Review and Assessment of Marantz 7706 11.2 Channel AVP

[TLS Guy]

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.

 

[Trebdp83]

It is fortunate that you had the 7706 to replace the 7705 and lost no features in the switch.

The 8K port is rated at 40Gbps versus the 4K 18Gbps ports. It will support 8K @60Hz or 4K @120Hz but is useless for those resolution and frame rate combos without an input source device, cables and TV that all support them as well.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The AV7706 has a THD+N of about 0.02% while the AV10 has a THD+N of about 0.0003%.

The moral of the story here is that you don’t need the lowest possible THD+N or the highest possible SINAD to have the best sound quality?

 

[TLS Guy]

It is fortunate that you had the 7706 to replace the 7705 and lost no features in the switch.

The 8K port is rated at 40Gbps versus the 4K 18Gbps ports. It will support 8K @60Hz or 4K @120Hz but is useless for those resolution and frame rate combos without an input source device, cables and TV that all support them as well.

When I had the hum issue I had a sixth sense that trouble was afoot. That is when I ordered the 7706. At the same time I took screen shots of all the set up settings. That proved to be really fortuitous. I am listening and watching the DSO live right now and the system is operating fine and I still have the same gorgeous and realistic sound field.

 

[TLS Guy]

The AV7706 has a THD+N of about 0.02% while the AV10 has a THD+N of about 0.0003%.

The moral of the story here is that you don’t need the lowest possible THD+N or the highest possible SINAD to have the best sound quality?

You are 100% right about that. No speaker can come in striking distance of those numbers.

 

[Kleinst]

When I had the hum issue I had a sixth sense that trouble was afoot. That is when I ordered the 7706. At the same time I took screen shots of all the set up settings. That proved to be really fortuitous. I am listening and watching the DSO live right now and the system is operating fine and I still have the same gorgeous and realistic sound field.

Do you use the denon/marantz app? I wonder if you store your settings there for one AVR, and you get another denon/marantz, can you just upload them to the new one?

 

[TLS Guy]

Do you use the denon/marantz app? I wonder if you store your settings there for one AVR, and you get another denon/marantz, can you just upload them to the new one?

I have no idea about that.

 

[dolynick]

Do you have measurements to back up this claim? Or just sighted biased observations?

/objectivist_ass-hat-ery

(Sorry. I coulnd't help myself )

I'm glad to hear that you're perceiving a bit of a surprise upgrade for your unexpected cost and hassle.

 

[TLS Guy]

Do you have measurements to back up this claim? Or just sighted biased observations?

/objectivist_ass-hat-ery

(Sorry. I coulnd't help myself )

I'm glad to hear that you're perceiving a bit of a surprise upgrade for your unexpected cost and hassle.

No, but I did on the now failed 7705. That met specs on the bench and I have a lot of measurements on the room. I could not see the point of redoing the 7706, as it is virtually the same as the 7705 in most respects. However for some reason the SNR seems to be improved when the spec is the same. I know that as I could just hear the 7705 with no signal in a quiet room and this one I can't. However otherwise I can tell no difference, and I bet the it is the same as most specs are actually identical.

I just took care to make sure the settings were the same, so that the system sounds the same as it did before, and it does. This system essentially just needs leaving alone. It is superb the way it is set up now. I never have an urge to tinker with it, or change anything.

I just streamed tonight's DSO concert and it was superb as usual. Their simple mic technique with the Decca tree works superbly.

 

[dolynick]

I was more or less just joking. That kind of dismissive response generally irritates me when I see it elsewhere when someone is just trying to relate their experience.

Objectivism has its place and is useful, but I think there's room for experienced listening impressions to be of value as well.

So again. Congrats on the unplanned and unexpected upgrade.

 

[TLS Guy]

I was more or less just joking. That kind of dismissive response generally irritates me when I see it elsewhere when someone is just trying to relate their experience.

Objectivism has it's place and is useful, but I think there's room for experienced listening impressions to be of value as well.

So again. Congrats on the unplanned and unexpected upgrade.

Only time will tell, if it is an upgrade, if it stays working for longer than five years! The apparent improvement in SNR is of marginal significance as it never intruded on program.

