Marantz is one of the grand old names of American audio, and though the seminal hi-fi firm founded by Saul Marantz in 1952 is long gone, the gold-and-black logo still represents a proud high-end heritage. (In a curious twist of history, Marantz and ur-rival McIntosh are today owned by the same parent company, Japan's D&M Holdings — as are Denon, Boston Acoustics, and several other brands.)

The Short Form

Price $1,400 / us.marantz.com / 201-762-6500

Snapshot

Impressive amplifier sonics and power anchor a fine mid-level contender.

Plus

•Solid audio power •Cross-converts analog video, and converts analog to HDMI •Four HDMI 1.3a inputs; dual outputs •Accurate auto-setup •Elegantly usable simplified/second-room remote

Minus

•Limited onscreen display via HDMI •Main remote's lighting could be better

Key Features

•7 x 110 watts (2 channels driven) •Four HDMI 1.3a 1080p-capable inputs •Transcodes composite-, component-, and S-video to HDMI, deinterlaces 480i •Decodes Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, DVD-Audio multichannel, and DSD (SACD) from HDMI inputs •SRS/Circle Surround II (plus full range of Dolby and DTS modes) •FM/AM tuner with 60 presets •XM-ready •Three-zone-capable with auto-switch speaker outputs for second room (using surround-back amp channels) •IR in, (2) 12-volt triggers, RS-232 •17.4 x 7.6 x 15.6 in; 33.1 lb

Marantz's SR7002 boasts all the usual accoutrements of modern A/V receivers, including DSP-based auto-setup and calibration (courtesy of Audyssey's MultEQ system), flexible multiroom facilities, and plenty of HDMI pathways. For the last of those features, Marantz has taken the middle road. The SR7002's quartet of HDMI inputs and pair of outputs are specified as version 1.3a, which means the receiver should be compatible with Deep Color and the xvYCC extended color space (neither of which is sufficiently implemented in the marketplace to be meaningful — yet). It's also compatible with bitstream input of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. But the receiver doesn't offer CEC intercomponent control via HDMI.

More significant, the Marantz receiver's video processing is limited to converting incoming analog signals (composite-, component-, or S-video) to HDMI (and cross-converting composite/S-video up to component), and to deinterlacing any arriving standard-def 480i signals to 480p. Otherwise, what comes in — whether via analog or digital HDMI — is what goes out, whether on analog, component, or HDMI.

Setup
In this robotic-DSP age, receiver setup is infinitely easier than it used to be — that is, for everyone except reviewers, who after running the automatic routines must still follow up with the old-fashioned manual drill to cross-check accuracy and effectiveness. In the SR7002's case, the auto-setup results I derived from connecting the supplied Audyssey microphone and following the onscreen prompts were close to perfect: Channel levels and distances were spot-on, except for my left surround, whose result was about 3 dB strong. (Probable explanation: In my system, that speaker is somewhat oddly, asymmetrically located.) A second run of the routine using slightly different listening and mike positions returned even more nearly perfect results, but this raises a valuable point: You shouldn't necessarily accept auto-setup parameters as gospel. If a channel sounds too loud or soft (to an experienced ear), it probably is.

Music & Movie Performance
As is my wont, I began my Marantz auditions with stereo music via my long-term speakers running full-range, without a subwoofer. What I heard was eminently satisfying: The SR7002 delivered impressively ample stereo power and afforded very high-quality 2-channel listening.

My own speakers (and room) are pretty thoroughly wrung out, so a DSP-correction system like the Marantz's Audyssey MultEQ doesn't usually deliver dramatic A/B comparison results. But some compact speakers I also happened to have on hand benefited much more from it. Without MultEQ correction engaged, these speakers sounded discernibly midrangey when placed on the wall (where most flat-panel TV buyers would put them). But with MultEQ, the difference was perfectly audible, and to my ear a decided improvement. Material like Tracy Chapman's classic track "Fast Car" was obviously clearer and less boxy on the gorgeously recorded vocals, as well as freer and more open-sounding over the top octaves.

Like all Audyssey MultEQ systems, the SR7002's provides two additional calculated curves. "Flat" attempts to correct all speaker/room responses to — well, flat. And "Front" tries to match the response of the center and rear speakers to that which it "hears" from the uncorrected front left/right pair.

