Review of Marantz DV6600

[Italo Tettoni]

Since no one has posted a comprehensive review of this player (and having just purchased one) I thought I'd do the honours.

I've been looking recently for a mid-level DVD player, with HDMI output and video upsampling to maximise the potential of my (also new) Hitachi PJTX200 projector (yep christmas came early!). Also on the list of requirements were DVD-A and SACD playback capability. Players I considered were: Denon 1920 ('buggy' according to forum reports), Cambridge Audio DV89 (very good audio but lackluster video according to recent reviews/forum reports) and a demo model of the Pioneer 868 (too expensive even at demo prices). I finally settled on the Marantz DV6600.

The Marantz 6600 is, supposedly, a Denon 1920 clone but there is no lip-sync issue whatsoever. This is the case either using the analogue (SCART RGB/Composite/S-video) or digital (HDMI) video outputs, so there is at least one major difference compared to the Denon 1920. On to the specifics of the review:

Video quality - I've tested the Composite video, HDMI and SCART RGB video outputs and all are excellent and problem free. I've not tested the Component connection but the player does have Faroudja processing and that speaks for itself.

The reason for buying this player was, of course, its HDMI output and PQ does not disappoint. Razor sharp detail retrieval, great colour saturation, proper black levels (use 'normal' setting, the 'enhanced' setting is for PC sources) and problem free video upsampling all add up to an outstanding picture.

There are no video controls (brightness/contrast etc...) in the setup menu of the player, however the PJTX200 allows change to video settings on its HDMI input. There is very little to tweak though as the picture from the Marantz player is outstanding.

PS According to other reports (and for those specifically interested in the video side of this player) the Marantz 6600 is superior to both the Denon 1920 and the Cambridge Audio DV89

Audio quality Bitstream digital performance is excellent, due to the superb transport no doubt, and the player has a very comprehensive suite of controls for both DVD-A and SACD: speaker size; speaker level and time delay on all channels.

Compared to my Toshiba SD900E, the Marantz 'analog' performance is less holographic, soundstage is flatter and lacks the 'analog' warmth of the Toshiba player, this is the case for redbook CD and for DVD-A/SACD performance. The Marantz however has better channel separation and superb detail retrieval. Analog performance does further improve once the video section of the player is switched off and the player is 'run in'. (Please see PPS below)

PS According to other reports (and for those specifically interested in the analog audio side of this player) the Marantz 6600 is superior to the Denon 1920 but not as good as the Cambridge Audio DV89, Marantz should really bring out an OSE version of this player...

I have just installed a UPS to my system (to take care of a problem I was having with the amplifier/subwoofer, long story...) and its effect on the sound of my whole system has meant that I've had to revise my opinion of the analog outputs of the Marantz player. They are in fact very, very good and on par, if not better, than my Toshiba 900E (SD9200). I won't revise my previous comments however as they were my first impressions of the player and they'll serve as a good guide for anyone in a similar situation to mine i.e. power supply problems.

Build is good at this price point. It is a lightweight player but connections at the back are nicely spaced and are very comprehensive. I've got the player connected via its digital coaxial, 5.1 analog, SCART RGB, Component and HDMI connections and there's plenty of room for each! This also accounts for the slightly wider aspect of the player.

Player response is outstanding with no sluggishness or slowness at all in either reading discs, accessing menus, identifying discs or playing DVD-A SACD discs. Drive is basically silent in operation and combined with outstanding error correction (as good as my Toshiba player) all points to an excellent drive and debugged fimware/software. Full marks to Marantz Engineers!

Conclusion - the combination of excellent firmware/software (great response time, no bugs etc...), great video performance, great audio for both analog/digital and excellent transport make this player IMHO an outstanding buy.

[Butters]

Hey Italo,

Thanks for taking the time to produce this report. The 6600 is one of the last machines on my list to try out. Have you played any MP3 discs with this machine? if so can it handle dvd MP3s??

Cheers

[Italo Tettoni]

Originally Posted by Butters

Hey Italo,

Thanks for taking the time to produce this report. The 6600 is one of the last machines on my list to try out. Have you played any MP3 discs with this machine? if so can it handle dvd MP3s??

Cheers

It plays CD-Rs discs with MP3s. How do you burn a DVD with MP3s?

--
Italo

[Butters]

Same way as burning CDR's, i generally use Roxio and burn as a data disc. For some reason (unknown to me) most players do not seem to have the capability to deal with MP3 on dvd...never understood why!!

[Italo Tettoni]

Originally Posted by Butters

Same way as burning CDR's, i generally use Roxio and burn as a data disc. For some reason (unknown to me) most players do not seem to have the capability to deal with MP3 on dvd...never understood why!!

I just tried burning a data DVD with mp3s and the player does not read it.

[Duster]

Hi,

How much did you pay for it, and where from?

[Italo Tettoni]

Originally Posted by Butters

Same way as burning CDR's, i generally use Roxio and burn as a data disc. For some reason (unknown to me) most players do not seem to have the capability to deal with MP3 on dvd...never understood why!!

I've done a bit more testing and the player does play dvds with MP3 files but you cannot just burn a 'data' dvd as you suggested. You need to create a directory structure for the player to be able to read the disc.

This would be the case with 99.9% of tabletop players except those hybrid PC/Tabletop models a la KISS. I used NERO to create an 'MP3 DVD' and it played it flawlessly.

[Italo Tettoni]

Originally Posted by Duster

Hi,

How much did you pay for it, and where from?

I'm in Sydney, Australia so don't know if that's relevant to you :-)

[Duster]

Originally Posted by Italo Tettoni

I'm in Sydney, Australia so don't know if that's relevant to you :-)

Ok, no worries then

[Italo Tettoni]

Originally Posted by Duster

Ok, no worries then

She'll be right mate and get me a beer while you're at it :-)

[Duster]

Originally Posted by Italo Tettoni

She'll be right mate and get me a beer while you're at it :-)

[Butters]

Originally Posted by Italo Tettoni

I've done a bit more testing and the player does play dvds with MP3 files but you cannot just burn a 'data' dvd as you suggested. You need to create a directory structure for the player to be able to read the disc.

This would be the case with 99.9% of tabletop players except those hybrid PC/Tabletop models a la KISS. I used NERO to create an 'MP3 DVD' and it played it flawlessly.

Ooops - yes i should have said dvd's in a file structure - sorry...and thanks very much for testing it out for me....I really need to get one sorted out now for a home dem.

Cheers for all the help Italo

[Italo Tettoni]

Originally Posted by Butters

Ooops - yes i should have said dvd's in a file structure - sorry...and thanks very much for testing it out for me....I really need to get one sorted out now for a home dem.

Cheers for all the help Italo

No worries, it's an outstanding player. I'm actually rather surprised these days when equipment actually works as advertised hence the review :-)

[Butters]

Italo - one last question matey......did you burn a + or - DVDr?? or does it handle both??

Cheers

[Italo Tettoni]

Originally Posted by Butters

Italo - one last question matey......did you burn a + or - DVDr?? or does it handle both??

Cheers

I burned a DVD-RW disc with MP3 files and I also successfully tested previously burned DVD-Rs. I have not tested DVD+R discs but, I'd assume it's fully compatible with these.