn't sound like you can isolate the direction of sounds directly to the five speakers. 3) Despite the gripes about the remote (other than the LCD not being backlit), I have no idea why people are ripping on the remote. I think it's awesome. Within a short period of time, I have programmed all of my remotes and now use the Marantz' for everything (DSS, DVD, TV, camcorder, VCR, etc.). The layout is nice, the LCD is cool, it's comfortable in the hand, and the glow-in-the-dark buttons glow very brightly. 4) The construction is solid. 5) The onscreen setup is a breeze. 6) The warranty is awesome (3 years parts and labor) but Marantz tries hard to only honor those bought from authorized dealers. 7) Multi-room support is a nice feature.

I compared the SR-7000 and SR-8000 at the dealer and although the 8000 had an even nicer remote (and yes, it's backlit), copper case enclosure, 5 watts per channel more, and slightly nicer sounding on the highs- I couldn't justify spending the extra $300. If the extra $300 doesn't matter, buy the 8000, but if you're like me and would rather use the $300 for something else, the 7000 is just about as nice and is a much better buy for the money.

To address the two previous reviews who worried about the U1B series- mine's labeled SR-7000/U1B and I asked the dealer and he said they all are. He also said that the B-stocks are clearly labeled (stamped) on the box. So unless the authorized dealers are lying and selling B-stock receivers, I wouldn't worry.

I got one added perk out of buying this. Because I now only have a single S-VHS line going into the back of my POS 32" Phillips Magnavox TV, the gray vertical bars common on the 3200 series are now just about gone due to the reduced noise interference. Side note- I would never buy a Phillips Magnavox TV again- if you're considering one either e-mail me and buy mine or spend an extra $50 on a JVC or Panasonic.

All in all, this is an excellent receiver and for the money, I couldn't be happier. I doubt that anyone could find a receiver that plays music better for under $1000 and if there are any receivers that are better on the HT end, I'm sure they're inferior on the music side. I'd recommend this receiver to anyone and am very grateful I bought it.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz SR-8000, Denon AVR-3300. Not similar but- Onkyo TX-DS575x, Yamaha RX-V592, Nakamichi.

Build quality, HT and music sound.

None

Wow! Power and clarity all the way to the top! It's like listening to a whole new CD collection. Home theatre sound is tremendous. Nothing comes close for the price. Excellent build and appearence. Everything else has been said.

Similar Products Used:

Auditioned Sony ES series, Yamaha 795a.

Variety of Inputs analog & Digital. Ability to asign inpputs

No backlight on remote

I searched for months to find the right receiver. The Marantz was equally featured to the DENON AVR 1800. I purchased this unit to mainly just decode DD and DTS. I am taking the pre out and running it into an Audio Research SP-9MkII. The imaging from this unit is amazing for the
price.From the incredible expolsions on Leathal Weapon 4
to the wind blowing in Simon Birch, this unit can really do justice to a Dolby Digital Soundtrack. The Hiss that people complain about is not apparent in this unit. I did notice on an older DVD , The ROCKETEER did have hiss in the rear channel. All other DVD's are super quiet. The on screen set up was easy and straight forward. No need to fuss over the manual. All in all I would highly reccomend, over the Denon, because the remote is full featured with LCD status and audio quality and build quality is excellent!

Clean power and sound, flexible remote

Lack of component video switching

As background, this is my first foray into HT, but I spent many years in the audio business. I was searching for a good balance between music and theatre on a reasonable (to me, not my wife..) budget. As I developed my system, I did my share of research on these boards and other written reviews, listened to a variety of other equipment and came to the conclusion that the SR7000 was the strongest performer for the money. This is not to put down other equipment, as most in this price range is certainly good - but I listened to a variety of sources and found the Marantz to be very musical, not harsh, and with plenty of power for what I needed. I am sure there are better sounding components out there, but for the money compared to to other electronics available in this price range, the Marantz is outstanding.

I have demo'ed with a variety of CD and DVD sources and the sound is amazing. Piano and female vocals are well placed and clear as a bell. The musical soundstage is steady. There is plenty of power for the low end in movies, and even the tuner is well done (for those listening to radio still...).

There are plenty of inputs and outputs for very flexible system design and the remote will let you do most anything you need to. As a point of reference, my system consists of the Marantz 7000, Vandersteen 1B's for the left and right, a Boston Acoustics VR12 center with Boston VRS surrounds, a Mirage BPS 150i subwoofer, a Toshiba 2109 DVD, and Mitsubishi 65905 HDTV.

The theatre is 22x13 and I was not looking to shake the foundation of the house, but to find a good compromise that provides quality sound for music and movies and did not break the bank. I highly recommend the Marantz 7000 as a centerpiece for this type of system. The audio value it presents is amazing.

Similar Products Used:

Compared to Denon 2800 and 3300, Onkyo, Yamaha, and Sony in same price range.

Kick your ass sound that will kick your ass over and over boy.

so many features that I don't know if I'll get through em all

I have been lookin for this receiver for 3 damn straight weeks for. I was so damn excited when I got one. I hooked it up to my Paradigm Reference speakers and never heard such a smooth and lively sound from a receiver in my life. I love Nakamichi and HK, but this kicked it's ass bigtime. A few adjustments here and there and I was in music heaven. I then put in Terminator 2 for movie evaluation, the sound is so damn smooth, you could crank it all the way up without breakup or distortion. The bass from my sub nearly shook my apartment down to the bottom foundation. The power is impressive. I read some folks complaining about this and that, get a life and take a listen to what is undeniably the receiver that's a complete steal. The remote is pretty cool to an added extra for an absolute must have masterpiece of engineering. Go out listen, mess with the damn adjustments and reap the rewards of being patient.

Similar Products Used:

Sony ES, DENON, HK, Nakamichi,KENWOOD