Home Entertainment & Automation Services in Matthews, NC.
Home Entertainment & Automation Services in Matthews, NC.
Home audio and Video Services in Matthews, NC.  TV installation, Surround Sound, Home Entertainment Systems
Review: Marantz SR6004 A/V Receiver

marantz-sr6004 is available at Custom Installation Services!

The Marantz SR6004 is available at Custom Installation Services! Call Us For More Details!

If you’re looking for a midpriced receiver with respectable power reserves and audio performance, the Marantz SR6004 is a top contender.

Marantz has been going at it for over 50 years producing audio equipment. Like any company that’s been bought and sold over the years, they’ve had their share of up and down cycles. Lately it seems Marantz is back on the up cycle, releasing a series of high-performance receivers that have the critical features everyone wants while packing the punch necessary to drive a full surround system to theatrical levels. 

I was interested in checking out their middle-of-the-road product, the SR6004, which retails for $1,249. At this price manufacturers must choose the right balance of performance and features. My job was to see how well Marantz executed this delicate balance while holding true to their strong audio-focused heritage.

The SR6004 is what I call a midsized receiver. It doesn’t take a forklift to move, yet it has a solid feel to it which implies a decent sized power supply to amply drive a full 5.1 or 7.1 speaker configuration. The SR6004 employs a class A/B power amplifier design and is rated for 110wpc x 7.

The back panel is laid out quite nicely. It’s not a cluster of connections like you find on many other receivers these days partly due to the absence of S-video connections. There are binding post connections on all nine pairs of speaker terminals, four HDMI inputs and dual HDMI outputs. The SR6004 doesn’t have the typical boxy feel you get with most receivers. Instead it sports some sexy curves, giving it the feeling of a high-end gear not dissimilar to their beautifully crafted two-channel reference gear. The front panel has an array of buttons and inputs. 

It certainly isn’t the most feature-laden receiver in its price class, but the SR6004 has the most important performance ones expected in today’s market such as full Dolby TrueHD / DTS HD decoding and Pro Logic IIz post processing for front height channels. Unfortunately you can’t simultaneously use back channels and height channels even with external amplification for a full 9.1 setup like some of the higher end competitor models provision for. 

The Yamaha and Onkyo receivers, for example, have a huge advantage over the Marantz in that they are both networking receivers that allow music streaming from sources such as Rhapsody and Pandora (Onkyo only). The Marantz, however, has the ability to link up with its Bluetooth receiver to stream music from any capable Bluetooth device provided that it’s within line of sight and a distance of 30 feet.

The RC007SR remote control is fully backlit by simply pressing pressing the right side button. Ergonomics are good as the remote can be controlled an operated using a single hand. There is a central circle pad of buttons allowing for easy navigation through the menus of the OSD.

It’s also important to note that the SR6004 is equipped with only seven internal power amplifiers. Thus, during speaker setup if you enable “Front Presence” and “Surround Back” speakers, the SR6004 will send signal to only one of those respective speaker groups depending on the post processing being selected (i.e. PLIIz will enable the front height speakers, while PLIIx or Dolby EX will enable the surround back speakers).

The Marantz SR6004 offers analog i/p and component to HDMI upconversion but no ability to adjust picture settings or noise reduction as some of its more expensive competitors. The SR6004 is equipped with three zones of audio. The main zone provisions for 5.1 or 7.1 which can be assigned for front height or surround back channels, zone A for secondary analog audio and A/V switching (no HDMI) and Zone B for digital audio output only.

 Click here to read the full review and continue on with listening and viewing tests, on Audioholics.com.

C.I.S. Is Charlotte NC's Dealer For the Marantz SR6004

Marantz-SR6004 - Now Available @ Custom Installation Services!

Specifications
RX101 Bluetooth/IR Receiver included
Front USB audio input for iPod/iPhone digital connection or USB Memory
Dolby TrueHD/Pro Logic IIz, DTS-HD Master Audio Decoder
Audyssey Dynamic EQ, Dynamic Volume and MultEQ Auto Calibration
Sophisticated aluminum/reinforced resin front panel with Front door design for Clean Panel
HDMI (v1.3) Repeating: Four Inputs, Two Outputs
Graphical User Interface (GUI) for Setup
GUI through HDMI out
110 watts x 7 (8 ohms)
Analog, Digital Independent PWBs design to minimize mutual interference
Component Video output for 2nd Zone
Marantz Custom High Quality Block Capacitor
Full 10-bit Video Processing
M-DAX(Marantz Dynamic Audio eXpander)
2nd Zone Analog audio output (Individual source) w/discrete command
3rd Zone Digital audio output (for Digital input source)
SIRIUS & XM Ready with discrete IR commands
Bi-Amp Drive Capability for Front L/R
RS-232C, DC Trigger out, Flasher In and Marantz D-BUS (RC-5) In/Out
LCD Learning Backlight system remote
Available Option Rack Mount Kit RMK6504SR
Dimensions: 17-3/8” W x 6-3/8” H x 15-3/8” D
Weight: 28 lbs

Pros
Excellent sound quality
Easy to setup and operate (main zone)
Compact and attractive design

Cons
Confusing multi zone operation
Mediocre HDMI video upconversion
No networking

 by Audioholics.com

Custom Installation Services, LLC – Charlotte ’s Home Theater & Technology Experts and Your Place For Marantz Electronics!

