Marantz SR8012 Review
Among the various types of Japanese AV amplifiers, Marantz’s targeted customers prefer listening to detailed sounds and enjoying surrounding sound effects. Among the five major Japanese brands of M·Y·P·O·D, home theater enthusiasts believe that the sound of Marantz is softer and lighter. Coming to the Marantz SR8012 AV receiver, Marantz significantly improved the sound’s consistency and proceeded in the direction of speed.
Increasing the output power and reducing high-frequency distortion brought many people the detailed sound and right low-pitched dynamics.
Design
SR8012 is Marantz’s first 11.2 channel AV receiver. Like the previous SR7012 model, the factory has already supported Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and Auro-3D three 3D sound effects at the same time. In addition, the output power reaches 140W per channel, which can be pretty powerful in terms of a combined machine.
The SR8012 uses a large-scale power supply and high-quality capacitors and other accessories, coupled with Marantz’s famous HDAM (Hyper Dynamic Amplifier Modules), providing excellent anti-noise reducing power and high-frequency performance.
The chassis adopts a 1.2mm copper-plated shell and high-density foot pads used in high-end machines to improve the anti-noise ability and stability.
The power supply circuit selects ESP capacitors and PML thin-film capacitors to decouple from the power supply. The capacity of the power supply wire has been increased from 15,000µF of SR 7011 to 22,000µF.
The power amplifier module adopts a fully separated structure. Each channel has an independent amplifier circuit, which minimizes interference. And the output of each channel of 11 channels is increased to 205W@6Ω, 1kHz.
For the parts that are not easy to see, the SR 8012 uses a double-layer chassis design. The inner chassis uses a 1 mm thick aluminum circuit board, and the bottom circuit board uses a 1 mm thick copper plate to suppress resonance and reduce the signal-to-noise ratio.
The iconic circular display of the Marantz high-end machine can display data such as volume and source. After the front panel of the fuselage is opened, there is a large screen to display more detailed information and physical control buttons and front HDMI, AV, and other interfaces.
HDMI supports 4K HDR and the latest eARC
For the HDMI part, Marantz uses 8-layer high-end circuit board. Four DSP chips are responsible for calculating Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Auro 3D decoding, upsampling, and Audyssey MultEQ XT32 automatic sound field correction system. The latest feature in the processing system is the addition of low-frequency synchronization and phase settings.
In other words, you can bypass the subwoofer settings to make the low-frequency transmission more accurate. In addition, Marantz engineers are more careful to add Teflon thin film to the HDMI receiving part to reduce interference.
As for the audio-visual functions, the SR8012 has reached the current top standards. All HDMI with eight inputs and three outputs supports HDCP 2.2, 4K/60P (4:4:4), Dolby Vision, and HLG HDR formats. Firmware upgrades can also support eARC functions. However, the Dolby Atmos sound effects of other streaming videos are still sent back to the receiver.
With Audyssey MultEQ XT32 automatic sound field correction system, two AK4458VN 32bit high-end DAC as 11.2 channel processing, four high-end DSPs for processing 3D sound effects, and sound field correction, you can fine-tune the low-frequency synchronization when playing movie to make the bass more clean and clear.
Built-in HEOS multi-room system
I believe that users will use Marantz’s AV receiver to listen to songs. However, this time the music playback function of SR8012 is also quite versatile. Equipped with a HEOS multi-room music streaming system, you can control speakers such as HEOS 1 mini portable wireless speaker to stream music. In addition, it also supports music streaming platforms such as TIDAL and Spotify.
With built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, you can stream songs via AirPlay. Network streaming also supports 24bit/192kHz FLAC, WAV, and 2.8/5.6MHz DSD. It is so capable as a network music player.
Equipped with an independent HEOS processing circuit, it supports multi-room music streaming and different streaming platforms such as TIDAL and Spotify. There are two antennas on the back of the machine to enhance wireless signal reception. In addition, it supports Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections.
The remote control is equipped with a small screen like other Marantz high-end machines, displaying operation information. In addition, it also has a backlight display, which is convenient for use in a completely dark environment.
DSP Decoding Circuit
The decoding circuit adopts an independent circuit board, and the decoding chips are two AK4458VN 8-channel decoding chips responsible for the digital input signal of 11.2 channels. The advantage of this chip is that it can support up to 32bit/768 kHz PCM signal, DSD 2.8/5.6 signal decoding, THD+N signal-to-noise ratio reaches -107dB, and the highest dynamic goes 115dB. But, of course, this also needs to cooperate with other parts of the design.
For the front-end part, Marantz chose a high-cost current feedback architecture instead of a voltage feedback architecture. In addition, Marantz’s own HDAM high-speed amplifier module is higher than the op-amp IC with a con…version rate of only 6V/µsec. As a result, it works at a conversion speed of 60/µsec, which significantly reduces the distortion rate.
The brand-new change of the AV receiver under D&M is to divide the switching function and volume control chip into eight chips. The switching chip has 6 NJU72750 and 72751 integrated circuits (ICs), and the volume control has two NJU72343 integrated circuits ( ICs), responsible for processing a total of 11.2 channels of signals. The advantage of switching to multiple integrated circuits is that the signal path can be more straightforward and streamlined and prevent being disturbed.
Sound Performance
I first watched DTS :X’s “Fast and Furious 8”. The final submarine chasing scene for some time can be said to be exaggerated but is not lacking in detail. The SR8012 handles gunfights on airplanes. The sound stage and space are first-class. The response is fast enough, and the sound field is very realistic, bringing out a sense of devotion and comedy.
For the scene of more than a dozen cars chasing on the snow, needless to say, the 7.2.4 channel shows exceptionally accurate positioning. The sense of direction from bullet crashes to missile explosions is very clear and three-dimensional. The sound field of Audyssey MultEQ XT32 is indeed something to be expected.
In addition, even with 11 channels of output, the explosive power is sufficient. The dense engine sound is thick, the low frequency of the big explosion is quite deep, and the volume is full.
Watch the “The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra” UHD Blu-ray movie clip. Marantz does have a great of music processing. Watch the hero and heroine dance for the first time. Unfortunately, there are many trumpet soundtracks, the sound effect is too harsh, and the SR8012 shows the rugged trumpet but still has a soft high pitch.
The vocal reproduction is relatively high, clear, and detailed. The overall sound is excellent, from the dancing footsteps to cars and other environmental sound effects. Again, l detail and layered, and the sense of envelopment is well and meticulous.
Conclusion
The SR8012 can be Marantz fans’ long-awaited flagship AV receiver, with almost impeccable features and sound effects. HDMI with eight inputs and three outputs is sufficient for most users, and there are many other digital and analog parts for connection.
You can get 11.2-channel with Dolby Atmos, DTS:X 7.2.4, and Auro-3D 10.1 output in one machine. Marantz SR8012 AV receiver is an excellent choice for users who want to listen to music and watch movies simultaneously, as well as like the Marantz sound feature, even if they do not have all 11 channels unless the budget is limited. If the sound quality comes first, the SR8012 is the best AV receiver choice for Marantz at this stage.
