Marantz Sr7200 vs Sr8200 (1 Viewer)

[Ferran Mazzanti]

Gabriel,
it took me quite a lot of time to remember exactly where did I see the official response from Marantz. It's no longer on the Marantz server as far as I can see :frowning: but turns out that you can find it in the post of Jeff Kowerchuk in page 9 of the thread "S&V tests the Marantz SR7200" thread in this very same forum. Just do a search for this thread and there you'll find it... I hope that helps

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

I've actually considered getting the MM9000 myself, to augment the performance of my H/K AVR8000. At $749 new ($709 refurb) for this amp, it's an incredible value for the level of performance you're getting.
Ferran:
Thanks, I'll take a look!

 

[Paul_Fisher]

Just as you wouldn't want to use a 450 lumen projector on a 12' wide screen, you wouldn't want to drive a big set of maggies with a low powered amp section.

If you're going to spend that much on speakers, you shouldn't be powering them with a $600 or $700 receiver in the first place.

 

[Paul_Fisher]

I am so sick of reading all this crap about receiver X only puts out Y amount of watts with 5 channels driven. If the receiver sounds great to my ears then that is all that matters.

I'm sick of everybody putting receivers down just because some stupid magazine does a test.

All I know is I love the way my Marantz sounds, and I can crank it up to the point where it hurts my ears without any distortion. I DON'T CARE if it only puts out 28 x 5!

Geeeeez, when is this crap going to stop?!

 

[charles_w]

War Marantz

 

[Tom Morgan]

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...=&pagenumber=9
"SR7200 Review Sound &Vision Q&A
Q: Was the unit reviewed defective?
A: Yes, the unit reviewed was defective.
Q: What's the power output of the SR-7200?
A: The power rating is 105 watts per channel. That means that any channel will put out 105 watts. Typically, in a real life music or home theater situation, the same signal is not sent to six channels at the same time. With all six channels driven simultaneously, the SR-7200 should put out 70 watts to each channel."
This is a quote from the post that Ferran mentions a few posts up.
I have had a SR-7200 for almost a year. I have had no problems. It sounds strong with no popping or s-video problems. I really like the way it sounds.
I have Polk Audio with my SR-7200 Marantz
RT800i mains=28Hz to 26KHz -3db 42Hz-25KHz
90db 1Meter,1Watt
CS400i center=40Hz to 26KHz -3db 50Hz-25KHz
91db 1Meter,1Watt
RT600 surrounds=30Hz to 26KHz -3db 45Hz-25KHz
90db 1Meter,1Watt
CS175 rear center=55Hz to 22KHz -3db 60Hz-20KHz
89db 1Meter,1Watt
PSW140 sub=10" 185Watts

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

I am so sick of reading all this crap about receiver X only puts out Y amount of watts with 5 channels driven. If the receiver sounds great to my ears then that is all that matters.

I'm sick of everybody putting receivers down just because some stupid magazine does a test.

All I know is I love the way my Marantz sounds, and I can crank it up to the point where it hurts my ears without any distortion. I DON'T CARE if it only puts out 28 x 5!

Geeeeez, when is this crap going to stop?!

Being lied to may be fine for you, but there are plenty of other people who do care about it. If I bought a gallon of orange juice and it only came with pint, I'd be pretty pissed, no matter how good it tasted. I guess you wouldn't. Different strokes for different folks. You're going to get both sorts in an open discussion forum. If instead of getting your panties all up in a bunch when reading the other side, you learn to accept the fact that both types are going to discuss, you'll lead a much happier life. Or, if that's too difficult, you can simply turn a blind eye to the things that don't agree with your point of view. Either way, relax.

Plenty of year 2000 Mazda Miata owners didn't care when it was revealed that their car only put out 145hp when it was rated for 155hp. That's of course, until Mazda took full responsibility for the problem and offered to give owners a $500 debit card and $800 worth of free maintenance or buy back the cars at full purchase price(owners got to choose). Pretty class act.

