Sound is as warm as the tube system I replaced. Automatic systems and remote are amazing.

No A/B speaker switching, otherwise, none.

I have only had this receiver for about three weeks, but I am thoroughly impressed. I retired a two channel hybrid tube system (Luxman) and I was concerned that the warm tube sound would not be present. But Marantz somehow found a way to create that sound in this receiver - way to go Marantz. I had never owned or used a 5 channel system before, so I did about two months of serious research before buying this unit. The research payed off - and this site was probably the refrence source I took most seriously, and I'm glad I did. I have found myself doing silly things like refusing to shut off the end of a movie because some theme song or another is still playing and I don't want to stop listening to it. I went into this exercise thinking that this would be a nice add on to the enjoyment of watching movies, and that is certainlt true, but it's really more that that. When you listen to the background songs and noises in a movie theater, you are NOT hearing those sounds through audiophile level speakers. At home, with this system, you are - what a pleasant shock that was/is! I am pumping the output from the receiver through two Boston Acoustics 965s and a Boston Acoustics 920 center channel in the front, and two (older) full sized Boston Acoustics in the rear. What a treat! I fully recommend this receiver to any listener, audiophile or not. Go treat youselves - life's too short to short change yourself on something completely positive like music. Enjoy!

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, Onkyo, Denon

Looks, otherwise purchase base on previous great reviews.

Unknown--box not opened yet.

My SR-7000 is still in its box. I'm concerned about William Bloodworth's (Dalla, TX) comment about "B-stock" item having cosmetic blems, factory overruns, last year's model, factory reconditioned, electronically perfect.

My model number is SR-7000 is also an "U1B". Will other SR-7000 & SR-8000 owners provide feedback on their receiver model number and if they can confirm if this is or is not a "B-stock" item? Any problems noted? Would be greatly appreciated.

In the meantime, I'll give it the top rating until I hear otherwise.

Thanks. Norman.

Remote, Build, 5-ch stereo

No component video switching capability

I have finally decided to pursue affordable quality home theater gear. An audiophile by nature, I first sought after stereo hi-fidelity that would maximize sonic performance for the dollar. However, with a mind to the future, I wanted home theater compatibility that would not intrude or compromise on my 2 channel stereo. Fortunately, enough hi-value products with characteristics far exceeding other items at the same price point were available that allowed for several options when trying to system match. I completed this stereo system almost a year ago and waited for the right home theater products to come along that would satisfy me at target price points. Unfortunately, the level of quality I was looking for was two to three times more than I was willing to spend.

Towards the end of 1999, HT receivers with the features and capabilities I was looking for finally came on the market. The improvement in build quality wasn’t where I had hoped it would be, but there still was enough of an improvement to consider these products. To equal the build quality of my stereo, I would still have to shell-out twice as much as I had budgeted.

I have to give credit to the Denon marketing machine and the reviews of their AVR-5700 and AVR-3300 receivers for making me want to audition equipment. I also want to thank the consumers that were wrapped-up in the media hype of those products that they drove-up the selling price of said equipment but managed to ignore other like-gear or not make the effort to seek them out. This was important to me because dealers would still discount the cost of the SR8000 to make it price competitive with the much sought after AVR-3300 which was being sold (back-ordered, that is) at retail cost across town. However, I did discover too that quantities retailers first shipments of the SR8000 and SR7000 were selling out as well.

I considered products from H/K, Onkyo, Yamaha, Denon, and Marantz that I figured I could buy for about $1000 U.S. Dollars + tax or less. Unfortunately B&K receivers and Adcom separates were out of my range. I auditioned the Yamaha RX-V995, Denon 3300, and the Marantz SR8000 seriously. For fun I listened to a Lexicon processor mated to Adcom amps earlier when I picked-up the NHT AudioCenter-1 that matched the NHT 2.5i main speakers.

