Promising news for Marantz x200 owners (1 Viewer)

[Rafael Maya]

I have just received news about a fix from Marantz to get rid of the POPING sound in the X200 series. The dealer I purchased my unit from will verify that the fix works and then fix/exchange my unit.

Hopefully this fix works so we can put to rest this issue and enjoy some serious music/HT.

I'll keep you posted.

 

[ChrisAG]

Good news. However, my main gripe was the S-video switching. Even new and/or repaired units seem to have a problem with video sync going out of whack with certain bright edits or explosions. Since I watch a lot of action movies, that issue really bothers me. Watch some of the specialty channels like Discovery, A&E, TLC (through S-video Edit[/I: satellite I mean) that have employ a lot of bright edits in show promos and commercials and you'll see what I mean.]

 

[Patrick Senez]

Rafael,
I suppose thta the POPING that you are talking about is the digital audio drops that some of us have ?
I'll be monitoring your posts !

 

[DavidAM]

Tell Marantz too little too late. I wanted a 6200 but was holding off because of the s-video/hiss/S&V review. I emailed Marantz and they would give me no info whatsoever on when or even if they were going to fix the problems so I went ahead and ordered a HK AVR-520 and it comes in tomorrow!! I've been tracking it every hour on UPS.com and am thinking of breaking into the UPS place tonight to get it 5 hours early! LOL.

 

[John Garcia]

Chris AG - My only suggestion would be to stop using the unit for video switching.

I have had no POPPING with my 6200, unless you are talking about audio drop-out. This seems to be common to all of the new x200 units. I am disappointed with this "feature", but I can tollerate it for the most part. If they fix it, then I will be that much happier with this receiver, as it has been excellent so far.

I have no hiss to speak of either? There is some hiss at extreme levels, but that is well beyond what a sane person would be listening to anything at IMO.

 

[Chris PC]

Well, if they fix the dropouts, I'll be very happy. I haven't experienced the problems that ChrisAG talks about in terms of S-video. I had the S-video noise and have gotten it fixed. I watch cable and when watching cable through the vcr and through the receiver, I see no problems with my TV.
I would love a fix for the drop outs for sure
I have emailed Marantz and received no response.

 

[ChrisAG]

ChrisPC -

I should have been more specific when I said the S-video flashing happened while watching TV - I have satellite TV, which had an S-video out to the Marantz. The flashing did not happen while watching regular terrestrial cable TV.

John -

The S-video "dropout" problem is akin to the audio dropouts - it happens every time you sit down to watch/listen. The audio dropout problem can be cured if you use the analogue inputs, though I'm sure you would rather not resort to that. It's the same with me - why should I watch video through the inferior composite inputs when all my components are S, and part of my purchase decision was to get a receiver with S-video In/Out? If I had to resort to purchasing a separate switcher (and the resulting extra expense and tangle of cables, etc.), doesn't that defeat the purpose of the "V" in A/V receiver?

 

[John Garcia]

doesn't that defeat the purpose of the "V" in A/V receiver?

Yes...and no. The one issue I had with the 6200 was the crap remote it came with. That's the same concept. I shouldn't have had to buy another remote to make myself satisfied.

So I agree that you shouldn't have to mess with aditional cables and another box, but I also don't expect much video performance out of an audio component (the engineering of the product's focus being audio not video, I'd expect).

 

[ChrisAG]

John, you're comparing the crummy remote with video problems? I think you're comparing apples to oranges.

Unless they have something like the Universal Remote MX-500, EVERYONE complains about their remote, and for good reason. Most are cheap and poorly designed. This is a well known area where the manufacturers definitely try to save money, at least in the mid-level and below units (check out the complaints about Denon and Yamaha remotes on audioreview.com).

I haven't heard of many other receivers in this price range having video problems, though it seems that almost every receiver out there ships with a crummy remote. Even so, wether a particular remote is "good enough for me" is a matter of opinion.

What is NOT a matter of opinion are audio and video defects. If people didn't care about video, we'd all be satisfied with VHS, Sony wouldn't sell any WEGA TVs, and receivers would come with nothing more than composite video switching.

Peripherals with high-quality video signals are common these days (DVD, Playstation, DV camcorder), and people expect their receiver to accomodate them all without degrading the quality, and most units do. An A/V receiver is supposed to give clean audio AND video, period. These are not audio components, they are HT components. People can HEAR audio dropouts. People can SEE video problems. If there are problems with either, the receiver is not doing its job.

To illustrate how seriously the manufacturers take this, just look at what they are highlighting in their advertising: composite > S-video conversion (Onkyo), wideband component (Yamaha, Onkyo, others shortly), and "pro-grade video switching" (Onkyo, NAD) - right there along with the ubiquitous THD specs.

High quality video switching may not have been very important in a receiver five years ago, but it certainly is in 2001.

 

[John Garcia]

I'm not saying that the remote issue is the same, as it is something that can both be easily remidied (though at additional cost) and is not related to build quality of the unit and/or components design.

