I have spent some time with the SR-18 and I found it to be an incredible piece. It does so many things, and does them right. One problem that my dealer told me about is that you cannot set up the THX distances exactly. This could be a big problem in an odd sized room. Marantz seems to think that it's no big deal and they say that they can make the settings work. My dealer is bothered by this lack of attention from Marantz and they refuse to recommend the product until Marantz admits the problem and does something to fix it. Anyone else having this problem, and if so, is it REALLY a problem? The new Elite receivers will be available in June. They are also supposed to be statement pieces, have better D/A's and cost $750 less. Somebody please convince me to buy the SR-18.

The best I've heard in it's price range and class.Listened to Onkyo, Denon, Yamaha, Nadd and a few more.
SR-18 sounded the best, in stereo and HT.
I've had unit since July and it gets better and better ever day.
Only problem, getting caps out of speaker binding posts.

Rating: 4. Excellent home theater A/V unit. Crisp, clean. The back input/output area is a congested but aren't all receivers these days? It was a little tricky getting my not-very-flexible Audioquest cable in there. Features are easy to use. As a digital animal it is a beast both in weight and punch. Not very musical using analogue stereo inputs for my Marantz 67 SE CD player but digital was fine. Try listening to Alan Parson's DTS CD on Marantz'z latest DVD player - truly awesome! Rating as 4 since there are other units, primarily separates, that will beat it but at significantly higher cost. Marantz is coming out with a version sans amplifiers later this summer. Now that will be a monster if hooked up to the Marantz 200 watt monoblocks rather than the SR-18's onboard 140 watts. Overall: SR-18 easily recommended.

I'm not sure what your dealer is talking about. When you set-up the SR-18 you enter the distance in feet from the listening position to the location of each speaker(including sub). These settings are used for ALL listening modes to calculate the timing delays,THX or not. I've had ZERO problems, and no regrets about spending this much on a receiver. It sounds great with music or movies.

Its beautiful
No quirks (I've never heard that fabled DTS hash that other stuff seems to let through before locking on)
Pre-amp out
DTS discs sound astonishing
Powerful (how I use it anyhow)

Limited bass management
Dolby digital lags DTS a long way
Remote hugely flexible, but huge, heavy and pig dog ugly
Worst manual I've ever seen

I bought this in a way I would never buy audio equipment in the UK. I spotted it in the window and it was gimme gimme gimme. It was so big and solid and beautiful and it looked like the stuff my folks would never buy when I was a kid(mines a gold one). Spin that tuning wheel!!! Plus at less than HKD12k (about USD1500) new I felt I was getting a bargain.

Pride of ownership is very high. This thing is solid, it feels hewn from solid and its a beauty. Performance is good enough, I don't mean that in a prejoritative way, I'm owned some pretty expensive kit and used to be a hair shirted flat earther. But these day's the turntables in the garage, the SR18 is good enough to stop me looking for a replacement (yet anyway).

I use 2 pairs of ATC7 speakers which are small but feisty. ATCs are reputed a hard drive (I dunno, I bought them after the Marantz). Rather than take risks, I drive the rear pair with 4 channels of the SR18 (passive bi-amped, using a Y connector between the pre outs and power ins) with the main left/right fronts driven by a Krell KAV300 I had lying around and configured as a power amp. No centre, my wife and I sit in the sweet spot.

you know, despite what I said up top, it sounds great to me. Truth be known I've had better 2 channel sound (from big home made transmission lines plus the Krell and then a pair of Meridian DSP5000s) but thats not the point is it - this is home theatre. I've had better sound from this than in any movie theatre.

Criticisms?? Everything bad you've read about the manual is true. Its useless and unlike the SR18 itself inspires no pride of ownership. The only real performance drawback I've heard is a suspicious lack of clout on block buster dolby digital discs. I suspect that its due to a hole in the ATC7s reponse (when combined with a DD spec high pass filter) and where the SR18 starts to cut in the sub. Two mitigating facts: 1) I get a much more seamless result using the SR18's bass management than using the sub Xover 2) DTS tracks sound spectacular - no problems in any way and certainly no lack of impact. The remedy is obvious buy DTS, which we do, but I wonder if more flexible bass management would cure the problem, the SR18's does seem to lack flexibility (reading the reviews only seperates and the B&K buggie seems to do any better though).

Last word on the remote, it is a beast. I couldn't live without it but boy is it heavy, plus 'cause the batteries are in the front the weight distribution is all wrong. But it lights up, controls everything I own and came free with the receiver so what the heck.

To me it seems cheap for what it does, but remember, I live in HK now but most of my electronics kit was bought in the UK where (compared with the US at least) we get royally scr*wed. I came away from signing the cheque feeling like I'd got a bargain and my five stars reflects that, not whether there is other kit out there that does the same for less cash. The lost a star for performance is because of that DTS/DD difference. Plus, some day I may need to justify buying something even better. For now this'll do.

Similar Products Used:

None

listen guys---music is to the ear as women are to the eyes-we all have different tastes. The 18 is a piece of work and ive been comparitive shopping for the best sound feasible in my range. Ive paired it with B@W nautilus 803's and am amazed at the range they can handle (insofar as the price--because in most cases you get what you pay for). Yet i really have not heard it in 5 channel but expect it will do the job sufficently. Overall it is on my Christmas list.