I was immediately not satisfied with the harshness of the Yamaha. I’m particularly glad that I was able to listen to these on the unforgiving NHT 2.5i speakers so I could rule them out without question. I auditioned the Denon and Marantz together very briefly, but it was enough to know that they sounded quite similar and were both excellent pieces at $1000-$1200. In terms of build quality, warranty and remote (remote emphasized), the Marantz was a clear winner. This dealer and others I had talked to were unwilling to discount the Denon below retail, but was willing to provide a small discount on the Marantz. Note that he was out of stock on both pieces, but he knew when his next shipment of SR8000 would arrive, but had no idea when he would get the Denon 3300 back-orders in. That was a bit of a supply vs. demand economics lesson for me. I found it ironic that the Marantz, an overall better product could be had for almost the same price as the Denon which you would have to wait for.

A week later, I attempted a more thorough audition of the SR8000s musical capabilities at a dealer that had one left that he would sell to me for $1050. The salesperson hooked the SR8000 to a CAL DX-2 CD player and Vandersteen 2CE speakers, a reasonable system that someone purchasing an SR8000 might have. I don’t know what it was about this particular set-up, but it was a bit muddy. My fiancee even commented that it didn’t seem very coherent and claimed to hear background noise or static as she walked into the show/listening room with a large package of shavings for her Chinchillas from the adjacent pet store. I decided this wasn’t a satisfactory audition, but my previous listen was enough for me to buy it and scrutinize it at home with my gear and return it if it didn’t work-out.

Set-up was rather easy. I decided to program the remote later. Since my subwoofer is connected through a second set of main speaker outputs on my Adcom GFP-750 preamp, I had to ensure that all low-level information would be routed to the SR8000 main speaker outputs. This was done by setting the main speakers to large and the center to small. The rear speaker setting didn’t appear to have much influence on the bass output at the subwoofer. I was a bit disappointed to discover that my Adcom preamp’s processor loop back-panel labeling and diagram in the manual didn’t coincide with how the unit was actually assembled...turned out the processor input was actually the output and vice versa (a slight annoyance, but not worth the hassle of sending it back for repair and risk having something else malfunction or get the enclosure all dinged-up).

In it’s permanent configuration, I’m using an external amp for the front two channels routed through the Adcom preamps processor loop, and the SR8000’s internal amps for the center and surrounds. However, I did experiment with the SR8000 connected directly to the main speakers through it’s internal amps and hooked the CAL Icon Mk II CD player directly to its CD input so I could hear what the receiver and it’s internal amps sounded like. I also listened to it connected directly to the external Adcom GFA-5500 2-channel amp (without first passing through the preamp).

Fortunately, the SR8000 didn’t sound incoherent in my system like it did where I made the purchase. I was very happy with the way it sounded. Listening to the receiver connected directly to the CD player and speakers, I found the Stereo-Direct mode to be the best way to listen to music. It provided a good image across the front. Instruments were distinctly separated from each other and defined by a hard edge that wasn’t grating. I was surprised that it was able to bring out some inner detail which I didn’t expect to hear through a receiver. It had a lot of punch and energy from its tight bass up through the high frequencies. The background and space between the instruments were dark and quiet as it should be. There was no hiss to muddy the sound and detail unless you had the system cranked all the way up. The midrange appeared ever so slightly emphasized, which was more noticeable at the higher volumes. The upper-midrange did suffer slightly from a little bit of grain. Sibilance was there in the high frequencies, but it was very subtle. It may have only been noticeable because the NHT 2.5i is known to be very demanding of components, revealing problem areas no matter how slight. The SR8000 did lack three-dimensionality using the 2-channel stereo-direct mode. The images were placed properly laterally, but there was no depth. At the higher party-level volume, this lack of depth caused the images to overlap one-another and obscure the detail. This is when you want to use the 5-channel stereo mode. Inner detail is lost and the high frequencies are rolled-off, but the images suddenly gain bloom and new life. The hard defining edge around the instruments is slightly muddied, but the separation actually improves since they now occupy their own space in three dimensions. Even though there is that loss of detail, the instruments seem more real. 5-Channel stereo really draws you into the music and envelopes you. I recommend you tweak the treble up a couple notches when using 5-channel stereo to force-out some perceived detail. As far as 2-channel stereo non-direct mode is concerned, don’t even bother. It’s like taking the worst traits of stereo-direct (lack of depth) and 5 channel (reduction in detail) and combining the two; totally un-involving and utterly worthless (unless you really, really, need those tone controls).

