Marantz SR6005 Review

“The Marantz SR6005 lacks some advantages, but it still remains one of the most powerful and simple receivers in its price class.”

Avg

• Excellent sound

• USB connectivity

• 7.1, multi-zone and bi-amp capability

Against

• No THX processing

• No S-Video input

• There is no Ethernet port for Internet music support

• New DSP chipset

• One HDMI output, not two

This time last year, we praised Marantz and its SR6004 AV receiver for maintaining the company’s legacy of high standards in audio performance in an updated package that offers everything you could want. The SR6004 sits just below the top of Marantz’s AV receiver lineup, with an MSRP of $1,249. This year, Marantz offers the SR6005 which also sits just below the top of their AVR line, but with a price tag of $999.00. Despite the model numbers suggesting that the 6005 is a direct replacement for the 6004 (hey, it’s only one digit, right?), a closer look reveals some key differences between the two. In fact, the 6005 looks more like last year’s 5004, a step down the line.

Confused? Do not be. In this review, we look at those key differences and determine if the changes are worth the $250 price difference.

Out of the box

Like the SR6004, the power supply section of the SR6005 is wide and heavy. The SR6005 weighs in at 26 lbs, which is again a positive indicator of the overall build quality. However, that number seemed a little lower than we expected, so we checked our notes on the SR6004 and saw that it weighed 28 lbs. It’s certainly not a huge number, and it may not necessarily indicate anything, but we just can’t help but wonder: Where did those two lbs go? Significant or not, the scales offered the first indication that the SR6005 didn’t seem like a carbon copy of its predecessor.

While digging through the supplied accessories, we noticed that everything was fine. The remote control, batteries, Audyssey calibration microphone and user manual were in place. Ah, but what is this? No Bluetooth adapter. While the SR6004 came with Marantz’s RX101 Bluetooth receiver, the SR6005 does not. Shit. We really liked that Bluetooth receiver, but since the RX-101 is only $100, you can still buy it separately without going back to the SR6004’s $1,249 price tag.

The appearance of the SR6005 perfectly matches the SR6004. Verdict: Still sexy. We’re still exploring the radius edges on the left and right sides of the 6005’s front, the two large control knobs, the tinted glass inspection panel, and its drop-down panel that hides the various inputs and control buttons. It’s a stealthy, clean look that really sets Marantz apart. Let’s face it, we can’t help but listen with our eyes just a little bit.

Features

The SR6005 adds two HDMI inputs to its rear panel for a total of 6 HDMI 1.4a inputs supporting 3D video and HDMI audio return. The unit is also equipped with just one HDMI output (the SR6004 had two), three component video inputs and four composite video inputs. No more S-video this year. Those still holding onto S-Video devices such as Laser Disc players, S-VHS players and the PlayStation 2 will have to settle for a composite connection. Below the front panel we find one set of composite video and analog audio inputs, a digital optical input, a headphone output, and a USB input for use with iPods, iPhones, and USB memory devices.

If you’re into multi-room audio and video, the SR6005 can do some really cool tricks. Not only can it output component video to two other zones, but it will also provide digital audio processing and output for those zones. This means no more running extra stereo analog cables from your components just to get some sound in addition to the picture you’re sending to other rooms.

All common audio codecs are supported: DTS-HD Master, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby ProLogic IIz and all legacy surround formats are covered. Marantz has also included its M-DAX audio processing mode for enhanced fidelity of compressed music. The SR6005 provides enough speaker output to support a 7.2 (yes…two subwoofers) system with front “height” speakers, front left and right channels with two amplifiers, or a remote set of speakers.

The SR6005 will upscale all analog video signals for HDMI output via the ABT2015 video chip – a departure from last year’s use of i-chips video processors. Unfortunately, unlike the SR6004, the SR6005 will not decode and play DSD/SACD audio streams via HDMI. This is a feature that most people don’t really care about, but being the audio geeks that we are, we couldn’t help but be a little disappointed and then ask: Why? So we looked even deeper and found that the SR6005 not only uses a different video chip, but also uses a different digital audio processor. While the SR6004 used a Texas Instruments chip for the critical digital-to-analog conversion process, the SR6005 uses a SHARC Analog Devices chip – the same chip currently used by Denon components.

We were also disappointed to see that the SR6005 doesn’t offer an Ethernet port. This requires any firmware updates that Marantz may offer in the future to be uploaded by an authorized service center. It also means that the SR6005 will likely never be able to support Marantz and Denon’s new AirPlay feature for streaming music, nor is it likely to support any other Internet music apps.

Performance

To evaluate the SR6005, we connected an LG BD-370 Blu-Ray player, an Xbox 360, a Nintendo Wii, a VIP722 Dish Network receiver, a Pioneer turntable with an Ortofon OM5E cartridge, and an iPhone 3G. We used Aperion Audio and Axiom Audio speakers.