For my inaugural Marantz-powered movie experience, I cued up Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest on Blu-ray Disc, pressed Play, and cranked up the volume to near-reference level. The results did not disappoint: Wow. (But what a hopeless muddle of a movie. I had trouble following the "plot," so I pity the average 8-year-old. Of course, the average 8-year-old won't care.)

This second installment of Pirates is a bottomless chest of whiz-bang surround-sound nuggets, and the Marantz delivered every one with head-snapping enthusiasm. For example, the all-channels rush of that slimy mega-octopus sea-monster thing (the Kraken — you see, I was too paying attention!) sucking down some ship or other (but not that much attention) was wholly cinematic: enveloping, powerful, and all-encompassing. And the Marantz had no trouble whatsoever producing fully movie-theater-like levels. I heard no sign of strain over the entire 2½ hours at that volume, which, on a noisy movie such as this, is just plain loud.

Marantz equips the SR7002 with SRS/Circle Surround II in addition to the usual buffet of Dolby- and DTS-branded options. This offers another flavor of surround for stereo or matrix-encoded material, though I generally preferred either Dolby Pro Logic IIx Music or DTS Neo:6 Music/Cinema, depending on the program. Of course, home theater buffs with Libertarian or Bull Moose Party leanings might prefer Circle Surround just on principle. And in all seriousness, listeners who favor more aggressive surround envelopment may very well find CS II a worthwhile new weapon.

The SR7002 also includes a feature called M-DAX, for Marantz Dynamic Audio eXpander, which promises to ". . . [make] up for lost audio content in MP3 or AAC sources (from lossy compression)." Seems like just about every other A/V receiver brand has an equivalent DSP circuit onboard nowadays — and I have about as much faith in their restorative abilities as I do in hair-regrowth creams. That said, upon close headphone listening, Marantz's M-DAX proved to be fairly non-intrusive. Although it did impose an audible tonal shift (probably due to some sort of equalization, whether static or dynamic), it didn't seem to make music sound overtly worse — which is something that can't be said for every such system I've tried. In general, I advise leaving these things disengaged. And besides, with half-terabyte hard drives costing no more than the full Pirates trilogy on Blu-ray, why should we be listening to compressed files at home anyway?

Ergonomics
The SR7002 comes with two remote controls: a multi-component, backlit-LCD-equipped one and a simpler, quite elegant basic handset shown here that's usable in the main room or for a remote room or zone. Neither remote is perfect — but on balance, each is above average, in its own way. The big unit gives extensive control via its paged-LCD soft keys, and it offers decent legibility. (I wish it had a true auto-on mode for the display backlight; you have to push a Light key to fire up the glow, which then comes back on if you continue using the handset for a while.) Paradoxically, the simpler remote also has fully illuminated keys and much bigger lettering. (And it does have a permanent auto-on lighting function).

In fact, on balance I found the SR7002 easy to use and quite straightforward. In its otherwise very solid ergonomic layout, one possible shortcoming — at least to inveterate tweakers like myself — is the way it manages onscreen displays via the HDMI output. The main setup menus will come up over HDMI (though with a switching delay of several seconds to re-sync the screen to 480 or back). But workaday menus like input-select, surround-mode, and volume changes — and the useful, single-page screen of XM satellite-radio artist/song data — will only display via HDMI if there's no signal at the current input's HDMI jack. This means that in the receiver's default input-setup, which keeps the last-selected video input passing through when switched to an audio-only source (like XM), you'll get no onscreen display — unless you power down the offending video-source component. I can see this being the cause of considerable confusion to first-timers.

Bottom Line
All things considered, the SR7002 is a trouble-free zone. Its A/V performance was beyond reproach, and its everyday usability was above average. Sure, it lacks some of the video features that a few competitors promote. But note these two reality checks before you judge: First, 1080p mostly matters when you're sitting 7 feet from a 50-inch screen or viewing high-end front-projection on a really big screen. Second, in the current HDMI era, video scaling is in general not very important for a receiver. If your video source has an HDMI output, it is by definition already scaled as the source-component's designer thought best, probably to at least 1080i. Rescaling it won't always result in meaningful improvement — and might just have the opposite effect. So then, should you really care that the Marantz SR7002 lacks the 1080p and HDMI-scaling sizzle of several recent high-end receivers? From the perspective of what really matters, the SR7002 does most everything you truly need from an A/V receiver, and does it very well indeed.

