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New member Username: Littlej72MD Post Number: 4 Registered: Mar-05 | I am in the market for an AV reciever to begin building a "budget" system for my living room. I want good customer support and quality, I have looked at HK, oknko, dennon and yamaha seriously sony seems a little outclassed. My basic needs are a 5.1 surround unit, I would like hdmi connectivity as it will be hooked up to a newer oppo dvd player, and a captain kirk style 720p Samsung 50" pedestal set(a couple years old now). I really like the outlaw's but there lowest is $899 so I have to start somewhere, it's replaceing a low end sony all in one setup from probably 2001, speakers will be next. Thanks, if you need more info let me know... and consider street pricing not retail please. thanks!! |
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Gold Member Username: ExerciseguyBrooklyn, NY United States Post Number: 1403 Registered: Oct-04 | Marantz SR5001 (Factory Refurb) $399, or New $499 http://www.accessories4less.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?&category=AVReceiver&query= &orderby=INVENTORY%2Estore%5Fprice%20ASC%2CINVENTORY%2Ebrand&start=15 |
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New member Username: Littlej72MD Post Number: 5 Registered: Mar-05 | WOW, great unit, I friggin love marantz stuff too! |
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Gold Member Username: ExerciseguyBrooklyn, NY United States Post Number: 1405 Registered: Oct-04 | Glad to be of service. I've purchased several components from ac4l.com and they're a pleasure to do business with. |
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Bronze Member Username: BaldeaglePost Number: 30 Registered: Oct-07 | Chris, I saw this site... yes, this is an incredible resource. But they don't seem to have the latest models. For instance, for future proofing, I want to get Dolby TrueHD, dtsHD among other things. Now this is available in the SR7002. But ac4less does not carry the 7002. They carry the 7001. The models that Marantz does not even list on their website (5001, 7001, 8001) is what ac4less specifies as "NEW". In your experience, when do you think they bring the current models on their shelves? Also, I don't believe this is refurbished (seconds) stuff, right? How are they able to give such huge discounts then? Regards BE |
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Gold Member Username: ExerciseguyBrooklyn, NY United States Post Number: 1406 Registered: Oct-04 | What AC4L specifies as "NEW" is new, the refurb stuff is specified "Factory Certified by Marantz". I had not realized that AC4L is not selling the most current models, I suspect Marantz might not allow internet sales of their most current models by Authorized Dealers. AC4L is an Authorized Dealer. A phone call will answer your questions. For the record, you can find those latest models for sale online from unauthorized dealers, but purchasing from an unauthorized dealer voids the Marantz warranty. |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 2445 Registered: Sep-04 | BE, That site has the Onkyo TXSR605 which IS new and supports HDMI 1.3a as opposed to the Marantz's HDMI 1.1 support. In other words, the Onkyo can cope with BluRay's and HD-DVD's high quality uncompressed audio streams as well as 1080p video. The Marantz can't do this. Early 605s needed to have an update applied to sort out full support. Provided this has been done, the 605 is probably the better choice from a longevity point of view. Regards, Frank. |
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Bronze Member Username: BaldeagleMichigan USA Post Number: 45 Registered: Oct-07 | Frank, You're right... the problem with the Onkyo's has been one of mass skepticism (based on sub-par past performance). I've been told that they are improving a heck of a lot; but it will be a while before their reputation comes back. Also, street knowledge is that the Onkyo's heat up very much. I don't know how much to believe that... but it is one more thing to deal with. Regards BE |
