Temporary replacement of SR 6200. SR 7000 vs SR 8000? (1 Viewer)

I will be replacing my Marantz SR 6200, but before I do, I'm going to bring it back to Lenbrook before my warranty expires (September or October of this year). I want them to at least acknowledge the dropouts, which they didn't do last time. I'm going to ask that they at least help me find a comparable replacement Marantz or NAD receiver WITHOUT digital audio signal delay, and perhaps give me some trade in value, at least as much as I could get for the unit used. I'd rather try this before selling my SR 6200 on my own.

In the meantime, I've been looking at what I can do to replace the SR 6200 while I wait for Lenbrook to address the issue. I'm counting on this taking a while. Even if they leave me high and dry, I'll have to go through the process of selling my 6200, and maybe there isn't anything "dropout-audio-delay" free that I can afford, so during all this, I need something to use in the meantime. I can live without 6.1, DPL II and Circle Surround for now. I have seen a Marantz SR 7000 advertised for sale within 1 hours drive. I like the idea of good sound quality and no digital dropouts. Also saw an Marantz SR 8000 for sale but it is in the US.

I assume that at the very least, the 7000 will sound as good as the 6200, and yes, I imagine better than the 6200. Will the 8000 sound better than the 7000 by much?

The SR 7000 is local and can likely be had for less money than the SR 8000, which is in California, so needs shipping and customs and all that hassle.

Any comments on the differences?

thanx

Just because the 7000 is relatively local, and you expect it to be somewhat temporary, I'd opt for that. Can't comment on specific features between the two though. I believe the 8000 has HDAM while the 7000 does not. I can say, however, that the SR5000 that I just picked up sounds as good as the 6200 that I used to own (2ch), IMO, so I would call the 7000 and upgrade from the 6200.

I agree. Just wanted some advice before I go ahead. I do think I'm just going to go with the 7000. I can wait for 6.1/7.1 - DPLII(x) and Circle Surround. If and when I find a unit that I know for sure doesn't have the dropouts, and I can afford it, I'll go for the extra toys. For now, I just want sound quality and no dropouts. Quite frankly, since I'm not using a 6.1 setup (wish I tried it but its really very impractical in my room), the only thing I'll miss is Circle Surround. That was good for older Dolby Surround and Stereo movie recordings, even better than DPL II in my opinion.

A question! In the very least, for older VHS and DVD movies with Stereo audio tracks, can I at least use DPL to bring a tiny bit of surround dimension to the stereo recordings? Not the same as Circle Surround on both stereo and DPL audio, but it does give a slight bit of an edge to older plain stereo audio, which I admit is limited in existence, hence my willingness to upgrade.

I'll check it out

Looking at these as a temporary receiver to replace my Marantz SR 6200 for a short while....how much should I shell out for either of these temp fixes, knowing I may either be "stuck" with it for a while and when I have to sell them, they won't be worth a whole lot later.

What would you be willing to pay for a used Marantz SR 7000 or SR 8000? State whether you're talking US or Canadian $'s.

thanx

7000 seems to be going for $350-400 US, and the 8000 is fairly rare on the used market, and seemed to be holding right around $500 US, though I found one for less (possibly the same one you saw in Ca.).

Thanx. Thats a good start. I saw the SR8000 on avs/audiogon.

Marantz's website doesn't seem to acknowledge the existence of Canada as a country, so I can't find any Marantz dealers to check out. Anybody know where there's a list of Greater Toronto Area Marantz dealers?

The 8000 has HDAM's and a copper chassis, along with the RC2000 remote. Unless there is a significant difference in sound quality, I'm not sure how much better the 8000 is than the 7000. As for a longer term solution, the 7300 or 7300 ose look like they would be comparable in sound quality but have the toys

So I take it that the 7000 will sound better than my 6200?

