Review: Marantz SR9600 THX Ultra 2
Don’t tell my wife, but I need a new receiver. I really do. The ony I have now doesn’t even do component video switching, much less HDMI. It doesn’t process all the latest surround formats, and it only does the old 5.1 channel thing. Forget 7.1.
Marantz has a receiver that Ultimate AV recently reviewed that could fit my home theater nicely. It’s the Marantz SR9600 THX Ultra 2 receiver. It’s only (!!!) $4,199, but it’s Marantz’ flagship receiver, so they throw in everything. And by everything I mean seven channels of 140W amplification, 8 channels of 24/192 D/A conversion, two Firewire ports, a 9-band equalizer for each of the 7 channels, HDMI, and more. Thankfully that “and more” includes a full set of 4 coax and 4 optical digital inputs. Why do manufacturers so often skimp on one or the other?
The automatic speaker adjustment (at first time setup) was acually pretty good. Sometimes you have to fiddle with the settings a bit after these kind of systems do their thing. Unfortunately, the reviewer didn’t get much of a chance to review the auto-equalization. 
But how does this receiver sound? It’s sounds really really good. Check the review for more. Part of the conclusion reads: “Were it not for pricing pressures and receiver “commoditization,” Marantz would be entitled to charge $6000 or $8000 for this truly exceptional receiver. Build quality is exemplary, sound quality is unassailable (for a receiver), and with 7 x 140-Watts of clean power, the SR9600 should be sufficiently powerful to drive most loudspeakers in medium sized home theater environments.” High praise.
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September 15th, 2006 at 1:29 pm
As an owner of a former Marantz flagship (SR18-EX), I can attest to how wonderful their equipment is. Even way back then it was set up to handle 7.1 and a host of features and capabilities I still haven’t used.
Certainly no regrets on the purchase. Though in retrospect the touch screen remote was a bad idea.
April 22nd, 2007 at 2:21 pm
The SR9600 is spectacular and worth every penny. You can get it new for around $3000 or less on Audiogon.
I have always had a high-end system in my den for music [Meridian separates and B&W/REL loudspeakers/Subwoofers] and a middling home entertainment system in the great room. I decided to simplify my life. I sold all the high end gear on Audiogon and put $15,000 [after heavy negotiating; MSRP the system is over $20k] in a 60 ” Pioneer Elite Plasma based home entertainment system with Definitive Technology SC7001 /SCL 2500 main/center speakers, all with large integrated powered subwoofers.
In trying to decide between the Denon 4308 and 4806, I spoke with the head engineer at D&M, which distributes both Denon and Marantz in the US. My principal interest is in the audio performance as I am heavily into music and use this system for music as much as video. In that conversation I mentioned the SR 9600 and he said that it would absolutely blow away the Denon 4806, which he also said was far better than the 4306.
So I bought an SR9600 and was, indeed, very pleased by the musicality of the unit. It is also a very versatile unit and easy to configure. The supplied universal remote is better than the Harmony I had and have since unloaded on eBay. The only downside for me became apparent when I acquired Apple TV to manage all of my music. It is HDMI, and the SR9600 has only two HDMI inputs, which were in use by my Tivo Series 3 and my DVD. So I decided to try the Denon 4806, as it has three HDMI inputs. It is comparable to the SR9600 in MSRP and power; how different could it be?
I brought it home, hooked it up, and was STUNNED. On two channel stereo it sounded, vis a vis the Marantz, as if someone had pulled curtain in front of the speakers.
I kept the Marantz. It, sonically, is absolutely awesome. Wide-open, full soundstage. Punchy. Brilliant, rich mid and high range, very tight, controlled, punchy bass. Truly Spectacular!