Marantz UD7007
It may be pricey, but in the right system it delivers in spades
Write your own reviewFor
- Bold yet detailed pictures
- impressive sound
- decent streaming ability
- chunky build
Against
- Remote handset not backlit
- a little sluggish to respond to commands
One thousand pounds seems like an awful lot for a Blu-ray player when hugely capable machines such as Sony’s BDP-S790 can be had for just a quarter of that.
However, given an appropriate system – say, a Pioneer SC-LX86 and KEF’s R100 5.1 speakers – this Marantz UD7007 player makes a lot of sense.
Marantz UD7007: Picture quality
With Blu-rays, the Marantz’s picture is gloriously rich and vivid without overdoing things. With X-Men: First Class it delivers convincing skin tones and digs up a mass of fine detail, even in dark scenes such as where Magneto pursues the submarine.
The Marantz UD7007 keeps a firm hold of motion too, showing more stability than both its predecessor, the Marantz UD7006, and the best of the budget opposition. Its performance with 3D is equally surefooted, as a spin of the very entertaining Avengers Assemble shows.
Start watching DVDs (Star Trek is a good a test as any) and the Marantz displays impressive scaling and surprisingly little picture noise. Colours and contrasts are as convincing as we’ve seen from the format.
Marantz UD7007: Sound quality
Move on to sound quality and the UD7007 continues to impress. It has a powerful and bold presentation that makes most alternatives sound insubstantial. There’s also lots of sonic detail and a huge sense of scale.
This is a universal machine, and listening to SACD and DVD-A discs makes us just a little sad that these superior formats never really took off.
Many feel the physical disc is old news, and this Marantz can stream our 24Bit/ 192kHz music files with ease. It has wide file compatibility, although the interface and responsiveness of the player is a little tardy.
Marantz UD7007: Verdict
This is a solidly made machine that performs to a very high standard. If you have the right system, it’s a terrific buy.
See all our Blu-ray player Best Buys
