Well, as promised I'm posting my initial review of the new Marantz SR6011. This may echo some other reviews elsewhere in the forum, it may offer some new perspectives and to be fair I've only had it hooked up for a day and a half so I'm sure I will experience additional aspects of it as time goes on.
Anyway, here's my list of pros and cons so far...
Pros:
- Full, rich sound - nice and warm, powerful and crisp; drives my speakers cleanly and powerfully
- Music listening in 2.1 stereo sounds exponentially better than it ever did on my old Pioneer
- Superb 4K HDR pass through, zero hiccups experienced (thus far)
- Excellent scaling of 1080p content to 4K (far superior to the TV's up-scaling capabilities)
- Multi-zone control and assignable inputs/outputs is great (currently running a basic 5.1 HT setup with a second zone established on the patio)
- Ability to independently vary both the volume of Zone 2 and its input (can select a different source to play in Zone 2 than what is playing on the main system)
- Easy integration into my Harmony remote
- Superb connectivity via Marantz mobile app (can adjust every single setup parameter, inputs and outputs and zone 2 controls right from my phone)
- On screen display of volume bar (very high WAF on this one). The notable exception here is that this feature is absent when utilizing the streaming apps built in to the TV as I only have an optical cable connection fed back to the AVR for audio - still working on getting full ARC connectivity going and if I do, I'll retire the optical cable connection).
- Intuitive and sensible rear connection panel
- 11.2 channel pre-amps built in (currently unused, but this is huge in the event I ever win the lottery, build a huge dedicated HT room and decide to independently power each channel for a full Atmos system
). Either way, given the 9 powered output channels and the 11 pre-amp channels, this thing comes loaded with lots of expandability options.
- Easy and intuitive on-screen setup menu
- Multiple listening position evaluation during the Audyssey auto-calibration (up to 8 different listening positions are evaluated - I only had to use four, unless I account for my dogs' normal listening positions on the floor lol)
- Ability to adjust dialogue level itself. Sometimes a huge plus for poorly mixed 5.1 audio.
- Sleek, modern design - fits well in my entertainment console
Cons (there aren't many and most of them are minor):
- Audyssey doesn't necessarily provide the best EQ and crossover settings for my system. I've had to go back in and manually adjust a few parameters after running the calibration to achieve a better sound. Seems that Audyssey does have some limitations in this regard.
- Not a fan of the tiny circular display window on the front. This is mitigated by on-screen displays for volume and setup controls, so this is a very minor point. I liked being able to glance down at the AVR in the past and see what signal is coming in and what speakers are active without having to bring up an on-screen display. This will likely grow on me over time.
- Lack of better bass management control (i.e., standing wave control) at least none that I have been able to see yet. If it does provide any EQ correction for the sub itself I haven't seen it yet or figured out how to access that. This was a feature on my old Pioneer that I loved - I have a very awkward room with vaulted ceilings.. standing waves in my space are a definite problem. As a result, watching some scenes with a lot of bass/LFE I've noticed a slight bit muddier and/or boomier low end, whereas in the past that kind of stuff would be very tight and punchy in my main listening position.
- She runs quite a bit hotter than my previous AVR. I felt this in the store as well and made a note to ensure a lot of space is left open in my rack above the unit to allow for proper cooling and heat dissipation. It's got about a good 8 inches above it for this, so I don't foresee it being a huge issue.
- Few second delay in bluetooth controls of the music on my phone and the AVR responding. Again, very very minor issue here.
- Bluetooth range is not bad, but it's not great... I walked out into my backyard with music playing from my phone and it lost the connection. This may be an issue if I host a party and am doing my usual grilling and backyard stuff. But my old Pioneer didn't even have this option to begin with so it's still a plus overall.
So that's what I've got so far.. again, probably have a lot more to say after I've had enough time to get to know her better, but I can safely say that overall it is a fine fine AVR and I consider my money well spent and I'm much less upset about going $400 over my initial budget.
Oh and I'll wrap this thread up by making a nod to the title I wrote when posting. All together, my conversion to a fully equipped 4K system has set me back a total of about $3500. That even includes the price of the replacement driver for that one aforementioned speaker issue. So I guess I'll give myself another 8-9 years or so before 8K becomes the next thing and go through the whole process again..
