SR8400 on Marantz NA web site (1 Viewer)

[ChrisAG]

Looks excellent, but as I feared it loses one video input. That's a strange omission given the imminent popularity of DVD-R... those of us that may keep the old VCR, plus have progressive scan DVD, LD & DSS will have to buy an external video switcher.

Based on the 7400 chasis rather than the larger 8300.

 

[John Garcia]

I like the larger chassis...

 

[ChrisAG]

Yeah, but I still want one!

It looks like it gained a few features (gold plated connectors, toroidal transformer) and lost a few (THX-Select, extra video input) vs. the 8300.

One other thing it's missing vs. the 9300 (now 9300V) is ADDC - can someone explain what that is?

 

[John Garcia]

I believe ADDC uses multiple DACs in parallel when listening in stereo, similar to what Denon does in the 380x and up models. Whatever it does, it sounds good. Though they went to a torroidal PS, I noticed power dropped to 110w vs the 8300s 125w rating.

I'd like that it has the variable x-over.

 

[ChrisAG]

Interesting - does your 8300 have ADDC?

What was the WPC of the 8300?

I wonder how the unit will compare sonically to the 8300. It seems to be a lateral move rather than a clear upgrade.

 

[Shane Martin]

Anyone know the MSRP of this beast? I would assume $1299 as a guess maybe $1199.

I wonder if its going to have some dropout issues that seem to plague the Marantz line(or it seems that way..).

From what I can tell it looks like the Denon 3805 w/o the Parametric EQ and the 3rd Component input. Those are dissapointments to me feature wise. I was expecting alot more out of the 8400 :frowning:


I guess there is a 9400 coming?

 

[Chris PC]

With the 8400 its really a matter of 110 watts x 7 vs the 8300's 120 watts x 6, so it really isn't too bad. I'm sure each channel will have the same or more juice as the 8300, since how often would all 5,6 or 7 channels be at rated output. I'm sure the 8400 also has the same or better stereo output per 2 channels. It would make sense, wouldn't it?

The 8300 is still a nice deal with the 80hz crossover and 120 watts per channel. Thats my next receiver I think. Too bad it doesn't have 7.1 but I'm not even looking at using 6.1 now, if ever. Some people feel 6.1/7.1 is rarely used and distracting vs 5.1.

 

[John Garcia]

Yes, the 8300 has ADDC. MSRP for the 8300 was $1699 US, and I wouldn't expect the 8400 to be less. My dealer said it would be the same price about a month ago. The same thing happened with the 8200 to 8300 - there was very little difference.


The 8300 has 7.1 pre-outs so you can hook up two rears with an external amp, or use the internal amps to run a single rear center.

 

[ChrisDixon]

If the DD in ADDC is "dual differential" than John is right, and the 8200 has it too. It is supposed to improve 2 channel stereo performance by using multiple DACs. Though I have no way of knowing for sure, I always suspected that it is partially responsible for the outstanding 2 channel performance. I'm a little disappointed that Marantz has removed this feature, because I have always appreciated their attention to music performance (even using the slogan "because music matters").

Chris

 

[John Garcia]

It looks like they are stripping down this model to be more in-line with the current market, and leaving all those "goodies" for the model above it. I could have lived without THX select on the 8300, and I think the 8400 makes more sense on the market than the 8300 did, even at the same price. I think they are trying to make the 9x00 more of a flagship, rather than having the 8300 be close enough to take sales from the 9x00.

 

[gregD]

Nice... but what Marantz really ought to do is re-introduce a pre/pro with the 8400's feature set... maybe with a few more in's / out's... and maybe a digital interface for hi-res audio, even if only a proprietary one for their own universal players.

Who knows, might be in the works... they did recently roll out a couple new multi-channel power amps.

 

[John Garcia]

I would love a new pre/pro from them based on the 8400s features. If they were to drop the price of the 8400 a bit, it would not be a bad choice as a pre- already. MORE in's no outs? It already has 7 digital connections (3 coax! yay) and a buzzillion analog inputs... Neither of my hi-res players has a digital out, so it won't help me

 

[Chris PC]

The SR 8300 has 7.1 pre-outs? Those wouldn't be stereo pre-outs in terms of 7.1 decoding, would it? Since it has the RS-232 port, any chance it'll have real 7.1 type decoding like PLIIx? In the future? Or is the 7.1 pre-out on the 8300 simply a method of giving you two rear centre speakers? All just frilly toys, but the SR 8300 is looking more and more like a good bet for a decent value as a used receiver

 

[John Garcia]

The 8300 is upgradable, but I have a feeling they will not release an update to PLIIx, since the receiver does not have a 7ch amp. It would be nice if they offered it, but they will charge for it. The 8400 has PLIIx.

Yes, the 7.1 pre-outs I believe are simply to allow the use of two rear centers and/or to use external amps for everything. Now I can pick up an MM9000 and run my other 5 channels off that...