Okay, here''s where it really scored: 1. Amazing sound - both music as well as movies 2. Build quality 3. Looks 4. Binding posts for all speaker outs 5. Amazing value for money priced

And here''s where it didn''t: 1. No 6 channel analog input 2. No speaker A/B switching 3. Menu navigation could be made a little more intutive 4. Remote ergonomics could be improved, also backlighting is a must! I ended up buying a touchscreen remote seperately... Overall, I''d highly recommend this receiver!!

This review is for the SR-4200 Was looking for a receiver for both music as well as movies. Didn''t want to spend too much (around $400) but didn''t want to compromise on sound quality either - don;t we all ;) Did tons of research and shortlisted 4 receivers - the Yamaha RXV520, Denon AVR1602, Harman Kardon AVR2000 and this one. Drew up a long list of some 40 odd parameters and evaluated all 4 (yeah, i tend to get obsessive about these things!) Here''s what I thought of them... The HK sounded too bassy, and I got scared reading about all the quality problems they''ve had... Denon sounded really good, no distortion at all but they too have had some problems (the Dolby Digital decoding chips in this model and a couple others don;t work with some movies like Jurassic Park 3) - Also, because of some complicated reasons, it cost almost $800 in India! The Yamaha sounded too bright for my taste and also had only one coax input... Also, I didn''t think I would ever really use all the DSPs The Marantz sounded the most balanced - particularly when listening to music... It''s build seemed really solid and the front was very simple and classy.

Nice sound, nice looks & low heat.

As others reported: pathetic instruction booklet, no A/B switch, sub-par speaker hook-ups. Needs easier tone controls.

I dissed a $1600 NAD component system back in ''99 due to utter dissapointment with their technology & bought the SR-4000 to replace the rack. My interest is exclusively in 2/ch stereo music listening. Although the CSW salesman did not have a high opinion of this "bottom" model, it more than suited my needs. The rotary input selector initially caught my eye, along with the overall understated design. I was not dissapointed. The sound is clear and crisp, just the way I like it. Problem is, I now have to upgrade my inexpensive speaker system to optimize the SR 4000 capability. So far, no defects in performance; but I use none of the surround sound features. From the "Score to American Beauty" to Tantric''s 1st release, the quality of sound has exceeded the unit''s price tag. My only beef, and it''s a real irritation, is the inaccessiblily to the tone controls!! Go back to rotary knobs!

Similar Products Used:

NAD components

Sound quality....and more.

Just wanted to add a short comment about the sound quality of this receiver...Steve did a great in-depth review.

The SR-4000 is definitely a "sleeper" when it comes to 2 channel CD playback. It's hard to believe that this unit can sound this good without having discrete outputs.

Rivals (and surpasses some) much more expensive separates.
Don't let it's low price fool you.

Similar Products Used:

Numerous power amp/pre amp combos as well as higher end Marantz receivers.

Many great features, easy to use menu IMO, cool remote allows you to work other components, easy to read display, output/inputs plenty.

Wide, no DTS, no a/b select. One useless button on the remote, cannot do anything with it.

I use B&W speakers, Pioneer DVD, and Toshiba t.v. and seems to even out quite well. Sound is superb, user freindly, and great classic name. I wanted Yamaha but feel i did ok with the SR4000

Similar Products Used:

Sony...it sucked

Very good value, sound quality for the money, easy to use

No A/B button, no s-video in/outs, banana plug connectors' separation seems non standard

This is a follow up after my previous review. I got my replacement unit from hifi, and everything worked perfectly well now.

I went to a friend's house to do some tests and comparisons. He has NHT tower speakers (awesome) and a Sony GX-800ES receiver. I brought the marantz and a Yamaha HTR-5460.

We used a testing track he has, and some CDs I brought myself. Listened to sections from Carmen (Bizet), Rebecca Pidgeon, Diana Krall, Carmina Burana, Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, and some others.

