Marantz SR4002 Surround Receiver

[Seth=L]

You can see that when compared on $/watt, 2 channel output, fidelity firewall output, the T743 offers no advantage against other similarly priced reputable products. In fact the Sony and Denon earned the bestbuy rating in a shootout with the Onkyo, JVC and Marantz. Both models offer significantly higher 2 channel output rating than the NAD. If you read some of the Audioholic articles, the ACD rating is not as important as we sometimes think it is.

I was just getting ready to say, the Sony beat the NAD.

 

[PENG]

I was just getting ready to say, the Sony beat the NAD.

I do know how you feel about Sony so I am not trying to provoke you.. Those old DB models were quite decent in terms of power output so consider them as exception to the (your)rules. The bottom line is, for ACD performance, go NAD, Rotel, Arcam and HK but expect to pay much more if you want to keep equivalent 1,2 channel power output to Denon/Yamaha gear. Among them, Arcam offeres the lightest, most expensive but the sweetest sounding (granted highly subjective) surround sound receiver in my opinion.

 

[ctwed]

Be careful of the Marantz AV receivers. None of them, regardless of price point, supports a turntable. This may not be a deal killer for some but there are alot of us that still turn vinyl. I find it interesting (sad) that a company with its history in analog would abandon that segment.

 

[B3Nut]

The lack of a phono preamp shouldn't necessarily prompt one to avoid a Marantz, they'd just need to budget an additional $70-$150 for a good outboard phono preamp. It is curious that none of their receivers has a phono preamp though, considering that they offer a turntable made by Clearaudio in their line, and their sister company Denon offers phono inputs on their upper-end units.

 

[Seth=L]

The lack of a phono preamp shouldn't necessarily prompt one to avoid a Marantz, they'd just need to budget an additional $70-$150 for a good outboard phono preamp. It is curious that none of their receivers has a phono preamp though, considering that they offer a turntable made by Clearaudio in their line, and their sister company Denon offers phono inputs on their upper-end units.

Does Marantz sell an outboard phono preamp? One could argue that outboard phono preamps are superior (not that I would agree or disagree with that).

 

[Alamar]

I won't argue about which company's <600$ receiver is best ... I'm just glad that we're really starting to get fully-functional [or close enough] receivers in this price range to choose from!!

 

[rlj676]

Well, I just got my Marantz 4600 yesterday, and set it up pretty quickly.

First impressions compared to the NAD 743 is that the sound on music didn't sound as "good." This could be a function of my mind, not found the set up I like best, or just not used to it, so I'm not really judging anything yet.

For movies though, it definitely seemed comparable in power to keep up with a pretty dynamic movie (Smokin Aces).

Now I just need which one I like the sound/features on better to hook up to a XPA-5 in the future, and put the other in my bedroom.

So far in my rookie opinion I'm leaning towards the NAD.

 

[PENG]

This could be a function of my mind,

Based on your previous post, this is a real possibility. Is there anyway you can do some blind tests?

 

[rlj676]

Based on your previous post, this is a real possibility. Is there anyway you can do some blind tests?

It'd be pretty unlikely, and reliant on the one friend of mine who's into this stuff and local helping switch out the wiring.

Also, it wouldn't be for a while because my NAD is going in the shop to repair the front channels that went out when my Behrenger A500 crapped out and somehow took out those channels?

That's part of why I picked up this refurbed 4600 from A4L, I couldn't live the 6 weeks with just tv speakers.

I do think that the sound is "brighter" with the Marantz. I will be bringing the treble down a notch or two on it, where as it was actually up 2 on the NAD.

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

That sounds like a great receiver. I've wanted a Marantz since I was a kid hanging around at the stereo stores back in the 70s. Now maybe I can finally afford one.

 

[rnatalli]

I have seen some comment that Marantz has a dark sound.

Could someone please explain what a dark sound is?

Thanks

Dark sound means the emphasis is on frequencies towards the lower-end of the spectrum. In other words, the exact opposite of bright which emphasizes high frequencies. But like Seth said, don't concern yourself with this when shopping for a receiver. Speakers will have the largest impact on sound in any system and should always be chosen first.

Anyone know in a nutshell the differences between the 4002 and the new Yammie 663?

