Marantz SR5005 Audio Video Receiver (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)I recently decided to upgrade my home theater setup, and purchased a Samsung 63" Samsung PN63C8000 63-Inch 1080p 3D Plasma HDTV, Black and wanted a home theater to match. Previously, I had just used my TV speakers (granted, my old Sony XBR had far better speakers than most TVs, but still far short of a dedicated setup). I wouldn't describe myself as an audiophile, but I can appreciate good sound ... it's just that my interest lies more in music and film than in the actual audio/video equipment. My media room is 15'x20', and I wanted a system that would be as good for music as for movies.
Because of my room layout, I decided I was limited to a 5.1 system. I ordered this Marantz SR5005 receiver along with a 5.1 speaker system from Aperion Audio, going their 5T Hybrid HD system. These particular Aperion speakers are fairly power hungry, and I was a bit worried about the SR5005's ability to power them w/o the help of an external amp. I had briefly considered upgrading to the slightly more powerful SR6005 Marantz SR6005 Audio Video Receiver (Black). The excellent technical support staff at Aperion Audio (where I ordered this receiver as well as the speakers) assured me the SR5005 would be more than adequate, and after using the system for a few days I fully agree.
I am extremely happy with the way this system sounds - the sound is simply excellent, for both music and movies. The SR5005 has the power to get plenty of room filling volume (window rattling volume) out of the speakers without any distortion. At the same time, I can hear everything clearly at lower volume as well so there's no need to turn it up unless I want to. As far as sound quality, I give the SR5005 5 out of 5 stars - it's excellent. This impression seems to be supported by other reviews - every review I've read about the SR5005 has nothing but positive things to say about sound quality.
As for the setup, I'm not the most tech savvy person in the world and I have to admit I was a bit intimidated about setting up the SR5005 - these newer AVRs have an incredible amount of setup and playback options, it can be a bit overwhelming at first. However, once I delved into it, the setup turned out not to be too difficult. In addition to the Marantz instruction manual, I highly suggest you google "Outlaw SR5005 Guide", which is a 60+ page setup guide put out by Outlaw Audio (you can also throw them a bone and buy the receiver from them as well, though I didn't) that walks you through the setup process in fairly straightforward "plain english" (or as close to plain english as you can get for a fairly complicated piece of electronics). The SR5005 has plenty of setup options, including the Audyssey auto setup but also plenty of manual options as well - do not pay any attention to the review here stating there are no manual setup options as that reviewer apparently didn't bother to read the manual, in addition to the speaker distance, crossover, and other parameters that can be manually set and adjusted with an SPL meter, the SR5005 offers a 9-band EQ for each of 9 speakers, which I believe breaks down to 7.1 plus either zone 2 or front height speakers.
When setting up my system, I first used the much acclaimed Audyssey automatic setup included with this receiver, along with the included microphone. While the results were pretty good, I wasn't blown away by them. Audyssey gave me a couple of incorrect speaker distances (especially for the sub, which Audyssey set up as way too loud) and some funky crossover points. Aperion recommended I set up the system manually using an SPL meter that they include free with any 5.1 speaker system. While this sounded a bit daunting, after reading the short instruction sheet that came with the SPL meter it proved to be almost as simple as Audyssey. I set all of my speakers with the exception of the sub to "small" (the instructions recommended setting the front towers to "large", but when I did this the SR5005 wouldn't let me set the crossover to my preferred 80Hz, so I changed it to "small"; I set my sub to "LFE+main"), set the crossovers to Aperion's recommended levels, measured the distance from each speaker, and manually adjusted the db level for each speaker while measuring with the SPL meter. This might sound complicated, but actually it's pretty easy, just take your time and read the instructions. After doing this manual setup, I was much happier with the result - in particular the sub was now at an acceptable level (there was too much bass using the Audyssey settings).
I'm extremely happy with this product. The audio quality is excellent and the video processing seems to be excellent as well, and it can be turned off. Note there are a couple of internet comments floating around out there about a "purple hue" caused by the video processor - as far as I can tell that was only a single one-off incident cited by a single reviewer (he mentions this in his review of the SR6005 here on Amazon, which is an excellent review I recommend reading), but it was echoed across the internet as other people on various forums cited that same incident. To be clear, I have no purple hue on my unit and if I did the video processing can be turned off (I'm quite happy with the video processing straight out of my PS3). All in, I'm glad I didn't spend the extra money to upgrade to the SR6005, which adds a bit more power (110w x 7), an upgraded video processor (video quality watching blu-rays on this SR5005 is excellent, so I see no reason to pay up for a better video processor), and some improved display functions (for example to see the volume on this SR5005 you have to look at the front of the receiver as it doesn't display it on your TV, this isn't really an issue for me). If interested, I also recommend the speaker system I referenced from Aperion Audio, as they sound excellent with this receiver and Aperion's customer support was very helpful in explaining the features of both the speakers as well as the receiver, as well as discussing what system would best suit my needs based on room size, preferences etc.
Overall, my rating for the Marantz SR5005 breaks down as follows:
Audio quality - 5 stars
Video quality - 4.5-5 stars
Setup options - 5 stars
Input options - 4 stars (some other receivers offer more HDMI inputs, but 4 was more than enough for me)
Features - 4 stars (displaying the volume on the TV would be nice)
Value - 4.5 stars (4 stars if you buy at the price listed here on Amazon, but you can find better out there if you look)
Overall I break this down to 5 stars as audio quality is by far the most important factor in an AVR, in my view.edit: as of mid-2011 I see Amazon has lowered the price since I purchased mine. Also it looks like Outlaw Audio also lowered the price - at the new Amazon price, this is easily a 5/5 for value and probably the best AV/Home Theater Receiver you can buy at this price level.

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