My Home Theater Page

Here are the runner up's that did not get chosen at the end of the day! That by no means says they are not capable or that somehow they are not deserving choices. But for what I was looking for the Marantz made more sense! My initial choice was the Marantz SR-7012 just before the SR-7013 came out. And the 7012 has much of the features the 8012 has but basically the 8012 is the beast version of the 7012! This was a long and extensive vetting process. This is my complete list! Was going to do a break down of a number of these receivers but after thinking about it two things came to mind. One it might detract from my feedback and experience with the new Marantz. And second it would take up more time to sit down and do the brake down of a number of choices I did not go with and the pluses and minuses of each choice. If you would like to check out these receivers for yourself I included links to each product page.



Sony STR-ZA5000 ES
http://www.sony.com/electronics/av-receivers/str-za5000es


Denon AVRX 6500H
http://usa.denon.com/us/product/hometheater/receivers/avrx6500h


Denon AVRX 8500H This one really was pushing my financial limits
http://usa.denon.com/us/product/hometheater/receivers/avrx8500h


Marantz SR-7012
http://www.us.marantz.com/us/Products/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?CatId=AVReceivers&SubCatId=0&ProductId=SR7012


Pioneer Elite SCLX801
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/AV-Receivers/Elite+Receivers/SC-LX801


Pioneer Elite SCLX901
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/AV-Receivers/Elite+Receivers/SC-LX901


Integra DRX-R 1.1
http://www.integrahometheater.com/Products/model.php?m=DRX-R1.1&class=Receiver&source=prodClass

Integra DRX-7.1
http://www.integrahometheater.com/Products/model.php?m=DRX-7.1&class=Receiver&source=prodClass

Anthem MRX 1120
http://www.anthemav.com/products-current/type=av-receiver/model=mrx-1120/page=overview


Anthem MRX 720
http://www.anthemav.com/products-current/type=av-receiver/model=mrx-720/page=overview


NAD T 777 V3
http://nadelectronics.com/product/t-777-v3-av-surround-sound-receiver/


Arcam AVR850 Out of my price range and the AVR860 way out of my range!
http://www.arcam.co.uk/products,FMJ,AV-Receiver,avr850.htm


Yamaha Avantage RX-A3080 Great bang for the buck!
http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio_visual/av_receivers_amps/rx-a3080_u/index.html


Yamaha Avantage RX-A2080
http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio_visual/av_receivers_amps/rx-a2080_u/index.html

 

Thoughts and overview of Marantz SR-8012 flagship AVR


Recap of day 1:

From the moment you take the Marantz SR-8012 out of the box it doesn't take long to see the build quality and how beautiful this unit looks! When you look through the top it is very hard to miss the massive transformer that takes up a good amount of real estate in the enclosure. The back panel is very well laid out and has a lot of digital and analog connections that will give you a lot of flexibility. The set up is straight forward and easy to follow even for those just getting into this hobby. It is nice to know that if I am still able to go with a 4K projector and it needs to share the same room as the 4K display I have dual HDMI outs that will allow this. As well as being able to connect a secondary HDMI to another 4K display in another zone. In the near future this AVR will have an upgrade available through approved service centers that can change out the HDMI controler to update it from HDMI 2.0 to HDMI 2.1. How many AVR's give you the ability to upgrade your version of HDMI without having to buy a completely new AVR? And while the IMAX feature is still brand new the update will be available for this AVR as well.




So day one comprised of connecting the speakers and three a/v components along with the subwoofer and the AVR to the displays evolution kit which is just Samsung's external connection box for the 4K TV. So during set up I found out something I did not know or realize when the home theater had the Pioneer Elite SC-05 AVR. One of my back channels had a polarity issue so I had to go and flip the speaker wire which was no big deal but something that Audyssey caught and alerted me to. Now granted there are times when Audyssey will alert you to a polarity issue and it may be wrong, nothing is perfect. And another thing I was not aware of was ether around the time just before I stopped using my SC-05 the positive terminal failed on one of my surround speakers or it failed during the down time. It turns out that these cheap press in connectors are not very robust and honestly do not stand the test of time very well. That being said while I have been using these speakers for my surround for a number of years they where actually only supposed to be temporary! And due to my room layout and not being able to place my surrounds on the same plain and with the mounting bracket I chose to at the time to ceiling mount these. So unfortunately yes dust built up around the terminals which faced up.




