I confess that I have never really been excited by Marantz?s AV receivers. They were never ahead of the features game and always aired too much on the side of sonic caution for my liking. Safe, reliable, solid and about as exciting as endurance snail racing. When the £1,400 SR7005 arrived I brewed a really fresh cup of Horlicks, put my slippers on and settled down for an evening of light entertainment.

As I opened the box I should have known something was different the moment the SR7005?s curvy sided fascia appeared like Angelina Jolie emerging from the lake in Beowulf. Based on the successful aesthetics of Marantz?s high end hi-fi equipment this multichannel receiver is utterly gorgeous.

And then there is the features list. Based on the latest generation 32-bit SHARC processor from Analog Devices, the SR7005 handles all the regular HD audio formats as well as Audyssey MultEQ XT room EQ, Audyssey DSX height/width processing and Dolby ProLogic IIz height channels. It remains a seven channel amp, meaning running height or width channels will require binning rear-back speakers, but at a claimed 125 Watts per channel who is complaining?

Very much a network ready receiver the SR7005 offers dedicated iPod/Phone input, IP addressable and web-access interface and Marantz?s bespoke M-Xport interface to hook up to its optional RX1010 Bluetooth module. The Networking side is hardwire Ethernet with vTuner net radio and direct access to your Napster and Last.FM accounts. The 6-in 2-out HDMI connections are all 3D compatible V1.4a spec and there is a hot Anchor Bay upscaler to work some HD magic into your DVD collection and off-air SD video material.

Under the hood, much attention has been lavished on separate power supplies for each key audio section and extensive internal shielding to avoid electrical interference. There's also a Pure Direct mode that closes down all superfluous circuits and features, such as the display.

Sound
Horlicks is a bitch to wipe off of the ceiling. Having run the SR7005?s Audyssey auto set-up and EQ system, accessed from its slick and easy GUI, I settled down with Serenity on Blu-Ray. Skipping to the chapter where the ship emerges from the ion cloud and into a huge space battle between the alliance and the reavers was something of a shock. No longer the restrained Marantz performance of old, oh no. This beast reaches deep into electronic soul and pulls out wave after wave of thunderous action set against a huge soundstage and bass effects that threatened the very fabric of the building.

The opening onslaught of missiles exploded with epic scale, getting my room?s glass light fitting vibrating like a demented alarm clock. The Marantz?s feed to the sub is prodigious as it is tight. As the light fitting threatened to remove itself from the ceiling I had to trim my Velodyne DD18 sub back manually, which didn?t stop the SR7005 banging out big low frequency effects with the impact and tautness of an amp of three or four times its price!

The SR7005 is the best Marantz AV receiver to date. It is passionate, detailed, and powerful, and really digs deep into the recording to extract every last bit of information on the disc. This is no one-genre wonder but a genuine all rounder as happy with The Hurt Locker as it is Toy Story. With any movie you won?t find yourself listening to the amp or even your speakers. Instead you will find yourself deep within the movie being immersed in the full cinematic effect as the director intended ? and that is the best home cinema you can get!

Full review in HCC issue 187, on sale 23 September.