Marantz NR1501 Slim Line Home Theater Receiver

 I just bought this two days ago and I am still learning the intricacy of the setup and calibration - I'll be able to give a better review once I've had time to real dig into it's nuances.

However, at first glance: I do like the look and full of the receiver - I was surprised by how short this receiver truly was. The Harman Kardon AVR154 that I previously owned was easily double the height.

The OSD is easy to configure - I did have to allow for alittle acclimation as it was slightly different than the H/K OSD - with that said, the Marantz OSD seemed dumbed down and remedial...perhaps it simply doesn't need as much configuring head-room...I'm not sure yet. I'll continue to tinker.

The audio codecs shine here - full suite of Dolby and DTS, including the TrueHD and Master Audio lossless codecs. I have set up my two other surrounds for full 7.1 and perhaps that is why Dolby Digital ES sounded much more dramatic than when I switch to TrueHD (Bourne Ultimatum) ... again, some tinkering is in store.

Let's talk about what I don't like: no pre-amp outs mean no headroom for expansion in the amplification area (which I may not need since the room I currently have setup doesn't need that much power pumped through the soundstage....unless I'm trying to peel paint off the walls!)
Secondly, no 5.1 analog inputs...however, since I am going full HDMI, this isn't really a huge issue.
Third: no zone two or zone three. Again, since I'm planning on doing 7.1, this isn't a show stopper - however, I was kinda looking forward to setting up a second area, perhaps the back patio, with some speakers.

Buying the Marantz over the H/K AVR1600 or even the more feature-rich AVR254 was truly a leap of faith. I've heard of the brand name, I like what I've heard about them, yet there were some sacrifices when I picked it out. If worse comes to worse, I still have a highly desirable brand name that will serve me well in the 2nd-hand sell-off area. Let's hope it shines, so I don't have re-wire!

I'll submit another review once I've had time to truly settle it in - till then, I remain luke warm.