So after running Audyssey calibration and finding out I only had one rear surround showing up I went through some trouble shooting and ran Audyssey a second time. I will be running it a few times as I go and I will also be checking the settings that Audyssey chose to use and see what distances it plugged in to see how accurate it is and make changes if needed. Now note that while this AVR has decoding for immersive audio like Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and even Auro 3D I do not yet have the speakers for the height channels and will have to add those later. The receiver will still decode the core part of the immersive format and in my case for example if listening to a Dolby Atmos track it shows 7.1 not 7.1.4. Later on when those speakers are added and connected I will have to run Audyssey again for the height speakers. It is very important that you make sure the room is as dead quite as you can and if you have something like a noisy analog clock in the room I would take it out for the set up if you can.



So depending on if I can dedicate time today this may be day 2 and if not day 2 will end up being tomorrow.


More to follow!


Not being sponsored by but just a representation of my home theater!

 

Pioneer is coming out with a 4K blu-ray player and it looks like maybe they are shooting for the gap that Oppo left when they exited the market. And with a MSRP of $1,099 this is clearly not an entry level player. And since I am going to be upgrading my Samsung UBD-K8500 4K UHD Blu-ray Player sometime next year this player along with the Panasonic will be on my radar. It is a shame that Marantz has not introduced or announced a 4K blu-ray player yet as it would match my new SR-8012 receiver.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/Blu-ray-Disc/Elite-Blu-ray-Disc-Players/UDP-LX500

 

I had trouble connecting to wifi but did not have any issues with running Audyssey. When I was running Audyssey it was registering my sub at around 101.5 db and after words when I was watching Star Trek the bass was loud enough and that is with the volume set lower than I had it with the other receiver. I would try log in with a laptop but do not have one. I was going to run an update but I have someone here that ruined my cat6 cable so I am out of a cable till I get working again. I need to get my older DVD player hooked up only because I have a Denon that plays CD's, SACD's and DVD-A's so I will hook that up tomorrow and hopefully it still works.

Hey Brian did you get the app? Is that what your using to access the settings on the Marantz?

I do plan on going in and looking at the setting manually sometime soon. I think I need to raise the center volume a little. And so far I am not sure about the surround volume level but I will be checking things out. Is the IP address the same for every receiver?

Thank you for the input Brian, very much appreciated. Oh I have a desktop pc do you think I could access the AVR with my desktop?

 

How do you like your 7010? I originally was going to get the 7012 and then decided to go for broke and get the 8012.

Very good to know Brian I will try this once I can get the receiver to connect to the network.

Was not able to play with the receiver yesterday but will get back to it today. Should have my Denon DVD-2200 connected so I can play some music discs. I want to hear some SACD's and DVD-A's today. I still have the Yamaha as well and a two channel Onkyo Integra integrated amp.

 

This is my surround sound evolution over the years!


My First Surround (ProLogic) integrated surround processor - Denon




My First Pre/Pro (THX Pro Logic) - McIntosh



My First AVR (5.1) - Yamaha



My 2nd AVR (7.1) - Pioneer Elite



Today: 3rd AVR (11.2 or 7.2.4) Same A/V rack since 1995 - Marantz

 

Bob did you ever use your 5.1/7.1 analog inputs for SACD/DVD-A or even from internal player decoder to your SR-7010?

 

Finally found the 7.1 analog menu totally separate from the menu for assigning inputs. Having other issues with the old Denon DVD-2200 that has been sitting for years.

 

Yes your correct sorry about the mix up.

 

More to come

Am doing regular and critical listening to many of my music discs and may be making a few more adjustments to the audio on my Marantz SR-8012 receiver!

 

Doing research for a po ssible replacement for my aging Denon DVD-2200 to take over SACD and DVD-A duties as well as play standard redbook CD's!

This would fit in perfect with my SR-8012 if it was not for it not playing DVD-A.

 

Might have to go used on this one. Found a used Denon DVD-2910 and it even has a HDMI out on it.

 

If I add a power amp I am thinking this may be the best made in the USA bang for the buck!

Emotiva XPA-3 power amplifier MSRP $1,199.00


Configuration:
3 x High-Powered Single-Channel Modules
(four module slots remain available for future expansion)

Power output:
275 watts/channel RMS into 8 Ohms; all channels driven
300 watts/channel RMS into 8 Ohms; two channels driven
490 watts/channel RMS into 4 Ohms; two channels driven

Class A/B output stage

Optimized Class H power supply topology