Sound quality, overall value, and good looks.

Binding posts and the lack of Speaker B terminals.

I was acually ready to buy a Onkyo 787 but when the salesmen left I started talking to this kid in the store. He said that the Marantz was a much nicer sounding product then the Onkyo (I didn't know because they didn't have either set up in the sound room) He had a Onkyo 676 with Paradigm Moniter speakers(7's and Mini's a CC-350 and a PS-1000 sub) and he said that he heard his speakers with a SR-7000 that his friend owned and it sounded incredible. So I told the guy that I wasn't quite ready to buy.
The kids name was Jim and we ended up switching phone numbers. The next day I gave him a call and ended up going down to see him. He had his friend bring over the Marantz, he then showed me what his speakers sounded like on the Onkyo and then on the Marantz. Even I with my horrible listening ear could tell a difference. I also really liked his Paradigm speakers.
Well to make a long story short I now am the proud owner of a SR-7000. I am also planning to get all Paradigm speakers. I used the money I was saving for a set of JBL's from Best Buy to buy a set of Mini Moniter's (More of Jim's good advice) and am saving up for some 7's.

Now for the bad!!!
I can't really find much wrong with the reciever. I think that the volume button could be a little bigger and harder to turn(I know it has nothing to do with functionalty just personal preference) The non-backlit remote doen't really bother me that much(used to no remote). The only real gripe I have about the reciever is the speaker terminals don't take banana plugs and the lack of B speaker outputs(again nothing to do with functionality)

In short the reciever has no functional flaws. It sounds very clean at all volume levels, play's very loud, and has a very useful remote.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo, Denon, Sony.