Marantz 7200/8200 vs Denon 3802 (1 Viewer)

[Thomas_Berg]

street price of an 8200 is a little above the price of the 3802 (i'm thinking the 8200's remote alone justifies the raised cost ), but i'm wondering if i should just save some $$ and drop down to the 7200. i think it might be worth it to jump up to the 8200 just to avoid those problems that were noticed in the 5200-7200 series this year, but who knows if i could still get a problem unit?
regardless, how would either of the Marantz units stack up to the 3802? (7.1 does not interest me, btw.) has anyone compared these units side by side? how does the quality of the processing compare between the three? is there going to be another new line of receivers from Marantz before summer's end?
thanks in advance!

 

[John Garcia]

The x200 series just came out about 6-7 months ago, and the 8200 and 9200 are even newer, so I would not expect anything new from Marantz right away in the way of integrateds in this price range.

I auditioned the 6200 & 7200 against the 3802 and chose the 6200. I don't need some of the extras that came with the 7200 vs the 6200.

(FYI: Marantz and Denon are now one company)

To my ears, the 3802 had excellent channel separation for HT, plenty of power and sounded good. Where Marantz departs noticably vs Denon is with 2ch music. Marantz has a much more warm and full sound, IMO. The 3802 may have a bit more detail, at the expense of sounding a bit flat and brighter to me, which may be what I liked about it for HT. The 8200 would be my choice. Nice DACs, plenty of power, built like a tank, and the options they have are very similar.

 

[darrell_s]

After hearing so much about the superiority of the Marantz for 2ch music I am leaning towards an 8200 over the 3802 or Onkyo. I always see factory refurbished 8200's on ebay for $999 and just wanted to find out if everyone thinks that would be a safe way to go?
Also what is the best street price for new 8200's? I havent seen any great deals on Marantz.

 

[Thomas_Berg]

Accessories 4 Less is an authorized 'Marantz Authorized Internet Clearance Center' and they have the 8200 for $999. i'd probably buy from them over some random eBay'er.
i've been browsing A4L's site and the Marantz one and is it just me or are the pics for the 8200 and the 9200 the exact same? according to the specs, the 8200 only does THX Select and does not decode HDCD, but in the pic, i see the THX Ultra logo along with the HDCD logo. i'm beginning to wonder if i'd get the same remote with the 8200, since the pic is obviously of the 9200. can anyone either confirm this or point me to a true pic of the SR8200?

 

[John Garcia]

They do look physically the same. Those images were pulled straight from the Marantz site, so I don't know what the deal is with the features.
http://www.marantz.com/hifi/america/index.html

 

[Thomas_Berg]

the 8200 pic still looks like it says THX Ultra and HDCD on it. can any owners of the 8200 confirm this?

 

[Pete Jennings]

Just before the 8200 came out I saw a picture of a pre-production unit that showed the silk-screened HDCD logo. The production units do not have the logo, are not HDCD capable, and are only THX Select. The 8200 does not have the thumb-wheel tuning that the 9200 does.

I have owned a 8200 since they first came out, and I think it is an outstanding receiver. I absolutely LOVE the two-channel!

Pete

 

[charles_w]

Thomas,
I have the 7200 and would highly recomend it for 2 channel,I have been using it as a pre-pro until the 950 got here.The Marantz sounds better in 2 channel to my ears.

Lee

 

[darrell_s]

Accessories 4 Less is an authorized 'Marantz Authorized Internet Clearance Center' and they have the 8200 for $999. i'd probably buy from them over some random eBay'er.

Checked the ebay seller and it is Accesories 4 Less! heh.
Guess I could just buy one directly from their site then.
Anyone think that there is a good reason not to buy a refurb'd 8200?

 

[Arthur S]

Thomas

When Sound&Vision tested the Marantz 7200 the amp section faired poorly in the multi-channel power output measurement. The 7200 only managed about 36 watts per channel with all channels driven simultaneously.

While Denon (and all the other brands) generally cannot meet the multi-channel spec the 36 watt measurement was pointed out as conspicuously below average.

Hard to go wrong with the 3802.

Then again, if you are planning on adding a hefty power amp and using the receiver as just a pre/pro, the 36 watts is no big deal.

Artie

 

[chrisden]

Thomas,

I've had an 8200 for about four months and I absolutely love it. I think it is the best deal in a receiver at or about $1500. It is THX select certified, has an RS-232 port for upgrades (so does the remote), and it has killer 2 ch stereo sound. I used to own an Onkyo 797 and the Marantz kills it in stereo mode.

 

[Earl Simpson]

The 3802,jvc10, and 898 put out closer to their rated output over 7 channels. I don't believe the 8200 has been tested yet!

 

[Pete Jennings]

The 8200 does NOT want for power. It has hefty 'nads!

Pete

 

[Wayne McRae]

I A&B the 3802 and the 8200 for about a hour 2 weeks ago on a nice pair of Energy speakers.As in most mid to upper end receivers,I found very little difference in H.T.Where there was a noticeable difference was in music.The Marantz sounded a little better.I ended up buying the 3802 because of the price difference.The Marantz was $700 Canadian more than the Denon at this store.A couple of days later I found another store that was moving to a new location so I saved another $250 off of the Denon.If music is really important to you I would spend the extra and get the Marantz.If not, the Denon will do a great job.I'm really happy with mine.Hope this helps.

 

[Thomas_Berg]

music is the priority for me (80%), and i'm sure HT will still sound great thru the 8200.
one last question: since the 8200 does not decode HDCD (this is something i am very interested in), would it be worth it to spend the extra $700 or so to get the 9200? HDCD decoding (and maybe THX Ultra) are the only stepups i'd actually need, so do you think it would be worth it? or should i just look for a separate DAC that would decode HDCD? (i have been looking for an inexpensive one, but all i could find were DACs over $650 or so.)
since i would be likely buying a NAD CD player for $500 for reference listening (it decodes HDCD), would the difference be noticable if i just used my current Marantz CD changer as a transport and upgraded to the 9200 instead of using the NAD's analog outputs?
sorry for all the questions...thanks again for all the advice!

 

[Pete Jennings]

Do you actually need HDCD decoding on a receiver if the CD player already decodes it? Hopefully someone here will know.

Pete

 

[greg_t]

Has anyone here purchased one of the refurbished units from Accessories for less? I'm a little leary of buying refurb units. How does the 5200/6200 do on home theater? I would be using it probably 80% for home theater and 20% for music.

 

[John Garcia]

The 7200 only managed about 36 watts per channel with all channels driven simultaneously.

Whether it is true or not, I have yet to hear of a single Marantz owner complain about a lack of power. I have been more than satisfied with the power and performance of my 6200 for both HT and for music.

Refurbs should carry a full factory warranty.

 

[JohnFF]

I've had the 8200 for about 3 months and love it. It really is a beautiful thing for both music and HT. The 9200 has HDCD decoding, THX Ultra, the gyro wheel and beefier amps. The two share the same remote. I believe the 8200 and 9200 are made in a different factory than the 7200 and below and are a significant step up in quality.

I have purchased Marantz equipment (not the 8200) from A4L before and was very pleased. Their refurbished Marantz equipment does come with a 1 year factory warranty (not the 3 years you get with new equipment).

 

[Thomas_Berg]

Do you actually need HDCD decoding on a receiver if the CD player already decodes it?

no you do not. i was debating whether to get an external HDCD player and the 8200 or just keep my existing CD changer and use it as a transport and get the 9200 instead.