The best all aournd player for under $2k IMO. My older brother actually has one of earlly versions of the Sony SACD-1 with updated mods. We both agreed that his player beat mine out with cd/sacd playback even when he hooked his up via single ended outputs, but with the $7k he had in his Sony, he was definately scratching his head in disbelief as to how close a margin there was between the two players. Way to go Marantz!!!

None. Ok fine...how about a more extravegant remote???

First off, I can't say enough about this universal player. My set up is strictly 2 channel audio and movies. My previous player was the Denon 2900 that served me well for over a year until it started having problems reading certain redbook discs. Nothing can be more upsetting than bringing home a new Coltrane CD and after loading it in the transport, it reads "error". After finally giving up on the Denon, I started the search for a replacement. I've had my eye on the Marantz 9500 for some time and after auditioning it at my local dealer, I really wanted one. I could not see shelling out $2k for a player no matter how good it was, but when Music Direct had them brand new @ 25% off, I just had to do it. Also picked up an HDMI cable and DVI adapter for my 44" DLP could handle 1080i resolution. I was so excited when the unit arrived, I took the following day off from work so I could sit down and play in solitude! Girlfriend had to work so this was a good thing. CD and SACD playback seemed like a new beginning for me for I had not heard the music with such emotion until the 9500 came around. The Denon seemed dry and harsh in comparison. Totally unenvolving! Now on to video. Using the HDMI-DVI interface allowed the digital signal to go directly to the monitor without the conversion process to analog as required via component video interface. Picture had tons of detail. I had never viewed "Last Samurai" and "Das Boot" like this before. Even my girlfriend who is almost blind as a bat paid notice to the picture clarity. I know that Marantz has the new 9600 which now supports 1080p and I'm sure that would be even a greater leap, but since my DLP only supports 1080i, I have no need to upgrade. In closing, this player is simply fantastic. MD has excellent customer service, 3 yr. parts and service warranty and just an all out performer for under $2k. I just recently upgraded the player with isolation cones, a PS audio power cable and damping material and can hear even greater improvement in dynamics and low level detail. In closing, I'm sold and if you are in need of a new Uni-spinner...go with the Marantz family!

Customer Service

Excellent

Similar Products Used:

Denon 2900 universal player, Pioneer DV 47ai (auditioned)

As before...excellent build quality, price to performance ratio and excellent all format performance...though I have not tried DVD Audio.

None

Had my eye on this player for awhile, but was not willing to fork out two thousand bucks for a universal player. My main interest is two channel stereo playback and of course, films! I have a pretty extensive collection of SACD's and dvd films and I wanted something that was going to be a good all around performer. My prior uni-spinner was the Denon 2900. I had it hooked up to my 44" DLP via component video and it had decent video performance. My main beef with the Denon was that it would occasionally misread some of my redbook cd's. Nothing could beat the frustration of coming home with a great Coltrane cd and to find out that your player reported an error. Kind of like anticipating that you're going to have great sex with this beautiful girl you met and to find out just after bringing her home, she just does not want to perform! (Just a metaphore) I've heard the 7500 perform at a A/V store and I was very impressed with it, especially with the HDMI interface and upsampling feature. I was becoming more and more frustrated with my Denon uniplayer and it had already exceeded the warranty, so when Music Direct was clearing out these babies at 25% off to make room for the new generation 9600 I decided to jump on it. Also purchased an Audioquest HDMI -1 cable and DVI adapter. My DLP will provide 1080i resolution as with the 9500. The 9600 will perform at 1080p, but of course my DLP monitor will not accept this resolution format. When the package arrived, I took the following day off from work just to spend anticipated hours of audio and video bliss in my humble home, especially while the girlfriend was off at work. When first firing this unit up, I was instantly blown away by it's audio redbook playback. Listening to Yusef Lateef "Live at Pep's" took this concert to a higher level or realism over the Denon. A much smoother player by a mile and much more dynamic sounding IMO. I listened to a number of redbooks that just had me tapping my feet like hearing it for the first time. When it was time for breaking out the SACD collection, I could not be more happy with Marantz's performance. My older brother has one of the earlly generation Sony SACD-1 players that he just had upgraded. He paid $5k for his player and who knows how much he spend for the upgrade package. He too was very impressed by the 9500 for it's performance to price ratio. OK, here we go with the video. The difference between the component video and HDMI / DVI is simply stunning. This feature allows the digital information to go directly to you monitor without the conversion process between digital and analog signals. Viewing films like "The Last Samurai" and "Das Boot" looked more spectacular than ever. The detail was mind blowing and the video was much smoother...perfect black backgrounds over the Denon. No digital harsh what's so ever! In closing, this is by far the best uni-player I have auditioned for under $2k IMO. Excellent build quality, outstanding warranty (3 yrs. parts & service) and excellent player no matter what format you throw at it.

Similar Products Used:

Denon 2900, Technics DVA-10 and other Pioneer players.

Build, Video peformance, SACD playback, Features,DVD-Audio playback & Excellent standard cd sonics from a Uni-Spinner.

Price if it's an Issue...

Marantz's new top of the line uni-spinner is really a superb performer in all a/v categories. The cd redbook playback is the best i've heard from any universal player out there. SACD is even better,DVD-Audio is on par with pioneer's Elite decks(which to say is great). Picture quality from it's interlaced or progressive modes is absolutely stunning on my Philips LCD widescreen. Better's the Denon line on redbook playback with an overall smoother soundstage.. Really nothing to fault here except for the $2000 tag, but purchasing seperates to match this performance would be far more........

Similar Products Used:

Krell SACD standard Krell Showcase DVD Elite DV-59avi Denon 5900 Marantz dv-8400 Sony SCD-777es

SACD- Great. Much better than the Pioneer 47ai DVD-A- Excellent quality. Video- Excellent quality. Good control of Multi output (including ability to send DSD out and bass management) Lots of options (like ability to kill video, display from the remote)

The first unit I received skipped badly. I called Music Direct (great retailer and factory authorized by Marantz) and they sent me a new one immediatly with prepaid return for the old one. I have had no problems with the new one. Other than that, nothing else.

I have used this player for 6 weeks. So far, I am very impressed with it's overall sound. I upgraded from a Pioneer 47ai, and the quality of the SACD is far better than the Pioneer. It is harder for me to differentiate the DVD-A quality compared to the Pioneer. I am also using this unit as a transport for my MF DAC and the it works well for that function. The Pioneer DVD did not perform well for this function. The imaging and spaciousness of the CD presentation is wonderful using this combination. That being said, the CD sound from the Marantz DAC's is very good. It is an unfair comparison, since the MF DAC actually costs more than this deck. The deck has to ability to change the output on SACD from Stereo, Multi, or CD layers from the remote. Nice feature. As to the video quality, I could not be more impressed. I am using the componant output to my older Pioneer HDTV. On Finding Nemo, still not quite as good as the HD feed on Comcast, but it's getting close. I wish I had a HDMI input to truly test the quality. I realize there may be better players out there, but for the money, this unit is great!

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer 47ai (universal player) Marantz Ah Tjob CD player as a transport.