So, I have owned my Marantz AV8003 Surround Processor/Pre-Amplifier for approximately 4 weeks now. It is partnered with my NAD Masters Series M25 7-channel Power Amplifier.

Prior to purchasing the AV8003, I had owned an Integra DTR7.8 A/V Receiver for several months (and sold to GSpot - thanks Graeme) which served as a Pre-Amp to my M25.

In terms of main specifications, the AV8003 features 4 HDMI v.1.3a in-puts and 2 HDMI v.1.3a out-puts, features full upscaling to 1080p thanks to its Anchor Bay Technologies video chip-set, has Cirrus Logic digital-to-analogue converters, and a huge toroidal transformer (which I enjoyed having a look at, when I took the AV8003 out of its box (actually, I should say "boxes", because like all top-grade electronics, this unit comes double-boxed). There are a lot more that this unit features but most of which I don't utilise, and I am sure most of you who may be interested in this unit would have already read some professional reviews and checked out Marantz's web-sites, so you would most probably already know a lot of the features of this unit.

The RRP for this unit was $4,499.00 but is now $5,499.00.

This is an 11.6kg unit, which is probably about average for a dedicated Surround Processor. The finish on this product is reasonable, but certainly not spectacular. It is a fairly good-looking unit, but looking at it close-up, it is fair to say that it is not particularly luxuriously-finished. Just for a brief comparison, its finish is nowhere near as good as my NAD M25 Power Amplifier.

Enough about appearance; what about the most important thing (to me, anyway) - sonic ability?

I must admit that I was expecting a noticeable improvement, compared to when I used an Integra DTR7.8 as a Pre-Amp. However, the improvement has been very significant.

The one thing that impressed me most initially was the improvement in 2-channel play-back. Stereo imaging has improved, sound-stage is wider, voices sound more natural, and there is just generally a better spatial delivery compared to when my Cyrus CD 8 SE CD Player was plugged into my Integra DTR7.8.

Once I had spent more time with this unit, fine-tuning it, etc, watching Blu-ray Discs made me smile a lot wider than I ever had. Surround steering is absolutely top-notch and pin-sharp. Separation is definitely markedly better. Soundstage is immensely wide and appears taller. Dialogue is very well separated and sounds natural. All in all, the presentation is very refined, and not the type that is designed to impress on short auditions but tire out the audience after a while.

Negatives? I know some people will knock this unit's inability to add post-processing while playing HD audio codecs. It doesn't bother me, as I am not a fan of post-processing. Also, EQ CAN actually be activated in accordance with HD audio, even though some have said that this cannot be done.

What about video processing? I don't actually utilise the on-board video processing courtesy of Anchor Bay Technologies. I set my AV8003 to 'passthrough' signals from my Pioneer BDP-LX71 Blu-ray Disc Player, and it does a fine job doing it.

All in all, for what I require from a Surround Processor, the Marantz AV8003 does a very fine job. Sonically, I simply cannot fault it. This is a very musical product, and I have enjoyed watching concert DVD's and concert Blu-ray Discs through it, and have been very impressed. Specifications-wise, it couldn't do much more than most mid-priced A/V Receivers, but I don't need or want those features that I am never going to utilise. They will end up causing possible interference, anyway.

Anyone with a dedicated Power Amplifier after a Pre-Amplifier should at least consider this unit. Having a dedicated Surround Processor (as opposed to an A/V Receiver) is a very good idea, because keeping the sensitive processing side completely separate to hulking power supplies of a Power Amplifier is ideal.

Dan.

Great review Dan. I'm very keen to connect the Integra DHC-9.9 to my NAD M25. There were a couple of reasons I went for the Integra 9.9 being Audyssey Support and the price I got it for at the time which I think was $4400:00). I came very close to picking the Marantz though as I've always liked their musicality.

Cheers

Blade

Thanks, Blade. The '9.9 was a unit I was contemplating, as well, but for my very basic requirements (in regards to features), I could not justify paying about 15% more for the '9.9, plus the '9.9 looked too much like my '7.8 A/V Receiver.

I guess I did not want anyone coming over and thinking that I still had my '7.8 A/V Receiver, instead of a twice-as-expensive dedicated Surround Processor!

The AV8003 is not perfect; then again, which product is perfect?

It comes with two remote controls, the second more basic unit being for controlling second zone or something. The programmable remote looks nice and the backlight when operated looks good in the dark, but is a frustrating remote control.

Do let us know how you go with your '9.9, mate.

Dan.

Thanks for the review Dan. Makes the temptation to upgrade that bit harder to resist....

I have to say dantan that the two channel of the Integra is nothing flash. I swapped out my Rotel A/V pre-amp for the Integra and immediately noticed the difference. It sounds more muffled by comparison. Good to know the Marantz has improved your situation. Now for that Cyrus pre to match your CD player and you'll be set hey?

Please don't give me any ideas, Graeme. Everytime I get an idea...

Hee hee.

Dan.