Disregard and throw out the review by malakas. He/she doesn't know what they are talking about.
The DSP modes are of limited use on an audiophile quality receiver. I have also owned a Yamaha receiver and they are good, but several notches below the Marantz when it comes to sound. After extensive use of the Marantz SR-18, I have rarely used the DSP modes.

The SR-18 amps have a signal-to-noise ratio of 110dB. This becomes evident when you listen to the clarity of music. No other integrated amp or receiver is as good, period.

Another word for malakas, take your mud-slinging elsewhere, Marantz SR-18 owners are sophisticated home theater aficionados.

Bottom line for the SR-18 is five stars.

Power, performance, and that deluxe tuning wheel.

No phono input. Manual could be a lot better.

All I have to say is that this a great receiver and is probably as close as you can come to having separates without spending the money. I've never owned a Marantz before, but had searched for over a year to upgrade my old pro-logic receiver to one with DD and DTS and finally it came down to the only one that was worthy for the price: the SR-18. I struggled with the thought of going with separates, but that probably would have cost me another couple grand to go that route and I don't think I sacrificed much in the way of quality by going with the SR-18.

I am shocked by the misinformation and blatant flaming that is present in some of these reviews, however it is good to see that other reviewers have taken the time to point out the truths and the idiots. My advice to anyone thinking about buying this receiver that is reading these reviews is to read most, if not all of them, but skip over the dolts rating it with one star just to get a rise out of everyone.

I'd like to add some comments related to some of the themes that have come out of the previous reviews.

Many mention the remote as being a weakness, which I couldn't disagree with more. True, it takes some effort to program it, but anything truly flexible and configureable is going to be that way. I would much rather be able to program every function I use from one remote into another, rather than be force-fed the pre-programmed choices made by a manufacturer. I have been able to finally get rid of my 5 other remotes and use only this one for all the components in my system. If you're someone who doesn't have the couple of hours of patience to do this, that's fine, but you can then just continue to suffer with your hands (and coffee table) full of remotes.

Another knock on it that has been mentioned is the lack of useful DSP modes, which although essentially true doesn't reflect much as to the value of the receiver. After years of having a receiver with multitudes of DSP modes that I rarely used other than when just fooling around with them, I say DSP has no real bearing on the value of any receiver. 99.9% of the time I am in one of stereo, DD, DTS or Pro-logic modes. Anything else is not used for serious listening anyway.

You can't knock it too much for not having EX processing - it's just showing it's age there. Unfortunately it seems like we're getting into a time of where a/v formats are changing so fast it's making audio equipment age as fast as computers. With the SR-14 coming out, there will probably be good deals out there on the 18.

My one gripe is that there's no phono input. Not really a big deal as I don't listen to my old vinyl that much anyway, but a bummer nonetheless. Guess I'll have to keep the old receiver around for a while yet.

And no, the sub output is never turned off (unless you turn it off on purpose). And yes, you can use banana plugs.

And lastly, on the lighter side, you gotta love the tuner's flywheel. I have a friend that has to go spin it a couple times every time he comes over just because it's so cool.

Similar Products Used:

B&K, Yamaha, Kenwood, Sony, Adcom, Denon

Features and expandabiltiy. It supports all the major audio standards (THX, DTS, Dobly, etc), and has support for many components. A plthora of connections; RCA, digital, etc. Programmable remote is a must have. Excellent performance: high power rating, and capable of driving 6 ohm speakers just fine. Programmable inputs. Ability to attach external amps if desired. Built-in crossover for sub and all other speakers.

On screen display is a bit clunky; not as easy as it should be to navigate and modify. More digital inputs would be nice.

I spent a lot of time deliberating as to which A/V receiver I would get. I read all the reviews, then called around, got opinions, and even talked to custom home theater stores as concerning what they recommend.

In nearly every case, the SR-18 was the recommended receiver. I wanted a receiver that had optical inputs, supports the full array of sound processing standards, and could drive my NHT 2.9 speakers, which are 6 ohm. The Marantz has been able to do this without a problem. The other receiver I considered was the B&K AVR 202, by the way.

Although it is rated for 8 ohms, everyone assured me that the amp was high quality and under rated. After usiing the product for almost a year, I have yet to run into any problems. I have two 6 ohm front speakers, a 6 ohm center, and two 8 ohm rear speakers. Yes, I had adjust the audio levels of the 8 ohm speakers, but the amp has handled the 6 ohm load just fine.

Sound quality is good, and I have no compaints in that arena. This is my first A/V receiver, and one thing I noticed that I dislike is what happens when I force processing on a standard stereo broadcast. Most of the audio gets sent to the center channel, the sides are at a very low volume, and the rears seem even lower. I don't know if other A/V receivers do the same.

I am very satisfied with my receiver, and love the remote. You want the remote.

sound quality,versatility

none

The best overall receiver in it's class. Beats Denon and Yamaha hands down in any listening environment. Compared using Sony 7700 with Definitive Technology and Snell speakers. Marantz was clearly the best in both cases. This one is tough to beat.

Similar Products Used:

Denon 5700, Yamaha DSP A1