We fully understand that
Marantz buyers are going to pay a premium for that Marantz logo, but this just screams absurd. Joining the company's $2,000
BD8002 is the "budget-minded" BD7003, a Profile 1.1 Blu-ray player with an equally stupefying $799 price tag. Oh sure, it's got HDMI 1.3a, 1080p upscaling for standard DVDs and support for Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, but we're still unclear on what makes this thing worth nearly eight bills. If you've got it all figured out, however, you can dive right in this November.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
dj496 @ Sep 24th 2008 5:48PM
I don't care about the price with this one, it's still exciting to see a blu-ray player from good old Marantz.
phanbouy @ Sep 24th 2008 5:50PM
hells yeah. all them internal wiring is done by Monster Cables
fanboyism FTW!!!!!!!!!!one!
shawnmos @ Sep 24th 2008 6:21PM
This type of shit is gonna kill blu-ray. Who would buy this? How is this better than a Sony or Panasonic standalone? Oh wait, it isn't.
tinkertank @ Sep 24th 2008 7:17PM
Audiophiles and Videophiles will always pay way more for no gain. They love to waste their money on snake oil.
comptr @ Sep 24th 2008 8:11PM
But this player is built for different products. One player does not fit everyone. They are filling in the gaps.
phanbouy @ Sep 24th 2008 8:13PM
"But this player is built for different products."
My sentences are built for Nonsensicality.
comptr @ Sep 25th 2008 1:12AM
woops I meant different markets that being said wouldn't someone in this price range look at the pioneer Elite 05FD blueray player.
Gus @ Sep 24th 2008 7:44PM
$799, at this stage of BR's life, what a joke!
phanbouy @ Sep 24th 2008 8:14PM
i agree with you, The Departed HD-DVD
zargon @ Sep 24th 2008 9:50PM
Maybe, maybe not. In 2001 I paid $800 for a Pioneer Elite DVD player, I was looking for a high end player. People were still buying $800+ DVD players (Denon's flagship player was around $2,000) until recently.
There is a market for this kind of stuff, marantz is one of these manufactures that produce high-end audio/video equipment.
Alex @ Sep 24th 2008 8:20PM
wow it has features even cheap Blu Ray players have!!!
Philip S @ Sep 24th 2008 10:26PM
Maybe it costs extra to make it so ugly.
Prey521 @ Sep 24th 2008 10:56PM
AHAHAHAHAHA!
JBDragon @ Sep 24th 2008 10:54PM
What a joke. Is there really a large enough market out there for Stupid people throwing money away at this overpriced garbage? Oh and it is ugly as hell, and their $2000 player is also only profile 1.1. How dumb can you be buying this junk? Even if I was a Multi-billionaire, I wouldn't pay half the price for either of them. Their name doesn't impress me.
Tauron @ Sep 24th 2008 11:16PM
That thing's not ugly....it's f'ugly (f****in' ugly)
Jeff N. @ Sep 25th 2008 2:29AM
Does this Blu-ray Player have an above average sound quality Red Book CD playback?
That could be the reason it costs more ? Just guessing.
Joseph @ Sep 25th 2008 2:57AM
If the Marantz name does not impress you that's because you have not used the equipment. Most people do not realize that Marantz is one of the big brothers of Denon. I like Marantz because most of the equipment includes RS-232 and IR inputs for control systems.
The system face plate matches the entire line, I am not a huge fan either but it does look much nicer in person. This model is about a year overdue, but a welcome addition to the line. $2000 for a Blu-ray was too much to swallow.
dj496 @ Sep 25th 2008 6:49AM
Guys, you must understand that Marantz is never one of the driving companies with regards to new formats. They're one of the onlookers (like Onkyo) who assess the situation, then when they're ready, add their internal monster cables/snake oil to it.
I do agree about this one's ugliness though.
Woody @ Sep 25th 2008 11:22AM
Toys for stupid douchebags, simple as that. It's for people who don't have skills or intelligence so they buy stuff like this to make them feel better.
John Nemesh @ Sep 25th 2008 11:51AM
Why $799.99? How about QUALITY? Just because it is Profile 1.1 does NOT mean a player is bad. News flash guys, most high end manufacturers don't care at all about chat during a movie, or playing a lame java game. They are concerned with picture and sound quality and reliability! Just so you know, Marantz has a 2 year warranty on ALL of their players, where most manufacturer's are giving you 90 days to 1 year.
You should also consider just WHAT $800 means in todays economy. This is NOT expensive for a quality piece of gear that you will own for 5+ years. If you are looking for a decent player at a cheap price, get the Samsungs that are on sale for $200 at Radio Shack. Just do not expect the same reliability and performance that $800 will buy you!
If you are serious about home theater, do yourself a favor and get a demo of this product (or better yet, find a dealer that will loan you one overnight!) and compare it to other players.
Hopefully, if you are in the market for Blu-Ray, you will educate yourself on the different players and find one that meets your needs instead of just buying the cheapest available.
tom @ Sep 27th 2008 5:14AM
I own Marantz stuff; it's built to last 10 to 15 years. Sure blu-ray may be dead in 5 years, but dvd has lived far longer than that, maybe bd will, too. I haven't checked, but if this player has analog outs, you can bet its DACs (that are responsible for the sound) are much better than those of your $200 bd player or even $400 amp (if you bothered spending so much for it, which you probably didn't. who cares about sound quality, anyway?).