Lab results from the Marantz SR7002 were generally very good, and excellent in several areas. Power was impressive: The receiver handily exceeded its specs in every challenge, usually by a comfortable margin; even in the stressful 5-channels-driven test, it fell just 0.7 dB short, which is quite good. It's also worth noting that the SR7002 produced unusually high subwoofer output and low distortion, so even very low-gain powered subs should have no problem reaching their full capability.

While the Marantz did quite well in PCM and Dolby Digital S/N tests, it fell slightly short in 96/24 PCM noise and analog-domain (multichannel input) noise, as well as in low-level dynamic-range tests such as our "excess noise," noise modulation, and linearity labs. The latter suggest an LSB or similar error of small magnitude; the former suggest a bit more noise from the SR7002's audio output stages (analog) than some other receivers have managed. But note that despite my best efforts listening over headphones and using super-low-level digitally recorded test signals, I could hear no overt evidence of the linearity/noise-mod issues. And the few-dB noise penalty for 96/24 or high-rez audio sources would be absolutely swamped by the dynamic-range limits of a real-world room when listening via loudspeakers.

DOLBY DIGITAL PERFORMANCE

All data were obtained from various test DVDs using 16-bit dithered test signals, which set limits on measured distortion and noise performance. Reference input level is –20 dBFS, and reference output is 1 watt into 8 ohms. Volume setting for reference level was –8. All level trims at zero, except for subwoofer-related tests; all speakers were set to "large," subwoofer on. All are worst-case figures where applicable.

Output at clipping (1 kHz into 8/4 ohms)
1 channel driven: 150/236 watts (21.8/23.7 dBW)
5 channels driven (8 ohms): 93 watts (19.7 dBW)
7 channels driven (8 ohms): 83 watts (19.2 dBW)

Distortion at 1 watt (THD+N, 1 kHz)
8/4 ohms: 0.04/0.05%
Noise level (A-weighted): –75.3 dB
Excess noise (with sine tone)
16-bit (EN16): 2 dB
Frequency response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz +0, –0.7 dB

MULTICHANNEL PERFORMANCE, ANALOG INPUT

Reference input and output level is 200 mV; volume setting for reference output level was –4 dB.

Distortion (THD+N, 1 kHz, 8 ohms): 0.03%
Noise level (A-weighted): –80.7
Frequency response: <10 Hz to 125 kHz +0, –3 dB

STEREO PERFORMANCE, DIGITAL INPUT

Reference level is –20 dBFS; all level trims at zero. Volume setting for reference level was –4 dB.

Output at clipping (1 kHz, 8/4 ohms, both channels driven): 133/181 watts (21.2/22.6 dBW)
Distortion at reference level: 0.04%
Linearity error (at –90 dBFS): 5.6 dB
Noise level (A-weighted): –74.5 dB
with 96-kHz/24-bit signals: –77.5 dB
Excess noise (with/without sine tone)
16-bit (EN16): 2.7/0.5 dB
quasi-20-bit (EN20): 15.7/16.8 dB
Noise modulation: 2.4 dB
Frequency response: <10 Hz to 20 kHz +0, –0.2 dB
with 96-kHz/24-bit signals: <10 Hz to 43 kHz +0, –0.6 dB

BASS-MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE

Measured results obtained with Dolby Digital test signals.

Subwoofer-output frequency response (crossover set to 80 Hz): 24 dB/octave (approx.) above –6-dB rolloff point of 80 Hz
High-pass-filter frequency response (crossover set to 80 Hz): 12 dB/octave below –3-dB rolloff point of 80 Hz
Maximum unclipped subwoofer output (trim at 0): 9.3 volts
Subwoofer distortion (from 6-channel, 30-Hz, 0-dBFS signal; subwoofer trim set to 0): 0.02%
Crossover consistency: bass crossover frequency and slope were consistent for all sources and formats
Signal-format consistency: consistent for all applicable formats
Speaker-size selection: all channels can be set to "small"
Speaker-distance compensation: available for all main channels

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