For most of our audition, we used the settings we made during the manual calibration. We’re very familiar with the Audyssey MultEQ calibration system and, while we appreciate the accuracy with which it sets channel levels and distance settings, we’ve never been big fans of the settings it sets for crossover and EQ levels. Still, we fired up Audyssey and occasionally turned on its EQ settings during our audition. We felt we got a more even response from our speakers when playing music with Audyssey MultEQ and Dynamic EQ turned off. However, we felt that turning on both EQs for movie playback at lower volumes significantly improved the movie viewing experience. We were able to get a better feel and surround feel even at “late night apartment” volume levels.

We decided to use the same recordings for the SR6005 audition as those used in our review of the SR6004. These recordings included recordings of Mark Knopfler Get luckyPink Floyd The dark side of the moon on multichannel SACD, Allison Krauss and Union Station’s A new favorite on SACD and CD by Marcus Miller The sun doesn’t lie. We also added in movies Avatar, Incredible and, just because it was such a day, Armageddon.

As we listened back to our selections, we were reminded of what we love so much about the SR6004. Reminder, but not transferred back. While the great power and excellent build quality of the SR6005 shone through, we were aware of a slight loss of the warmth and intimacy we experienced before. During Get lucky, we felt that the introduction to the brass and strings lacked the three-dimensional quality we remembered. It was a very nuanced difference, but definitely there. When listening The dark side of the moon of multi-channel recording, we were pleased with the seamless surround stage and clear bursts of distortion-free sound effects, but we also felt that some of the individual channel definition was lost – again, a nuanced but recognizable change from the SR6004’s performance. We continued to listen and were impressed, but every time we went back to listen more, we felt something was lost with this new model. We just weren’t as fond of the sound of this receiver as we were of the SR6004.

During our movie clip auditions, the power the SR6005 hides beneath its chassis was evident. Even at high volumes, the SR6005 showed no sign of strain. Screaming trumpet flourishes mixed with dynamic sound effects throughout Incredible it came out with an ease not often heard from receivers in general, let alone those in this price category. During Avatar, we listened intently to the center channel, as this film’s dialogues have been challenging in the past. The SR6005 delivered the often muffled center channel information with authority and intelligibility. Regarding Armageddon, well, it stayed true to its great soundtrack and terrible acting. The SR6005 couldn’t enhance the movie, but it delivered the movie’s stunning surround effects very well. The SR6005 has plenty of power in reserve for the most demanding sequences and never lets us down.

It may be a bit unfair to make such a direct comparison between these two receivers. Ultimately, the SR6005 looks more like last year’s SR5004, with a price tag to match. However, given its place in Marantz’s lineup, we were hoping its performance would be exactly the same, with just enough changes in included features and add-ons to achieve a lower price. The fact that its performance is not exactly the same as its predecessor does not detract from the fact that the sound is still distinctly Marantz. When you combine that with its stellar feature set and comprehensive capabilities, the SR6005 makes for an exceptional AV receiver.

Digital audio decoding

Marantz’s M-DAX processor offers better sound when playing low-quality digital music files via USB. First up: the iPhone. The firmware doesn’t work well with the oldest versions of the iPhone and iPod, so we couldn’t test it with our iPhone 3G. However, it offers playback functions such as play, pause, stop, track advance and manual search available, as well as cursor navigation in the iPod or iPhone playlist. It also works with playing video files, but it will only play audio. Video signal is not getting through. We were able to put the iPhone into “direct mode”, which allowed us to play our audio files, but all control was limited to the iPhone. We then connected a USB flash drive with several layers of folders containing music and non-music files. We included .mp3, .m4a and .wma files of various bitrates, but quickly discovered that the SR6005 only supports lower bitrate .wma files (up to 192kbps). All music files were also accessible through our iPod interface.

Playback from the USB flash drive sounded identical to playback from our iPhone, which is understandable. In both cases, the sound quality was far better than what we were able to achieve through the iPhone’s headphone output. The background was completely quiet and we felt we could hear more depth from music files, regardless of bitrate. We then turned on the M-DAX processor to see how it affected the sound quality. The M-DAX’s three different levels of effectiveness were like three different levels of the “volume” knob: As we went from low to high, the lowest bass and highest treble areas got another EQ hit. The processor also seems to steal some depth from the soundstage, but we feel the effect may be desirable for some who like their music to sound a bit more robust in general.

Conclusion

While the Marantz SR6005 didn’t wow us the way their SR6004 did, it’s still an excellent AV receiver in the sub-$1000 price range. Changes made to the processing chips seem to have resulted in a subtle loss of sound finesse, but don’t take too much away from Marantz’s signature sound. Certainly, the SR6005 is one of the most powerful and simplest receivers in its price class. It doesn’t earn our Editors’ Choice award, but it’s still highly recommended for those looking for a feature-rich receiver with audiophile-approved sound quality. Just pay attention to your input and output needs before choosing the SR6005.

The tallest:

• Excellent sound
• USB connectivity
• 7.1, multi-zone and bi-amp capability

Lowest values:

• No THX processing
• No S-Video input
• There is no Ethernet port for Internet music support
• New DSP chipset
• One HDMI output, not two

Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn