Hi:

I have an opportunity to do a full-value tradeup on my 9 month old SR8500 to an SR8001. Besides the obvious improvements in connectivity (i.e., the SR8001 has HDMI), is there anything else anyone has noticed as an improvement? It seems there are a few more separate power circuits.

How does the sound compare?

i believe the 8001 has smaller exterior dimensions so it will be easier to fit into your bookcase / shelf. Other than that, I recall reading from a website that the 8001's guts are totally redesigned. Check the european marantz website and use the "compare" feature to do a side by side comparison between the 8500 and 8001. (the usa marantz site doesn't have that option)

i have the 5001 which is the predicessor to the 5600 and i'm happy with it. however, i'm extremely mad with marantz's customer service. I called them 3x, emailed them and haven't gotten a response after 4 weeks. their customer service sucks.

Hello Moe,

Re: Marantz 8001
You may recall my posts last fall for the Hitachi 55HDX99 Director's Series. Well I finally ended up with a 60" Pioneer Elite Pro-1540HD (heckuva deal!), and now I'm shopping for a new AV receiver to go with it. The Marantz SR8001 is definitely on my short list. Have you had a chance to audition this new unit? The other contender is the Pioneer Elite VSX84-TSXi but I'm kind of leaning toward the Marantz due in part to its excellent showing in this month's The Perfect Vision (review is on PDF on Marantz Canada website). Your thoughts?