Marantz SR7500 has landed!!

[Kazman]

But I'm too bloody tired to set it up right now, 250 mile round trip, so I'm taking a break, the wife wants me to take her to the cinema, so after that, will start the setup process properly Looks like it is going to be a very late evening for me, re-wiring the entire setup too as I can now put everything onto the new rack (the classifieds rock!!!).

Just about to start unhooking everything now, movie doesn't start till 9.10pm, so might be able to get it sorted before we leave.

Will report back once it is all setup.

First thing I will say though is that it is a lot bigger than the SR7400, the facia is better too, very well built even better than the SR7400. Anyway, I better get started

Might try to take some pics tonight if I get time.

 

[Ed Selley]

Remember- fatigue leads to mistakes .

 

[Starkiller]

Nice one, i look forward to reading your review

 

[Tejstar]

Kaz - you have a lot of energy. 250 mile trip, re-wiring your whole system AND then still making time for the cinema.

Can I have some of what you take.

 

[Kazman]

Kaz - you have a lot of energy. 250 mile trip, re-wiring your whole system AND then still making time for the cinema.

Can I have some of what you take.

Ribena, green tea, and 5 alive berry blast (not mixed of course , LOTS of chicken ).

I think that the main source of energy is excitement

Just pushed the flap on the front, oh my god it is so cool I was expecting it just to flip down, but noooooo, it is a soft, damped movement lovely I just HAD to share that

 

[Upgrade King]

Hi Kazman,
I'm like a little kid waiting for xmas in anticipation of your review on the 7500.
Have thrown this amp in the ring with Yamy 2500 and Denon 3805, have only heard the Denon so cannot compare against the other 2 but have previously owned Yamaha amps and have enjoyed their sound. Currently own a Harman 230 and like the sound but i need component conversion and more power.
You are a respected member on these forums and i value your views, put me out of my misery pleassssssssssseeee.

 

[Kazman]

Almost there everyone, finally finished installing everything, took me all day today (and was up until 2am last night) sorting out all the wires and installing everything onto the new rack.

Now, I have to go to Tescos , but, when I'm back, I'll give the system and auto setup a good going over.

Shattered, but it all looks soooooo good on the new rack even the wife is pleased

 

[Kazman]

Right, got round to using the MRAC facility , it was almost spot on, it was slightly out on the rears, but not by too much. Easy to use, there was a bit of ambient noise coming from the laptop, but once that was shut down, the whole process was finished in less than 3 mins. It set the subwoofer correctly too, but I just upped the level a tad as I prefer a bit more oomph

Currently watching Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkhaban, as this was the last movie I watched on the SR7400, so the experience there is more fresh. One thing that is obvious straight away is that last percentage of slam missing from the SR7400 is there on the SR7500, the THX mode is interesting, and isn't bad, flicking through the modes right now, and they all show a slight improvement. The soundstage is a tad more expansive, music performance is the same on the CD's I have tested, which is a GOOD thing

So far so good then, I have to hunt out my demo disc to run through common scenes, but tonight I'm going to sit back and relax, and soak in a movie or two.

Any downsides? Yes.......the facia build quality is top notch, but while setting it up, I noticed that the metal in the surrounding chassis is a bit thinner and prone to more flex than the SR7400, the rear panel also shows more flex than the SR7400. Apart from that, the build quality is top notch. The dials on the front feel better, and the damped flap movement oozes quality. The display is the same, so nice and clear, easy to read from a distance, and the mode the amp is in is easy to determine.

So, an improvement on the SR7400, but only where it needed to be. Still not as good a movie amp for slam as say, the Pioneer 1014i, but the dialogue and ambient quality has improved, and these were already very strong points on the old model. My personal opinion is that dialogue and ambience are more important movie elements, saying this though, the 'slam' is a definite improvement, and the gap has been closed a great deal on more 'exciting' models such as the aformentioned Pioneer.

Outright detail on movie soundtracks also improved, just as I was typing this, there were some bird noises in the Harry Potter movie I never heard before

Highly recommended, if anything, this shows the bargains people obtained when they bought the SR7400 at £400 and below

I am loving my new toy immensely

Anyone thinking of buying one will not be dissappointed.

 

[Magnet & Steel]

kazman,

if you have it, or can borrow it, have a go of the grudge (the newer version), imho its one of the best surround tracks ive heard. plenty of ambience and chilling effects and at the other end of the scale, theres some of the largest thudding sounds ive heard and i think it would be a great test of your shiny new machine

 

[Kazman]

Spent a good evening with the SR7500, it is definitely more cinematic than the SR7400, a more expansive sound.

Charlies Angels: Full Throttle was on Sky Movies 1 earlier, with a DD5.1 feed, it sounded better than I remember it on DVD (I've sold the DVD now so can't go back to double check).

Trying to upload some pics to my PC with my phone, but it is being a tad difficult once done, I'll add them to the thread.

