Marantz VP-11S2 DLP Projector

By Augie Bettencourt

Introduction
Throughout the years, I’ve owned several Marantz DLP projectors including the VP-12S1, VP-12S2 and VP-12S3. Marantz has a history of building competitively priced, reference-level projectors designed from the ground-up for home theater. The new Marantz VP-11S2 is a single-chip, 1080p HD DLP projector capable of displaying 1920 x 1080 resolution images with screen sizes up to 250 inches. It features a die-cast aluminum chassis and measures 15.94 inches wide by 18.56 inches high. The Marantz VP-11S2 has a suggested retail price of $14,999 and I was anxious to see if Marantz stills builds reasonably priced home theater projectors that can compete with the very best made.

Technology & Features
In a single-chip DLP projector, light from the projector's lamp is directed through a color wheel onto the surface of the DLP chip. The mirrors move back and forth, directing light either into the lens path to turn the pixel on, or away from the lens path to turn it off. The Marantz VP-11S2 features hand-selected Konica-Minolta optics and has new color filters, the color wheel itself spins at10,800 RPM which correlates to a color frame rate of 6x, drastically reducing the possibility of image-degrading color breakup (rainbow effect or RBE). Since color wheels can produce noise, to ensure quiet operation of the fast-spinning color wheel, the VP-11S2 features a specially designed Quiet Fluid Dynamic Bearing motor, borrowed from Hard Disc Drive (HDD) technology, for virtually silent and reliable operation. The Marantz VP-11S2 is the world’s first single chip1080p HD projector to feature the Texas Instruments DC4 (DarkChip4) chipset. The DC4 chip is the very latest Texas Instruments chip with reportedly increased brightness and significantly higher contrast than the current DLP chip sets. In addition to its Texas Instruments DC4 hand-selected chipset, the VP-11S2 features HDMI 1.3 inputs with Deep Color™ capability and also includes the Gennum GF9351, a completely programmable video processor that can do as many as 500 million floating point operations per second. 

Even though Marantz DLP technology has changed and improved drastically over the years, besides a color change, the outer look and general case design has not changed since their first DLP projector. That’s not a bad thing, because every time I unbox a Marantz projector, I always admire its heavy-duty look and feel. The case of the VP-11S2 is now a dark metallic gray color, instead of the old metallic beige color. It features both standard and long-throw lens options, and thanks to the advanced True View system from Marantz, it can be retrofitted for use with Marantz’ optional anamorphic lens systems. Remember, calculating throw-distance is critical when planning room layout, because the projector’s throw-distance could limit image size if it has to be mounted in a specific spot. As mentioned earlier, the VP-11S2 features the die-cast aluminum chassis of Marantz’ acclaimed VP-12 series, coupled with the latest in hand-selected custom fully sealed 13 element all-glass optics from Konica-Minolta. The customized color filters are optimized to match the spectral characteristics of the 200 Watt DC SuperHighPressure lamp assembly. The brightness is rated at 800 ANSI lumens and contrast ratio is rated at 15,000:1. 

Marantz did a nice job with the remote control and this remote is so much better than the first generation remote. It’s backlit and has access to most of the controls you'll need with direct access to all inputs. There are more inputs than you would ever need, with two HDMI inputs, as well as the usual component, composite, s-video, RGB inputs. 

The on-screen display and amount of video settings control is very comprehensive. Besides standard settings like Brightness, Contrast, Sharpness, and Tint, there are also Picture Modes settings like Theater, Standard and Dynamic, not to mention dual lamp levels and three iris settings. Fine Menu settings allow red, green and blue bias control, as well noise reduction and chroma delay. This thing has video adjustments that go well beyond what the average user wants to control, but I applaud Marantz for implementing these advanced video setting features.

Setup
One of the truly great things about a digital projector is how easy it is to set-up. Literally, within minutes of unboxing it, I had the Marantz VP-11S2 up and running. All testing was done with the Marantz VP-11S2 connected to my Sony Playstation 3 (firmware version 2.10). The Sony Playstation 3 supports “Deep Color”, which is a specification that extends color depths beyond the capability of the human eye to perceive. The Marantz VP-11S2 features HDMI 1.3 inputs with Deep Color, but a HDMI cable capable of passing Deep Color must be used. To be certain I receive the best signal possible, I now only use HDMI cables that are 1.3b, Category 2 Certified HMDI cables. In evaluating cable qualifications, you should find out what maximum length of cable is certified. By doing this, you’re guaranteed HDMI cables that transfer HD video at speeds of up to 340 MHz (10.2Gbps), Deep Color, higher frame rates, and high-resolution audio (Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD Master Audio). Not all HDMI cables are 1.3b, Category 2 Certified, but I was able to get my hands on two. One is the only flat, 1.3b; Category 2 Certified HDMI cable I know called the Atlona Flat HDMI cable (5 meter length). The second 1.3b, Category 2 Certified cable I used was the Belden HD2003 (3 meter length), which is the very best HDMI cable that Belden makes. 

Having now owned several different screens, with many different types of screen materials, I have settled on the Dalite, 133" (116"x65") HDTV format with the High Power screen surface and Cinema Contour frame with Pro-Trim Fabric. This reference-level screen is a high-gain (2.8) screen with retro-reflective properties that reflect light towards the source. This screen is ideal for projectors mounted near the viewer, since light is reflected back towards the light source in the path it came in. In cases like mine, where the projector is table-mounted directly in front of the viewing position, light is reflected back down towards the viewer, which is ideal to achieve maximum brightness. With a viewing distance of about 260” and final lens to screen distance of 176”, my large 30’ x 20’ reference theater justifies a screen of this size. I used the Avia II DVD by Ovation Media and HQV Benchmark DVD by Silicon Optix to calibrate the projector, run some tests and make final video adjustments before sitting down to start my evaluation.

