I just wanted to post some initial impressions of the Marantz AV-8003 that I received over the weekend. (Going to have to update my system profile)
Just for reference, it replaces a Sony EP-9ES Dolby Digital surround processor for HT, and a Sony TA-P9000ES multichannel pre-amp for SACD and CD playback.
So, with about 6 hours total on the unit, I find that it sounds pretty good in my system. It seems to fullfill most of the requirements that I had kind of set out for it. Those are to replace the two separate units mentioned above, allow the playback of uncompressed Blu Ray soundtracks, switch all my video devices, and sound at least as good as what I was using currently.
So far so good. I especially like the fact that I can plug in my GameCube (for when nephews visit) with an S-Video connection and it still sends it to my Black Pearl projector via HDMI. I also have a DVD player, and cable box connected by component video, and a PS3 connected by HDMI. The switching between sources seems to work fine, no annoying pops or extraneous noises.
Only watched one Blu Ray so far, plus skipped through various chapters of a second one, but the uncompressed soundtrack is definitely an improvement. I won't say it's night and day or anything like that, but the sound seems more natural and less artificial with the uncompressed soundtrack vs the typical Dolby Digital track.
The Audyssey set up seemed to go smoothly, but all my music listening so far has been through the 7.1 channel analog input in the direct mode. I did briefly try listening to stereo CD through a coaxial digital input and thought that the sound was a bit better through the analog inputs. That was straight out of the box when I did that, so I will have to revisit that comparison after the unit has broken in a bit more. I prefer the sound with the Audyssey for movies so far, but not for music. For the stereo music it seemed to add a treble harshness that I didn't like, but like I said the unit was fresh out of the box then. Overall, I find the sound through the analog inputs to give a better focused image than the Sony TA-P9000ES, with better definition of the bass, and a slightly more natural timber.
I have a few quibbles with the remote, the narrow angle for the IR receiver and a few other ergonomic things, but over all I am pleased with the sound and the functionality.
Oh yeah, and through AVScience the price made it great alternative to the Integra 9.8. If you are looking for an AV pre-pro for less than $3000, be sure to give the Marantz AV-8003 a chance.
Chuck
Just for reference, it replaces a Sony EP-9ES Dolby Digital surround processor for HT, and a Sony TA-P9000ES multichannel pre-amp for SACD and CD playback.
So, with about 6 hours total on the unit, I find that it sounds pretty good in my system. It seems to fullfill most of the requirements that I had kind of set out for it. Those are to replace the two separate units mentioned above, allow the playback of uncompressed Blu Ray soundtracks, switch all my video devices, and sound at least as good as what I was using currently.
So far so good. I especially like the fact that I can plug in my GameCube (for when nephews visit) with an S-Video connection and it still sends it to my Black Pearl projector via HDMI. I also have a DVD player, and cable box connected by component video, and a PS3 connected by HDMI. The switching between sources seems to work fine, no annoying pops or extraneous noises.
Only watched one Blu Ray so far, plus skipped through various chapters of a second one, but the uncompressed soundtrack is definitely an improvement. I won't say it's night and day or anything like that, but the sound seems more natural and less artificial with the uncompressed soundtrack vs the typical Dolby Digital track.
The Audyssey set up seemed to go smoothly, but all my music listening so far has been through the 7.1 channel analog input in the direct mode. I did briefly try listening to stereo CD through a coaxial digital input and thought that the sound was a bit better through the analog inputs. That was straight out of the box when I did that, so I will have to revisit that comparison after the unit has broken in a bit more. I prefer the sound with the Audyssey for movies so far, but not for music. For the stereo music it seemed to add a treble harshness that I didn't like, but like I said the unit was fresh out of the box then. Overall, I find the sound through the analog inputs to give a better focused image than the Sony TA-P9000ES, with better definition of the bass, and a slightly more natural timber.
I have a few quibbles with the remote, the narrow angle for the IR receiver and a few other ergonomic things, but over all I am pleased with the sound and the functionality.
Oh yeah, and through AVScience the price made it great alternative to the Integra 9.8. If you are looking for an AV pre-pro for less than $3000, be sure to give the Marantz AV-8003 a chance.
Chuck
