Wonderful clean sound for music AND theater. Great volume control.

Lousy remote, useless surround fields (don't use them anyway- just give me DTS and DD)

What a great product for the price! Mine is a refurb with which I've had no trouble. Don't like the remote, but I use an app on my Palm (omniremote)

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo, Denon, Sony in same price range ($300-400)

Great sound. More volume than I need in a room 20ft x 15ft. No noise that I can detect. Value for money.

The set up instructions in the manual are not clear on how to get started. Took me longer than I expected but once I got the message it was very straight forward.

This is for the SR520 WOW,WOW am I pleased that I took the time to read the reviews from this site and compare receivers. This product is so far beyond my expectations considering the price. what a great deal. I was looking for a receiver that would be great for movies and music. The Marantz Sr5200 does all this and more. This is the first time I have ever taken the time to write a review but this product deserves it. If their after sales is as good they have a customer for life.

Similar Products Used:

Sony. Technics. Bang & Olufson.

Great sound, great features

Poor documentation, uninspired remote, so-so interface and styling

This review is for the Marantz AV 5200 (not 5000). The SR 5200 is a great sounding receiver that more than fulfilled most of my expectations. The sound is smooth and clean and is great on audio and home theatre applications. The sound is crystal clear and the tuner section is excellent. I can finally hear the words to songs (on FM radio) that I have been listening to for years. It has all the inputs and outputs that I need. The user interface and styling are average. The manual is poorly written and illustrated. I actually considered rewriting it for them for free. The remote control is completely uninspired and does not seem to work well at long distances or angles. When you get the hang of it, however, you can get by pretty well. I am very happy with the SR/5200 and I imagine most listeners would be highly satisfied with this purchase. The unit was perchased on-line from www.acousticsounddesign.com who delivered the receiver exactly on time for $210 less than any other vendor ($439 vs $650) I could find, however, you must read the return policies and the warrenty infomation very carefully before purchasing. Make sure the item is in stock before buying. The phone person at www.acousticsounddesign.com was very nice to deal with and straigh forward. The actual shipping cost was $10 less than was quoted on the website. The receiver arrived in perfect condition in a sealed box with all accessaries/papers in tact.

Similar Products Used:

Luxman and Carver stereo recievers

Excellent amp, DTS ES (matrix) and DD EX, plenty of inputs and outputs, DPL II

No phono-stage or B-speaker outputs (but I already had those with my PM-68), remote (but I have the excellent Marantz RC2000Mk.II so it was a non-issue for me)

Why is there still no section for the SR-5200 at AudioReview? Anyway, went to the store to audition a Denon AVR-1802 and walked out the door with the Marantz SR-5200 :-). I "finished" my home theater system 4 1/2 years ago by adding a Sony STR-GA8ES 5.1 ready receiver and a Denon AVD-2000 Dolby Digital pre/pro to my existing Marantz PM-68 integrated stereo amp. That is, the receiver was used only as a center/surround amp and A/V switcher. All of my stereo only sources were (are) still directly connected to my integrated amp and I don't even turn on the receiver when listening to two-channel. This was about a year before DTS DVDs came on the scene, so finally in Jan. 2001 I added a Panasonic DVD-RV80 DVD player with a built-in DTS decoder. Well, that damned DVD player suddenly died in May of 2002 but my 4 1/2 year old Panasonic DVD-A110 still works fine so I thought I would be better off with a DTS receiver instead of another DVD player. All I really needed was a receiver with a decent amp-section (I run my center and surrounds "small" so I don't need massive power), 5 s-video inputs and 3 s-video outputs, and pre-outs for the front L/R channels. The Denon seemed to fit the bill but sounded kind of bland compared to the Marantz. That in itself would have been enough for me to opt for the Marantz but given that the 5200 is a 6-channel receiver vs. 5 for the Denon, has pre-outs for all channels vs. 3.1 (front 3 + sub) for the Denon, has an additional tape loop, digital input, digital output, and a 6.1 analog input vs. 5.1 for the Denon, and cost nearly the same amount, made the decision a no-brainer. I tried the 5200 by itself for a few weeks and it sounds great! If I didn't already have a better two-channel amp I would have no problem living with this as my only amp. It sounds especially great in Source Direct mode. As you would expect from an amp that costs 2 1/2 times more per channel, the PM-68 has a better analog pre-amp section. With the tone controls set to flat I can't hear any difference with Source Direct on or off. With the SR-5200 though the difference is dramatic. I wasn't surpised by this with analog inputs but this is also true with digital inputs. In any case, the SR-5200 in Source Direct mode sounds fantastic. I'm just about up to the character limit and I didn't even get to the surround performance :-(.

