The Logical Choice
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday March 18, 2002
Dolby circuits come in many flavours. Dolby B, C and S noise-reduction systems take the hiss out of cassette and videotapes. Dolby HX headroom-expansion systems increase the treble in cassette recordings while Dolby Digital 5.1 multi-channel is what you hear at the movies or when you play DVDs on a home-theatre system. Ray Dolby established Dolby Laboratories in the 1960s with the original Dolby A professional compander and his latest achievement is Dolby ProLogic II, a circuit that converts the two-channel soundtracks on old VHS tapes into five channels.
It can also improve the sound from DVD.
All modern movies have at least six channels of sound, but movies made before 1990 had only three: two at the front and one at the rear. This 2/1 format was the original Dolby Surround system. Three-channel sound seems old hat now, but at the time it was an improvement on what had gone before. Most movies made in the 1970s and earlier had two-channel soundtracks only. Using a Dolby ProLogic II processor, stereo soundtracks can be converted into three-channel surround and three-channel Dolby Surround soundtracks upgraded to 5.1-channel sound that's very close to the quality of Dolby Digital.
Marantz's SR4200 is one of the first budget-priced audio/video receivers to include a Dolby ProLogic II decoding circuit. The decoder has three operating modes. A standard ProLogic mode ensures backward compatibility with ProLogic soundtracks, a "Movie" mode generates 5.1-channel sound from Dolby Surround soundtracks and a "Music" mode does the same for ordinary stereo signals from CD, FM radio etc. The receiver also has Dolby Digital and DTS decoders.
Power output is rated at 70 watts continuous per channel, but independent testing revealed this figure to be conservative. Unlike many budget receivers, which mostly contain cheap IC output stages, Marantz uses discrete power transistors mounted on extruded aluminium heatsinks. This ensures high output power into low-impedance speakers and does away with the need for a cooling fan, so there's no intrusive noise. The receiver is well-equipped, but it does not have an external five-channel analog input, which limits its compatibility with the new SACD and DVD-A super-fidelity audio formats to just two channels. It also lacks a turntable input.
The remote control can be programmed to control most brands of TVs, VCRs and DVD players using four-digit codes, but whether you'd bother is another matter, because it doesn't have fluorescent keys and is therefore difficult to use in near darkness. An after-market remote with illuminated keys might be a better option.
In listening sessions the SR4200 performed faultlessly, returning excellent sound quality in all modes. The results with ProLogic II were remarkably realistic, particularly in "Movie" mode. An examination of the Guide's DVD collection revealed that most had two- and three-channel soundtracks, so the ProLogic II circuitry quickly proved its worth.
Recipient of a "best buy" award from UK magazine What HI-FI, this unit represents equally good value on the Australian market.
INFOFILE
Marantz SR4200 AV Surround Receiver
Price: $990
Qualifi Pty Ltd
24 Lionel Road, Mt Waverley, Victoria 3149
1800 24 24 26
info@qualifi.com.au
www.qualifi.com.au
© 2002 Sydney Morning Herald
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