Marantz has bolstered its AV lineup with the announcement of two new flagship products: the SR7011 AV Receiver and AV7703 AV Processor. These are full-featured performers that ship locked and loaded with loads of modern audio and video features.
The SR7011 is a home theater anchor with serious muscle power. It features nine discrete channels capable of delivering 125 Watts (8 ohms, two channels driven), giving it the ability to natively drive a 5.1.4 Atmos speaker array. The inclusion of 11.2 multi-channel outputs allows owners to run two additional channels (via outboard amplification) for a full 7.1.4 experience. Marantz says the SR7011 utilizes the company’s famous HDAM (Hyper-Dynamic Amplifier Module) technology in conjunction with select components and Marantz’s Current Feedback topology to deliver precise and clean sound.
The SR7011 ships with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X onboard and ready for use. It also has onboard hardware capable of running Auro-3D sound (which can be activated for a fee at a later date). Owners can run a 10.1 channel Auro speaker deployment with the aide of an external amp. This makes the SR7011 one of the few AV Receivers capable of running all three immersive sound codecs.
A front side look at Marantz’s new SR7011 AVR.
Music fans will enjoy the SR7011’s Hi-Res audio capabilities, possessing the ability to decode up to 24-bit/192-kHz ALAC, FLAC and WAV lossless files as well as DSD 2.8MHz and 5.6MHz tracks (the audiophile format of SACD) via the front panel USB port and network sources. Owners can also tap into Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirPlay, and a variety of music services (including Amazon Prime Music, iHeart Radio, Sirius XM, Sound Cloud, Tidal, Napster or Deezer) for convenient music listening. Zone two playback is possible through wired speakers, while the addition of HEOS functionality allows the SR7011 to deliver multi-room playback with HEOS capable wireless speakers.
On the video front, the SR7011 delivers everything needed for full 4K UHD functionality. This includes HDMI 2.0a (7 front, 1 back) along with HDCP 2.2 compatibility, 60Hz video, 4:4:4 color sub-sampling, HDR, 21:9 and 3D video, and BT.2020 pass-through on every input. These included compatibility features means the SR7011 is ready to play with available 4K UHD Blu-ray players and other 4K sources, while providing upscaling of non-4K video material. Marantz has included a full set of ISF video calibration controls (including Day and Night video modes).
Audyssey fans will be happy to know that the SR7011 ships with the heralded MultEQ XT32 room correction suite. This includes LFC, Sub EQ HT, Dynamic Volume, and Dynamic EQ functions.
The AV7703 Processor is nearly identical to the SR7011, minus the fact that it lacks an onboard amplifier. Marantz suggests using the AV7703 with their MM8077, MM7055, and MM7205 amplifiers (but any brand of standalone amplification will work). Owners can connect to external amp sources using RCA sockets or balanced XLRs.
Aside from traditional pre-amplification duties, the AV7703 can be used with 11-channels of active speakers (including 2 sub channels).
The SR7011 ($2199) and AV7703 ($2199) are set to ship later this month (October 2016).
SR7011 9.2ch Network AV Receiver – Feature Set
- [*]9ch discrete power amplifier, 125W per channel
[*]Dolby Atmos and DTS:X (up to 7.1.4 with an external 2ch amplifier), Auro-3D upgradeable
[*]High performance 192kHz/32bit D/A converters for all channels
[*]Audyssey MultEQ XT32, LFC, SubEQ HT, Dynamic Volume and Dynamic EQ
[*]Built-in Wi-Fi with 2.4GHz/5GHz dual band support; built-in Bluetooth
[*]Improved network stability especially in Wi-Fi-crowded homes
[*]HEOS Wireless Music Streaming Technology with HEOS App
[*]Comfortable control options and almost unlimited music sources, including Pandora, Sirius XM, Amazon Music, Spotify, Tidal, Deezer, and Internet radio
[*]AirPlay, Bluetooth, Internet Radio, Network Audio Streaming and zccess to almost unlimited online music sources
[*]DSD (2.8/5.6MHz), FLAC, ALAC and WAV support
[*]8 HDMI inputs (incl. 1 front) with full HDCP 2.2 support; 3 HDMI outputs (zone)
[*]4K/60 Hz full-rate pass-through, 4:4:4 color resolution, HDR and BT.2020
[*]Analog to HDMI conversion and full SD/HD to 4K Upscaling for legacy video sources
[*]Full HD and even Ultra HD video quality from existing DVDs or analog sources
[*]ISF video calibration
[*]Advanced Multi-Room options; 11.2ch pre-out with 11.2ch processing; RS232 Control
[*]Audio and video in multiple rooms; ready for 3rd Party Home Automation systems
[*]Color-coded speaker terminals, Setup Assistant, Advanced GUI
[*]Marantz 2016 AVR Remote App
[*]Intelligent ECO mode with off/on/auto setting
AV7703 Multi-channel Network AV Pre-amplifier – Feature Set
- [*]Same features as SR7011, but no power amplifier section; 11.2ch XLR pre-out, 11.2ch RCA pre-out
[*]Flexible pre-amplifier stages for the advanced home cinema enthusiast
[*]High quality dedicated pre-amplifier board with HDAM
[*]High-resolution audio reproduction
[*]Power supply for pre-amplifier stage with audiophile-grade ELNA capacitors
[*]Separate power supplies for constant stable current
[*]Extended shielding of sensitive circuits to minimize interference for pure audio
Image Credits: Marantz