Marantz - CINEMA60 S2 100W 7.2 Channel A/V Home Theater Receiver - Black

SETUP / INSTALLATION The setup was surprisingly simple with the guided step-by-step onscreen setup guide. I also used the app, which gave a detailed connection guide and made the process easy to follow. I connected it using eARC so I could control the volume and TV power through the same TV remote. It is much easier because I do not have to keep switching between remotes just to turn things on or adjust the volume. The setup asks how many speakers you have and actually shows you a diagram of what speakers go where. I have a 5.1 speaker system, and it pretty much guided me through the speaker placement. The included microphone was easy to use, and the Audyssey feature allowed multiple viewing positions to be customized and adjusted for sound. For someone who has set up receivers before, this was pretty simple. For someone new to receivers, there are still a lot of wires and settings, but the guide does a nice job walking you through it. BUILD / FEEL The receiver has a very premium look and feel. The front face is clean, simple, and modern, and it complements the TV stand and television instead of standing out in a bad way. I genuinely love the circular display window. It gives the receiver a high-end look without being too flashy. The finish has a matte-like appearance that looks expensive and clean. The weight is solid enough to feel like a quality product, but it is not so heavy that moving it becomes a hassle. The receiver is also the right size. It does not feel too bulky or cumbersome, and it fits nicely into the entertainment setup. Overall, it looks and feels like a premium receiver. MOVIE / TV SOUND I already had a nice receiver before this one, so I was not sure what kind of difference to expect. Once I calibrated the Marantz through Audyssey, the sound was noticeably better. The audio sounds crisp, clean, and powerful. Even regular TV shows sound better. The bass is more robust, dialogue is clear, and the overall sound feels fuller. Action movies are where this receiver really shines. It does a great job separating the different sound effects in a movie. A knock on the door can genuinely make you think someone is at your actual front door. Explosions, background noise, music, and dialogue all feel better placed instead of everything blending together. The surround sound is very immersive, and it gives the room more of a theater feel. It is sharp without sounding harsh and powerful without feeling messy. MUSIC / STREAMING My last receiver did not have internet radio, so HEOS was a nice addition. I played around with the different radio stations, and the convenience of getting music without ad breaks, annoying DJs, and random interruptions is a nice bonus. Choosing internet radio is easy. You can click through the channels and find dedicated stations by music genre. It makes the receiver useful even when you are not watching movies or gaming. Music sounds full and balanced through my speakers. Bass comes through strong without sounding muddy, and vocals sound clear. I still think movies and surround sound are the biggest strengths of this receiver, but the music features are a nice bonus. GAMING / HDMI PERFORMANCE I have an Xbox Series X and PS5, and both look and sound amazing going through the receiver. I did not notice any lag, and the audio stayed synced with the picture. Gaming feels much more immersive with full surround sound. The customized sound makes games feel bigger, especially when you hear background effects, explosions, or directional sounds around the room. For someone gaming on a large 98inch TV with surround sound, this receiver helps make the whole setup feel more complete. It is not just about the picture. The sound adds a lot to the experience. APP / SMART FEATURES The Wi-Fi setup was very simple, and I have not had buffering issues when listening to internet radio or music apps. The receiver also updated its software in under five minutes, so the connection was fast enough and reliable. Navigating through the settings is also pretty simple. The menus are intuitive, and I did not have trouble finding or adjusting settings. The remote is a little overwhelming with all the buttons. The HEOS features, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and app controls are useful without making the receiver feel too complicated. That matters because receivers can get frustrating fast when basic settings are hard to find. So far, this one has been easy to manage. HONEST NEGATIVE The only real negative I can think of is that I wish it came with a better universal remote option to control the other devices I own. Between the TV, game systems, streaming devices, and receiver, it would be nice to cut down on all the remotes. At this price point I would have liked a better remote control that wasn’t overwhelming with all the buttons. Other than that, I really have not found any major negatives at this point. The receiver is the right size and weight, it is not bulky, setup was straightforward, and the sound has been excellent. OVERALL Overall, the Marantz CINEMA 60 S2 is an amazing workhorse receiver with a lot of high-end qualities. It has plenty of connections, enough watts to power my 5.1 speaker system, and most importantly, amazing sound. The audio is crisp, immersive, and powerful. Movies feel more theater-like, gaming feels more engaging, and music streaming is easy and convenient. The receiver also looks premium. The clean front design, circular display, and matte-like finish make it feel like a quality piece of home theater equipment instead of just another black box on the shelf. I would recommend this receiver to someone who wants a premium all-around home theater receiver for movies, TV, gaming, and music. It is especially good for someone who wants strong sound, simple setup, modern streaming features, and a clean design that complements the room. Overall, this receiver delivers exactly what I wanted: crisp immersive sound, plenty of useful features, and a premium look that fits perfectly into a home theater setup.

