Marantz SR5002 7.1 Channels Receiver

We recently purchased a 46 inch LCD Sony HDTV.  And we plan on adding a Blue Ray disk player in the next few months.  We started shopping around for a 7.1 surround sound receiver to hook up to our in wall speaker system.  I've had Harmon Kardon, Yamaha (HTR-5440), Onkyo, and other receivers over the years, and could have been persuaded to toward one of those early.

However after a few weeks of research, I decided on the Marantz SR5002 (http://us.marantz.com/Products/2207.asp).  I was looking for moderate power( 90 w/channel) with low total harmonic distortion (THD).  The Harmon Kardon's usually have good spec's in this area.  They are usually rated at lower power (75 w/channel) and lower THD (~.06%).  Other brands tend to have higher power (90-110w/channel) but higher THD (if you can find it specified at all).  I read that the Yamaha's are usually brighter than most of the competing brands.  I read some good reviews of Marantz, and down selected to the SR5002.  This model offered a good balance of features against cost.  And it is rated at 90 w/channel, with .08%THD which was acceptable to me.

I particularly like the wide variety of inputs and associations between audio and video sources.  The system was easy to set up.  And I really liked the auto calibration which tailored the receiver to room acoustics automatically by sending a series of test signals to each speaker sequentially, and adjusting output level and delay.  The universal remote is fairly easy to use and program. 

I was really impressed with the sound of the system, even given my modest speaker system.  While watching movies and listening to music, you are drawn into the performance.  You can sense the 3d location of the sound.  There was recently a scene in a TV show where helocoper flew in from the distance.  You couldn't see it on the screen, but it was another character contributing to the realizim, as it seemed to move in from behind you, over your head, and toward the TV screen.  Pretty impressive.

I'm also an amateur radio operator, and this is the first receiver that I have had that has not suffered from RF interference.  I could tell right off the bat, when I opened the box and saw the copper plated screws that ground the covers to the chassis, that Marantz took extra care in the shielding of their hardware.

A few words on short comings that may or may not be important to you.  The on-screen menu requires a component video connection between the receiver and the TV.  It would have made more sense to allow the user to select, and preferably use HDMI, since that would have eliminated a cable to the TV.  Another drawback is that the 3 HDMI input to 1 HDMI output is a switching type, rather than a repeating type.  From what I can tell, this means that the HD video is passed on to the output port, but the audio is not.  I haven't run into any problems with these limitations.  It would probably be a issue if you were planning to route the output HDMI through a DVR recorder.

A new model (SR5003) is now available, so you may be able to find good deals on the SR5002, which is a highly capable surround sound receiver.

(Update 1/23/2009) We just watched "the Fantastic Four" last night, and it was incredible.  The sound was crisp and clear, and it completely immersed you in the movie.  What a great purchase!