Similar Products Used:

Sony ES STR-GA8ES A/V receiver, Denon AVD-2000 DD pre/pro, Sony ES SDP-EP9ES DD per/pro, Yamaha DSP-E492 3-channel A/V integrated amp, Pioneer Elite A-35R stereo integrated amp, Onkyo TX-900 stereo re

Movie sound is smooth with a nice dynamic range Music sound is better than most receivers at this price range DTS, Prologic II, etc. Two coax inputs, two optical inputs One coax output, one optical output

Remote is AWFUL (and has limited range, especially from an angle). DSP functions are next to useless. Generates a lot of heat (may be of concern in a small room)

Note that price listed is in CDN dollars. Review is for SR5200. I used this unit for roughly one week. As far as compromises between home theatre and music goes (for this amount of money), this receiver is golden. I found that for home theatre it was much more 'polite' than other receivers in this price range. It doesn't have the bright attack that many other products have. It sounds more refined and well controlled. For music, it is also better than most HT receivers. However for certain types of music (e.g. punk, ska, etc.) which do not benefit from its smooth delivery it is somewhat lacking. Distorted electric guitar lacks punch. Also note this product has quite a relaxed midrange. This may be why it doesn't sound optimal with punk. Classical, jazz, pop, etc. did sound excellent (for a receiver). Careful pairing with speakers would make this a best buy product; for the price it offers excellent value. In the end I didn't want to compromise on music quality and went for an integrated amp. If I had stuck to HT, this would have been the receiver for me.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, Kenwood

Great channel seperation, and vivid clear quality

ordinary remote

I recently upgraded from a Marantz SR4200 to the SR5200 and to say the least there is a noticible differnece in audio quality and channel seperation produced by the digital signal processor. Several of my dvd's and cd's came to life in a richer, and fuller experience. In my case you live and learn, if you can, go above the entry level from a manufacturer. The on screen display is also very handy to have, and made programming the unit that much easier. I only wish I looked at this unit originally.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz SR4200

Price ($275 new open box), sound quality.

Lack of some convenient features, remote only so/so.

The SR-5000 is a budget minded home theater receiver allowing low-fi spenders to enter into the Marantz line of receivers. Modestly rated at 70x5 w/ DD & DTS. Best features: DTS, DD, Pro-Logic, Stereo sound is excellent. One thing many don''t know about Marantz is the receivers volume controls are set up on a expodential scale rather than linear--meaning you have far better control of the volume, particualarly at low volumes--for example--if you turn the volume to 25/100 -- you are not even close to having the system use 25% of it''s power--at 50/100 you probably are still not using 1/4 of the total system power -- many people notice they need to turn it up to 60, 70 or even 80 to get it loud, but this is intended and a GREAT feature. I had two Harman Kardon''s before this, and they were great units, but I couldn''t get the volume low enough at times--one notch above mute was still fairly loud. I find the remote fair--wish it was laid out differently, but it''s light and it does learn, and those are both important to me. Back-lit keys would be terribly helpful. Weaknesses: no on screen display, no way to turn the sub on/off with the remote (but you can adjust sub volume if it''s on), doesn''t automatically switch based on digital input (DTS to DD to ProLogic to straight stereo). DTS, DD and Pro-Logic are all good for movies--all the other DSP''s are terrible--even worse than the others stereo manufacturers--my HK''s both had a theater and a hall that were OK for watching movies--the same DPS''s on this Marantz are absolutely TERRIBLE!!! This unit has tremendous stereo sound, and home theater is great too (although I think home theater is easy--almost any receiver that has DD and DTS will be OK--it''s stereo music that separates the Marantz''s, Onkyo''s, HK''s from the Sony''s and Pioneer''s of the world. Marantz makes a great MUSICAL home theater receiver. 5*''s for music and value and DD/DTS, 4*''s overall because of the lack of features--but hey, Marantz has to keep something back to get you shell the big money for the high end stuff. Great Mid-fi quality for the budget minded music/movie fan. Highly recommended.

Similar Products Used:

Harman Kardon, Onkyo, Technics, Yamaha, Panasonic, Pioneer, etc...

Clean undistorted sound, quality, Prologic II.

Remote.