As a side note, I recently added a new Lutron Maestro Wireless RF Dimmer (MRF600MT) in place of my old wall switch and this thing is worth its weight in gold. This dimmer easily replaces your existing wall switch with a remotely controlled wireless RF dimmer. As a reviewer, I’m constantly turning the lights on and off, which requires me to walk over and flip the light switch. The Lutron Maestro Wireless RF Dimmer will remotely turns lights on, off, or to a favorite level from up-to 100 feet away. Since it uses a radio frequency, the RF signal travels through walls and floors with a typical range of 100 feet! Trust me, for only $169.30 you want one for your home theater.


The Movies
I started standard DVD movie viewing with one with one of my favorites the “Moulin Rouge” (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) DVD, which is visually dazzling. There are many visually stunning scenes to choose, but Chapter 4 is my favorite. This chapter epitomizes the film’s dizzying, psychedelic rollercoaster ride with richly colored sets and costumes that seem to pop off the screen. I’ve never seen my Moulin Rouge DVD look so good. I was treated to the most lush, saturated colors I have ever seen through a digital projector. Images were smooth and filmlike, with good detail considering I was viewing a standard DVD. Images looked almost HD in quality, without having a digital appearance, surely a testament to the high-quality processing ability of its Gennum GF9351 video processor. As I always do when reviewing a video device with this Moulin Rouge DVD, I viewed the different shades of black in the lapels of Christian’s tuxedo and was amazed at the detail in the lapel and the tuxedo itself. It was simply the best black-level detail that I have ever seen in any digital or CRT projector. This projector has the ability to produce big, bright, high-contrast images like no other I’ve seen before.

I then moved to the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Buena Vista Home Entertainment) Blu-ray disc. This Blu-ray transfer is known for its outstanding video quality and looked stunning through the Marantz VP-11S2. Colors were rich, lush and beautifully rendered with extraordinary shadow detail. These were some of the smoothest, most filmlike images I have seen and were definitely the most three-dimensional images I’ve seen in my reference theater to date.

Ratatouille (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment) is a wonderful and imaginative movie that has transferred into a great Blue-ray disc. Colors were gorgeous, with colors contrasting wonderfully with deep red and purple colors. Images seemed to leap-off the screen with stunning, finely detailed and smooth images. Vibrant colors had great pop and black levels were easily the best I have seen on any digital projector.

The Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds: Live at Radio City (Sony BMG) Blu-ray has the best video and sound quality of any concert video I’ve seen to date. Images had excellent clarity and close-ups were razor sharp. Blacks were inky black, colors vibrant and bright. The ability of this projector to projector to throw bright, stunning, detailed images is amazing.

Games
Playing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward) on a 133” screen was an incredible, fully immersive experience. This is a visually stunning game that has never looked better than with the Marantz VP-11S2. Gamers will love the immersive feeling of playing games through this projector, especially when combined with a thunderous, Dolby Digital home theater system. This game operates at 60 frames per second throughout and looked amazing with gorgeous environments and amazing graphics. Gamers will love this projector. 

Comparisons
I was fortunate enough to have a Marantz VP-15S1 on-hand for comparisons. The Marantz VP-15S1 is the model directly beneath the Marantz VP-11S2 and it retails for $8,999.00, (or $6,000 less-than the Marantz VP-11S2). The two models look identical and share many of the same features, including the same remote control, but the Marantz VP-15S1 lacks much of the improved technology of the flagship Marantz VP-11S2.
Using the same Sony Playstation 3, Atlona and Belden HDMI cables and calibration process, I made many comparisons. In general, in comparing the two projectors, I found the colors of the Marantz VP-11S2 to appear slightly more lush and saturated. Images appeared more refined, smoother and grain-free. The contrast and black levels of the Marantz VP-11S2 are better and simply the best I have seen in any digital projector. Overall, I found the images of Marantz VP-11S2 to be superior to those of the Marantz VP-15S1 in almost every way, except for brightness. Even though the Marantz VP-15S1 has a higher brightness rating, the Marantz VP-112 seemed slightly brighter. Since both projectors are bright enough for most reasonable screen sizes, I didn’t find this to be a disadvantage for the Marantz VP-11S2. Both projectors are exceptional values in their respective price ranges. If you want the best single chip DLP projector on the market, buy the Marantz VP-11S2, but the Marantz VP-15S1 will give you 90% of the performance for less money.

Conclusion
Marantz continues to improve on a stellar reputation of building competitively priced, reference-quality DLP projectors. With cutting edge technology like a color wheel that spins at10,800 RPM (correlating to a color frame rate of 6x), Texas Instruments DC4 (DarkChip4) chipset, HDMI 1.3 inputs with Deep Color™ capability and Gennum GF9351 video processing and hand-selected Konica-Minolta optics, the Marantz VP-11S2 incorporates state-of-the-art technology into its flagship model. The most finicky videophile will be impressed by the bright, lush, high-contrast images this projector is cable of producing. Whether watching a DVD, Blu-ray movie or HD game, you will be treated to the most stunning images available in a home theater in a user-friendly package. The Marantz VP-11S2 is easily the best looking projector I have seen in my home theater and the best looking, digital projector I have seen under $15,000.

 For more information, please visit the Marantz website: