Marantz SR-7200 Receiver

. . .or how we got a really great sound system. This receiver (with new speakers) has reawakened this family's joy in listening to good music. We've also spent more than we ever imagined we would, but we're pleased report that the extra dollars are well spent.
We're so enamored with the higher level of audio performance that we're even considering upgrading our Marantz purchase to the next receiver up the line, the SR8200. The latter will set us back an additional $800, which for us would have been considered an act of depravity only a few months ago. So you might want to read this review as a cautionary warning if you're trying to limit your' expenditure's to life's essential needs.

10/5/02 Update: We've upgraded to the SR9200 and better speakers, and have written a review on our experience comparing this receiver with B&K's 3701.

Our Old System

Our last receiver purchase was around 15 years ago, when we bought a JVC 80 watt stereo unit with four JBL floor speakers. This seemed like a big deal for us at the time, and we've been more or less content with it over the years.

The first indication that we were in trouble came when a friend purchased a Bose audio system. His normally sober demeanor morphed into continuous rants about how wonderful it now was to watch DVDs and listen to his CDs, and he seemed to be living for the moments when the really great sound effects came on in the latest rented movie. He talked about the floor shaking, bullets seeming to whiz right by your head, and rain sounding as if it was falling on your own roof.

Wow, this sounded like great stuff, something akin to taking mind-altering drugs. We were suspicious at first, and our concerns deepened as the rants intensified over time. Finally we took a toke of his stash (i.e., listened to a movie at his place), and were instantly and irreversibly hooked at that moment.

The Competition

We had actually been going through a gradual process of awareness of great audio, which started when we bought a new BMW 330Cic with a Harman/Kardon sound system (we wrotea review of that car). So we entered the market taking our first serious looks at the H/K AVR 520 and the Bose systems. What seriously bugged us about Bose is that they don't give you any specifications on their components. They wax eloquently about how small their speakers and receivers are, but that wasn't our first priority. We were planning to place our speakers in a large room (18' by 23'), so we didn't need to hide them. We were more concerned that we were getting the best system for our money, and Bose wouldn't give us any information to convince us of such. Also, product reviews bore out our suspicion that Bose doesn't compete well with other high-end systems.

High Current Technology

We have a second new car (BMW X5, review on that too) that has a non-H/K sound system, and although the two systems sound great, the H/K quality is noticeably better. The presence, clarity and warmth of the H/K sound can be breath-taking in the right moments, and this never happens in the other system.

We've wondered what this difference could be, and research into product reviews, information web sites and manufacturers' sites seems to bear out this important difference with H/K: high current. In fact this term is tossed around whenever a salesman tries to explain why H/K units of lower wattage cost more than the competition, although they never are able to explain exactly what it means.

H/K specifies this as "High Instantaneous Current Capacity", or HICC. They're also the only maker that lists a value,which in the case of the AVR 520 is 45 amps (and 80 amps in the next higher model). Marantz refers to it as "High Power Current Feedback Circuitry", and lists no specific amperage -- to our chagrin. The HiFi.com website, which sells both manufacturers' receivers, has an informational section on this subject that was very helpful to us. It stresses that "all receivers (of similar wattage) are not created equal." We wanted the listening experience that we'd discovered in our BMW's H/K, so we proceeded with this standard as we shopped receivers.

Cambridge SoundWorks

A stop by this Hi Fi store in Palo Alto (after stops to Bose, B/O, Magnolia HiFi and Fry's) was our first exposure to Marantz. They insisted that the SR 7200 was comparable to the H/K AVR 520, had more features and even out-performed it in some areas. At the time they were selling both units at the same price. They also insisted that the Marantz SR7200 had the high current technology, but we later learned from the manufacturer's web site that this quality isn't listed as a feature until you reach the level of the SR8200.

5.1, 6.1 or 7.1?

This refers to the number of audio channels in the receiver, wiith the ".1" indicating the subwoofer output (it's not a separate channel, as bass sound is omnidirectional).

Most systems are five channel, with the sixth and seventh channels being more recent innovations. The two new ones are added behind the listener's head, and give additional presence and dimension to the sound. Some reviewers don't like the additional channels, so be sure to listen in a show room and judge for yourself. We opted for the 6.1 system and set up our receiver with the sixth speaker, and have found that it is an important part of our listening experience.

