Marantz AV 7005 Initial impressions

[GeorgeO]

I recently picked up a 7.1 Marantz AV prepro to upgrade my earlier Emotiva UMC 1 and have been using it for about a fortnight. I believe i am the third FM with this unit.

Initial impressions are that it is big( almost three times the size of the UMC 1), very well built, and has a lot of bells and whistles. Setting it up is very easy, and having the Outlaw Audio AV 7005 Guide made the task easier-this is available for download and is a simple how to guide. This prepro is also a network audio player which means it can play music off the net as well as access my ReadyNAS. I was not very confident of doing the initial set up myself, since it comes loaded with a lot of features, but once I decided to do it found it easier than I expected. I now can listen to music using the LCD on the remote or the display on the preamp, without firing up the projector, which for me is a major benefit.

I have it connected to a 5 channel Hypex UcD amp( 180 wpc/4 ohms),so after wiring it up, used the Audyssey room correction software to get started. Initial impressions are that it works very well for me, the HT experience is a lot better than earlier with very good channel separation, so the upgrade has been well worth the additional investment. The overall effect doesnt lag too much behind the multiplex experience-went on Monday to Fun Cinema, on Cunningham Road to see English Vinglish and returned feeling that I wasnt too far behind!!

Here's a very detailed professional review:

Marantz AV7005 7.1 A/V Processor - Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity

 

[GeorgeO]

Pictures already here( Thanks Prashant) so I am not posting them again:

http://www.hifivision.com/preamplifier/28908-marantz-av7005-surround-preamplifier.html

 

[GeorgeO]

It connects to the net both for firmware updates as well as to tune in to internet radio. I did a firmware update easily as soon as I connected up. The UMC one could not connect directly to the net-it needs the upgrade to be downloaded to a local system and then copied. The 7005 has HDMI 4, which supports 3D. It also plays various audio formats, like FLAC, WMA, MP3 and Apple.

 

[GeorgeO]

Audio quality is significantly better, with dialogues sounding more natural and listenable. Music also sounds improved. Apart from the USB/Internet feature that allows me to stream audio off the net and access my NAS, it also has an FM tuner built in. The remote has a small switch on the side to enable backlighting when needed.

Overall as I had posted earlier the combo of separate power amps and preamp processors while more expensive is a good upgrade, and worth considering for others. Santhosh dropped by at my place earlier this week and said he would post his impressions when he has the time.

For me, this prepro is a keeper and I may not need to consider an upgrade for many moons!

 

[spirovious]

Thanks for review.I would like to know,how much improvement did you find over any good mid range AVR?Is it way better?

 

[GeorgeO]

Unfortunately I havent yet heard one of those.

I had an entry level Onkyo AVR lying with me for many years hardly used which I may have connected and used for 4-5 hours many years ago( gave it off last week to a friend), so my experience has only been with separates. My brother has an Onkyo 600 series AVR which sounds reasonably good, I think the speakers, and the sub and the other gear all combine very well for me.