As a stereo pre-amp, there was improvement. So it could be worth it to upgrade to external amps in the future, particularly if you desire more power. Hooked-up to the Adcom GFA 5500 Amp through Audioquest Ruby interconnects, the slight grain in the upper midrange was reduced significantly (although there wasn’t much grain there to begin with). Sibilance was also reduced some. The music was more liquid and flowed better. The background noise that could be heard at the highest volume settings appeared to be cut in half. Inner detail was present, but it may have lost a little. My guess is that the SR8000s internal amps aggressively etched the information resulting in apparent better detail, but also bringing out those negative qualities like sibilance and grain. The SR8000 did continue to show a slight emphasis in the midrange and there was no improvement in depth of image.

The casual listener who isn’t concerned with soundstage would probably not notice the difference between my dedicated GFP-750 preamp and the SR8000 used as a preamp right away. When switching between the two, the sound doesn’t seem to change obviously but the soundstage does. The difference in sound does become apparent the longer one listens. The depth induced by the SR8000’s 5-channel stereo is easily recognized because it extends the stage from the speaker position, all the way up to the listener. Slightly unnatural, but very euphonic and enjoyable (and adjustible). The GFP-750 on the other hand creates 3 dimensions with just two speakers, without a loss of detail, and more believable, natural depth. The GFP-750 does not suffer from the overlap of images at louder volumes because there is front to back separation as well as side to side. Also, the GFP-750 puts a razor thin outline around its images, versus the SR8000 outline that seems like a hardwood frame in comparison.

I was very happy with Pro-logic performance while watching VHS. Movie DSP was cute, and Hall DSP was absolutely the most perfect thing for certain concert videos. I was astounded as I watched Dead Can Dance _Toward the Within_ concert video. Just incredible. 5-channel stereo works very well for music videos on VHS. I had some new-found fun watching the Cleopatra Records _Industrial Nation_ and _Goth Box_ videos. Alas, no mode could cure the poor audio on Bauhaus _Shadows of Light_ video.

I was floored when I hooked-up a DVD player for the first time at home. I’m using the Marantz DV7000 in my system. I decided not to use the SR8000 as a video switcher and ran the Tributary Silver video cable direct from the DV7000 to the television. It seemed like the more economical thing to do, along with maximizing the video performance of the system (my current TV only has a composite video input and is a small 20-inch). My first DVD experience with this system was the German movie _Run Lola Run_. Caution: some viewers may be winded after watching this movie! It was almost like watching a movie-length music video because of the pulsing synthpop soundtrack (techno-like, just not as obnoxious). The voice-over english dialog took away from understanding the character’s real emotion and was, of course, very detached. After switching to the german dialog with english subtitles, all was well. Dialog was rich and detailed, the musical soundtrack made you want to get up and thrash about the room (hey, who put this nightclub in my house?), and the few crashes in the movie were very startling. I watched Ronin next...that’s what people do when they get DVD players, right? That story was just an excuse for cool gunfights and wild car chases. But hey, I grew-up on Dukes of Hazard, so you know I enjoyed the chase scenes alot. To make-up for that plot though, I’ll have to buy something dark and humurous by Tim Burton.

If your budget for a receiver or preamp is only at the $1000 price point and you want Surround and quality sound for music, then the SR8000 is definitely for you. If you really care a lot about music and were planning to spend $1500-$2000 on a preamp/amp, integrated, or receiver and only wanted surround as a bonus, then your decision is tougher. I was faced with this decision last year and went for the dedicated music system first.