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DirecTV Whole-Home DVR Goes Live Nationwide

Custom Installation Services - Call Us To Integrate Your Time Warner, Dish, Or DirecTV DVR!

C.I.S. - Call Us To Integrate Your Time Warner, Dish, Or DirecTV DVR!

DirecTV’s Whole-Home DVR has been in beta testing for a few months, but is now live nation wide for just $3/month.

The DVR wars have been pretty fierce lately. Comcast has been targeting AT&T, DISH has been going after DirecTV on price, and DirecTV’s ads have been taking shots at just about everyone. 

As of today, DirecTV has one more feather to place in their hat with the full release of Whole Home DVR. 

The Whole-Home DVR feature allows programs from an HD DVR to be streamed to other non-DVR HD Receivers throughout your home. Up to 15 TVs, including the display the HD DVR is connected to, can take place in the streaming fun. 

The best part is no new hardware is required. The slightly worse news is the service will tack $3/month onto your monthly bill, but I don’t foresee any natural disasters or magnetic poles shifting over that minor fee. 

Not to miss a chance to get a few jabs in, the DirecTV Whole-Home DVR site takes shots at DISH Network’s Sling-enabled DVRs and cable company DVRs’ capacity and connectivity. I just wish someone would start throwing some punches TiVo’s way. Maybe then they would bring some more appealing features to their TiVo Premiere.

Other features DirecTV makes note of include: manage your DVR playlist from any room; record two shows while watching two others; and set separate parental controls for each TV.

Check out the YouTube video below for more on Whole-Home DVR:

 
by Stephen Hopkins

http://www.electronichouse.com/article/directv_whole_home_dvr_goes_live_nationwide/

Custom Installation Services, LLC – Charlotte and Boone NC’s Source For Samsung, Panasonic & Sharp 3D HDTV Sales, Support & Installation!

Posted in Automation, Flat Panel TV's, Home Theater, Media Rooms, Multi Room A/V, News, technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment


Channel D Pure Music Bolsters iTunes’ Performance

Serving Boone, Mooresville, Charlotte, Davidson, Blowing Rock, Statesville

C.I.S. - We Are Here To Answer Your Home Technology Questions!

Computer audio enthusiasts that want additional performance from their computer-based systems can run Channel D’s new Pure Music software on top of Apple’s iTunes to play back music files at their native resolutions.

Channel D, a developer of audio software solutions for Apple Macintosh computers, which includes its Pure Vinyl transcription, archiving and record editing software, recently introduced a new high-resolution digital audio playback software program for Apple iTunes.

According to the company, Pure Music is based on its Pure Vinyl audio playback engine and it automatically docks with Apple’s free iTunes digital jukebox software to handle music playback with a high-resolution playback engine. Channel D says that when iTunes and Pure Music are run together, iTunes will act as the database and playlist organizer, while its software leverages the user’s familiarity of iTunes functions such as track selection, music library navigation, and more. Channel D adds that when these programs are combined with a high-resolution sound card or DAC, Pure Music will deliver a dynamic and detailed audio playback.

Robert Robinson, director of engineering for Channel D, notes that one of the major advantages of the new software release is that it will playback audio files at their natural resolution without downgrading the bitrate and sampling frequency of those files. 

“Pure Music offers many benefits over iTunes alone. Foremost, iTunes plays all audio tracks at the sample rate detected when launched. If this were 44.1kHz [CD quality], then all high resolution audio tracks [up to 192kHz/24-bit, which can be purchased and downloaded on the Internet] would be downsampled and played in a CD format, diminishing playback quality.  On the other hand, Pure Music will automatically play high-resolution audio tracks at their native sample rate [if supported by the connected sound card or DAC]. This capability was previously only available in costly ($995) audio playback software, but now is available with Pure Music for just $129.”

Channel D continues by stating Pure Music offers more than native file type resolution playback by also offering features such as Memory Play, real-time high resolution upsampling of CD tracks, a 64-bit internal signal path, dithered volume control, subwoofer crossover, multichannel support, audio processing plug-ins, CoreAudio Hog Mode playback, high resolution audio streaming, precision signal metering, reverse play, and it works with all iTunes-supported audio formats, including but not limited to Apple Lossless, AIFF, Wave, AAC and MP3.

by Robert Archer

http://www.electronichouse.com/article/channel_d_pure_music_bolsters_itunes_performance/

Custom Installation Services, LLC – Charlotte and Boone NC’s Source For Technology Answers!

Posted in Audio Systems, i-Pad, Multi Room A/V, Music and Movies, technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment


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