Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

First, I do not own a Marantz SR8015 but I've owned Marantz AV receivers for 20 years including the previous versions of the 8012 and 8015, namely the 8001 and 8002 which have identical toroidal power supplies at 780 watts. I'm an avid Marantz enthusiast and yet I feel a need to forewarn anyone here who may end up with a $3,199 brick after the warranty expires. As you know from Marantz reviews, their products sound great but they also are prone to failure. I personally know the address of the main regional service center by heart and it's not by choice. I have a whole page of tickets on Marantz's website and that doesn't include phone calls. If you only plan to use this 3-5 years, then by all means don't even bother reading this. My experience with AV receivers is that most folks want to get as much use out of them as possible as they are a pain to set up and calibrate besides being expensive. First of all, as several reviewers have said about this unit, it does overheat as it's very densely packed. One reviewer recommended that you use the ECO setting. Another reviewer jested that it should come with a recipe for Egg Florentine. I would recommend you buy a much cheaper receiver if you have to use Eco especially if cannot be set via the Remote directly and requires you to enter a menu. These are very serious concerns when it comes to the longevity of the product in view of the fact that once the warranty expires, you are at the mercy of 2 other companies and Marantz has made it very clear they won't stand behind their products. My unit is old- I purchased it over 9 years ago from Amazon. I called United Radio and they wouldn't even take it in for support as they won't repair units at all after 7-10 years. My $2,000 receiver is unfortunately now a brick. What's more worrisome is that this can happen anytime after the warranty expires. If you don't believe me, here are some comments copied from my ticket in a communication with Marantz customer support: [Marantz Customer Support] Marantz does not own any service centers. All of them are independent contractors... [Marantz] does not have our own parts inventory. We have a separate company that handles that for us. It is a company called Encompass and if they do not have the parts needed for the repair then the unit is deemed not repairable. In truth, nothing is unrepairable. It is just that because parts that are not available would have to be made, the cost of the repair would be more prohibitive than the cost to buy a new unit. So it is not worth repairing. If United Radio told you the unit can not be repaired what they meant was that replacement parts are not available and it would cost you more to repair it than it is worth. Marantz does not have an obligation to any of its units outside of their warranty period. We still provide phone and email support as a courtesy. And it is not so much that they will not accept the unit, they just know for old units there are not likely to be parts available and they do not want you to waste your time shipping it to them if that is the case. [End of Email from Marantz] A couple of things to note here. First, Marantz doesn’t make the parts - another company makes them. There’s no contractual obligation from the parts manufacturer and Marantz to offer parts for any period of time to support their products even their reference series. Second, Marantz makes it completely obvious that the Authorized Service Centers that they direct you to are completely unaffiliated with Marantz and have no obligation to even accept certain units for repair. This is exactly what happened to me – their regional service center wouldn't even accept the unit for repair. They say that nothing is irreparable – well, obviously all my receivers are. Third, Marantz clearly states that it does not have an obligation to any of its units outside of their warranty period. Unlike car or watch manufacturers who will gladly repair your unit for a fee , Marantz’s interpretation is that they have no obligation to even offer a means or a service center to repair the unit. You’re on your own – it’s Saab time and the factory is shut down. This is very disconcerting for what are considered by many audiophile grade receivers – it would be fine if we’re talking about a $500 receiver but not okay for $3,000+ receivers. Like many of you, I was planning to upgrade to the 8015 but I can't buy it if it will not be repairable 5 years after I buy it and I definitely don’t want to squabble about the existence of parts with Marantz if something happens. If there are no parts, this receiver will be completely unusable and I'll end up with 3 of the most expensive bricks I've owned. I'm sharing my story with you to make sure that this doesn't happen to you. I know that a few of you will think that I got plenty of life out of my receiver and I did and I love the sound of the receiver but the option to repair it should rest with me, not Marantz. I was lucky I had a spare 8001 and could use that but not everyone here will be in that situation where they have a 8012 lying around and certainly spending another $3,000 to replace the same model is not something I would like any of you to have to do. And let me tell you, my back has paid the huge price dealing with the broken receiver. One service center accepted it, charged me but didn’t fix the receiver. You don’t want to hear Marantz’s response.