Overall we agreed the best sound came out from the Sony. By the way, though older this is is a higher-end and more expensive receiver compared to the other 2, so don't think this wasn't unexpected.

This Sony reproduced very rich and powerfull bass, and we agreed that usually the sound reproduction had some kind of edge even at the midrange and at higher notes (for instance, better or more realistic echoes in finger clicks and Krall's voice in "My love is a Mountainside").

Still we thought that apart from the bass and those subtleties in the higher ranges, with our testing in general it was hard for us to tell other differences comparing the Sony and the other two. This is not to downplay this Sony, on the contrary, it means we thought the other two receivers, though of lower level, were quite good.

Just in case, we had previously matched the receiver volumes using a pink noise track and a radio shack volume meter. Then tested for low frequencies responses using one of the testing tracks. As we had perceived, the sony indeed had 2-3 dbs more than the others in two of the lowest frequencies (the speakers though excellent didn't reproduce 20 Hz notes, so we couldn't compare the very lowest ones). The Yamaha seemed to have 1 or 2 dbs more than the Marantz in one of the low notes, but we couldn't notice much difference between the Yamaha's and the Marantz's bass responses.

After levelling the volumes from each receiver, the Sony had the volume knob before the mid point, the Marantz was at 25 (out of 50), and the Yamaha was at about 2/3rds of its scale. So the Marantz seems to have more volume than the Yamaha (even though the latter is rated at 100W per channel, another verification that Watt's is not the same as volume).

The Yamaha has indeed more features and options that the Marantz (many S-video inputs, more DSP modes), but I really need none of this extra features right now.

So with more volume than the Yamaha and for only $265 (shipping included, while the Yamaha was $380), I think the SR4000 is probably the best buy for entry level a/v receivers if you don't need s-video.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha HTR-5460, Sony GX800ES

Unbeatable price at this level, excellent sound, ease of use, beautiful

no a/b button, no binding posts for surrounds, non-standard separation of + & - binding posts, volume level only shown when changing the volume (none of these a big deal to me anyway)

In my first review I had given the sr-4000 the lowest overall rating possible because unfortunately I had received a non-working lemon from hifi (see my other reviews further down). I think I have to counter that previous rating in order to better reflect how I feel about this receiver. Also, since there are only 14 reviews before this one I'm sending, I think it was unfair for the final average rate shown on this website for the sr-4000 to leave my two other ratings I had. So here's my rating "adjustment" review.

My sr-4000 ($250) is connected to front paradigm Titans ($170 the pair, a ridiculously low price for such an incredibly good sounding piece of technology). This is arguably the best value/best sounding entry level system you could conceive.

I want to comment on binding posts and banana plugs for the sr-4000, but first a picture of the backpanel of the sr-4000 that may be helpful:

http://www.marantz.com/p_product_alt.cfm?id=321&cont=u&line=rcv&product_series=he&img_ext=bck


As you may know some banana plugs come in pairs with a fixed seemingly standard separation. The separation between the red and black binding posts in the sr-4000 is not the standard (the Titans don't have standard separation between their banana binding posts either). I use independent plugs (Acoustic Research ones, found them at Lowes for about $10 a box of 4).

Curiously enough, the separation between adjacent negative and positive binding posts (eg. adjacent reds or adjacent blacks in the back panel of the marantz) is the standard separation. So if you already have some banana plugs fixed in pairs you could use them horizontally holding a pair of negative (or positive) cables for different speakers. I wouldn't do that though, unless color-marking the cables *extremely* clearly.

All in all this is an awesome receiver. I live in a relatively small apartment and with these awesome Titans it really seems I have a subwoofer. Actually even at volumes of 25 (over 50), if I use recordings by U2 or Cherry Poppin Daddies I cannot dare to turn the volume up any bit or press the "loudness" button of the sr-4000 unless I really want to shake the building and get in trouble with the neighbors.

