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From the Marantz 8200 to the Marantz sr-18ex...A smart move? (1 Viewer)

Luis M

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Will it be smart to sale my marantz 8200 receiver and get the Marantz SR-18ex? I am guessing that the SR-18ex will sound better with music but will it sound better with movies?

I do not care much about DPL II or cicle surround, etc. All I want is a solid music and movie receiver.

I also need to know from anybody who has the SR-18ex , if sound levels can be adjusted through the 6.1 analog inputs, this feature on the 8200 has proven to be critical with the Denon 2900 dvd player.

Any information That I can find about this receiver will be very helpfull. I have found nothing on the Marantz official site about the SR-18ex
 

John Garcia

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No, it is one generation older than the 8200. IMO, the SR18 would be a lateral move - not gaining anything. The 8200 is a pretty solid receiver already.
 

Ricky T

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I don't know about the sound level adjustments, but the SR18 (retail 2800) was the AV-9000 prepro (retail 2000) and near equivalent of five MA500 125Watt monoblocks (retail 300x5=1500) in one chassis. I think SR18's internal amps would have cost twice as much as those in the 8200. And the preamp section should be better too. Only one generation separating the digital sections IMO is a wash. I would do it if the prices are close.
 

Luis M

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I am really hoping for a better pre-amp section since I am using my old Adcom 555II for my left and right channels, and hopefully better dacs than my Denon dvd player for cd sound, not that they Denon's DACs are lousy in anyway but they could be improved upon.

The analog input level adjustment are very important because the Denon dvd player does not have a bass boost to listen to dvd-audio and with the 8200 boost the difference in sound is huge.
 

John Garcia

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The 9200 has basically the same amp section as the SR18, which is NOT almost the equivalent of MA500s. I am using MA500s for my mains with my 8300, and I can tell you the difference between the 500s and the 8300's amps is quite large, and to be honest, seemed to be able to deliver more power than the 9300.

The SR14 would have been the equivalent of the AV-9000, while the SR18 was a step down, approximately at a level somewhere around a 9200. A friend of mine has an SR19, and comparatively, it sounds a lot like my 8300.

With 2ch music, the 8200/8300 have ADDC (which I believe the SR18 and SR14 both had as well), but with the 8200 you have the newer DACs.
 

Ricky T

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The SR18 is a combination of the AV9000 prepro and the PM9000 150x5 amp. So you are saying that the 8200 and 8300 have the same preamp and amp section as these Marantz separates?
 

John Garcia

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Sorry, meant 9200/9300, not 8200/8300 (MM9000 amp). I'm sure it will have a slightly better pre- section, but I don't really think it is going to give a night and day improvement over an 8200/8300. I have back to back compared the 9300 to the 8300, and the difference is very subtle. I like the 9300s 32 bit DACs vs the 8300s 24bit, but the power difference wasn't so significant.

If the price is right though...

Not sure why Marantz dropped the top of the line. The SR14, and the separates went away. The SR18 became the 9200, and the SR18 became the 8200, there was no successor to the SR14.
 

Manendra

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John,
Would you say that, in terms of the preamp section, the SR-19 is inferior to the 8300? If so, are the differences very noticeable?

Also, when you say, "...it sounds a lot like my 8300," in what ways does it NOT sound like your 8300?

Thanks.
 

John Garcia

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No, the differences between the pre in the SR19 and the 8300 don't seem to be that huge.

The difference in the SR19 may be the older DACs or something about the design of that generation of Marantz stuff. I really liked that generation - I had an SR4000 in my bedroom, and I bought my G/F an SR5000 for her small setup - both sound great. The 19, as with that whole generation, have a somewhat warmer, "rounder" sound than subsequent generations. It was this characteristic with music that first attracted me to Marantz at a friend's place listening to his SR5000. When I went looking for an SR7000, the x200 line had just come out, so I ended up going with a 6200 and wasn't quite as impressed with it. It sounded good, but actually not quite as good as my 4000 with cheaper speakers and a basic DVD player playing CDs via digital. Something had changed. I then listened to the 7200 & 8200, then the 6300, 7300, 7300 OSE, 8300 and 9300. The OSE and the 8200/8300, which all have the same DACs, sounded more like the previous generations, and that was what I was looking for, so I ended up with the 8300. The 9300 does sound better, but it wasn't worth 2x the price to me. Even with my MA500s, I spent less than a 9300 and I have more potent amps (180wpc with my 4 Ohm speakers). Another friend just picked up a used 9200 with the UltraII update, so I am going to go calibrate it and give it a good listen.