The Marantz SR8000 is an excellent receiver. It is perfect for upgrading to multi-channel surround if you are an audiophile with a dual purpose system and have a preamp with a built-in processor loop. Its built better and looks better than other competing receivers. The sound is much better than I had imagined possible in a receiver that cost me $1050. One thing I am curous about and should have checked was the sonics of the SR7000 in comparison to the SR8000. Spec wise, there does not seem to be any significant difference. Externally, the only noticable differenes is the “HDAM” label on the front, the copper chassis, and the gold-plated outputs on the rear.

Audition this receiver and be happy!

Similar Products Used:

Denon 3300, Yamaha RXV 995

Sound,looks,build,remote.

None that I can think of.

Just bought this locally on Friday and straight out of the box, this machine has performed flawlessly, the sound is amazing. It is extremely quiet, no hiss, hum, nada. Setup is easy and quick. The remote is, at first intimidating but I see a lot of potential for this thing. Sonically, this receiver is amazing given it's price tag, even if you don't get a break from the marantz dealer ( seldom ). I can tell that the SR8000 will fulfil my HT/Music needs for awhile.
If you are looking for a receiver in the $1k - $1.5k range
go look at this receiver then LISTEN to it.

Pioneer Elite Pro710HD RPTV
Toshiba SD9100 DVD
Mirage OM10 Mains
Mirage OMC2 CC
Mirage OMR2 Surr
PanaMax 1000+ PLC

Exceptional sound, Great remote, Solid Build

None that I have found.

I have been a keen stereo fan since I could afford to be. I started with a prologic system and have gradually updated my system over the last six years. This brings me to the Marantz 8000 which is by far the best sounding receiver I have heard in its price range. I spent approx. 6 months researching lots of different receivers as well as experimenting with hooking up a power amplifier(Rotel 993)to my last receiver Yamaha 795, which did seem to make a big difference. I almost purchased the power amplifier when I stumbled accross a fantastic hi-fi shop (Frank Prowse) which had a multitude of different brands. Along with a keen listener we spent hours in that store whenever we had a chance and after listening to the Denon 3300, Nad T770, Yamaha 2095, Marantz SR7000 and the Marantz SR8000 doing A/B comparisons I found the Marantz SR8000 to be superior in sound. The Denon was very close with movies but switching between the two with music you could hear a much warmer and detailed sound. The Nad T770 sounded good in 2 channel music but failed dismally in home theatre. Yamaha was the other way around, exceptional in home theatre but thin and harsh in 2 channel stereo. This brings me to the last of the competitors the Marantz Sr7000 which I have read on some reviews stating that there is no difference between the SR 7000 and the SR 8000. Well after spending a solid hour switching back and forward between the two I found the SR8000 much smoother especially with music with no harshness at all. My friend purchased a SR 7000 and over the last 3 months we have be comparing the two in identical setups and we both unanimously agree that the SR 8000 is the better sounding. I cannot praise the SR 8000 enough and if you are in the market for true quality sound and don't mind missing out on the bells and whistles that some other manufactures offer (Yamaha, Sony e.t.c) than the SR 8000 is for you. One final thing, when I initially started using the unit I did find a slight harshness but believe me this will disapate over a few months. Just go ahead and buy this gem and settle down and listen to a quality recorded cd (Cheskys, Dmp) or listen to Fight Club on dvd and you will know why you made the right discision.

My hi-fi gear includes:
B&W 603 series 2 (fronts)
B&W LCR6 series 2 (center)
B&W 601 series 2 (surrounds)
D-Box performance 500 subwoofer
Marantz SR 8000
Pioneer DV 717
Tara Prism Labs bi-wire cable

Anybody who is looking for some new speakers give any of the B&W 600 series 2 a listen and you will see why I chose them.