That power doesn't come at the expense of any sound quality at all though. I have Diana Krall singing and playing her piano right there in my living room any time I want, the most amazingly clear and enjoyable reproductions. Arguably I live in a Jazz club now :-)

Similar Products Used:

Sony GX800ES, Yamaha HTR5460

Sound!

None yet.

The sound is outstanding. My high end setup has a Conrad Johnson preamp and an Audio Research amp. When an a/v receiver can be comparable it is truly remarkable. Admittedly, I am using Sonus Faber Concertos as my front speakers (and they are great), nevertheless this receiver drives them and gets the best from them. I am surprised and delighted. I purchased the 4000 in refurbished condition because it had a 1 year warranty from Marantz and I had heard some Marantz products recently and was impressed. I felt this would be an interim purchase but I don't think I'm replacing this unit any time soon.

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This is my first a/v receiver but I have a first class stereo setup in another room.

Ease of set-up and speaker terminals were very simple using banana plugs

The manual was not very detailed.

This review is for the sr-4200. I am an avid music listener who wanted to be able to use my dvd players full capabilities with a digital reciever. I always thaght that my Kenwood sounded good but was blown away by the sound from the sr-4200. The only downfall is now I really need to upgrade my speakers to take full advantage of the home theater. The rear and center channels are extremely weak(They were free with my first sorround reciever) and make the home theater experience a little painful. I have heard this reciever with the definitive technology pro 100 sat system and can't wait until I can purchase them. I had listened to the Yamahas of equal value but will never regret this purchase.

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood about 6 years old with pro-logic only

Sound, price, warranty.

Manual, remote.

This is a review of the Marantz SR-4200 (not SR-4000) A/V receiver.

Upon the recommendation of those of you on AudioReview.com, I decided to venture into the world of a/v components with a SR-4200 (my previous stereo being a JVC FS-5000 desktop stereo). I limited my receiver budget to under-$400, and I spent quite a bit of time comparing the objective measures of many different brands and models at Best Buy, Circuit City, and Cambridge Soundworks. At the end, I decided to stick with Marantz because of: 1.) the 3-year standard warranty, 2.) more bang for the buck in terms of decoding systems and inputs/outputs, and 3.) Marantz's overall strong reputation. Two weeks after my foray into Marantz, I don't regret my decision at all. I fully agree with previous reviewers that the manual is skimpy and the remote takes some getting used to. The SR-4200 is a keeper!

Unfortunately can't tell yet

Reliability ? No A/B speaker switch

Today I got this receiver from hifi.com, had bought it on clearance sale for $250 + $15 shipping, good deal I thought. Connected it and surprise... no sound at all. Checked the speaker setup, reread the manual, checked my speakers with another receiver (Yamaha) and they were fine, checked the troubleshooting hints, no mute on, no headphones, no volume all the way down (gee it seems they write those troubleshooting guidelines having in mind old-fashioned grannies in front of supercomputer centers).

I tried again and again, my conclusion was that obviously there was real trouble in the box, no sound channel ever came alive. The only thing that seemed to flow through it was the video signal from the different video-ins to the monitor-out, with the exception of the front video-in which didn't work either. The menus worked fine, the remote, the tuner seemed to be tunning (stereo light came alive when stopping in actual stations) but absolutely no sound whatsoever, not even a minor hiss... I mean drop dead. Changing the source didn't help, no sound from the CD ins, the VCR ins, the CDR/tape-in, or the A/V front inputs... silencio absoluto.

I called Hifi and here again I am going through kind of a troubleshooting 101 set of questions over the phone, miserable me, until they also agreed they seemed to have sent me a real sick item.

They'll ship another, I can ship this one back with no cost. Well, thanks a lot that's nice, but what kind of equipment are you selling in these clearances of yours guys? It's a hassle to go through this returning and replacement policy. Is it Marantz's fault with a 3 year warranty? I really doubt it. I'll write another review after I get the replacement and try it.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha HTR-5460