Marantz SR5003 Audio Video Receiver

4 Responses to “Marantz SR5003 Audio Video Receiver”

• leftheartinpittsburgh, on October 14th, 2009 at 5:01 am Said:

  Originally called sales for a Onkyo TX-805 they had one left through factory refurbished from [...] for only 599.00 after speaking with the rep(who was knowledgeable by the way) he mentioned this Marantz SR5003 especially hearing the speakers im running(b&w 600 series) Shipped last saturday morning(fed-ex) and i’ve been very impressed with the sound. Very clear as opposed to flat(my old sony since 98) solid constuction. Will write a followup as I get more used to it.
  Rating: 5 / 5

• Paul E. Heroy, on October 14th, 2009 at 5:24 am Said:

  I bought this Marantz receiver on sale from OneCall, which I’ve purchased from before and had very good experiences. It’s in a secondary system with a universal DVD/SACD player (connected via HDMI) and a recent addition of a Logitech Squeezebox, and also an external amp driving a biamped set of speakers. It replaced an analog 2 channel preamp because I decided to add a display and needed HDMI switching. I also needed something with the 12 volt DC trigger output to turn on the external amp, which not many receivers have. This is not a very common feature in this price range, and it took me quite a while to find a receiver under $1K which met that along with having a few other must have features. The fact that Marantz has a reputation for giving attention to refining the sound quality of their products helped.

  I’ve been very happy with it from a feature standpoint as well as performance. The looks are pretty nice, too. The one operational nitpick I’ve had is that the menu interface could be a little better, and the setting of the 12v trigger to turn on the external amp is off by default – and the option to change that is buried fairly deep in the menus.

  The remote is not a favorite of mine. I especially dislike that switching inputs on the receiver also switches what component the remote controls – you have to press the “Amp” button to control the receiver again. (I.e. if you are listening to a CD and then switch to Aux1, the remote also sets itself to control Aux1 instead of the receiver, even if you don’t have anything actually set to be controlled as Aux1.) I use a Logitech Harmony 670 universal so it’s not a big deal.

  Overall, despite a few minor ergonomic nitpicks, the Marantz SR5003 is a very nicely made and specced AVR.
  
  Rating: 4 / 5

• Ricnard Wagner, on October 14th, 2009 at 6:32 am Said:

  I previously had a McIntosh amplifier (tube) and preamplifier, then a 150 watt Luxman reveiver. The Luxman because of its age started popping in and out of one of the channels. (I am having it restored) I got the Marantz primarily for when I set up my 50″ plasma for surround sound. Right now it’s pushing two Klipasch Chorus II speakers. The sound is quite good although maybe not quite at the level of the Luxman for classical music which is what I listen most often (I am a trained musician). For AV purposes the Marantz is really well designed with a huge number of configurations. I also I have the XM satellite radio setup which was very easy to connect and make active. The sound is very clean and powerful. The remote is quite well designed and can be used as a universal unit.
  Rating: 5 / 5

• Flatpicnut, on October 14th, 2009 at 7:45 am Said:

  I purchased this AVR on Thanksgiving Day, when it had been offered by OneCall (via Amazon.com) for nearly 20% off list price (despite the fact that this unit seems to rarely be discounted on the internet). I waited to review it until I had a chance to set it up with a Panasonic Blu-Ray (BD55) that I received for Christmas (also purchased on Amazon.com). Now that I have had a chance to listen to it with the Blu-Ray as well as listening to it in 2-channel mode (music) I can report that I am very pleased with the sound quality and separation in both 2-channel and my 5.0 setup (no subwoofer is being used). The sound quality in 2-channel was very important to me, and for the price this AVR is a very reasonable choice. My only caution would be that the SR5003 is rated at 90 watts per channel, which is fine for my room size (about 15 x 15) , but may not be enough for larger rooms. Nonetheless, my aging ears (which suffer from a touch of tinnitus from too many concerts in my 20’s) do not need high volume, and I am satisfied with the power of the unit.
  
  For what its worth, my SR5003 is hooked up to a pair of recently “broken-in” Monitor Audio RS-6’s (main), a Boston Acoustics VR-1 (center) and a pair of Paradigm Atoms (rear surround).
  
  And last but not least, two “thumbs-up” to OneCall, with which I had no experience before this purchase. I have since purchased a couple other items from OneCall (one of which had to be returned due to a mistake on my part) and the service and promptness of OneCall has been exemplary with each transaction.
  Rating: 5 / 5

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