This review is for the SR 5200. I spent way too much time researching my needs for a HT receiver after finishing my basement (according to my wife!). I liked the features of the HK AVR 220 and bought one from Circuit City for $400. It had great sound, though slightly warm. It was very, very easy to set up with nice on-screen displays. (The on-screen display is only useful for set-up and cannot be seen with component inputs on any receivers in the under $1000 price range even with component switching). The remote was barely acceptable and had a few quirks like needing to press AVR before any functions worked for the receiver. I liked the menus and displays very much. However, it would shut down all but the left front channel if using Prologic II for more than 30 minutes. It ran very hot and probably had a bad chip. In Dolby Digital 5.1 this never happened. I was very worried about the quality and returned it before my 30 days expired. I then bought a Yamaha RX 620 and thought the DSPs from Yamaha could replace the Prologic II as it only has Prologic. Big mistake. I thought the overall sound was so bright with diminished dynamic range that I could barely listen! The remote was acceptable and it did have component switching, but this wasn’t much use to me as noted above. I figured I had to have Prologic II and didn’t care about component switching. I ended up with the Marantz SR 5200. It has nice on-screen displays, can automatically turn on when sensing the TV is on, and had an average remote. The setup was pretty easy. The most impressive thing was the sound! Clean, clear and precise. Not nearly as bright as the Yamaha and not as warm as the HK. Totally enough power from all 3, but the Marantz seems to have better quality plus a 3 year warranty. I strongly recommend considering Marantz and really liked the HK as well, but not the quality. Don''t buy without Prologic II!

Similar Products Used:

HK AVR 220 and Yamaha RX-620.

Excellent surround modes, nice, clean bass and easy to use.

None

All I can say about this receiver can be put into one word : WOW! ... value cannot get better than this. This is definitely the best bang for your buck. I had been looking into getting the Denon AVR-1802 but I'm glad I went with the Marantz SR-5000. My dad owned Marantz and now I do. The sub settings are kind of tricky because for some reason the 6-channel out sub doesn't sound unless you select a small center channel..... weird. Anyway, the quality of the sound blows away the old Harman Kardon AVR I used to own and it drives the Energy take 5 speakers quite nicely. Music sounds beautiful and movies even better! thumbs up for Marantz and the SR-5000.

Similar Products Used:

Harman Kardon AVR-310, Denon AVR-1602

Excellent sound reproduction, sufficient power output, quick set up and configuration, 70W/ch (DISCRETE!), 6ch input, DD and DTS.

Remote has too many buttons(not a problem after one gets use to it though). Manual lacks in detail.

I've had this unit for just over a month now, and I could not be much more happier with it. I currently have HECO Odeon 400 speakers (4ohm) as my main speakers with HECO Odeon 100 speakers (4ohm) as my surrounds. The reproduction is very precise clean from this receiver.

I've listened to various HK and Yamaha products at the store with the same HECO speakers as I have at home playing the same piece of music as to see the difference between the receivers. Well, as you can see the SR5000 won the race. Sure the HK500 has a couple of I/Ps more, and 10-15W/Ch more but if "clean" and accurate sound reproduction is what one is after then this receiver is well priced at around ~$900 CDN.

I did not stumble upon any problems with this receiver in the last month with regards to video interference or lack of warmth in my music as other reviewers have complained. I do agree however, that the manual is completely useless. Nonetheless, one should not oversee the entire product based on its manual or remote for that matter. I found that the setup of this receiver was a snap, sure there is the question of how one should setup his speakers when you have an option for large or small speakers as well as a sub connected to the unit, but if those are you worries why not ask the dealer and stop complaing that the music sounds bad when the unit is set up incorrectly or the manual does not explain enough. (Maybe, its all done for a reason -think- if one buys a quality receiver maybe one should know something about them first and how "they" operate before stepping into the vast world of audio and HT electronics). Plus, if you ask me Large, small, and none is pretty intuitive to figure out. Oh, did I fail to mention, try, listen and learn are probably the 3 most important things one should do with a new receiver before making a final choice because what is set up in the store can be consderably different even between receivers.(MAKE SURE ALL settings are always FLAT) therefore, the reproduction of the signal will always sound like it was ment to be, then do your comparing. Dealers know how to play their cards. I think we should too.

Good luck to all of you who are still out there hunting for the perfect unit. This one is worth every dollar.

Similar Products Used:

ONKYO, HK AVR500, HK AVR65, Luxmann, etc.