 

[Kazman]

kazman,

if you have it, or can borrow it, have a go of the grudge (the newer version), imho its one of the best surround tracks ive heard. plenty of ambience and chilling effects and at the other end of the scale, theres some of the largest thudding sounds ive heard and i think it would be a great test of your shiny new machine

That movie is a bit creepy, wasn't very impressed with it as a movie though, so might rent it out and check the soundtrack

 

[Kazman]

Here are the pics

And more in my gallery

http://www.avforums.com/forums/article.php?a=122

 

[Upgrade King]

Nice one Kazman, it sounds like you are happy with your purchase, now if only i could decide on which amp to buy...............................................................?????

 

[Tejstar]

Nice review Kaz!

In your opinion was it a worthwhile upgrade from the 7400 or more of a subtle change?

 

[Kazman]

Nice review Kaz!

In your opinion was it a worthwhile upgrade from the 7400 or more of a subtle change?

Well, I'd say anyone with an SR7400 right now shouldn't be rushing out to buy the SR7500, there is a difference, but unless you get a good price selling your SR7400, it isn't worth shelling out for the upgrade. Especially if you have no need for auto setup.

Those in the market for a new amp though, should REALLY take a look at the SR7500 too, I think it has the music/movie balance almost perfect. It truly is a sublime sounding amp, the fact it delivers 95% of the functionality and ability of the SR8500 is a bonus (missing DVI switching, HDCD and one or two other things as well as 5wpc down on power).

I would also say that those who do swap their SR7400's for an SR7500, won't be dissappointed with the improvements, as long as they are realistic about the fact that it is more of a sideways step and are not expecting giant leaps in performance.

 

[GFS AV]

Kazman,

As an experienced Marantz AV amp user, would you say they are 'much' better musically than the Yamaha amps? I have the Yam DSP-AX640SE, and although it sounds very good (for an AV amp) at fairly high volume levels, it seems to have something missing at low levels.

How do the Marantz amps perform at low volume levels? Does the quality seem to increase as you turn up the volume? Or is it just as good at low volume?

Also, are the Marantz units well matched with Mordaunt-Short speakers?

 

[Kazman]

I haven't heard all of the current range of Yamaha Amps so couldn't be 100% What I can say though, is that the Marantz is great at all volume levels.

I find it can handle delicate soundtracks/CD's at low volumes as well as big booming ones. The x40 range of Yammy amps weren't as good for music as the current range though. The amps in Marantz's current line up also appear to be more solid and can sustain power delivery more effeciently.

The current Yamaha range has improved a lot with music.

The SR7400 I had previously used to drive Mordaunt Shorts all round (MS914, MS905C, MS506 rears).

I still have the MS506 Dipolars as rears, and great speakers they are too.

The Mordaunt Shorts work very well with Marantz gear, Marantz are the European distributer of Mordaunt Short products I believe.

 

[miguelbarroso]

It truly is a sublime sounding amp, the fact it delivers 95% of the functionality and ability of the SR8500 is a bonus (missing DVI switching, HDCD and one or two other things as well as 5wpc down on power).

Although in the european Marantz site states that the SR8500 is only 110W/ch, the real power (as stated in the manual, and confirmed by Marantz) is 125W/ch

M.

 

[Kazman]

Although in the european Marantz site states that the SR8500 is only 110W/ch, the real power (as stated in the manual, and confirmed by Marantz) is 125W/ch

M.

Just checked the US site, and you are right, 125W/ch. Very impressive

Even more interesting is the news of the SR9600 arriving soon Looks lovely

 

[Tejstar]

Even more interesting is the news of the SR9600 arriving soon Looks lovely

Any links Kaz?

 

[Kazman]

Any links Kaz?

American site: http://us.marantz.com/shop/_templates/Proddetail.asp?model=26&cat=15

 

[Tejstar]

Cheers buddy

I wonder what kind of price point this will come in at? Seems like a lovely piece of kit.

I see that the DVI 2-in-1-out of the 8500 has been ditched for HDMI 2-in-1-out. I see HDMI being the de-facto standard for future amps.

 

[Roam]

Congrats on your new purchase!

Can you confirm something for me? I read on some pre-release info that said the 7500 was bi-amp capable and some that said it wasn't. If it can have you tried it?

http://www.cinenow.com/us/article.php3/id,1608/

 

[miguelbarroso]

Congrats on your new purchase!

Can you confirm something for me? I read on some pre-release info that said the 7500 was bi-amp capable and some that said it wasn't. If it can have you tried it?

Yes it's capable - it has a switch in the back panel, that turns the SB channels into Speakers C

M.

 

[Kazman]

Cheers buddy

I wonder what kind of price point this will come in at? Seems like a lovely piece of kit.

I see that the DVI 2-in-1-out of the 8500 has been ditched for HDMI 2-in-1-out. I see HDMI being the de-facto standard for future amps.

I think we are looking at a £2K price point for that beast.

The Marantz 12SR1 is their current daddy at about £3K at the moment. That is a lovely amp