Features and Technology the SR Series Units Share
Video Features and Tech
You’ll get all the latest video tech with the new SR series. All are HDMI HDCP 2.3 certified, work with Dolby Vision, and are ISF certified. All of them are also capable of HDMI 2.1 giving you the ability to connect up future 8K gaming consoles to them. HDMI 2.1 supports a higher frame rate that will improve the video gaming experience. Nothing will really change for movies or TV content as those will maintain 24 or 30 frames per second.
They all also support eARC which can send Dolby Atmos back down an HDMI cable from your TV. This would come in handy if you were using the apps on your smart TV for streaming to allow you to get Dolby Atmos back to your home theater receiver. If you are lucky enough to have a new 8K TV, this would allow you to watch the 8K resolution content that is showing up on YouTube and get audio over to your receiver in full Dolby Atmos.
The bottom line is these new models are as future proof as anything out there!
Audio Capabilities
You’ll find every model has Dolby Atmos and DTS-X. One feature Marantz has added this year we really like is the ability to do two-room correction memories. All of the Marantz receivers have Audyssey which is a great system to fix room-acoustic problems. With two, you could have one set up around a single listening position and another for a large group. Or another option might be with your blinds closed or open.
At Audio Advice, we feel the room has the biggest impact of almost anything on your sound. Audyssey is a wonderful system for correcting issues in your room. With the Marantz receivers, they make doing the calibration super easy with a wonderful on-screen step by step process that is almost totally impossible to get wrong.
For the true calibration geeks, you can (for a small price) purchase an editor that lets you really fine-tune things.
Marantz included Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization this year on all the SR models which simulate height speakers. While we feel having actual height speakers is far better than trying to fake it, this does provide an ok effect.
If you want to stream music you find it very easy with all of the Marantz models as they have Heos built-in (which has almost all of the major streaming services), Bluetooth, WiFi, Airplay2, and Spotify Connect. They are all also Roon Tested for those of you who have discovered this very cool music management system. WiFi streaming supports High-Resolution Audio formats up to 24-bit/192-kHz; DSD 2.8MHz and 5.6MHz.
Another feature they all share we are really happy to see is the ability to transmit audio to a set of Bluetooth headphones for private TV listening. Just a couple of years ago, doing something like this required a much more complicated set up with a pair of special headphones and an adapter. Now, virtually any pair of Bluetooth headphones can be used with the new Marantz models.
If you use the multi-zone audio capabilities all of these receivers have, you’ll be happy to know they can transmit signals from HDMI feeds to zone two as well, allowing you to listen to TV from another room It used to be that most receivers only supported analog sources for zone 2, but these new models allow any HDMI signal to go out to zone 2 for audio.
Finally, all of the SR receivers have a moving magnet phono preamp for your vinyl playback system.