After many years with the Marantz SR5004 (which I admit I never fully utilized), the time for a change has come, mainly due to the need for more HDMI ports, along with the new features of the latest amplifiers.
After a few days of use, the main advantages are:
- extremely easy setup (unlike the Marantz, which is of course older), it automatically adjusts all the speakers to the correct levels for the listening position, furniture in the room, obstacles between speakers and ears, etc.
- relatively easy to use and switch between connected devices, mainly the HDMI ones that interested me
- there is a way to set different characteristics, modes, settings, etc. per source (different for game consoles, different for boxes, different for PCs, etc.) but not as easily and not with as much detail
- for its price, the materials are relatively good (not like the Marantz, of course) but it shows where and how Sony has reduced costs
- so far, all the flashy features seem to work, such as 360spatial, CEC, eARC, DTS-X, etc., and the cooperation with Samsung TV is almost perfect
Disadvantages:
- as I said, the materials are quite good, but not top-notch, especially in touch, the plastic is noticeable; for something like this, we would need to go to price levels like the Marantz above €1500-2000
- poor supporting material, a small manual and a quick guide that cover the basics but lack detail (the Marantz manual is almost three times larger)
- although I haven't tried to push the amplifier and the (KEF) speakers, the overall output power is clearly lower compared to the Marantz (about 1/3), so I don't expect miracles at high volumes
Overall, however, both in comparison to its price and absolutely as an amplifier for home cinema, the TN1000 has no serious drawbacks. And since it is the best/most expensive that Sony brings to Greece (and Europe), I would recommend it even to those who are much more audiophile than I am.