Similar Products Used:

Sherwood 945, Pioneer 903, Yamaha 795

Crisp, clear sound; Incredible remote;

Absolutely none

I was very close to buying the Yamaha but, the more reviews I read, the more I realized that I should at least listen to the Marantz's before I made a final decision. I was simply blown away by the Marantz. Once I listened to it, I knew I had to look no further. Spend the extra on the SR8000.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, Pioneer Elite, Onkyo, SR 7000

Music, HT, Remote, Looks, Build, Sound, Sound, Sound

Manual, Price in Australia, Still looking for others

After many months of searching and listening I finally settled on the Marantz SR-8000. Just a few comments on some of the other systems I reviewed:

Sony STR-DA777ES(A$3500 list – A$3000 street) : Great system but over priced in Australia. Lots of power but lacks some of the clarity with Music

Yamaha RX-V596 (A$1300 list – A$1100-1200 street): Good system for the price. Lacks in power and clarity when compared with the Marantz.

Sony STR-DB930 (A$1300 List – A$1100 street): If I only wanted HT then I probably would have settled on this unit (or its replacement the STR-DB940). Good value in Oz + loads of features.

Marantz SR-7000 (A$1900 list – A$1600 street): Very hard to pick any differences in sound between the 7000 and 8000. After some investigation this is what I found out. The 8000 has a copper shielded case, a better remote (this is what did it for me), gold colouring (the 7000 is only available in black in Oz), gold plated connections, a few extra inputs (for digital sound), better components for digital music decoding (although I would say it is hard to pick the difference) and 5 extra watts of power per channel.

Prices for the SR-8000: The prices tend to vary quite a bit (List A$2500) – the wholesale price in Australia is around A$1400 ex GST - A$1550 inc GST – this should give you a neg point. I paid around the A$2000 (under the old WST system).

I have it set up with B&W 602 S2 speakers – sounds great for both music and HT.

I originally wired up my sub from the sub pre-out socket – but you get a better result with music if you bi-wire the sub from the front speakers.

The manual is pathetic but the unit is pretty easy to setup – so this was not a big deal.

It does not take composite video – but hey if you are upgrading from S-Vid to Composite then you wouldn’t want it to go through your receiver – as any improvement in video due to cabling would be lost in the receiver. So the way to go is wire your DVD composite direct and have an additional s-video for other connections from the receiver.

I have had no problems – humming, hissing, faults, etc. Just great sound!

Also this unit has newer components than the SR-18 & 19 and I think it shows in the musical performance of this unit.

The only issue is price in Australia - but at least they are not hitting us as hard as companies like sony. Hope this helps.

Similar Products Used:

Sony STR-DA777ES, Sony STR-DB930, Sony TA/N9000 (separates),Harmon Kardon AVR7000, Yamaha RX-V595a, Yamaha RX-V596, Yamaha RX-V795, Yamaha RX-V995, Rotel separates, Marantz SR-7000

Music clarity, connections, remote

None that I could find

I just purchased this receiver under a month ago. I was originally going for the SR-7000, but I wanted the backlit remote as well as the extra connections so I upgraded to the 8000 model. I have not regreted making that choice. I have no complaints on this receiver; depending on your listening choices just sellect the play mode you want. Both HT and regular music is wonderfully generated.

Similar Products Used:

N/A

Build quality, Remote, Sound quality, ease of use, excellent surround modes, plenty of digital connections

the manual

After agonizing in my 2 year search for a receiver which would provide me with the audiophile level of sound quality that I was looking for at a price I could afford, the reviews here and in the magazines sent me instantly looking the SR-7000 and SR-8000. Well, there were no 7000s to speak of and my local dealer had only one SR-8000 left.

After a little haggling based on the fact that there was no way to demo the receiver, I purchased it on the spot.

When I got it home and plugged it in, I realized it was (almost) everything I was looking for. The only thing I think it lacks is component-video ins and outs.

BTW, the remote rocks!

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer, NAD, 2-channel gear

Sound, built quality, remote

no component video

After a year of research, I finaly picked this unit for excellent sound quality at an affordable price. The sound produces from this unit is awsome. The remote is the best (a bit on the heavy side). I now have four less remotes on my coffee table. I had no problem setting up and hooking this receiver to other components. Overall, I am very happy with the purchase.