Why no love for Marantz AVRs?

[Derbuckle]

Scratching my head here.

I'm continuously told that Marantz AVRs might be a little more expensive, and a little less crammed with this year's whistles, but that they trounce Denon, Yamaha, Sony, Pioneer and Onkyo when it comes to musicality. In fact, it seems to be the received wisdom that if you care at all about two channel sound, you should steer well clear of these afforementioned brands.

I know I'm not alone in wanting my lounge room amp to be centre stage for both music and video. Just a cursory skim through these forums would suggest it's more like the rule. Most of us are streaming content from the like of Netflix, Amazon Prime, Spotify and Kodi through set top boxes, such as the Amazon Fire TV, that cough up both our video and audio via a single HDMI port.

I can see that Denon's AVR X2200W is shaping up to be What Hifi's product of the year, and yet, word is it's a bit on the tinny side when it comes to music, lacking any "oomph." Well that's a fat lot of use then.

So why is it that What HiFi seems to completely ignore Marantz's AVR lineup?

 

[bigboss]

There's no conspiracy theory here. Marantz and Denon are both owned by 1 company, and it's their decision to push Marantz more for Hi Fi and Denon for home cinema. That's why they don't give out too many review samples of Marantz AVRs. I've got a Marantz SR7009 and it's superb. It was one of the best specced receivers in the market.

 

[his dudeness]

absolutely love my marantz for movies and music,has been flawless in use,bought to replace a sc lx 56 and would never go back,plenty of other reviews online.

 

[Paul.]

Yup, SR7007 here. Beats my old PM7200 for two channel and beats my old Onkyo 808 for film, won't replace it until it fails. Very happy.

 

[emperor's new clothes]

Sadly been the case for years. I agree with your sentiments, having upgraded from a top of the range Pioneer to a SR7007 a few years ago. The Pioneer was bright and fatiguing in comparison. Marantz use their proprietary HDAM modules as in their HIFI amps to good effect. I bi-amp Dali Ikon 6 Mk2s and there is plenty of grunt and control for demanding HiRes Music and Movie scores, all without a hint of fatigue. There is a suspicion that WHF reviewers have a penchant for "sparkle".

 

[Derbuckle]

Bit of a shame the NR1606 doesn't have HDAM modules in the pre-amps. It otherwise really looks the goods for those of us with sensitive speakers.

Has anyone listened to one and can comment on its musicality?

 

[ROB2009]

Hello...

I have the NR1606 and am impressed with its all round ability and especially its musicality. It isn't overloaded with settings you won't use and considering its price point, can't recommend it enough. A big selling point for me was its slimline profile as I don't have the room for a full size avr amp.