David Preston

Does anybody now what I should pay for these receivers?

I tried to find stores online but had no luck. I'm looking for store prices for new product not online refurbished.
Marantz 7300
Marantz 6200
Pioneer Elite 43TX
Is 899 to high to pay for the Marantz 7300?
Is 599 to high for the Marantz 6200?
Is 800 to 850 right for the Pioneer?
I will be going Sat to get one need help asap.

ChadLB

Those prices sound right if they are at a High Fi Shop. If I recall a couple months back the 43TX was going for $899 at my local hi fi shop and the 7300 was 899 they sold out of the 6200.
I know you said you didn't want refurbished but did you ever consider accessories4less for the Marantz...yes it is refurbished but at $399 it is a steal and should have all the problems fixed.....plus you can buy a extented warranty from them...

My home Theater

Mark Dickerson

David:

The prices you cited for the two Marantz receivers are in fact the Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price. Are those fair prices--well, depends upon you. If you are one of those people who beleives MSRP is a rip off, then no, those prices are too high. But Marantz has been very aggressive in maintaining price discipline among its dealers, so it will be near impossible to find Marantz at a discount, unless you go the a refurb through accessories4less.com. (by the way, accessories4less does not post the correct MSRP when showing you their discount price, presumably to make their price look better. Marantz has the MSRP on their web site).

Pioneer has not been as strict with its dealers with regard to their pricing (we can't call it "price maintenance" as that would be illegal even though it amounts to the same thing). The MSRP on the Pioneer Elite 43 is $1100 or $1199 (can't remember which), but your price of $800-850 is within the range of what is generally charged by Pioneer Elite dealers (usually $849-899). It would represent a "market price" for this product and is certainly "right."

I hope this helps you.

PeterCB

David,

I realize that you are in Georgia, but here in New York $899 is too high for the 7300. You can get it from an authorized dealer for $799 (less if you buy other equipment at the same time). I would say that $599 for the 6200 is also too high, since another dealer here was selling out the 7200 at $629.

Hope this helps with your negotiations.

Peter

David Preston

Thanks everyone. Which do you prefer out of the two 7300 or 43tx. I got the dealer to go to 850 for the 7300.

Mark Dickerson

I would go with the 43tx, myself, for the following reasons:

1. It has a warmer sound, probably because it uses MOSFETs instead of bipolar transistors.

2. It has a phono input. This may be no big deal to you, but I have a large vinyl collection and now my 16 year old daughter is getting into record albums as the club bands on the west coast are now putting their work out on vinyl.

3. It is THX certified. This is important for only one reason--that by getting the THX certification, you know that the amp is going to deliver the 100 wpc into seven channels that it promises. This is certainly not true for many receivers out there. And I am not saying that the Marantz 7300 does not deliver its rated power, I am just saying that the Pioneer has had an independent lab verify that it does deliver and the marantz has no such verification.

Other than that, these two receivers are very much alike.

My 2 cents . . .

David Preston

Thanks Mark. I was leaning toward the 7300 because I have heard that the 43tx has problems with 4ohm speakers and that is what my present ones are. I probably will be getting new speakers soon not sure what ohm they are though.

Mark Dickerson

David:

If your current speakers are 4 ohm, I would strongly suggest that you listen to a NAD 752 instead of the two receivers you are considering. It is rated at 80 wpc x 5 (into 8 ohms, considerably more into 4 ohms), and it has been recently tested by one of the audio magazines who determined it was delivering about 92 wpc x 5. The NAD has two very distinct advantages:

First, it handles 4 ohm loads as if they were nothing. I was recently in the market for a HT receiver, and listened to the marantz 7300 at two different dealers. It has a pleasant sound, but as I also have 4 ohm speakers, I confirmed that the Marantz is not capable of handling 4 ohm loads.

Second, and in my mind even more importantly, the NAD has a much better sound, IMHO. The sound is much more detailed and true to life over any of the Japanese receiver companies products. I heard an NAD directly against a Pioneer Elite 43tx (which I was also considering) and the NAD embarassed the Pioneer. I actually think that NAD's receivers (including their bottom of the line 742 which I have auditioned) sounds more like quality separates than a receiver. It isn't that the Pioneer is bad, but the NAD was so much better. It's MSRP is $899, but you can negotiate a better price, just as you did for the Marantz. You can also find it online for considerably less.

It would be unfortunate to buy a product like a receiver, and then not be able to get the speakers you want because they are 4 ohm, which is becoming far more common (PSB, Polk, Magnapan, Dynaudio, etc., are all making 4 ohm speakers). You may find you want to keep your current speakers if you take the NAD home.

Good luck.

David Preston

I really only had a choice betwwen the Pioneer Elite and the Marantz line up. Reason being is I bought a Marantz 4300 and was not happy with it and they were willing to let me upgrade. They gave me full credit towards the new one. If I could have gotten my money back I would have went with the NAD. I decided to go with the 7300. Thank you for the help. David

ChrisAG

David,

Let us know what you think of the 7300.

BTW, I believe others on this board and elsewhere have reported using the 7300 with 4 ohm speakers with no problem.