If you speak Czech then you may already know all about the SR6003, the new receiver from Marantz. This product is due to be announced officially at IFA in Berlin later in the month but has so far only appeared on a couple of Czech news sites.
What's so wonderful about the SR6003? Well, we'll tell you: it's Marantz's most cutting edge receiver in about, ooh, five years. And, it looks cool.
Upside
We got an eyeful of the specs and pics at the CEDIA show in the Gold Coast (despite having attempted to learn another language) and we think this receiver may be a winner for the company. Why? Well, 12 months ago we gave glowing praise to Onkyo for its foresight in including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD decoding on-board. Well, the cat's out of that bag of hammers now — everyone's doing it.
Power output is high at 100W x 7, and the receiver also offers three HDMI V1.3a inputs and two outputs — meaning you could connect both a projector and a plasma. Ease of use also appears to be a factor with a simplified fascia, AUDYSSEY auto set-up, and a colour on-screen GUI.
The receiver also features a video converter upscaling video to 1080p, and you can make the most of MP3 files with a USB input and M-DAX music enhancer.
Downside
The final retail price is yet to be decided, but rival Harman/Kardon has stepped up the game with the release of its new receiver range at a low price and with a superior feature count.
After a string of excellent learning remotes, the RC003SR that ships with the SR6003 looks a little disappointing. It's missing programmable buttons for device-specific functions: such as "Top Menu" for DVD players, for example. So power users may want to opt for a remote such as the Logitech Harmony One as well.
Outlook
Having missed a generation, the mid-range 6000 model is back, and looks to be better than ever. It boasts a clean design, cutting edge specs, and a high degree of connectivity. It will be available in October, and we anticipate the price will be around the same as the SR6001 (AU$1,999).
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