I have a Marantz system bought in 2008 and although quite happy with it, especially the receiver (SR6003), the universal player suffers reliability issues (UD7006). The draw mechanism is “sticky” and has already been repaired once.
I sometimes use this to play DSD on multi channel SACD, but is mainly for films and music Blu-ray Discs.
I did think of Marantz slimline receivers but glad I did not go down that road due to their lack of grunt.
Also I believe Marantz have suffered quality due to the origin where it is built.
In the end I’m not sure of what credible alternatives to what I have which does work very well.
If SACD and DVD-Audio playback is important to you then you are very limited wrt new players with probably Sony and Reavon being your best options as I think new Pioneers you can no longer get easily. If you dont need SACD or DVD-Audio then Panasonic would be my choice, especially if you need 4K as their picture quality is excellent.
You need to give us more info on what you need from an AV Amp but Denon’s are hard to beat at all spec and price points.
Yes it’s becoming more limited to find suitable replacements. I use these components in a Naim system where the pre outs from the Marantz drive the unity gain for front left and right. The remaining rear and centre are driven by the Marantz and the B&W sub from the Marantz pre out. I should have said that I infrequently play the SACD on the universal player, but this would be a nice to have. A replacement receiver is not essential but should be possible to run in the same context without messing up the Naim
Yes, I run the same config as you only using AV Amp for Centre, Rears and Subwoofer duties and pre- outs to my SN3 for front L&R.
My 24 year old Denon AVC-A1D failed recently so replaced it with the just now superceded Denon AVC-X4700H and got a great run out special price on it. My younger brother who still lives in the UK did the same (Im currently based in Australia) and upgraded his AV Amp.
You only get what you are prepared to pay for in life, if you had spent more money you would of got a better product.
You asked for suggestions and then you get critical of my response, you just cant help some people!
I will leave it with you to figure it out from here.
No I think you misunderstood. I don’t know the X4700H. I just assume the new Denon range has the same build quality as the one I bought my Son, which he is happy with by the way. I think the priority is to sort the player first but there is no urgency because the door loader only jams infrequently. Shame because I am happy with what I have
I will check out the reavon players. Never heard of them and thanks for the suggestion
I can’t think of a single combined highish end SACD/Blu Ray player except for Reavon .
I had a Marantz Blu Ray Player , the drawer/ loading mechanism packed up after about three years, and the repair costs made me question the repair process. Now have a Pioneer Universal Player and it is very good .
Depends on where you think that starts. The top end Pioneer players overlap a great deal with Reavon.
If audio is more important than video, a second hand Denon DBT 3313-UD might be the ticket. They cost nothing these days on account of not supporting 4K, but this is a serious player with an dedicated audio-only HDMI output. I had one for about 6 years and it was superb. The only reason I moved it on was that I had 4K content.
I don’t know what the current range is but I have a Pioneer bluray that has been reliable and even passes my sons ( he’s a cameraman and film maker) critical appraisal.
Not as high end, older and no 4k. I have just had a look at the Pioneer UK site and they are showing all models as unavailable. I winder if this is them withdrawing from blu ray?
Looks like only Sony are options if the receiver (STR-DH790) and player (UBP-X800M) are updated. I will ask if there are any pioneer players in stock but see there are some bad experiences with discs not playing. Blu-ray rot perhaps where 3 of my Decca music Blu-ray Discs refuse to play😡
Not too familiar with Reavon.
I guess the period of component availability issues and Covid as well as most people turning to streaming services which was one of the last nails in the coffin lid.
I was lucky with my purchase as Audio T sold me their last demo model.