 

[Paul_Fisher]

First of all, the companies are not lying. Each of the 5 channels or 6 channels as it may be CAN produce up to 85 watts or whatever at a given moment. The only thing the companies are doing is manipulating the numbers to make it look like all the channels are being driven at the same time.
If Marantz displayed on their web site that a SR 5200 is 85 x 5 watts with all channels being driven simultaneously, and then S&V tested 28x5 with all channels driven, then we would be being lied to.
The facts are the companies manipulate the numbers to their advantage, but the majority are not lying.
I didn't mean to come off as being a jerk or anything, sorry.

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

No worries, I probably came off too strong too. I just think that often, it's good to get both sides of the discussion to get a more complete picture. It's the best way to learn I think, and I'll admit, I got a long way to go.
This is what Marantz quotes for the SR7200 in their features section:
105 watts x 6 channels at 8 ohms
And in their specs:
AUDIO SECTION
Power Output (8 Ohm) 105 W x 5, (< 0.05%, THD, 20 Hz - 20 kHz)
Heh, kind of strange, they don't even agree with each other. But either way, it is misleading.
I know manufacturers are currently stuck in a catch-22. If they quote inflated 1 or 2 channel driven numbers, they can compete with all of the low end machines that quote 100 watts/channel, but then have to deal with angry consumers. If they quote actual output, they lose a lot of sales.

 

[Paul_Fisher]

You're right. The average John Doe goes into Best Buy, sees a $200 Sony receiver that is 100x5, and then looks and sees an Onkyo right next to it for $450 that is 80x5.

Then John Doe says, "Hey, this receiver has more watts, and its half the price! I'll get this!"

Its a shame because Onkyo loses a sale because they have less wattage, but everyone here knows the Onkyo would be much better.

You hit the nail on the head. It is a catch-22.

 

[Ferran Mazzanti]

Gabriel,
I don't want to repeat what other people is saying here, but still... I agree that even the information on Marantz's server is misleading, since some say the 7200 is 110 wpc and others say 105 wpc, and I'm referring to different Marantz servers! Check the specs on the american page and on the european one. SO yes, it's a pretty mess.
However, I would say that, in the end, watts is not what really counts. The real story is if you like what you hear and at the volume you want. And that's what happens with my 6200: it's amazing how it sounds in 5.1 mode and DPL.
Maybe that's only 29 wpc? I seriously doubt it, according the Marantz official response, but in case it really is... whoah! I never came to imagine what 29 watts can do
PD: I tried not to repeat what other say but didn't succeed :frowning:
PD2: Hey Tom! SO long...

 

[Arthur S]

After looking at the rebuttal from Marantz on the S&V test that showed only 29 watts per channel into 6 channels simultaneously, I am still troubled. The 7200 is rated to draw a maximum of only 3.9 amps, or about 468 watts. Most receiver amps operate in the 50 % efficiency range. 50% of 468 watts is only 234 watts. 234 divided by 6 = 39 watts, still way off spec of 70 watts.

Also, how foolish does a company have to be to ship a defective receiver to the biggest HT mag in the country for testing?

Marantz has had more than its share of problems lately. Maybe when they have established a clean record for a couple years....

and another thing, the highly regarded Marantz SR-14 with 5 channel amp weighs about 65 pounds. The new 9200 with 7 channel amp weighs maybe 50 pounds. Where do you think all that weight loss came from? The flagships of today, Pioneer 49TX, Denon 5803 weigh in at around 64 pounds.

 

[Chris PC]

Wow. Reviving this issue would be painful. My SR 6200 seems to have all the balls it needs for 5 channel home theater and two channel stereo. I know its not highly rated for simultaneous multi-channel operation but rarely do all channels carry maximum levels. I agree its a good sign when amp can hack it though. Thats why I'm waiting to check out the new NAD receivers.

