Marantz SR8400; any users who can tell me a little about his receiver?

[corysmith01]

Hi-

I just purchased this receiver last night through ubid. The upgrade bug bit me. It seemed like too good of a deal to pass up. It probably isn't a substantial difference compared to what I'm currently using, but it seemed like an opportunity get a receiver priced at over $1000 for really cheap. Currently, I'm using an Onkyo TX-SR602. Now, I'll be using my new Marantz sr 8400...I got it for $590 through ubid. What I was really looking for in a new receiver was more power and a pre-amp section to add a more powerful seperate amp later and this Marantz accomplished both...my Onkyo doesn't...Anyway, I've tried finding reviews and can't. I tried going to the Marantz website to download the user's manual and it's not there. (??) So, beyond the base stuff listed there, I can't really find any real world, in depth info on this receiver...and now I'm questioning my purchase. Seems like a solid receiver, but I'm still pretty curious. Are there any users out there, or anyone with significant knowledge about this receiver? I guess in a way I'm looking to legitimize my hair trigger finger.

[DLA]

I did a quick search for ya and came up with this...

http://www.marantz.com/p_product.cfm?id=2662&cont=u&line=rcv&cat=hf&series=he

[audioqueso]

I have the SR6400. So before I type away, let me know if you care to hear what I want to say about the switch from an Onkyo TS-DS575x to a Marantz SR6400. I'll be more than happy to explain.

[corysmith01]

Absolutely. I'd love to hear your thoughts, since your switch sounds very similar to mine.

[audioqueso]

Ok, good. Aside from wattage, I'm not sure how much of the actual components are different compared to the SR8400. The Onkyo was ok, but as you probably know, they are a little weak with bass. Aside from the bass, the biggest difference I heard right away was how much more open the sound stage was. I didn't really think a receiver would give me that airy sound I wanted. I was auditioning the Rotel at the same time, but didn't hear that much of a difference compared to the Marantz. In fact, I found the difference between the two to be very slim. The Rotel sounded a bit more natural.

The Marantz sounded harsh and cold when I first received it. This was with B&W 601s. I let it burn continously for a day straight, then for a week off and on. After that week, the sound was very welcoming. It was warm and sounded so much more natural. I really like this receiver.

One thing I really appreciate about the Marantz is that it stays relatively cool. There's a BUT though. I've heard the 7400 has heat issues, but the 7400 has one more channel compared to the 6400. So you should research to see if that is a problem with the 8400.

I've cut & paste this part from a review I've previously written:
Now the video is another thing. It's a little strange. One, I couldn't get the video to upvert to component as it's suppose to. But also, with my DVDs, the menus looked funny using the component connection. It would get grainy. The RCA connections was blurry, and this also occurred with my PS2. Finally after messing around, I found that the s-video did the best job. Clean and crisp image. I know that component video has more bandwidth, but if you want to use it, bypass the Marantz component connections. For RCA, if you go through the Marantz, then you'll get a bit of blurriness. Like I said, S-video was the only one that gave me a very clean and transparent signal.

[corysmith01]

Thanks for your reply. Coincidentally, I actually run B&W 601's also. They're my fronts, with an LCR60 as my center and an SVS PB10-ISD sub. Also, coincidentally and in reference to your video issues...I'm guessing you were talking about your Marantz, but oddly enough, I tried running my Xbox through my receiver for the fist time last night (my Onkyo). I'd never had it run through my receiver, just to my tv...thought I'd check it out. I had to unhook it...it was grainy and blurry. I was running it with the regular component cables provided with the Xbox (l/r audio, video) to the appropriate inputs on the reciever (video 2 in my case). That was then fed to the tv through the "monitor out" on the reciever via s-video. This looked terrible...very blurry, color was not as pronounced. I unhooked it, and ran the Xbox cables again straight to the tv to compare and test and voila...all color was back and no blurriness. Being that this was on my Onkyo and yours happened with the Marantz, is this just a symptom with all game consoles run through receivers? Meaning, should you not run them through your receiver for lack of video quality? I know this is a little off the original topic, but hopefully someone can speak to this a little. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why the receiver would degrade the signal. Very weird.

[audioqueso]

In regards to audio signal flow, you theoritically lose 1db per connection. Perhaps this applies even worse to video. Don't know... any video I work with is sent as a digital data signal, not analog. (part of my job)

[markusp]

You scored a great deal on a fantstic receiever and I think you'll be more than pleased once it arrives. It offers some of the best bang for the buck out there an really is a different animal than even the Sr7400 (and below).

Give us your opinions once you've played with it for a while.

Regards,
Markus

[Lonestar94]

Cory - you think the issue might be that you're running S-Video to the TV instead of component video? Makes me a little nervous because this receiver is en route to my apartment and I'm planning on HD video switching through the receiver itself....

[maseline_98]

Lonestar,
I have one of these as well...It might be do to the fact that the xbox is not set to 1080i in the setup, though supposely the marantz receiver has an upscaler built in(which does seem to make my dvd movies look great!!!! on my 30" widescreen sanyo). I was actually considering buying the OPPO dvd player, but I'm pretty pleased with the video quality that is run through the 8400

[marantzsr8500]

As you can see from my name , I have that Marantz SR8500, upgraded from the SR8200. I am not much a "technical-specs" person, but I can tell you that I like this new receiever a lot more. If you want more information on this SR8500 I'll be happy to give you my "newbie" opinion : .

[bleeding ears]

Mr Marantz 8500,

I would be very interested to know your thought on the SR8200 that you used to own before upgrading.

I currently use the Sr 8200 as a pre amp and a 5 channel seperate amp.

I went to the 5 channel amp because I found the Marantz 8200 to sound a little lifeless and sterile, not sure why, but the 5 channel amp improved things considerably.

Also did you notice any quirks with the 8200?

thanks Pete