My little Marantz SR6003 review

[bigred7078]

Hey all! I have been using my new marantz for the past couple of days and there isn't much talk of it here so i figured i would post my thoughts


I did some actually movie viewing last night and some more music listening today and i have to say im overally very happy with the 6003. Its SQ is definately just as good as the Yamaha RX-V3900 i just had and definately better than the Denon 2809ci i had before the yamaha. For the money i spent on it and the feature set it had im extremely pleased using it as a processor with my two amps.

I also ran Audyssey yesterday and im pretty happy with the results. Its funny though because i HATED what the Denon 2809's Audyssey MultiEQ XT did to my system and thats a more advanced version of Audyssey...very strange, but regardless i'm liking what Audyssey did for me. I also really like the music compression restorer that Marantz uses. It does a pretty good job making crappy bit rate music sound better.

One thing that does bug me is the single crossover setting for ALL speakers....i mean seriously... what the hell Marantz, its 2009... lol, but whatever i'll get over it. It can also sometimes be slow swtiching inputs, but thats no big deal. Its also cannot apply Audyssey to the new bitstreamed audio codecs (DTS-MA and DDTrueHD), BUT if you use a PS3 like i do then your in the clear because it will apply it to PCM. As a workaround if you want audyssey applied, if your Blu-Ray player can decode all the new formats just have it do all the decoding by setting it to output PCM like the PS3 does and your good as gold

My HT experience was incredibly awesome with this unit. My Blu-Ray movies have never sounded so good! (well the Yammie 3900 did just as good a job, but its also ALOT more money). I listen to alot of music throughout my day and i definately have a smile on my face.

Overall an excellent receiver for the money. I would recommend this unit to anyone. Here are some pic's of it in my system.

 

[chas_w]

Thanks for the review...I've been considering this receiver lately. I replaced a Denon 2308ci with a Denon 2808ci and I actually preferred the results from the lesser version of Audyssey in the 2308, so I understand where you are coming from.

By the way, the Marantz looks much nicer in your photos than the "official" photos from Marantz!

 

[Bluesmoke]

IMO, the Marantz new look is simply perfection. I love how they look. Sucks about not being able to use Audessey on lossless codecs. Maybe next year. Great review and nice pics.

I'm sick of staring at my ugly 6160 (sounds good though). I think I'll replace it when the SR6004 shows up later this year.

 

[bigred7078]

Thanks for the review...I've been considering this receiver lately. I replaced a Denon 2308ci with a Denon 2808ci and I actually preferred the results from the lesser version of Audyssey in the 2308, so I understand where you are coming from.

By the way, the Marantz looks much nicer in your photos than the "official" photos from Marantz!

Thanks for the comments

IMO, the Marantz new look is simply perfection. I love how they look. Sucks about not being able to use Audessey on lossless codecs. Maybe next year. Great review and nice pics.

I'm sick of staring at my ugly 6160 (sounds good though). I think I'll replace it when the SR6004 shows up later this year.

I know, i really dig the new design. And i havent really heard people complain about leaving out Audyssey on lossless codecs so i dont know how big of a deal it really is. But at least i dont have to worry since i use my PS3

I haven't heard anything of new models. I heard they just showed all the current stuff at CES so i wonder how long it would be before an 04 series came out...

 

[cvcgolf]

Those speakers are simply beautiful. I read that the grills actually help the sound quality. Have you ever listened for a while without the grills. I mean, the speakers would look way better without them. How about posting the same pic but without the grills..lol..Great set up!

 

[bigred7078]

Those speakers are simply beautiful. I read that the grills actually help the sound quality. Have you ever listened for a while without the grills. I mean, the speakers would look way better without them. How about posting the same pic but without the grills..lol..Great set up!

Thanks alot man. And it is recommended for listening to be done with the grills on. I actually usually listen with them off, but had put them on the other day and just have not taken them off again. But i just took a pic for you lol.

 

[Sight]

Hello everyone !

1st. post here and long time reader of this forum .

Thank you bigred for the honest review of the 6003, ben curious about this receiver.

Since you have had the 3900/6003 in you home could you offer your opinion as to which receiver brings out the best with the soft domes in your Vienna's ? One or the other maybe brighter or smoother then the other ?

I will be purchasing either the 6003 or the Z7 and pairing it with 5B's/5C setup , I kkow they are not exactly Viennas but from what I hear are closer than other speakers for demonstaiting purposes.

thanks !

 

[bigred7078]

Hello everyone !

1st. post here and long time reader of this forum .

Thank you bigred for the honest review of the 6003, ben curious about this receiver.

Since you have had the 3900/6003 in you home could you offer your opinion as to which receiver brings out the best with the soft domes in your Vienna's ? One or the other maybe brighter or smoother then the other ?

I will be purchasing either the 6003 or the Z7 and pairing it with 5B's/5C setup , I kkow they are not exactly Viennas but from what I hear are closer than other speakers for demonstaiting purposes.

thanks !

Hello Sight,

I really liked the 3900 when i had. It was an excellent receiver with an excellent feature set. It had excellent music and HT reproduction. It has been one of my favorites. I just did not really need all those extras at this point in my life. I had other devices that could already do what the 3900 could do. The GUI and on-screen volume was really nice, but was it worth that much more than the 6003? To me i weighed in the pros and cons and decided to give the 6003 a shot and perhaps save myself some money as well. Well IMO the choice i made was a great choice...for ME. The 6003 just happend to fit my needs exactly and do exactly what i need it to do...and that is be a great receiver with no troubles. And also give me the ever so sweet sound that i like.

So if you need the extra power the yamaha can pump out then look into it. If you use a separate amp like me, then the 6003 is an excellent choice without breaking the bank. If you find you want awesome video scaling and you have sources that could utilize that power (i did not), then again the Anchor Bay chip in the 3900 is great. Otherwise again the Marantz is the best bet.

The thing it comes down to for you is that your comparing a almost top of the line Z7 to a "lesser" not top of the line Marantz. For the amount if money you can pay for the Z7 you could get a great used price on audiogon for the Marantz AV8003 processor and then find a nice less expensive amp to go with it (like Emotiva, Outlaw, or various other companies, or even used).

 

[Sight]

Well Ive chosen the Marantz as a lower cost alternative to the Z7 if I chose to save some money, but willing to go with the Z7 as it will have to do duty for 5 to 10 yrs . Thus i like the 5yr.waranty, impressed with video proccesing features. and so far have read nothing but good impressions with both the3900 and Z7 .

The only Yamaha i have had a chance to audition was a 1900, and compared it to a 3808 over some vienna bookshelves and was liking the way the Denon handled the highs with the viennas, but felt the 1900 midrange was more clear and musical.Maybee the 3900 sounds a little differnt than the 1900 ?

I have not ben able to audition a Marantz .

 

[bigred7078]

Well Ive chosen the Marantz as a lower cost alternative to the Z7 if I chose to save some money, but willing to go with the Z7 as it will have to do duty for 5 to 10 yrs . Thus i like the 5yr.waranty, impressed with video proccesing features. and so far have read nothing but good impressions with both the3900 and Z7 .

The only Yamaha i have had a chance to audition was a 1900, and compared it to a 3808 over some vienna bookshelves and was liking the way the Denon handled the highs with the viennas, but felt the 1900 midrange was more clear and musical.Maybee the 3900 sounds a little differnt than the 1900 ?

I have not ben able to audition a Marantz .

I have been hearing that the Z7 is having alot of HDMI issues. Not sure how widespread that is, but thats something to think about. Regardless its a fantastic receiver with aweome quality. That Z line is pretty slick stuff. I dont personally feel the Z7 adds enogh to justify the costs, but the warranty is always nice. But you could always buy an extended warranty on the 3900 from the place you get it at for alot less than the price difference between the two units. Thats just a thought though. Do you use a separate amp? If so i recommend going with the Marantz, but if not the Yamahas will definately be much better in the power realm. The denon's just dont seem to be a great match with Viennas IMO. They end up sounding pretty thin and thats probably why the highs seemed a bit better to you, wheras the Yamaha filled in the midrange making it a bit more balanaced, but who knows.