The Marantz CINEMA 60 Series 2 is one of the company’s newest AV Receivers for 2026 supporting surround sound systems up to 7.2 or 5.2.2 speaker configurations. Setting it up was easy. I only needed to connect my speakers, my HDMI inputs (an Xbox and Apple TV) and run the initial setup and room calibration using Audyssey software. The initial setup was a lot better than my old receiver, with a modern GUI which was fast and responsive. It walks you through everything from connecting your speakers, inputs and outputs to testing each speaker and finally performing the room correction using the included Audyssey microphone. What impressed me most was that it could connect to my home Wifi simply by downloading the HEOS app to my phone, saving me from having to type in the Wifi password. Marantz does a good job of making a fairly complicated piece of equipment approachable. The back of an AV receiver can look daunting to most folks, but almost every screen in the setup interface has easy-to-understand pictures showing you how to connect the right cables to the right ports. While there are a lot of settings available, the guided setup process means even those less familiar with home theater setup can achieve a great sounding system. I am very pleased with the CINEMA 60 Series 2 in my 5.1.2 setup. One of the first things that impressed me was how accurately Audyssey measured the distance between my speakers and the primary listening position. I have run Audyssey multiple times on my previous receivers, so I’m very familiar with it and it has never been this accurate. This time, the measurements seemed to be spot on. I’m not sure if this was due to improvements in the software, hardware, or both. Audyssey also did an accurate job of determining the appropriate crossovers for my speakers. After calibration, I did not have to make many changes. I bumped up the center channel a few decibels to give dialogue a little more presence and I raised the subwoofer level slightly to better suit my taste for harder hits during action sequences. One feature I absolutely love is having three HDMI inputs that support 8K and 4K/120hz. My old receiver only has one, which forced me to use a three-to-one 8K HDMI switcher that never quite worked right. With the CINEMA 60 Series 2, I can connect both my Xbox and PS5 directly to the receiver and enjoy 4K/120hz on my projector. HDMI-CEC works as expected. Turning on either my Xbox or Apple TV automatically turns on my projector and the receiver switches to the correct input. Turning the system off works just as expected as well. In everyday use, this means I barely need the Marantz remote. Dolby Atmos worked great with my single pair of height speakers. Channel separation was as good as I could ask for, with effects moving naturally between the front, surround, and height channels. I think some of that is a testament to how well the room correction worked. It also supports Dirac Live room correction, although it requires an additional license purchase and a compatible microphone, which I don’t have. I am also not sure how much improvement Dirac Live would provide in my particular setup as my system is installed in a dedicated media room with properly placed speakers. However, the biggest disadvantage is that it only supports seven channels of processing. Meaning if I want to upgrade to two pairs of height speakers, I’m out of luck. Unfortunately, adding an external amplifier is not a solution, as the CINEMA 60 can only process seven channels total. The major difference between this model and the next model up, the CINEMA 50 Series 2, is that it has nine amplified channels and can process up to 11.4 channels, but at a higher cost. It also doesn’t support the IMAX Enhanced format, while the more expensive model does. While Dolby Atmos and DTS are supported, IMAX Enhanced is something widely used on Disney+ content. Pros: - Excellent for movies and music - Easy setup with clean user interface. - 100W per channel up to 7.2 or 5.2.2 speaker configurations - Three 8K/60Hz or 4K/120Hz inputs - Support for variable refresh rate and AMD FreeSync - Built-in Airplay 2, Spotify, Tidal, and HEOS - Dolby Atmos and DTS:X decoding - Audyssey MultEQ XT room correction Cons: - Only seven processing channels limiting expansion - No IMAX Enhanced - Dirac Live requires an additional paid license Overall – This is a premium AV receiver from Marantz that I’d recommend to anyone except those who have or will eventually upgrade to a system requiring more than seven processed speaker channels, such as 5.1.4 or 7.2.4, as it simply cannot support it.