 

[newb]

Had the 4002 , am getting the 663

In a nutshell:
Slightly more power than the Marantz, 1 less HDMI input BUT true hd, dts hd, etc for sound and Deep color for vid, 1.3 switching/repeating, upconversion to HDMI, more flexible bass xover settings, and some other things....

I'm getting this instead of the Marantz, since I respect the Marantz brand but this receiver has all I could want for about the same price.

 

[mardukes]

I don't understand

welcome me, thank you very much

I don't get your excitement because I must need some education.

This receiver doesn't have any(either) of the hi-def codecs nor SACD. What receiver in this price range doesn't accept LCPM? Isn't decoding HDCD a function of the source player?

Please help me. I'm not getting what you mean by all the inclusions. All the $400-600 AVRs DON'T have the hi-def stuff but have the 7.1 imagining codecs.

thanks

 

[Seth=L]

welcome me, thank you very much

I don't get your excitement because I must need some education.

This receiver doesn't have any(either) of the hi-def codecs nor SACD. What receiver in this price range doesn't accept LCPM? Isn't decoding HDCD a function of the source player?

Please help me. I'm not getting what you mean by all the inclusions. All the $400-600 AVRs DON'T have the hi-def stuff but have the 7.1 imagining codecs.

thanks

What exactly are you trying to accomplish with your sound system? What playback sources (DVD, SACD, Blu-ray...etc) do you plan to have connected to your receiver?

 

[mardukes]

While I would still like to understand what features set the Marantz apart...

I've got Comcast's HD DVR (HDMI, assumedly 1.0) and no other particularly interesting sources but my computer. I've got a Mitsu HD1000U projector so I don't need anything better than 720p or 1080i, but I'm not interested in a dead end receiver either. When I get software and, likely, a drive for high def DVD playing I don't want to be short suited on the sound. I plan for this to be as much if not more music than movies and figure I should be pretty prepared for whatever might be coming out of the internet.

So, what I'm trying to figure out is how these things work. Do I need the hi def decoders or will having sources that do and deliver PCM (multichannell) suffice. Can I go with say a Yamaha 861 or will I regret not getting the 863? I'm not seeing how this Marantz at $100 more is better while it appears that it is clearly not the equal of the new decks having the hi def decoders.

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

I just pulled the trigger and ordered the SR4002. I had to. Just had to. I was possessed. I finally had the money. I had the opportunity. And I've been wanting a "Marantz" since I was a teenager and hanging out at Flanner and Hafsoos at Mayfair Mall just drooling over the equipment.

Heck, I feel like a teenager again. I can't take the waiting! (It's only been an hour.)

 

[mardukes]

Alas, I became the first kid on my block to own the Yamaha RX-V863.

And ABT delivered it right to my door!

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

While I patiently wait for my 4002 to arrive in the mail. can anyone tell me does it have phono input? I don't see it on the rear panel picture and can't find anything in the literature.

If I want a turntable, I'll have to either get one that comes with an installed preamp or buy a separate, right?

 

[Midcow2]

Marantz has been around a long time ...

Lets face it there is a lot of competition starting to emerge in this price range. However, there are also companies I trust and some I don't. Marantz is clearly one I trust.

... and will continue to be around. They make very quality products, not to say that Denon doesn't.

Marantz is pretty good about letting you set up with auto "best practice" defaults or allowing you to tweak the settings in as much detail as you want.

I have had Marantz before and it has always been a good experience. My only expereince with Denon was a DVD prior to my Blu Ray. It work well except I didn't like the fast forward fast reverse operations.

If you look on the Internet you can find Marantz products at very good discounts with full factory warranty!

Good luck,

 

[scape]

eh...

marrantz is a well regarded company, but this really isn't breaking any new ground. i second the hk receiver, it's avr-254 and i am loving it... I used to think wattage was all that mattered, but really, my technics 50 watt amp with two mains can really pump loud, and hk's puts 50 ultra clean watts to each channel, up to 7.1 (though I doubt anyone still powers a sub that way). I do not doubt marrantz's is absolutely solid quality and clean sound, but I don't think I would have picked this as the pages well reviewed underdog avr product...hk avr-254 has way too many great features to pass up for the same price range. to give you an impression, I ended up signing up to this forum just to explain this, so yes, I like my avr alot