C.I.S. is Charlotte NC's First Choice For Sales & Installation of Quality Electronics From Marantz
The UD5005 and UD7005 players offer universal compatibility to play CDs, DVDs, DVD-Audio (DVD-A), Super Audio CD (SACDs) and Blu-ray discs.
With a history of building some of the best gear in consumer electronics, Marantz America is entering a new product category with the announcement of its new 3D-ready Blu-ray players.
The newly introduced UD5005 and UD7005 will replace the existing BD5004 and BD7004 disc players and they will be available in August and September for $500 and $900, respectively.
Marantz says the players offer universal compatibility with the ability to play CDs, DVDs, DVD-Audio (DVD-A), Super Audio CD (SACDs) and Blu-ray discs.
The network friendly Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) 1.5-certified universal disc players are also labeled “future-ready” by the company because their upgradeability, which is highlighted by its support of 3D Blu-ray disc playback.
Kevin Zarow, vice president of sales and marketing for Marantz America, says the players offer home theater enthusiasts the ability to tie together today’s variety of media through the use of a single component.
“Our new UD7005 and UD5005 Universal Media Players are literally ‘game changers’ in the source component marketplace,” says Zarow.
“Both units are much more than simply advanced Blu-ray players. They are 100 percent future-ready media players that offer today’s discriminating consumers an affordable way to take advantage of all today’s most advanced high-performance content sources. In addition to supporting HDMI 1.4 and 3D capability, they will play virtually any 12-cm digital audio or digital video disc ever created, and provide maximum audio and video enjoyment.”
Technically, the players support the media playback through the use of 24- and 32-bit digital-to-analog (DACs) converters, HDMI 1.4a digital outputs and legacy electronics support with multichannel analog outputs.
In addition to these features, the players also offer Netflix and YouTube streaming, and appealing industrial designs developed in-house by the company.
The Marantz SR6004 is available at Custom Installation Services! Call Us For More Details!
If you’re looking for a midpriced receiver with respectable power reserves and audio performance, the Marantz SR6004 is a top contender.
Marantz has been going at it for over 50 years producing audio equipment. Like any company that’s been bought and sold over the years, they’ve had their share of up and down cycles. Lately it seems Marantz is back on the up cycle, releasing a series of high-performance receivers that have the critical features everyone wants while packing the punch necessary to drive a full surround system to theatrical levels.
I was interested in checking out their middle-of-the-road product, the SR6004, which retails for $1,249. At this price manufacturers must choose the right balance of performance and features. My job was to see how well Marantz executed this delicate balance while holding true to their strong audio-focused heritage.
The SR6004 is what I call a midsized receiver. It doesn’t take a forklift to move, yet it has a solid feel to it which implies a decent sized power supply to amply drive a full 5.1 or 7.1 speaker configuration. The SR6004 employs a class A/B power amplifier design and is rated for 110wpc x 7.
The back panel is laid out quite nicely. It’s not a cluster of connections like you find on many other receivers these days partly due to the absence of S-video connections. There are binding post connections on all nine pairs of speaker terminals, four HDMI inputs and dual HDMI outputs. The SR6004 doesn’t have the typical boxy feel you get with most receivers. Instead it sports some sexy curves, giving it the feeling of a high-end gear not dissimilar to their beautifully crafted two-channel reference gear. The front panel has an array of buttons and inputs.
It certainly isn’t the most feature-laden receiver in its price class, but the SR6004 has the most important performance ones expected in today’s market such as full Dolby TrueHD / DTS HD decoding and Pro Logic IIz post processing for front height channels. Unfortunately you can’t simultaneously use back channels and height channels even with external amplification for a full 9.1 setup like some of the higher end competitor models provision for.
The Yamaha and Onkyo receivers, for example, have a huge advantage over the Marantz in that they are both networking receivers that allow music streaming from sources such as Rhapsody and Pandora (Onkyo only). The Marantz, however, has the ability to link up with its Bluetooth receiver to stream music from any capable Bluetooth device provided that it’s within line of sight and a distance of 30 feet.
The RC007SR remote control is fully backlit by simply pressing pressing the right side button. Ergonomics are good as the remote can be controlled an operated using a single hand. There is a central circle pad of buttons allowing for easy navigation through the menus of the OSD.
It’s also important to note that the SR6004 is equipped with only seven internal power amplifiers. Thus, during speaker setup if you enable “Front Presence” and “Surround Back” speakers, the SR6004 will send signal to only one of those respective speaker groups depending on the post processing being selected (i.e. PLIIz will enable the front height speakers, while PLIIx or Dolby EX will enable the surround back speakers).
The Marantz SR6004 offers analog i/p and component to HDMI upconversion but no ability to adjust picture settings or noise reduction as some of its more expensive competitors. The SR6004 is equipped with three zones of audio. The main zone provisions for 5.1 or 7.1 which can be assigned for front height or surround back channels, zone A for secondary analog audio and A/V switching (no HDMI) and Zone B for digital audio output only.
Specifications
RX101 Bluetooth/IR Receiver included
Front USB audio input for iPod/iPhone digital connection or USB Memory
Dolby TrueHD/Pro Logic IIz, DTS-HD Master Audio Decoder
Audyssey Dynamic EQ, Dynamic Volume and MultEQ Auto Calibration
Sophisticated aluminum/reinforced resin front panel with Front door design for Clean Panel
HDMI (v1.3) Repeating: Four Inputs, Two Outputs
Graphical User Interface (GUI) for Setup
GUI through HDMI out
110 watts x 7 (8 ohms)
Analog, Digital Independent PWBs design to minimize mutual interference
Component Video output for 2nd Zone
Marantz Custom High Quality Block Capacitor
Full 10-bit Video Processing
M-DAX(Marantz Dynamic Audio eXpander)
2nd Zone Analog audio output (Individual source) w/discrete command
3rd Zone Digital audio output (for Digital input source)
SIRIUS & XM Ready with discrete IR commands
Bi-Amp Drive Capability for Front L/R
RS-232C, DC Trigger out, Flasher In and Marantz D-BUS (RC-5) In/Out
LCD Learning Backlight system remote
Available Option Rack Mount Kit RMK6504SR
Dimensions: 17-3/8” W x 6-3/8” H x 15-3/8” D
Weight: 28 lbs
Pros Excellent sound quality
Easy to setup and operate (main zone)
Compact and attractive design
Cons Confusing multi zone operation
Mediocre HDMI video upconversion
No networking
C.I.S.: Home Automation Services in Charlotte, Boone, Davidson, Mooresville, Lake Norman
Details from the I/O Google TV announcement.
Rumors, whispers, and snippets of info regarding Google TV have been floating around for a few months now.
But Thursday at Google I/O 2010, the company made the big announcement of Google TV, while Sony and Logitech followed suit with the first Google TV products. Dish Network also said it will offer a Google TV-powered DVR recording feature on set-top boxes.
Devices for Google TV will be sold at Best Buy.
Google TV
Roughly two out of three people watch TV. So it’s no surprise Google wants a piece of that pie. “Video should be consumed on the biggest, best, and brightest screen in your house, and that’s the TV,” says Google.
So how do they plan to bring the web to the TV without compromising video or content? A search-driven experience centered around discovery and customization. Media aggregation helps as well, with Hulu logos being thrown around like candy, which might be the most intriguing aspect of the whole ordeal.
All of this is going to be based on Intel’s CE4100 Atom processor running a version of the Android OS, Chrome browser, and Flash 10.1. Devices will have a WiFi network connection, HDMI, and QWERTY input option along with standard remote controls.
