In purchasing the Marantz AV-550, I was hoping that it could do the impossible at a budget. I was hoping that I could upgrade to premium surround sound without giving up too much when listening to compact discs. Unfortunately, it failed to accomplish that. For theater, the AV550 is absolutely outstanding, and its versitility and stunningly good remote make it worth the investment, however, I decided to keep my Threshold preamp for listening to Cds. There is simply too large a difference. For music, it is my opinion that the Marantz sounds colored and without the warmth and transparency of a highend preamp. For the price range, I don't know of any preamp that does theatre and Cd's well. I still think that it is an excellent AV preamp if you don't ask too much of it for music.

i just bought this unit yesterday, so i havent had an oppty to fully test everything. however, so far so good. it sounds great using cd (rotel 935), and ld (pioneer cld505). a big surprise is how well the tuner section works...fm and AM! and then of course there's the remote...!
at first glance, my only wants would be: db-25 in/out jacks (or at least reg. main in jacks), an on trigger for an amp, addl digital inputs, and control of the multi-room function from the provided remote (you need to purchase an addl one for @ $100), but hey...at $1000 it's hard to beat.

ps, i was able to negotiate down to $850 for this unit. the only thing out there that comes close at the price is the yamaha 792 recvr at $799.

For those interested in the new Dobly-Digital Marantz preamps and recievers,LISTEN to them in the stores! At higher volumes, there is significant
distortion on the surrounds. This occurs with all sources: radio, CDs, VCRs,
etc... The distortion is only noticeable on low mid-range and low frequencies.
I've had problems with it on all my CDs and movies such as Star Wars, Batman,
and other sound-impactful movies. According to Marantz, they know of the
problem. It exist on all their new lines because all of them are based on the
same processor. They have not yet determined what they are going to do with
customers like myself who have already bought there product.

The plus side is the remote RC2000 is really great! But this does not make up
for poor sounds. I suggest looking somewhere else until Marantz gets their
act together.

This may be slightly premature (but many things are with me), but I have ordered the 550 and expect it in 2 days. This is pertanent because my first home theater amp was the Marantz 580 and the one I presently own is the Marantz 880. I went to the stereo shop to check my remote (the rc2000), read an article on the 550 (I still have not seen anything but a picture), and was so impressed that I ordered it on the spot. Look here in a few days as a full review will follow. Now I must go, the DVD is calling.

At first I thought something was wrong with the video switching because there was some cross talk in channels but it was due to my error. I only point this out because setup is just a little tricky when considering alternate video/audio sources with the multi room controler. After confirming a correct hook-up. The video switching is really cool. Plenty of S-video and digital inputs. There is a slight suffocation in the mid to high end when you crank it but I am speaking of levels that most will not listen too anyway. Both of my amps ( Parasound and Krell) revealed a slight impression of a clip in the ultra high frequencies which was very odd and not likely to be the amps at all, but again, this happened only at very high levels. Details were live and fresh and well...DETAILED!! Lows were virtually never muddy and mids were as accurate as the human voice itself. A definate buy for under $2000

The Marantz 550 is a fantastic product. It sure makes the music sound a whole lot better !

I have an AV-550 and have talked to Marantz technical support as well. Both Mraantz and my dealer have told me that using the analogue inputs bypasses any Digital Signal Processing. Therefore, it's a case of choosing b/w the D/A in the CD and the D/A in the AV-550. In A-B comparisons, I found the connection throught the analogue inputs better, though it seemed the level through the coax digital input was slightly lower. Either way, it sounds nice enough through my MA-500/NHT 2.9/AC-1/1.5 set-up.
As for the rest of the unit, I have some ergonomic reservations: no lock-on to AC-3 with laserdisc using the RF input. For me, at least, it's very awkward getting an AC-3 laserdisc playing, and I've been unable to program a macro to get it done with one press of the button as promised. Also, Marantz "forgot" to put in a switched outlet, so my Marantz CC-65 changer cannot be turned on/off remotely. This is inexcusable given the supposed convenience of the AV-550 and RC2000 MkII remote.

However, this is all balanced by a $1,000 retail and $800 purchase price. And I've heard similar operational complaints from owners of much more expensive A/V preamps (Acurus ACT-3 comes to mind).

The av550 is the best sounding unit under $1500. I considered several other brands but for some reason, was never as impressed as I was with the Marantz. I love the remote. The video switching is easier to understand than any other unit. I love being able to hit any source at any time and have audio and video switch to the proper channels. Dubbing is also very easy with the source director switches.

After auditioning Rotel, Parasound, Karmon, Sony Yamaha, Denon and many other receivers in the $800 to $1500 range, I could not believe the feature rich Marantz was just about the least expensice, yet offered suchaccurate sonic impact. There is no doubt that this receiver has what it takes to present home theater with the highest level of accuracy available for this dollar count. As far as music, It is not the best in the bunch but on a scale from 1-100, I would rate the Marantz as illustrated below. No other receiver would come close.
AV-550 Surround = 99 Music = 87 Total = 186
Average of all Surround = 70 Music = 90 Total = 160

I have been playing the AV550 for about two weeks now and my prayers have been answered. After a fiasco with the Harman Kardon AVR85 and the Signature Series components (they all had defects) the AV550 seems like a dream come true. It is absolutely quiet - no mechanical or audio hum, has great sound for stereo, DPL, and DD, and is super easy to setup and operate. Home Theater Magazine gave the Philips DVX8000 as a preamp/processor a rating of 96. The Marantz AV550 is the preamp/pro for the DVX8000. My only complaints are that the AV550 could use another couple of digital inputs, a trigger circuit for a power amp, and a somewhat stronger cabinet.