I've been looking into the Marantz 8003 vs the Integra DHC-9.9. IMO the Marantz price in Australia is pretty steep (not as much as Denon's) and the Integra 'may' be better value. As mentioned the Marantz is now $5499 RRP. In Singapore, this preamp can be had for SGD$2900. I am not sure on the Integra's pricing in Singapore at this time, but have read on other forums that in Australia, you should be able to pick it up for a bit under $4k ($3850 I think the price was). Anyway, the Marantz I hear is currently built in China and the Integra in Malaysia. Am not sure about the quality control of both companies in these assembly plants so hopefully people can fill me in on them. I have read that the previous Integra preamp, the 9.8 was extremely transparant though so am hoping the 9.9 will be the same.

The other contender in preamps I guess would be the Denon AVP-A1HDA. But at a cost of about $12k in Australia I think I'll give that one a miss. I rang Singapore and they had it for SGD$7250. It actually would be worth it to purchase tickets to fly there and bring these guys back from a pure $$$ perspective. They all don't weigh very much (Under 15kg's) The only issue would be warranty I guess.

a couple of other contenders would be the Rotel RSP1570 and the NAD T175.

edit: BTW, good review Dan, i've only hear praise for how good these sound, even for music. its a shame about the recent price hike, but at $4k street, its probably still not bad value in a way.

PS. you may want to edit the bit about EQ being able to be applied to HD bitstreamed audio, now that its been confirmed that it cant do it.

Yup I guess those other two are contenders - both are non-THX though (I know, I know...some people don't care about the THX certification at all, yada yada yada ). Bang for the buck though in Australia, I think the nod has to go to the Integra. Street prices are currently about $3000 for the Integra DHC 9.9. I know cos I just picked one up at $3050. Another dealer did contact me JUST after I left the deposit with the one I bought off and offered $3000 though without even knowing what I had just paid. So those currently seem to be the 'fair' street prices. These prices are going up by about $1000 from the 1st of Feb.

Also regarding the Rotel, I had quite a long chat with the guys at Len Wallis about that. They reckon they'd pick the Marantz over it any day from a purely sound quality perspective they say (the Marantz seems to have more functions too but that's just a bonus). I haven't read/heard anything good/bad about the NAD apart from the fact that it exists.

Cheers,

Gerald

yikes, thats a big price rise!

interesting to note the len wallis comments, although i find dealers are often far too biased towards certain brands. not sure if this is the case with them, but ive found most seem to have their favourites that they push over anything else. at the store i go to, they always push denon over marantz, although the AV8003 has been an exception - they love it.

the 9.9 certainly has every feature you could want, but how does it sound? did you do any comparisons etc?

re the NAD, i was looking into this but decided against due to the long list of bugs and unhappy owners (from reading the threads on AVS).

btw, congrats on the purchase!

Any reason the Cary Cinema 11a is not included as an option?

i didnt mention it as one as i stopped following the cary thread and wasnt aware it was now available or what the price was. just had a look and i see it is and is priced at $5299, so yes would definately be contender imo.

Thanks. I wasn't sure if people realised it had been released (it was a very long wait), which is why I posted. It was released prior to Christmas and had a firmware update last week to correct some issues, but it is all looking good now. Waiting on the 11v to finally arrive to complete the picture, which should be in the next couple of weeks. Fingers crossed.

Regards,

David

Had the privilege of a lender of one of these for a few days this week as my current temp set up doesn't have 7.1 or balanced in, wish to thank the member who lent it to me first (does not want to be named), wanted to pair this with my UD9004 and see what we came up with and have to say I was blown away by the quality of everything I listened to.

Didn't realise the difference until now that a decent analogue stage could make, from SACD to red book I was really able to define so much more and I'm sure it's not also hurting that I'm also demoing some Focal Diva's atm as well, may even have a look at the import price of one of these now as I'm not a biggie on post processing either and this would fill my needs nicely with the analogue side of things.......

Great to hear about your very positive experience with the UD9004, mate.

Are you referring to a Marantz AV8003 that you managed to borrow?

Dan.

Yes mate......

hehe, the AV8003 would certainly look awesome paired with the UD9004

i just find (imo) its a case of pros and cons (or compromises) with the AV8003.

on one hand, on paper its somewhat crippled by its inferior audyssey implementation and inability to decode 24/192khz TrueHD or DTS HD MA. on the other hand, all the people i know that have heard it have commented on how good it sounds (for 2 ch music as well as movies).

(as im sure you know) the processing issues can be overcome by decoding in the player, so long as you dont mind not having the XT version of Multi EQ or Dynamic EQ, Dynamic Volume or DSX, its probably not a show stopper.

Last i checked, these go for under A$2k when imported, so the price would also no doubt be adding to the temptation! one thing i'd possibly skip though is the MM8003, id look past it and onto Emo, Elektra, Rotel, NAD etc.

EDIT: the rumours are that the SR8007/7002 are about to be updated, so i'd imagine the AV8003 would be as well (you would think so anyway). could be worth waiting for (or runout AV8003's)