Surround Processor Reviews

Here I am sitting with a great Integra 80.2 that is just over 2 years old and along comes a better sound processor. Then the reviewer admits it's better than his Integra 80.2. Man you are going to cost me money...retirement money no less.

Thanks for the review.

Hi David. Thanks for the review. The AV8801 does seem like one of the best pre/pros in the current market. I was, however, wondering if you noticed/found a great deal of sonic difference between AV8001 and AV7005. Thanks.

I enjoyed the review, however I really would love to hear how it sounds with all eleven channels. I'm curious if it is an insane over the top waste of money or not. Maybe your better half would let you borrow some speaakers...

I enjoyed the review, however I really would love to hear how it sounds with all eleven channels. I'm curious if it is an insane over the top waste of money or not. Maybe your better half would let you borrow some speakers...

David, I have a 5.2 system with 5 Gallo Nucleus Reference Strada speakers and 2 Paradigm Seismic 110 subwoofers. The subwoofers have been set up with Paradigm's PBK-1 Perfect Bass Kit.

I am trying to decide whether to replace my Anthem AVM-20 with either the Marantz 7701 or the Marantz 8801 and I have a few questions that I am hoping you can advise on:

1. I don't plan to move beyond a 7.2 system, so the extra channels that the 8801 offers aren't of any value to me.
2. I understand that the addition of Audyssey Sub EQ HT will allow me to equalize and set the delay independently for each subwoofer. Since I am using PBK-1 and my subs are roughly equidistant from the listening position, I assume this is not something that adds value for me. Please correct me if I am wrong.
3. I understand that the upgrade from Audyssey MultEQ XT to Audyssey MultEQ XT32 is significant but that most of the significance is in the lower end. Since I am already using PBK-1, is this really worth more than doubling the price to go to the 8801?
4. Putting aside the difference between Audyssey MultEQ XT and Audyssey MultEQ XT32, is there a noticeable difference in the basic sound quality between the 7701 and the 8801? The price difference is pretty big, but I have been very pleased with the sound quality from my AVM-20 and would hate to be disappointed with whatever I replace it with.

Thank you very much for sharing your insights.

Good afternoon David, I´m looking for this monsters to buy in a near future. I have a big room with tall cealing, so I think that the 11.2 would be impressive. I liked a lot your review (yes, will cost money) but I would like to understand in what kind of speakers do you made the test. I have infinity primus from my older 7.2 system, and I would like to know if is a good idea to start buying the new 4 speakers in another brand. Step by step, I plan to move the 7.2 to a smaller room, so would be nice to have a good idea of what speakers would soung good for this system.

Also, which amplifier did you use to power up those 4 channels. Marantz aldo don´t offer a 4 channel amplifier, so an aditional 5 channel amp would be needed of 2 amps of 2 channels each.

When you have lets say a movie (and of course, no movie right now have the 11.2 channles), how the system transfer sounds to the upper level of speakers? or this is only used to hear music? I think that must sound amazing, but not sure where the systema takes the sounds for the 4 upper channels.

Thank you in advance, great review.

The digital board went out on my AVP so Directv(Asurion) is replacing it with an AV8801. Will I be happy with this? I'm still 5.1 and my set up is:
Denon AVP-A1HDCI(a) now defunct
Denon POA-A1HDCI
Oppo BDP83SE
B&W Nautilus 802D
B&W Nautilus HTM2D
B&W DS8
JL Audio Fathom F113
Panasonic TCP-65VT30
Directv Genie

Thank you in advance for your help.

Kevin

Looking at the measurements, RCA inputs result in better performance across the board, but specifically better THD+N, and I assume better sound quality than XLR inputs. I'm not sure if the reviewer got the results mixed up or XLR isn't such an upgrade as audiophiles seem to think it is.

Here's a question, the power measurements of this amp are almost identical to the Integra 50.2 which Sound&Vision reviewed and measured.If my only interest is the power section, would I be better off using the amp section in the Integra rather than getting this amp?