Problems with Marantz AV 8003 & new AV 7005

There are no "problems," per se. There are defined limitations of the design. The first is that it uses MultEQ, not MultEQ XT. The second is that the DSP engine of the AV8003 cannot do Audyssey processing and decoding of HD codecs at the same time. The solution to this is to decode them in the player and send PCM to the Marantz. Sound quality, per se, is unaffected and, according to many, is excellent. Your move.

Kal

Kal,

Thanks for the info! I know you cannot possibly review everything that comes out, but this pre/pro has made a pretty big spash, especially for it's sound quality, so I was surprised that you have not reviewed it. Any news regarding the 7005 - will it be worth waiting for?

Dave

I have no advance news of the 7005 other than what has been disseminated on the Internet.

Kal

I have owned the AV8003 for a couple of years now and besides sounding great, it has never given me a problem in any area. Knowing Marantz, the AV 7005 will probably be a great piece as well, BUT it is a Receiver, as opposed to separates - The AV 8003 lets you choose your power. - I am running a 7.2 system with Sonus Faber speakers so I need plenty of power and for that I use KRELL - The Krell and Marantz make a great match. Now to be VERY VERY Critical - Theater is killer Killer Killer - But it falls short for 2 channel Audio - it's good but not tip top Audiophile quality - If that is a concern...Probably could run a 2 channel preamp with a Theater by pass to accomplish both - But for Theater it sounds great - Again depending on your speaker demands and power - I find myself listening to the end credits because it sounds so good - Hope that helps...Tony

The AV7005 is NOT a receiver. The SR7005 is a receiver.

Also, you may not have had any problems with the 8003 (and that's great) but it does have the limitations I listed above. For me, those are significant and one reason I had declined to review it.

Kal

Check the Marantz site for specs on the AV 7005 RECEIVER - not sure why you would want to process the HD Codecs - I find them to sound perfect in every way...I always thought that was deliberate - it doesn't do it because it doesn't need it...
Also the pro-logic II and others Surround modes sound better most of the time without the Audyssey engaged as well. Hey it's not a Theta, Krell, Anthem, ETC but it is a very capable machine for the price...Tony

C'mon. Read the specs for the SR7005 receiver: http://us.marantz.com/Products/3230.asp

Or read the announcement for the AV7005 prepro:
http://us.marantz.com/AVSeparatesFinal_July2010.pdf

They are not the same.

You can express your opinion, of course, but mine is that every mode sounds better with Audyssey MultEQ XT engaged. The only exception might be if someone screwed up the calibration (and that is more common than one might think).

Kal

OK - I got it - sorry for the mix up

The Marantz AV7005 adds MultEQ XT which addresses part of Kal's reservation. It adds the Pro option (which Kal will probably like but did not appear to be a deal-killer for him) and it has been suggested that it will have enough processing power to apply to apply Audyssey when bitstreaming HD codecs. If the latter is true, that addresses the second part of Kal's reasoning for declining a review.

As to whether he will review this one, time will tell. Philosophically, will lack of balanced outputs and no support (reportedly) for DSD over HDMI be an issue?

It has XLR outputs (http://www.hembioconsult.se/partnerfiles/hembioconsult/pdf/AV7005.pdf) and DSD decoding is not a deal-breaker, imho.

Kal

As to whether or not the EQ sounds better... I'd imagine that is system and room dependent. ON Mine, I still prefer the sound without the EQ applied using FIOS as the Source. Yes, it does add some punch and dynamics but I feel the sound to be more honest and natural without it. Now as far as Blu Ray - The Dolby True HD & DTS Master Audio are so good why mess with it. But since I can't I don't know the difference