Marantz UD7007 Universal Blu-ray Player Review

[admin]

Marantz's UD7007 universal disc player might be a hard sell for some folks thanks to a $1,199 price tag. However, that cost includes top notch build quality and a silk smooth transport mechanism, excellent A/V performance for movie night, networking features, and dual HDMI outputs among other things. To set it apart from lesser models in the Marantz line, it's worth noting that the UD7007 is built with two-channel performance in mind, and features the excellent TI PCM1795 DAC and Marantz's proprietary HDAM circuitry. How does the sum of these parts perform?

Watch our Youtube Video Review
[video=youtube_share;7XLe44UeCb8]http://youtu.be/7XLe44UeCb8[/video].

Read the Marantz UD7007 Universal Blu-ray Player Review with Measurements

Are you using the analog outputs of a Blu-ray player? If so, what high res formats are you listening to?

 

[stilettopat]

Gene,

I enjoyed your review of the UD7007, and am considering it as a replacement for my older, but still extremely capable Marantz DV9600. However, I have concerns about only having HDMI outputs and stereo outputs, albeit one set is balanced. I'm a big surround sound person, and have a sizeable investment in DVD-A and SACD music, as well as DVD concert videos. I'm not certain if I need my 6 channel RCA output, plus sub out and toslink connection anymore with the newer HDMIs. But I'm looking for your advice on this.

Also, I'm about to go back to separates, and replace my B&K AVR507 receiver with an older Integra Research RDC-7 THX Ultra II Pre-Pro that a good friend of mine is going to sell to me (he upgraded to the very top of the line Denon Processor a year ago). Obviously, I can't process new video on either of these older units, which is ok as I just bypass them for video, but the audio portion of both of them are still pretty good. I'm curious to get your thoughts and input on my planned moves. I'll probably save up for the pro-Emotiva's for basic power amplification...

Thanks in advance for your input,

Pat

 

[ematthews]

Why would one buy this over the Oppo? Is the better?

 

[Living Stereo]

I could not say if this is as good or better than the Oppo BDP-105, but the pictures of the Marantz show that it does not have a nice beefy power supply like the Oppo does. The Oppo appears to have much a better build when looking at the internals in the pictures. A shoot out of these two should be performed.

 

[Goliath]

Gene, thank you for the detailed review and technical report of the UD7007.

DAC performance in 2014 is pretty exemplary these days, so in what way would the UD7007 outperform a lesser Blu-ray player, for example, one that costs $150, in terms of stereo performance?

Wider sound stage, more detail retrieval, lower noise, blacker backgrounds ... etc?

 

[Goliath]

I could not say if this is as good or better than the Oppo BDP-105, but the pictures of the Marantz show that it does not have a nice beefy power supply like the Oppo does

Why would a Blu-ray player require a beefy power supply? Please explain.

 

[PENG]

the UD7007 is built with two-channel performance in mind, and features the excellent TI PCM1795 DAC and Marantz's proprietary HDAM circuitry. How does the sum of these parts perform?

Isn't the PCM1795 DAC same as the one in the Denon AVR-4520 and Marantz AV-8801? So synergy is still in full force but of course Marantz has the HDAM and Denon still maintain its AL24 and some other proprietary stuff. And I suppose the UD7007 has better analog stages.

 

[Living Stereo]

Why would a Blu-ray player require a beefy power supply? Please explain.

I do not have a good answer for this but here is Oppo's take on it.

"A toroidal power transformer offers superior power efficiency and much lower exterior magnetic fields over traditional laminated steel core transformers. The BDP-105's toroidal linear power supply provides a very clean and robust power source to the critical audio components. Power Supplies can have a huge impact on analog audio performance."

 

[Steve81]

Why would a Blu-ray player require a beefy power supply? Please explain.

In the case of the BDP-105, it's not just a Blu-ray player. As mentioned in this video review , unlike the UD7007, it has the capability of functioning as a multichannel preamplifer which does necessitate more circuitry and a beefier than average power supply.

 

[adk highlander]

Also it looks very similar to the Denon 3313UDCI which I own and I will say I did not pay anywhere near $1200 bucks. The Denon does not have the balanced connections (which I don't need) but the internals look almost identical. I will say I have been very happy with the Denon and it was an upgrade over my Oppop BDP-83 but if I was going to drop close to a grand I probably would have bought an Oppo again. Denon had a special when I bought my 4520ci where it was too good to pass up.

With the weight of the Denon I was surprised how little is on the inside. They must have extra metal in the case or something because I think it weights more than my Marantz 1501 receiver.

 

[slipperybidness]

Why would a Blu-ray player require a beefy power supply? Please explain.

Yeah, a BRP doesn't really "need" a beefy power supply. However, I still "want" a beefy power supply.

Anyway, the P/S is typically the most expensive part of any component, and when you see the Marantz vs. the Oppo, you can see that Marantz saved a few bucks by comparison. Looks like Marantz chose the cheaper and more noisy E-I style transformer vs. the torroid in the Oppo.

Looking only at performance and measurements, I would suspect that there is not real difference between the 2. Looking at build quality and ruggedness, I would take the Oppo.