At last, Marantz have released a cost competitive range of surround sound receivers. The SR-6200 is the pick of the bunch giving a hefty 110 Watts per channel into 6 channels (includes centre rear). They appear to be real watts although in one of their brochures they quote 160 watts per channel (the copywriter for Onkyo must have a new gig). They are available in Black or Gold and weigh in at a solid 15 kg's.

    As always Marantz performs flawlessly in the two channel mode, musically this receiver is sweet and never seems to run out of breath. Although the spec. sheet states the frequency response as being from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz I suspect they mean a -3dB point of at least 50 kHz since I can't believe Marantz would not have DVD-A or Super CD Compatibility. (A moot point by my reckoning anyhow).

    Things are pretty good in the surround sound stakes as well. In Dolby Digital and DTS the sonics are as good as I've heard from any sub $2000 unit. Certainly, it is the first high power, high quality receiver to offer 6.1 amplification in this price range. The only (perceived) negatives would be the lack of DSP surround modes (only 5 compared to the Yamaha RXV-800's 41) and the fact that it only has four Digital Inputs which I consider inadequate when looking to future expansion. Onkyo are guilty of this on their 595 and 696 receivers although at least Marantz have front A/V inputs - Onkyo have none! The lack of component video switching may or may not be significant in the future and the absence of "B" speaker switching can be overcome with a $30 switchbox.

    As with the rest of the new range the SR-6200 has Dolby Pro-Logic II, regular visitors to these pages know what I think of that load of tripe! (Unless you happen to own lots of old Laserdiscs or HiFi Videotapes). There is on-screen display to assist setup and a learning remote.

    To sum up, Marantz have now entered the mainstream along with Yamaha, Onkyo and Denon with a high powered, good sounding receiver. It has a "warmer" sound than the Yamaha and Denon, very much in the Onkyo school of layback musicality, it is the sound the Pom's love (just wait for the rave reviews from What HiFi or Which HiFi or Whatever HiFi - all the Pommie magazines are generic anyhow). It lacks a few frills compared to Yamaha but this should not detract from a potential purchase for the non techno. buyer. With a genuine 110 watts out of six channels it leads the Watts for dollar stakes and are available from us at $1599 (RRP $1799).