Marantz 8300 "Universal "Player. Reviews/Comments?

PANNED big-time by one of the British magazines...I want to say it was Hi-Fi News. It came wrapped in plastic, so I couldn't pull my usual read-it-for-free-at-Barnes and Noble thing. I bought it, for nine damn dollars or something, and then the reviewer didn't like it much at all. He said that it sounded "muddled" in multi-channel, with poor separation of channels/instruments. He was only lukewarm about the two-channel performance. I was all set to buy it, but now I'm definitely holding off. Too much will happen with other brands/players in the next six to nine months (more manufacturers getting in, the possibility of FireWire hookups in a greater number of players and receivers, etc.). I wouldn't buy...it sounds a lot like this piece will be a $1300 dinosaur in a year, if not less, when cheaper, better players dominate the market. Right now I'm at my crappy, low-paying job that doesn't give me enough money to buy good equipment, but when I get home, I'll e-mail you more specifically about the article; I'm pretty sure I have it lying around my messy, dumpy, cramped apartment somewhere. Also, I'll try not to bitch so much in the e-mail.

I wouldn't mind seeing that article either. I was seriously considering this player as well for its universal playback. If you can email to me, I'd appreciate it.- Thanks!

I've been listening to the DV-8300 for a week and am very pleasantly surprised with its performance. It probably needs
many more hours to burn in and sound its best, but so far it
compares favorably with a Toshiba SD-9200 I've used for a
year or so. The Marantz is a bit more detailed in its
presentation of DVD-Audio material than the Toshiba, but not hard or edgy in the treble at all. Regular CDs sound a bit
more laid back through the Toshiba than they do through the Marantz. The video for DVDs is much better in the Marantz than the SD-9200. Both players are feeding information through a Krell HTS 7.1 pre/pro. I am quite satisfied with
the 8300 so far.

That's interesting Thedautch. I have the Hi-Fi News article, and they liked it very much. They actually put it on their cover. I have one, and I happen to like it very much also.