Inputs and Outputs

This receiver has digital optical, coaxial and RCA inputs and outputs sufficient to drive all our needs. We've attached a DVD player which plays DVD audio, and highly recommend this option. It also has progressive scan, which is wasted until one gets a high end video unit.

Multi-Room

Another important feature of this receiver is its multi-room capacity, which lets the user project audio and video into another room of a home by adding an amplifier and IR remote extension. We're planning to use our old amplifier for this purpose.

Surround Modes

It's best to go to the manufacturer's comparison sites to look at these features. Suffice it to say that this amplifier offers all the currently available modes, with a few exceptions that are present in the next higher unit. We've used the "6.1 stereo surround" for most listening to date, and have our DVD inputted directly through the "7.1 channel input" setting, which lets us get the best quality for the DVD audio mode.

THX

This is essentially George Lucas's quality assurance program. Don't know what it stands for, but we did see his old movie "THX 1138". DVDs and components are now coming out with this designation, so it's likely worth having. Go to HiFi.com's site and elsewhere for more info about it. We bought THX certified wire, and are seriously considering a receiver upgrade to get this feature.

Remote Control

The remote control is amazing, allowing one to program it to replace other remotes and set up macros of sequences, such as pressing a particular button to do several things such as turn on a component and go to a specific receiver setting. Very impressive, although the next higher model is even more so.

Speakers

It's difficult to evaluate a receiver's performance without also considering the speakers. We went with Cambridge SoundWorks' high (but not highest) - end matched speakers consisting of three MC300s for the fronts, two S300s for the rear surrounds, and one MC300 for the center rear surround. We prefer the bipole mode on the S300s. For the bass we have a 10-inch twin speaker subwoofer powered with a 1,000 watt B.A.S.H. amplifier (Newton P1000). This unit produces serious earth shaking -- she actually thought a real earthquake was occurring during a scene in "Ocean's Eleven" (we worry about such things here in northern California).

DVD Audio

If the impact of your music can approximate that of a religious experience for you, seriously consider gettting DVD Audio capacity in your system. This is a music-only format that plays only on specific DVD players, and devotes the DVD's capacity exclusively to the sound. A super high quality signal is run through each of the five (not six -- arrggh!) audio channels, creating a listening experience that rivals a concert performance, with the listener sitting in the front row (or on the stage, depending upon your settings).

Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is an example of such music for us, and this DVD audio is absolutely mind boggling with this receiver and speakers. Words written here will simply not suffice. This is an experience that approaches the level of a serious addiction, so beware of what you're getting into here . . .

The Bottom Line

Great sound and amazing special movie special effects. But we're left wondering if this experience is somewhat akin to listening to the sound in our non-H/K car system versus the one that has H/K.

A telling difference between the two receivers, other than the additional features, is the weight of the two. The 8200 weighs a full ten pounds more than the 7200, for a total of 42 lb. The maker explains on the web site that this weight has gone into higher capacities and superior receiver components. The weight gain on their highest model, the 9200, is minimal by comparison.

So we're likely going to upgrade to the SR8200 with its high current specification. We'll update this review (and write one on that receiver as well) to report on our experience.

A question one might ask is why we didn't go with Harman/Kardon. Good question. The reason we switched is that we've become convinced that Marantz offers better performance within the price range of the 8200, assuming comparable high current standards. You have to spend much more to get the same specs with H/K. For those with better budgets than ours, the $3K H/K unit would be ideal. But we think we'll be getting performance with the 8200 that will come close. If not we'll take advantage of Cambridge SoundWorks 45 day return policy again and upgrade to that H/K unit.

Hmmm. Cambridge SoundWorks seems to be providing me with more and more of a "fix" , not unlike how another kind of dealer takes care of his junkie.

On a more positive note, we're listening to CD/DVD-a's and the radio now instead of watching TV, and our music has become (again) an important part of our life. We wake up to it (see our review of our bedroom system), then turn on this family room system to fill up our morning with sound. And in the evenings we listen to music while reading rather than watching the tube, saving the latter for special occasions when we watch DVD movies (2-3 per week).

The sound is so much better with systems such as this one that broadcast TV is bland by comparison. Of course you can use this receiver to watch TV as well (it's ideal for it actually, with all the video inputs, outputs and controls), but we are no longer interested in doing so.

So stay tuned for an update and a new review, which we'll write after we upgraded to the SR8200 . . .