This receiver is a great product. When I first got into the whole home theatre thing I had Yamaha on my mind but marantz gives you the best bang for your dollar. This receiver has plenty of power, and sounds great.

No five channel stereo sound, but thats not that bad considering you should listen to music in two channel anyway.

I would recommend this receiver to anyone, because it is updateable to surround EX using a decoder.

Similar Products Used:

Harmon Kardon,Marantz

great stereo sound

kinda weak for home theater

this reciever,SR-19EX, is certainly good for stereo music. but for home theater, it's does sound as good as other reciever namely, Denon AVR-4800 and Pioneer Elite VSX-39TX. Put in the matrix chapter 32 where Neo is on the helicopter shooting at the agents to find out. The gun shot by the agent wasnt sound as dynamic as with other the Denon or Pioneer. This really tick me off. I hope that I can return this reciever for the Denon AVR-4800. Speaking about music, although it is great for stereo music, it doesnt sound as full and detail as the AVR-4800 or even the sony separate that i've owned.

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR-4800, Sonny TA-9000ES(digital processor,) Sonny TA-N9000ES(Amp,) Pioneer DVL-V888(laser disc, dvd, and kareoke combo.)

Clear, crisp, warm sound - best I've heard

No component video i/o; terrible manual

I think that the Marantz sr-19 is the best buy among receivers that I listened to. It's strength is the sound quality - really warm flavor. It compares very well with separates. However, if not for the 20% restocking fee I would exchange it for the Marantz 8000 which is a newer model. I made the mistake of thinking that because it's more expensive that it's better.

System used:
Marantz SR-19
Sony S570D
Newform R645 - front
Paradigm C370 - rears
Energy C2 - center
(I'm thinking of Hsu sub, but there seems to be no need)
Monster cables/wires

Similar Products Used:

Auditioned Yamaha RXV-3000, Marantz sr8000, Sony 555es, Sony n9000/ta9000, bryston

Remote control, build, looks, power ... etc.

None

I purchased the Marantz SR5000 in December 1999 and was initially quite disappointed with the sound and decided that I would look for something else. Fortunatly my dealer has a 1 year upgrade policy, so I started auditioning other components and reading reviews. I looked into other Denon products, but did not find the sound and upgradability that I was looking for in that line. Other products that I looked into where Rotel, Parasound and Classe (way out of my price range). So I came back to the Marantz line and decided to pick up the SR19.

STUNNING! Is the word that best describes how I felt about this receiver. The sound is clean, the staging is deep. Everything is as close to cristal clear as I think that I could afford. Friends that have heard my system don't quite understand my need for excellence until they hear my system. Comments that I have gotten have been "She (vocalist) sounds like she is coming from beyond the wall" "It's coming from dead center" This is amazing, I never know how real a system could sound" ...


My system consist of Rega Planet cdp with Tara Labs RSC Reference Generation 2, Mitsubishi LD with Tara Labs D2 Digital interconnects, B&W 602's in the front (Black finish) and B&W 302's in the rear (Cherry finish).

Unfortunatly, I have the spending bug, but with my system I happily don't have anything to buy.

If I could, I would give the Marantz SR19 a better rating then allowed. Better then 5 stars it is.

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR900, Marantz SR5000

VERY heavy and solid built. Incredible flexibility with inputs/outputs. REMOTE!

Whats a weakness?

I just purchased this receiver and I think I am in love. After getting a bad Onkyo 777 I purchased this unit and have never looked back. The first thing that amazed me was how heavy and big it is. I opened it up and it would not fit into my rack (so now gotta go get a new one :-( ). From the looks of it, it is a very solid unit that can handle anything. I've only had it for a week so I can't really totally analyze it, but for first impressions this one get the cake.

PS - Will post total review in a month or so.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo TS-DX777

Heavy....heavy....errr heavy....construction. Looks, Sound, power, soundstage, THX does work well...very well. Stereo is fantastic....did I mention loads of power?
REMOTE< REMOTE< REMOTE !!!

hmmmm....not sure yet. Would not mind 6.1 or 7.1 but I would rather have a Kick butt 5.1 rather than a so so 6.1 or 7.1. Instructions need help.

Well I just got this unit, so I don't have a ton to say about it...yet. But this is what my ears tell me.

I wanted an amazing amp for stereo and DD DTS. Music about 80% of the time Movies 20% of the time. One word to describe this thing is clean, the sound is so very very clean, loads of power on tap, and the soundstage is broad as it is deep. Smooth sounding, I have turned the treble down to about -2 -3 or so and the base up to +1 and so far it sounds great, after burn in, and after dealer and user comments I can expect the treble to become more nuetral and the bass to warm up....this is not a gripe folks because this amp NEEDS to burn in. I get the feeling if my nephew decideds to play with a few nobs when it is on it will take little to turn my speakers inside out, and I am running Snell Acoustic J/II amazing speakers with wicked bottom end sparkling top end, with punchy mids. though I defy anyone to find any...if you do let me know =]

I look forward to using this unit..ALOT.. as I said before the desicion came down to weather I wanted Amazing 5.1 or so so 6-7.1 the answer is clear, there is better seperation in the channels on this unit than on the Denon 4800, though it is a gorgeous unit, this one just sang to me, it really does have the superior Stereo quality.