I understand where you're coming from, and if the specs say a unit will do something, then it should be able to do it.

 

[Rafael Maya]

Patrick,

The digital dropout is not what I was referring to but the

POP I hear after 20 to 30 min of playing music or a movie at -20db or so and then turning the volume all the way down to(-75db)a loud POP is heard in all channels. This can happen many times a day as if there is a cap discharging every 20 to 30 minutes. It also happens between layers in a movie or changing fields from CD to DVD and so forth.

This has happened in 3 different receivers and logically I though it was something within my setup (cables, power line etc) but after troubleshooting and installing a separate power line the POP was still there + I knew I wasn't the only one because someone else in another forum had this issue as well.

I also experience the digital dropouts and the dealer said it was the mute circuit causing this issue so basically it is a design characteristic but keep in mind that a lot of people are complaining about this and Marantz must be doing something about it since they addressed and fixed the S-video problem very quickly so why would they treat this problem any different.

ChristAG,

I had the s-video problem with the first unit I had and after exchanging it the picture quality is just alright I really haven't see any problems with it.

Again guys, my main problem with the SR7200 is the POP sound every 20 to 30 minutes and not the digital dropout but I'm 99.9% sure that both isues are caused by the same design flaw.

If Marantz doesn't fix this problem I will be buying something else.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

I am sad. :frowning:
I am not currently a Marantz owner, but I have been consider the AV9000 pre/pro, or potentially the rumored AV9200.
But if the problems mentioned here are indicative of Marantz eqp in general, I'm going to look elsewhere. (I thought Marantz made good stuff!)
I have a Sony pre/pro now, and I'm personally tired of "making excuses" for my it. (In this case, the remote is a piece o' crap; if you set up the inputs to "auto detect" instead of specifying "coax", "optical" or "analog" input, the noise floor dramatically increases; and the unit runs too hot.)
What happened to the good old days of a component doing what it is supposed to do, right out of the box with no complaint, no software or hardware upgrades necessary?
Sigh...

 

[David_D_C]

Although I'm quite peeved with my SR5200, I somehow feel the need to defend Marantz. I've owned a few pieces (err 5 to be exact) of Marantz gear. With the exception of a burned out light in an old receiver from the 70's, i've never had a single problem of any kind. They've alway been very solid for me. I just wish they'd save some face and issue a recal or something... or hell, even answer my *%&$@ email!

 

[Dalton]

Kevin,
Marantz does make good stuff. Don't let the problems of the X200 series sway you. I have had alot of Marantz gear and never a spec of trouble with it(except the Sr7200 of course). Marantz does need to get their act together with the issues X200 owners have. I ended up swapping my 7200 for the Onkyo 797 which i love. A big part of me wants to go back to my dealer and demo the sr8200 though. I don't know if i want to spend the extra $$ but i really want to try it. I love the Marantz sound though. From what my dealer tells me, the 8200 and 9200 are of different design than the lower models and shouldn't have the same issues. I think i might just have to listen for myself If i do end up demoing the 8200 in my house i'll post a review here(that is if the wife don't kill me first)

 

[Chris PC]

Dalton,

How does the sound of the Onkyo 797 compare to the SR 6200/7200? Is it better or worse? The same or a bit different? How is the dynamics? High volume playback and how is the quality of the bass response? Again, my first and foremost concern is music.

thanks for any more input!

I may have asked you about sound quality comparisons before but as time goes on, I forget and its still fair to see how the 797 is sounding for you as you use it more and more.

BTW, I notice there are "analog" inputs for CD, phono and tape. Can you use those in addition to DVD, VCR and LD? Can your really have that many different inputs?

 

[Pete Jennings]

As of now, 60 hours or so into ownership, my new 8200 exhibits NONE of the problems that have been associated with the x200 series!

Pete

 

[Chris Moffitt]

Rafael -

Have you heard anything new? I have a 5200 and am working through my dealer to see if they can get a straight answer from Marantz. I'd love to hear from someone that has had the "popping" problem and gotten it fixed.

I'm torn. I like the sound and features of my 5200, but the "popping" is a little annoying. The interesting thing is that when I talked to my salesman, he said that he has a 7200 that does the same thing too, but he hasn't replaced it because it wasn't worth the hassle. Weird.

 

[Chris PC]

Yeah, me too. I would like to know if Marantz is going to fix the dropout problem or what. I want to keep this receiver.

 

[Chris PC]

Any dropout fix news??

 

[Chris Moffitt]

No new news from me. I'm supposed to hear from my dealer tomorrow (Thursday). He told me he would contact his Marantz rep and see what he had to say about the problems and whether or not it was being addressed.

He has offered to replace it for me, but I told him I didn't want to swap out a unit until I knew whether or not they were addressing the problems.

If they still aren't able to fix the problem, I have no idea what other unit I would take. Bummer.