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New member Username: Littlej72MD Post Number: 7 Registered: Mar-05 | Just my personal experience, the quality, customer service, and overal...feel of the marantz stuff is the same as there higher end(1000-5000) stuff, even onkyo's higher end stuff seems on a lower tier in many ways and I know for a fact that there customer service is often sketchy. Anyway I'll be sure to let you all know, I purchased on of the last reman 5001's I know that the 5002 is more future proof but the tv it's going to stay with for a while is only 720p and alot of the things coming down the pike are no where near proven or adopted they barely currently work on a real deal blu ray or hd dvd player etc. long story short a nice 5.1 surround system with todays proven technology will do well for this system. Know it's time to mismatch some new speakers together and what it will be hooked up to initially is frankly embarassing. What I would really like to do it get a used pair of mirage om series as fronts and center and something decent for the rear....then theres the sub...I think we know where this is going. |
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Bronze Member Username: Wildman10387Holden, Massachusetts Post Number: 19 Registered: Jun-07 | If you have any interest in HK you can check out their factory store on ebay, and could easily buy a 340 or 445 for under $425 of an auction. They have HDMI, digital optical... the works. Don;t get caught up on power numbers here either. Could easily power some very difficult speakers to drive. They are heavy beast and that just helps there cause. http://stores.ebay.com/Harman-Audio_Receivers_W0QQcolZ2QQdirZQ2d1QQfsubZ10225970 QQftidZ2QQtZkm |
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Bronze Member Username: BaldeagleMichigan USA Post Number: 61 Registered: Oct-07 | Frank, I missed something you said before. You saying [QUOTE]"That site has the Onkyo TXSR605 which IS new and supports HDMI 1.3a as opposed to the Marantz's HDMI 1.1 support. In other words, the Onkyo can cope with BluRay's and HD-DVD's high quality uncompressed audio streams as well as 1080p video. The Marantz can't do this." [END QUOTE] But the latest models (not sold on ac4l), like 5002, 7002 etc have HDMI1.3a support. So, I must consider 1.3a if I will be buying a Blu-ray, is that right? But then don't the Blu-ray players decode the audio and send it out? Regards BE |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 2500 Registered: Sep-04 | BE, I believe the 5002/7002 can take multi-channel PCM from the BD/HD-DVD machines and decode that. They still can't take the encoded uncompressed stream and decode in the box. They support HDMI 1.3a for video as far as I can tell (please put me right if anyone knows better). Typically surround sound has benefitted by decoding in the AV amp. Also, yes, you could take the decoded analogue output of the BD/HD-DVD player but now you'd have to connect it up with 6 cables to the AV receiver which is both a pain and a cost. I was playing with the Onkyo TX-SR605 on the weekend. I ran it loud and relatively hard for 2 hours and it only got a little warm. I was quite impressed with the unit, and when I demmed it to my sister, she was extremely taken with it. She wants one, but I'm finding it difficult to source one for her in this country at the moment, such is the demand! I have to say I was really rather impressed. It made all the right noises and I have to wonder how the higher models such as the 875 will compare with the Arcams...! Regards, Frank. |
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Gold Member Username: NuckPost Number: 9192 Registered: Dec-04 | Frank, excellent info on the Onkyo unit, very good to hear, especially the temperature factor. Was this unit running into a fairly capacitive load like the JMLab Focal, by any chance? |
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Bronze Member Username: KbearPost Number: 13 Registered: Dec-06 | Not to hijack Justin's thread, but something Frank said caught my attention. I am also in the market for a receiver and am using this source as a guide for the features I should look for: http://www.hometheatermag.com/advicefromtheexperts/507avrfeatures/ Frank, you have commented on a shortcoming of the 5002/7002. To be honest I don't really understand. Is it that you can get around the shortcoming by connecting six cables, or is there no workaround? Has the writer of the article I linked missed anything that you'd consider important? I know the new Onkyos are quite full-featured, but I am also considering H/K, Marantz, Denon, NAD, and Pioneer Elite brands. Even if those are not quite as feature packed, if there are ways to work around the missing features and still reap the benefits then I won't mind. I am also wanting an AVR that will be able to play BluRay and HDDVD, with all the benefits those technologies offer. The Onkyo is appealing, but I'm having a bit of a hard time determining whether the other brands can do what the Onkyo can. Thanks! |
