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Any chance of a test between premium Blu-ray players e.g. the Marantz UD7006 and Cambridge Audio Azur 751BD which are identically priced? They pretty much have the same features as well.
Indeed– on its way to subscribers now, in the shops or as a digital download on Thursday.
Great, so that'll be the August issue then?
Indeed it will: runners and riders are Arcam BDP100, Cambridge Audio Azur 751BD, Marantz UD7006 and Oppo BDP-95EU.
Bloomin' shame that the Denon 2012UD was not in this review! 
Ian.
Agreed, a Blu-min shame: I gather a sample was requested for the test, but was not available in the timeframe available to us; rest assured we'll be testing it as soon as we can get our hands on one.
I just read the premium Bluray player test and was surprised to see the group winner going to the Marantz.
I myself compared the Marantz SA-KI Pearl Lite to the Oppo 95 a couple of weeks back and found the Oppo 95 easily outshone the Marantz,
so does the Marantz 7006 sound better than the Pearl Lite ?
Not a comparison we've done, I'm afraid...
Sound is a personal preference. If you prefer Oppo's sound to Marantz, so be it. Remember that sound depends on the rest of the equipment as well. The review never said that Oppo's sound was bad.......both have got 5 stars.
I just thought with the Oppo 95 being more similar in tone to the Audiolab 8200 which received product of the year for standalone CD player in that price range. The Marantz Pearl Lite receiving four-stars.
Having compared the Oppo 95, Audiolab 8200 and Marantz Pearl Lite at home over an extended period with B&W CM8s and Rotel RA1520,
I would definitely be in the Market for the Marantz 7006 if it clearly sounds better than the Pearl Lite.
Pity about only having one HDMI though 
I recently tried the cheaper Denon 1611 universal player, and was forced to return it because of a dealbreaking firmware issue — every time I engaged Direct Play, or turned off a device connected to it via HDMI (a very typical sequence if using a TV previously or to access the menus before going sound-only) the sound would drop out for a second or so. Altering the HDMI control settings didn't fix it.
Since most Denon/Marantz kit now shares the same underlying guts, can the test team confirm that these glitches were/weren't present in the 7006, and/or check for them in the Denon 2012 when they get that?
I recently tried the cheaper Denon 1611 universal player, and was forced to return it because of a dealbreaking firmware issue — every time I engaged Direct Play, or turned off a device connected to it via HDMI (a very typical sequence if using a TV previously or to access the menus before going sound-only) the sound would drop out for a second or so. Altering the HDMI control settings didn't fix it.
Since most Denon/Marantz kit now shares the same underlying guts, can the test team confirm that these glitches were/weren't present in the 7006, and/or check for them in the Denon 2012 when they get that?
So the sound only dropped out for a second? Why would that be an issue?
Andew, I have read the group reviews and still need help !....I want the best 2channel hires player of the group primarily for SACD and Bluray audio.....I would use the analogue output for SACD and digital out to a new Rega Dac for Bluray audio.....CD is already good via an EAR Acute player and the video would go through an IscanVP50 Pro.....so I am guessing it is still the Marantz....but would appreciate your opinion
As someone who is interested in upgrading a Sony S760 in order to leverage better audio decoding (Rotel 1068 doesn't do HD Master Audio codecs or HDMI), I read this review with great interest. But I'm confused why Marantz won. Considering the functional differences between Marantz and Cambridge Audio/Oppo against my criteria (5 very important):
Wireless connection - 5
2nd HDMI - nice to have, 3
HDCD/AVI/MKV/XviD/FLAC - nice to have, 3
USB - nice to have, 3
eSATA - nice to have - especially as the industry moves to lossless 24-bit downloads, 3
XLR outputs (Oppo only) - nice, but no plans to use, 2
They key feature, as you can tell, is the wireless connectivity. Who wants to download firmware updates to USB/CD-R or access the Internet/BD-Live/DLNA (OK DLNA is experimental on Oppo - not aware of news on 751)? This lack of functionality looses the Marantz a star - no one I know plumbs in wired Ethernet connections to their ADSL router and they shouldn't have to. I assume the WiFi is provided on external USB dongle to ensure it doesn't interfere with the sonic capability of the player - so there shouldn't be a sound quality issue in providing it. The Denon 2012 doesn't have wireless either (perhaps not surprising as D&M own both Marantz and Denon now and they are near identical on the back).
Surprising that the Oppo doesn't provide VoD as US players have Netflix and Blockbuster on Demand. Youtube is meant to be provided in the near future for both US and EU models. Denon/Marantz only has Youtube. Not aware of 751 support for Youtube.
Given the 751's "bass can sound overbearing", I am left to assume that the Marantz's sound must be out of this world in comparison to the Oppo (as Oppo is meant to have comparitive VoD functionality to Marantz shortly) which massively outweighs the wireless requirement that people like me have?
I would love to test the marantz against my Oppo through its phono outs
I suspect the oppo blows it away for 2 channel
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In this months magazine.
AV System - Panasonic 42VT30 ¦ MA Apex 5.1- 4xA10 1xA40+ AW-12 Sub ¦ Van Damme UP LCOFC Speaker Cable ¦ Pioneer SC-LX85 ¦ OPPO 95 ¦ Mark Grant G1500HD Precision audio cable ¦ Sky+ HD(1TB) ¦ Chord Active HDMI ¦ Belkin PF50 mains conditioner.
Bedroom - Sony KDL-40W2000 + Archos 7 streaming from Windows Home Server 2011, Altec Lansing inAir 5000.
Dining Room - Sonos S5.
Music - HP Proliant Server running WHS 2011 ¦ streaming FLAC to Sonos ZP90 and OPPO 95 via SC-LX85.
Hi Fi - Cyrus 8 XPd QX amp ¦ Cyrus PSX-R power supply acting as Pre Amp ¦ Quad 909 Power Amp ¦ Speakers - Spendor A3 ¦ Logitech Squeezebox Touch upgrade by Fidelity Audio ¦ power supply upgrade by Mains Cables R Us ¦ Power Plant Premier mains regenerator.
Controlled by – iPad2 and Harmony 1100.