 

[Yee-Ming]

And, it has 192/24 Crystal DAC's for all 6 channels

could someone please explain this? I'm no audiophile, but I vaguely have the impression that Crystal makes DACs which are quite highly regarded and used in mid to high-end equipment, is this correct?
another name somehow comes to mind, Burr-Brown (may have read this in some other thread elsewhere), how do these compare? are they used in the 7200 instead? or have I got it all mixed up and Burr Brown are even higher end, found in Mark Levinson-type stuff?
looking at the specs from the Marantz site, curiously they only specify Crystal DACs for the 9200 and 8200, and not for what should be the higher end SR-14 and SR-18. I wonder why?
looking at the rest of the specs, I see the 8200 has DTS Neo 6 which the 7200 doesn't -- I get the impression (from the Neo6 v. DPL2 thread) that Neo6 is similar to DPL/DPL2, could someone please confirm this? and what is Circle Surround 5.1, plain stereo played through all 5.1 speakers?
sorry for what must be some dumb questions, but I'm a bit confused and still trying to decide between the 7200 and 8200 myself. FWIW, I had a quick A/B demo recently (was out of time as I'd spent that "session" demo-ing subs, but will return to the shop soon to further A/B the two), and my untrained ears had the impression that cymbals were just that bit crisper with the 8200. didn't have time to go further into it, but I'll keep you lot posted -- assuming anyone's interested in what this tin-eared semi-noob has to say...

 

[Chris PC]

the 6200 and 7200 are more similar to one another than the 7200 is to the 8200. I am pretty sure there are significant improvements on the 8200 vs the 7200.

 

[Ferran Mazzanti]

Yeah I pressume there MUST be technical improvements in the 8200 compared with the 7200/6200, but still I'd like to hear from somebody here who has demoed both and know what the differences are in 2 channel stereo (that's for music)...

 

[Chris PC]

Hopefully someone who owns an 8200 will pop in here. I personally would rather the 9200 because of the MAIN LOOP but the 9200 is too crazy expensive.

 

[charles_w]

Chris, Ferran

I had the 7200 in my system for 7 months and should be receiving the 8200 in a few days, I'll let you know how they compare.

Lee

 

[Ferran Mazzanti]

Thanks, Charlie_w. I'll be glad to hear first hand opninions abou both systems compared. And I hope you tell me there's not a big difference ! I say so because I recently purchased my 6200 and the 8200 is blody expensive here in Spain (around €2300 which but rate at USD2000 more or less).
I don't want to spend that big amount of money right now (well, I'd rather say I do want to spend it BUT my wife doesn't. And guess who's ruling my house:frowning: )

 

[Yee-Ming]

bleh.
just A/B demo'ed the 7200 v. 8200 for about an hour. note that I consider myself a tin-eared newbie, so take the following comments with a pinch of salt.
background: speakers were Mission 782s, since I'm getting the Cinema 8 package. player was just a Pioneer DV233, usual digital output so the receivers were doing the DA conversion. I listened to the Empire Strikes Back soundtrack (special edition with the fancy discs), in particular the Imperial March track and one or two others, and Pink Floyd's Echoes best-of album, in particular Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Time, Comfortably Numb and Happiest Days of Our Lives/Another Brick Part 2.
the best I can say is that with the 8200, cymbals sound just that little bit crisper and sharper, there's slightly better separation of different instruments and it's a bit more revealing.
don't get me wrong, I am NOT saying the 7200 is bad; note that this with extensive A/B demoing and without literally pausing, switching all the cables mid-track and continuing, I seriously doubt I would've have heard a difference. but I'm a tin-eared newbie... and of course YMMV.
conclusion? I ponyed up the extra moolah for the 8200. partly to ensure that I never have buyer's regret for "what might have been" and all that, and I wanted the peace of mind that comes with it being built in Japan and no history of problems unlike the 7200 (although I'm sure that's long been sorted out -- the 7200 I demo'ed had no problems at all). and for the extra power, just in case, and for DTS Neo6 (even though I have no idea how good this is in comparison to DPL2, but it's nice to have on hand to play with )
now to place that order with SVS...