Compared to the SR19, the 19 has that warm sound (more bass, softer midrange), but the 8300 seems to have more detail in 2ch mode to me, and I'm quite happy with it.
 

Luis M

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What I gather from this discussion (confusing as it may be) is that in fact the SR-18ex has a better amp-preamp section than that of the 8200 and that the 8 pounds difference in weight in favor of the Sr18ex is not pure coincedence?
 

Luis M

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This is the info I got from a forum member at THE SPOT;

I've sold many a SR-18EX Receivers @ Cambridge Soundworks and to say the least, it is an awsome sounding receiver. It does not have as many features as the 8200, but as far as audio quality and build quality - it simply mops the floor with the 8200.

This 18-EX is the last of the older Marantz reference series, only to be out-done by the 14EX ($3800)- arguably the best sounding receiver ever made. The only differences between the 14 and 18 are that the 14 has a full copper chassis, extensive shielding, ADDC for all channels vs. just the front two, and HDAMS all around vs. just the front two channels. The power ratings are the same.

The 18EX compared to the 8200 is .... well ........ not even a comparison. The 8200 uses and IE Transformer whereas the 18EX uses a Torroidal transformer (Less EMI). To my knowledge the 6 channel input does not give you the flexibility of individualy increasing or decreasing the channel levels.

Nonetheless, it sounds way better than the 8200 - it still has 192khz/24bit DACs and is impressive with both movies and music. I would recommend it in a heartbeat over the 8200.
 

John Garcia

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What price are you getting the SR18 for? If its a good price, I say go for it. What about a 9300?

The 9200/9300 have a copper clad chassis, and physically, the 8200/8300 use the same chassis, but I'm not sure about the copper cladding.

When I listened to the 9300 and 8300 back to back, it was in the same room, with the same speakers (v3 Studio 20/40s/470), and it certainly did not "mop the floor" with the 8300 - there was a difference yes, but it wasn't a $1500 improvement to my ears. With demanding speakers, there would be a definite advantage to the SR18, as I found that even my 8300 could not deliver enough power for my speakers, which is why I added the monoblocks.

The 8400 has gone back to the torroidal xformer, and reports say it doesn't sound as good as the 8300 (I haven't tried one with my speakers though).
 

Luis M

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"I've sold many a SR-18EX Receivers @ Cambridge Soundworks and to say the least, it is an awsome sounding receiver. It does not have as many features as the 8200, but as far as audio quality and build quality - it simply mops the floor with the 8200"


"When I listened to the 9300 and 8300 back to back, it was in the same room, with the same speakers (v3 Studio 20/40s/470), and it certainly did not "mop the floor" with the 8300".

John, When you talk about the 9300 and the 18ex, you link them as the same receiver in different clothing and with just a different name, I am not so sure that this is true. Where did you find this information out?

By the way, thanks for your help.
 

Manendra

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John,
Thanks a lot for your detailed comparison. The reason I asked was because I own an SR-19 and was interested in knowing the differences between the two generations. I'm very happy with the 19. The only drawback for me is the lack of 6.1/7.1. Need to upgrade soon... ;)
 

John Garcia

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I don't know this for sure, but if you look at all the specs, there are almost no differences between the 9200 and the SR18ex except the power supply. Take a look at the back panels of both if you can, they are almost identical. DACs are the same specs, power output is the same (meaning probably the same amp stage with a different power supply), both have the separate pre- and amp stage (a very nice feature), both are THX Ultra cert (II for the 9300). That's what I'm basing my opinion on. If you look at the next three generations - 8200 to 8300 there was very little difference, 8300 to 8400 chassis and power supply change 7.1 vs 6.1, but basically not much beyond that looks different. So based on that track record, they would not be likely to have gone to a 100% redesign for the 9200 from the SR18. My dealer said the 7000 became the 6200 and the 8000 became the 7200, so it would also follow that the SR19 became the 8200 and the SR18/14 became the 9200.

A friend owns a Cambridge Soundwokrs store here, so I get all my Marantz info from him, I'll stop by and ask him this weekend if I can.
 

Luis M

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"A friend owns a Cambridge Soundwokrs store here, so I get all my Marantz info from him, I'll stop by and ask him this weekend if I can".

Exellent idea John, If he can give you any information or a place where I can find some, like does the SR-18ex have sound level adjustments through its analog inputs? or a place to find some more detailed info. it would help me a great deal.
 

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