Shane Buettner

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Look Ma No Ethernet!
Shane Buettner  |  Sep 07, 2007

The back panel of the two Denon BD players.

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Mac Is Back!
Shane Buettner  |  Sep 15, 2006

Not that McIntosh ever really went anywhere, but it was still pretty cool to see the retro glass front panels and cool blue and green fluorescents lighting up an entire 7.1-channel home theater system.

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Mad Love For NAD
Shane Buettner  |  Jan 14, 2007

Although our review hasn't been published yet, Tom Norton loved NAD's Masters Series power amp so much we decided to give it our version of a Browny Button!

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Marantz And The Dark Chip 4
Shane Buettner  |  Sep 07, 2007

Not only did we see a very impressive working demo of the $10K Marantz VP-15S1 with an anamorphic lens, Marantz announced and will be demoing the VP-11S2 later in the show. The 11S2 will be among the first front proejctors shipping with TI's Dark Chip 4 technology. According to TI the chip backing has been darkened down, killing stray light for a brighter image and darker blacks.

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Marantz Keeps 'em Separated
Shane Buettner  |  Jan 10, 2008
Marantz has been the industry's #4 hitter in delivering high-end, single-box AVRs that sound great for some time. In Q2 of 2008 Marantz gets outside that single-box with the AV8003 preamp/processor (pictured above) and MM8003 multichannel amplifier.
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Marantz Riding the Blu Train In '08
Shane Buettner  |  Jan 10, 2008
Marantz is joining the Blu crew in 2008 as well, with a high-end Blu-ray Disc player, the BD8002. And actually, high-end doesn't even cut it. Marantz is calling this player "ultimate quality" with built-in Silicon Optix processing for superb DVD upconversion, and the press materials indicate internal decoding of both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio.
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AV Receiver Reviews
Marantz SR8001 Receiver: On the Bench
Shane Buettner  |  Apr 07, 2007
  • $1,999
  • 125-Watts x 7 into 8 ohms
  • Processing Modes: DD, DD-EX, ProLogicIIx, DTS, DTS-ES/Discrete/Matrix/Neo: 6, DTS 24/96, SRS Circle Surround II, HDCD decoding
Features We Like: THX Select2-Certified, Four HDMI 1.2 inputs and two outputs with video upconversion and cross-conversion, four component inputs, Audyssey auto calibration and room EQ, three coaxial and four toslink optical digital audio inputs, one 7.1-channel analog audio input, XM Ready, 7.1-channel preamp outs, AV sync delay, multi-source/multi-zone
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AV Receiver Reviews
Marantz SR96000 Receiver
Shane Buettner  |  Jan 18, 2007  |  Published: Jan 19, 2007
  • $1,999
  • 125-Watts x 7 into 8 ohms
  • Processing Modes: DD, DD-EX, ProLogicIIx, DTS, DTS-ES/Discrete/Matrix/Neo: 6, DTS 24/96, SRS Circle Surround II, HDCD decoding
Features We Like: THX Select2-Certified, Four HDMI 1.2 inputs and two outputs with video upconversion and cross-conversion, four component inputs, Audyssey auto calibration and room EQ, three coaxial and four toslink optical digital audio inputs, one 7.1-channel analog audio input, XM Ready, 7.1-channel preamp outs, AV sync delay, multi-source/multi-zone
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Projector Reviews
Marantz VP-11S1 Front Projector: Coming Attraction
Shane Buettner  |  Sep 12, 2006  |  Published: Sep 13, 2006
  • $19,995 (22,995 with optional long throw lens)
  • 1920x1080 single-chip DarkChip3 DLP
  • Key Connections: Dual HDMI and component inputs, one RGB/PC on 15-pin DSUB
Features We Like: 1080p!, full10-bit broadcast-grade processing by Gennum VXP, accepts 1080p signals, high-end lens assembly from Konica/Minolta, vertical lens shift
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Marantz VP-11S1 Moves to HDMI 1.3
Shane Buettner  |  May 11, 2007

Yes, as a matter of fact all the news coming in for the next few days will be ground into show Blog fodder, including this. Marantz isn't among the exhibitors here at HE 2007 and I don't know if anyone will be using the <A HREF="http://ultimateavmag.com/videoprojectors/506marantzvp11s1/">VP-11S1</A> for demonstration. Nevertheless, the projector is getting a running change in production to HDMI 1.3, but the retail price will remain fixed at $20K. Deep Color and 12-bit color depth are being touted, but don't get too excited about that yet. Consumer HD sources aren't using either currently. Marantz will be offering upgrades to existing VP-11S1 owners (like me), but pricing for that isn't established yet. While I won't be jumping in for the Deep Color, my experience switching among the different species of HDMI suggests that as everything else moves to 1.3-spec that switching issues might be minimized being 1.3 all the way around. Stay tuned on that one- if Marantz talks me into upgrading my 11S1 I'll let you know what that gets me!

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