I will fill you all in on more as I get the chance. I will be putting it through the grinder via the matrix tonight, I will post my results.

Do not hesitate if you see one, it's heft alone is flipping impressive. very nice, very solid, and certainly keeps with the marantz heritage. PS I am using this unit with the Marantz DV-18 their reference DVD player. Extermely nice unit, and a perfect match for this Reciever.

I give it five stars not because it is perfect, but because it is "more perfect" than anything else in this price range =]and ther value is clearly there.

Similar Products Used:

Denon 4800, Technics Sa-DA10 Yamaha Dsp-A1

Clean power, great remote.

see below

I've had the SR-19 receiver for one month now
and overall this is a great receiver. However, I have
noticed a problem when listening to DD, DTS or PL
with THX cinema mode enabled. There is a noise
coming from the surround speakers, it sounds like
wind in a microphone or a thumping noise. If I
turn THX cinema mode off, the noise goes away. The
SR-19 at my audio dealer also has the problem. (completly different dvd player and speakers) This happens
on all DVDs I've watched, some more than others.
I've included a few examples there the info in the surrounds is minimal so this problem can be heard:

"Clear and Present Danger" start of chapter 18.
"Apollo 13 (DTS)" chapter 6 Time 15:32-16:16
"Entrapment" chapter 4 time 15:30
"Entrapment" chapter 4 time 24:56
"Entrapment" chapter 10 time 54:58
"Entrapment: chapter 11 time 58:13

This sounds like a problem with the DSP
that handles the THX post processing, maybe a bad run of
SR-19, since both mine and my dealers have the problem.
Has anyone else noticed this problem with their
SR-19 or SR-18?

Thanks!

Similar Products Used:

none

Why buy a HT receiver if your main interest is music?

I find it funny how someone could whine about the stereo output of the SR-19. From what I have read, the SR-19 spounds almost as good as the SR-18 in this category and the SR-18 is regarded by most as the best sounding 2 channel receiver on the market. I have the SR18 and there is no way someone could complain about its 2 channel stereo mode. It sounds fantastic.

As for the hiss....no reciever is hiss-free. Second, in analog mode you'll get hiss no matter what. Third, if you were getting a loud hiss in a digital mode (which sounds like what was the case) then something must've been wrong. I have done that silly "hiss at max volume" test in the DVD digital mode with my SR18 and to any sort of hiss/noise, you have to put your ear right up to the speaker. I doubt the SR19 would be any different.

Sound, set up, style, power, hookups, etc, etc, etc.

I would like the ability to exit back to sound from any speaker set up menu. It is necissary to go to each speaker set up menu to fully exit.

This is a follow up of my prev. review.

There really is truth to tell regarding burn in, break in or what ever you want to call it.

I purchased in Jan and it is now March so it's now been in use 60 days.

What I would describe is the system has "opened up". There is a noticibly fuller and cleaner sound now. More detail that out of the box and cleaner bass. I went from original settings, -2 treble, +1 bass to 0/ -1. Excellent for music listening; I own 14 yr. old energy pro22's and they sound better than ever.

AS for films, concerts, I've never heard better and I've been actively shopping for 5 years to replace the old Onkyo.

This is by far the most enjoyable purchase I have ever made, my wife will even sit through a Roy Orbison concert with me.

Similar Products Used:

See prev. review.

Power, Quiet, Clearity, Punch

Who edits these user manuals? I guess they think you like figuring things out for your self.

The SR19 is a great product. I wonder who writes those manuals though. There (J)inglish (~,~) is the worst I've read. ~
This is the 3rd unit in 3 weeks.
The first was the Rotel that died on day 2; after listening to a dvd, the DAC died. The Rotel is also a very noisy unit. My dealer exchanged for another 965 and MkII amp. Same noise problem and the dac on this one locked up in dolby prologic surround.

My dealer loaned me a SR18 until the 19 came in. I strongly recommend him, Gifted Listener in Centreville Va.
This unit will require a center channel speaker though. When selecting the center NONE in setup, the center sound was weak at best and steering was poor. With a Polk CS175 set to small that cured the center problem. It took some time to calibrate the speaker settings and once I did, the digital surround is the best I have heard anywhere. I have auditioned the Denon 3300, 5700, Marantz SR19, Rotel, and Yamaha. I am very satisfied with the 19. LFE's better that the Rotel. I did not need the power of the 18.
I cranked up Apollo 13 for my 70 year old mother in law and she was overwhelmed! My wife liked it too.

I would like this to be a bit warmer in 2 ch. stereo though. I have to drop to -1 or -2 treble on some cd's.

The term learning remote refers to the user I guess because that is what I have been doing for the past 2 eves. My wife is just thrilled with that! The macro function does not always hit every note every time though. Maybe I can finally clean up the coffee table.

Overall, this one is a keeper. I keep this stuff for many years and it has enough flexability to feed my future needs.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo SV18Pro
Rotel RTC965
Marantz SR 19