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03/03/2008
The Last Amp You'll Ever Need
I worked so much overtime last month I thought I'd treat myself to a new Amp.
Richer Sounds had a superb THX rated Receiver on sale, was £900, now only £600. When i rang the only silver one left was down to £550, so I bought it.
Marantz SR7001
It's a beast of a machine! Here's the full spec:
| Remote Control | Is an Infra-red remote control included? | Yes |
| Pro-Logic/pro-Logic 2/pro-Logic 2x | Analogue surround sound system - for TV and video. Pro-Logic 2 features stereo effect rears, whilst Pro-Logic 2x can output in 6.1 or 7.1 | Yes/Yes/Yes |
| 5.1/6.1/7.1 | The number of channels. 5.1 is the basic standard. 6.1 adds a rear centre. 7.1 adds side effect speakers. | 7.1 |
| Dts/dts-Es | Digital Theatre System - a rival to Dolby Digital. DTS-ES is a 6.1 format that offers a rear centre speaker. | Yes/Yes |
| Thx Select 2/thx Ultra 2 | Is it THX Certified? A specification requirement from Lucus Studios of Star Wars fame. THX Select 2 is the required standard for small/medium sized rooms, THX Ultra 2 is for larger rooms. | Yes/No |
| Video Inputs | Inputs for visual sources - DVD, video etc - on rear of unit. | 4 |
| Audio Inputs | Inputs for hi-fi sources - CD, aux etc - on rear of unit | 6 |
| Built-In Tuner | Built-in analogue or digital radio? | FM/AM |
| Coaxial Outputs | Number of coaxial digital outputs to loop digital information through. | 1 |
| Coaxial Inputs | Number of coaxial digital inputs to input digital sources such as DVD player | 3 |
| Optical Outputs | Number of optical digital outputs to loop digital sources through. | 1 |
| Optical Inputs | Number of optical digital inputs to input digital sources such as DVD players | 3 |
| Sub Out | Does it have a seperate connection for subwoofer | Yes |
| 6-Channel Input | Does it have a 5.1 analogue input? - uses 6 RCA phono sockets | Yes |
| Power Rating (Wpc) | Maximum power output per channel - RMS into 8 ohms | 110 x 7 |
| Hdmi Interface | Is HDMI included? HDMI offers the highest quality, digital connection. The number given relates to the number of HDMI inputs fitted - a single output is standard unless otherwise stated. | Yes - 4 |
I set it up on Saturday night, and was pulling my hair out. I got the sound down first time. It actually comes with a microphone that will set it all up for you, just put the mic where you like to listen and click Auto. I went for the manual set-up though, which i'm more familiar with. Just tell it the size of the speaker, how far away from you it is and then adjust the test tone.
It was the picture that through me. I had connected it up with some Scorpion HDMI cables, a superb power buy from AV Talk, and was getting sound but no picture. After countless attempts at trying different things i gave up and went to bed. i tried again in the morning and finally got it. The DVD had to be set up for HDMI component.
Anyway, watched Stardust last night with the THX setting on and it's fantastic. I've never owned a bit of THX kit before, but it really does make a difference.
Next stop now is Blu-Ray, and despite the cheapish stand alone players now the only way to go it seems is with the Playstation 3. So, roll on next month.
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