The SR 7000 : ) Now I have a benchmark. I play my CD's in my DVD player through a digital TOSLINK cable and not hear any dropouts. Try as I might, this thing plays ALL the music Sounds good too! I would say it is similar to the 6200 but I'm pretty sure it has better bass. I used to whine and complain about the bass I had with the 6200. Even in Source Direct on the 6200, the bottom octave was weak. In comparison to the SR 6200, here is my mini review of the good old days:

SR 7000

Visual inspection and other things I notice. SR 6200 may have a smaller power supply but the 6200 is heavier (by .7 lbs?). The 6200 does have two massive capacitors that I don't see in the SR 7000. The SR 7000 may have a larger power supply. By power supply, I'm talking about the transformer you can see.

I notice that the max rating of the 6200 is 3.8 amps 120 volts at 60 hz while the 7000 max is 4.5 amps 120 volts 60 hz.

Better bass. Now I can feel it. I suppose I could test back and forth, but I don't think I have to. I can feel it aswell as hear it. I knew my PSB 6T's could play bass. Although music sounds great now on this receivers Source Direct, I did try the subwoofer accompanying the music. Mixing the subwoofer in via the front left and right pre-outs with the receiver on source direct and the subwoofer crossover at 50 hz sounds better than the 6200 did. So thats something I'll play with. With the 6200, adding the subwoofer always messed up the sound.

No digital delay or digital dropouts! Yay. History is serving me well

Better imaging. I always felt the clarity of the 6200 was not too bad, but the imaging wasn't too great. I guess the clarity of the 7000 is better as I notice better imaging.

Upper midrange and treble can sometimes sound compressed/congested. I only noticed this using my "old" analog output CD player. I'll try the same CD's in my DVD player. I've noticed this on the 6200 before but I can't remember if it was better or worse. I'll need to make a listening diary. Either way, it isn't horrible, just something I notice and only occasionally when there is lots of music at high volume.

Remote is odd and not the most straight forward. Not sure if I like it, but at least I can operate a few things in the dark vs the RS6200 remote.

Tuner seems ok.

If I'm dying for some extra surround feeling from an older stereo or dolby surround movie, I'll try the effects in my DVD player or the DSP's in the 7000 for now.

I like the SR 7000 receiver. Its my new benchmark. Sounds better than the 6200 for sure. If I can, I'll try the 8000 too. It may be sold, but I'll see.

Dumbe question here, but how much money are you wanting to spend?

No, thats a good question. Right now, I'm not sure. To clarify, I'm going to wait on Lenbrook/Marantz at least acknowledging the problem. How much money I spend depends on what Lenbrook/Marantz does or doesn't do for me, or how much I sell the SR 6200 for. I've had the receiver for 2.5 years, so I'm sure I'll get some flak. My argument is that the receiver is defective and its still under warranty. I know the receiver has been used, so the value left is lower, but it is not operating as advertised, with the digital delay/dropouts, so fix it or give me some compensation towards something that doesn't have the defect. Ontop of that, they never even acknowledged the defect the first time I took it in. I guess thats when I should have raised a stink. I was too busy and kept using my analog out CD player.

I'd guess I wouldn't want to spend much more than $1200.00 CDN total, or $600.00 on top of what I get for the 6200. All depends on what happens. I realize I should have not kept it, but I've been using it with the analog outputs of my CD player. Gradually, after listening to CD's through my DVD player, I've wanted to listen with that, only without the start of songs chopped off.

I may decide that for now, I'll stick with the 7000 or find another 8000 for close to the same price. If I get some value for my SR 6200 from Lenbrook/Marantz, or by selling it, then I may invest some more money.

What I would want is a receiver free of the digital delay/dropout defect and with sound as good as the SR7000. I may be willing to spend a little more for better sound, but I don't need too many toys.

If the 7300 ose is defect free and sounds as good as the 7000, or perhaps as good as the 8000, then that would be a good bet. I can make use of the Circle Surround and DPLII and 6.1 would be nice, but they aren't crucial.

Well, I think I've told you this before, but my 5400 is dropout free, I would think the 5400 would be a step up from the 6200, but I could be wrong. I haven't had mine for very long, if you want I can test some more with my 5400, just let me know a test you want me to try and exactly what causes your dropouts. I would assume that if the 5400 is ok, then the 6400 would be fine as well. For the kind of money you are talking I think you could at least get a 6400, maybe even a 7400, but not sure when you are talking canadian.

