As many of you know, my five year old Marantz 7705 failed dramatically, and the authorized service centers can not fix it due to lack of parts.
Scott at HI-Fi Sound in Minneapolis gave me a substantial discount on a Marantz 7706 which was installed over last weekend. I had a discount in the neighborhood of a grand.
Now this is not a full review by any means. I carefully made note of all the settings on the 7705 for reference.
So I set up the 7706 exactly the same as the 7705. That is because I was really happy with the sound field I had. I have never heard better and it throws up an incredibly realistic and natural acoustic perspective that is incredibly like live.
So i did no calibration. I did not use Audyssey as that really mucks up my systems.
There were no issues in the set up and the unit worked as it should from the start and sounds the same as the 7705 with one exception.
The SNR of the 7705 and 7706 are quoted as identical.
However the 7706 is improved.
When the amps and crossovers are on you hear no sound at the MLP at all. If you put your ear to the surround backs you hears a faint sound. This is from the Crown VFX 2 crossover. It is very, very faint, as I updated the ICs to more modern types. Quad amps are silent even when you stick your ear in a speaker.
With the 7705 you could definitely hear a faint background at the MLP with no program playing, but not with program.
The 7706 is silent at the MLP, but you can hear a very faint hiss if you stick your ear in a speaker.
So for some reason, the 7706 is improved over my 7705. From the specs you would not think that would be so.
The 7706 has one 8K HDMI input and 8K HDMI out. I have no 8K devices and I am not likely to acquire them.
I considered the Marantz AVP 10, however it is very expensive, and based on serviceability I could be sending an expensive unit to the recycling center in a few years.
This issue of parts, and service is a big issue as far as I am concerned, and a substantial negative to purchase and ownership of AV gear.
I will write on another thread in my ideas for improvement. The current situation is totally unacceptable and is a barrier to making purchases in my view.