For the cheaper alternative compared to the Yamahas i recommend the Marantz. At this point in technology i dont think the video scalers and extra features are worth it. I think we are at the tip of what receviers wil be able to do video processing wise, and GUI's and auto room calibrations will be getting even better shortly because of the increase in popularity.

 

[cvcgolf]

Thanks alot man. And it is recommended for listening to be done with the grills on. I actually usually listen with them off, but had put them on the other day and just have not taken them off again. But i just took a pic for you lol.

lol..Oh man that is sweet! They look way better without the grills but I understand it's all about sound and I guess some speakers are designed to leave the grills on. Would love to hear how they sound. I hope you're throwing on some big band and jazz on those babies. If not then it's time to do it. Thanks a lot for posting the pic!

 

[bigred7078]

^ yeah i they do look pretty nice without the grills. I actually dont mind the grills on though. And like i said they sound great without the grills. Depending on the music, it will either sound better with the grills on or off.

I was listening to some Chris Botti earlier...music to my ears

 

[Adam]

If you don't mind, what model of TV stand is that? I'm in the market for something new, and I like how yours can handle the weight of your amps and receiver on the bottom shelf like that.

Thanks!

 

[bigred7078]

If you don't mind, what model of TV stand is that? I'm in the market for something new, and I like how yours can handle the weight of your amps and receiver on the bottom shelf like that.

Thanks!

Yeah no problem. Its an Init NT-C1201 from best buy. lol probably not what you imagined, but its works great! and there is definately some serious weight in this stand! She holds steady like a rock

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8193554&st=init+stand&type=product&id=1165609791326

 

[Adam]

You're right. That's not what I expected! That's a great looking and sturdy stand for $220. I think that I'll go down and see it in person today.

 

[mperfct]

Yeah no problem. Its an Init NT-C1201 from best buy. lol probably not what you imagined, but its works great! and there is definately some serious weight in this stand! She holds steady like a rock

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8193554&st=init+stand&type=product&id=1165609791326

I had a BB stand for awhile as well in my old theater, and that thing weighed probably 120lbs. Couldn't believe it. It, like this one, was a good deal for sure.

 

[cvcgolf]

Chris Botti? When I first got into stereo equipment I was throwing on my Zepp cd's and such. Then when I heard other types of music like Smooth Jazz, real Jazz and Classical I realized how great those types of music actually sounded. It was because of my equipment. Hopefully you're also spinning discs from Miles Davis as well as Botti. As a side note get the Sting Live at Universal Amphitheater to hear and see Botti playing some good stuff. He was in the Sting band at the time before he went solo.

Anyway, if you throw tunes on like this one your neighbors will be knocking on your door to party. Check out that drum solo! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuubtOZNOfI Old school is where it was at. Basie, Ellington, Ella, Armstrong, Sinatra, and all the Big Bands is what you need..lol..

 

[chas_w]

BigRed...what kind of wire cover are you using on the wall for running the cables down from your plasma - my power and hdmi cables are hanging down from mine and look like crap - I need some sort of raceway like that to clean things up a bit.

 

[bigred7078]

BigRed...what kind of wire cover are you using on the wall for running the cables down from your plasma - my power and hdmi cables are hanging down from mine and look like crap - I need some sort of raceway like that to clean things up a bit.

Its just a wall paintable wire cover. I got it from Best Buy, but you can get them at Lowe's ot Home Depot. If you have any extra paint laying around paint that cover and it matches excellently.

 

[chas_w]

SR6003 remote

I've read some complaints about the 6003's remote sensor not working great from angles...have you noticed this with yours?