I doubt the 5400 would be a step up from the 6200; the 6200 will still likley have a better amp section. I have had the 6300 in my possession, tried it out extensively, and it does for certain have the dropout issue, which is why the 7300/OSE were in question. At my dealer, the 7400 they had was running too hot, so I decided not to even bother trying it out until they got a unit that was "normal". My 8300 does not have the dropout issue, so I would like to believe that most or all of the x400 series doesn't either, though nobody seems to know for sure yet (all are using new 32bit DACs).

John,

Maybe so, I am fairly sure (98% sure) that mine does not have the dropout problem. The only issue I had was as you noted with the 7400, that it was running way too hot. My dealer made an ajustment to it and it runs fine now, still fairly warm, but not hot. I guess I would think in 2 generations of units between the x200 and x400 that there wouldn't be much of a difference between say the 5400 and the 6200. I do know there is a huge difference between the 5400 and the 4400, I would never consider dropping down to that model! After listening to both the 5400 and the 6400 at the dealer I would either get the 5400 or the 7400, that is just my opinion after listening to the 5400 and the 6400, on the same pair of speakers I dind't notice a difference, and the dealer agreed with me.

Soundwise, I could not tell the difference between the 5200 and 6200, it was only with the SPL meter at ref cal that I could tell there was a slight difference between the two. I could not tell a difference between the 6200 and 7200 when auditioning, so I went with the 6200. There was a noticable difference between the 7300 (not OSE) and 8300 though, in terms of power. The 5400 is probably closer to the 6200 than not, and the 5400's DACs likely sound better. I actually like the DACs in my 8300 better than my Sony 222ES for redbook playback, though I preferred the 222s to the 6200.

One idea I've toyed with is getting a receiver like the 5400, instead of a 7300 ose/7400 or 8300/8400 etc, and with the 5400, add a 2 channel or 5 channel amp. That way you could have the toys in terms of 6.1/DPLII/CS and the power you need. Depends if the pre-amp section of the 7000/8000 and others are at all responsible for the sound quality. For now, I like the 7000. I'm sure I'd love the 8000 more. Its all in what I find. And yes, I was talking CDN $'s. I just don't trust the newer stuff. I suspect that the 7000 may have more or less the same power as the 6200, but it has powerful bass, which was obviously lacking in the 6200. I'll get some banana plugs and do a quick comparison before I let go of the 6200.

Chris:

First off, either unit is excellent - the 7000 and 8000 come from a very fine pedigree of Marantz receivers. Now, bear in mind I am a bit biased as I am still a proud owner of an SR-8000.

The 7000 was and still is one of the best sounding HT receivers in its price bracket. The 8000, however, was a significant improvement. The small increase in power belies the fact that the 8000 is graced with a much heftier power supply. I am sure the copper chassis and HDAM amps add to the the sweetness. The result? A much more refined sound, with an absence of grain in the high end, more midband detail and texture, and a more resolute bottom-end - all round, much better.

Oh, and the 8000 has a better remote - the RC2000MkII.


Jeff.

I'd love the improvement in sound. The seller of the SR8000 is not replying to me anymore, so bummer. I actually like the 1200 remote cause it works for me. I used to have an RC2000MkII. I sold it because it wouldn't work consistently with the volume control. I suspect that it was actually the 6200 that was the culprit. I'd be willing to try the RC2000 MkII remote again

I would like to try the SR 8000. If the 7300 ose is the equal in sound quality, I'd go with that in the future.

Chris,
I'm the guy with the SR8000, my emails back to you keep getting the undeliverable error. Glad I spotted your thread.
It's still available, I pm'ed.
Tom/guitarman is my usual handle

Even if you planned to get external amplification, I'd sooner try the 7300 OSE than the 5400, due to the better preamp section. I haven't heard the two side-by-side, but supposedly the 7300 OSE has a preamp section close (or identical) to the 8300.

I notice a difference going from normal to Source Direct in the 6200. That tells me the preamp section of the 6200 leaves something to be desired. If someone knows otherwise perhaps they could chime in, but I suspect the normal setting would be closer in quality to Source Direct in the 7300 OSE and higher models.