Marantz DV7600 DVD-player
Design. The design of the device is stylish and easily recognizable. A curious moment: this model is available only in black and silver versions, while most of the components of this company are traditionally decorated in golden colors. A large mass indicates the solidity of the design. In particular, the two-layer chassis prevents external vibrations from penetrating into the case. The video part is represented by a 12 bit / 216 MHz DAC, the image is scaled up to 720p / 1080i resolution by a 10-bit processor. The set of ports is almost complete, digital video is fed to the HDMI version 1.0 interface. As with most devices, the high-definition signal is only available via HDMI. Audio conversion is handled by six 24bit/192kHz DACs, one for each channel.
Functions. The feature set is relatively poor. There are no adjustments for SACD (including Bass Management), which imposes serious restrictions on speaker placement. Only a receiver with an adjustable 5.1 input can correct the situation (DVD-Audio and SACD signal is transmitted exclusively in analog form). Support for formats is extensive, left behind only DivX and WMA. The sound from the CD is good, and in general the quality of the analog outputs is worthy of the highest praise. The player works great with a stereo system, it even has a built-in SRS TruSurround system, thanks to which you can achieve surround sound through two speakers. Image settings - minimum. Picture quality is generally good, but midtone reproduction is far from perfect.
Control. Remote control specialists did not philosophize - they settled on a time-tested design. No frills, everything is extremely simple and clear. The large, easy-to-use buttons for the most common functions are easy to get used to. Only playback modes can be controlled from the front panel. The display is informative, the backlight has a pleasant purple hue, but small icons can only be seen from a very close distance.
Recommendations. This Marantz model can hardly be called successful in all respects (however, are there such devices at all?). Yes, SACD, CD and DVD-Audio are reproduced very well by this unit. However, it is quite obvious that the company does not want to create universal competitors for its own specialized SACD players. Minimal settings, combined with the lack of digital ports for multi-channel sound, seem to be a serious "restriction on the rights" of this advanced device. It can be recommended to anyone who prefers not only cinema, but also exclusive audio recordings, and, moreover, owns an AV receiver that is not equipped with an HDMI interface.