 

[TLS Guy]

Only time will tell, if it is an upgrade, if it stays working for longer than five years! The apparent improvement in SNR is of marginal significance as it never intruded on program.

As you all know, time did tell, the 7706 is a junk product I suspect.

The 7705 was also junk I suspect. I note that the market knows and eBay is littered with those units "not working parts or repair." The working ones are fetching very little money and going for less than the older 7701. I have two of those in regular use. They are maintaining their value well, considering their age.

There seems to be worry about the 7706 as there are in excess for sale on eBay I would say. They are not selling well. Those units new, are now on sale on line for $3,200. My strong advice is not to go near those units.

Mine failed at three months, and in two weeks the authorized service center will have had the unit in excess of three months which is the expiration of their adverized time for completing a warranty repair. If they don't repair that unit by the end of the month I am going to push them for a full refund.

My view is that those Marantz Vietnam built AVPs are a disaster.

My Marantz AV10 continues to really impress me and I hope it has a long life. For the price it should. However for the superb build quality and faultless performance, I have to say the price is not out of line. But again time will tell. That is true of virtually everything as you only really know if they are any good, when they are old.

 

[mtrycrafts]

...


My view is that those Marantz Vietnam built AVPs are a disaster.

....

Is it design or Vietnam manufacturing at issue?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Is it design or Vietnam manufacturing at issue?

Good point. It’s an OLD DESIGN.

Even though Denon’s X4800, X6800, and higher up models are made in Japan, many other AVR/AVP from many brands are made in Vietnam, China, or other Asian countries, including the $7500 Anthem AVM90 (Vietnam).

 

[TLS Guy]

Is it design or Vietnam manufacturing at issue?

One can only take an educated guess. My hunch is that its corruption. I suspect the issue is "black market" components. This a prevailing problem, especially in East Asia, with counterfeit look alike components and especially capacitors.

 

[highfigh]

One can only take an educated guess. My hunch is that its corruption. I suspect the issue is "black market" components. This a prevailing problem, especially in East Asia, with counterfeit look alike components and especially capacitors.

Like the stuff Samsung foisted off to other TV manufacturers in about 2009? I knew someone who had a Samsung TV at that time and when it failed, they refused to cover the problem, which was caused by sub-microscopic holes in the dielectric.

 

[mtrycrafts]

One can only take an educated guess. My hunch is that its corruption. I suspect the issue is "black market" components. This a prevailing problem, especially in East Asia, with counterfeit look alike components and especially capacitors.

Does Marantz have a QA department in Vietnam or wherever to check parts they get before assembly for quality?
Or, someplace in the chain? How can they let this happen, ruining their name? Or do they even care?

 

[TLS Guy]

Does Marantz have a QA department in Vietnam or wherever to check parts they get before assembly for quality?
Or, someplace in the chain? How can they let this happen, ruining their name? Or do they even care?

I would suspect they have some type of Q & A department. However it would likely not have caught either of these problems, as both when initially installed worked as intended.

The bigger issue is taking responsibility for an issue when it occurs, which they will no matter what you are manufacturing. The problem is that they have not taken responsibility and not even kept adequate spares for the length of time required by law in the case of the 7705. The 7706 is not yet resolved, but I can tell you it will be within the next 3 to 4 weeks.

So the issue is how you handle and take responsibility for issues. Peter Walker of Quad always did.

There were two episodes of note. On one occasion a supplier sent him a bunch of substandard circuit boards for the 33 preamps. The conductive copper material was substandard and corroded causing failures. Peter made this widely known and asked units with the suspect serial numbers be returned to have the circuit boards replaced, all at Quad expense, no matter what the age. There was a similar issue regarding a batch of power supply caps from a major respected supplier in Quad 405 power amps. Peter's response was the same. This is how you preserve reputation and inspire confidence in your product. Profound apology for the inconvenience is also required.

None of this is happening with Marantz, and so they will get a bad rep.

As I said before, I suspect the issue with the 7705 and 7706 is likely bad caps. They way the units behaved was far more likely than not to have been capacitor issues in my view. It is also widely known there have been lots of poor quality counterfeit caps floating about in the last few years.

The fact my AV 10 is built in Japan inspires significant confidence, as the Japanese have a strong ethic of personal responsibility and integrity. That is built into their culture.