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Bronze Member Username: BaldeagleMichigan USA Post Number: 62 Registered: Oct-07 | Frank, Thanks for that info. Surely, the Onkyo is a remarkable value for money. However, a couple of things worry me. For starters, Onkyo does not have discrete ampifiers for each channel like the Marantz does. Next, the wattage is listed when driven on 2 channels. So, the actual wattage when all the channels are driven would be much lesser. I just wish all these companies would list their output when driven on all channels. Regards BE |
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Bronze Member Username: BaldeagleMichigan USA Post Number: 63 Registered: Oct-07 | One more thing... would the Onkyo be able to drive B&W speakers (90 db sensitivity) - a 5.1 system? Or will they croak? |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 2506 Registered: Sep-04 | Dan, I had a brief look at the article you posted and it's pretty clear and mentions what I say, if you don't get a receiver equipped to take and decode the High Def TrueHD and Master Audio streams then ensure you get one which can handle the multi-channel PCM output of 'almost all BD/HD-DVD' players. My problem with this is the 'almost' bit. IIRC, and I'm easily wrong about this, the PS3 doesn't do it. I know someone who has tried the PCM stream on a high end Naim system and he wasn't that impressed but one never knows and the tchnology (particularly the disc engineering) is relatively new. In straight talking terms, none of the other brands I've looked at can do the Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio from the level of the 605 upwards. Denon can do it from the next level up (the 2808 is equivalent to the 705 or possibly the 805 - can't remember which), the NADs can't do it at all but can do PCM (I think, not sure), the Marantz can do PCM, the Pioneers can do the lot from the equivalent of the 705 I believe. You really need to check each model very carefully and if it doesn't have the logo then it can't do it. Nuck, Focals are generally pretty easy to drive. In fact I was using the Focal Sib & Cub HT package (and I just heard that the customer I demmed it to bought the package with a Pioneer 428 KURO plasma, yippee). That said, the Chorus 700V range is still not difficult to drive and should present no problem. I'd also imagine that the new B&W 68x series won't be too difficult to drive, although I would possibly steer clear of the top model unfortunately. For that I'd go to the 705, not just because of power but because of the fidelity on offer as well. I haven't tried it of course so I'm not sure the 605 and B&Ws would not be a good match. I'd have to give it a whirl. Incidentally, in my opinion, the 705 is actually the best value for money in the range. It has the better TIx3 DSP chipsets found in the 805, 875 and 905 (the 605 has the TIx1), the same Audyssey MultiEQ as the 805, 875 and 905 (the 605 has Audyssey 2EQ), the RS232 connection which should make updates easier, and an extra HDMI input, which may not seem like much now, but is becoming something to think about. It's also a little bit more powerful. It's od because it's only a little bit more powerful but it's a whole 2kg heavier. BE, the quoted power on the Onkyo is 1 channel driven I believe. I agree that this is one aspect that Onkyo should address. The problem is that all brands are different. One has to take one's hat off to NAD who only quote all channels driven, and whose performance usually measures up to what they say. Generally, however, the various brands don't do this so one does have to keep one's eyes open when looking at the specs. Thinking about it, it's very rare that all channels are driven at once in real world circumstances. I can only think of a party mode when this would be the case, but for film modes, this isn't going to be the case. All the bass is handled by the amp in the subwoofer, 65% of the rest of the sound in a movie comes from the centre speaker. Still, it wouldn't hurt to know the minimum power available from the system all channels driven I guess. By the way, the black Onkyos look loads better than the silver ones... I hope this helps. Regards, Frank. |
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Bronze Member Username: BaldeagleMichigan USA Post Number: 64 Registered: Oct-07 | Great advice, Frank. Thanks! If you're giving such input here, I can imagine the "in-person" interaction and how happy your customers would be. Kudos! Regards BE |
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Silver Member Username: Nickelbut10Post Number: 701 Registered: Jun-07 | Couldnt agree with you more Frank. FWIW the NAD's do PCM. Thats how im getting my uncompressed audio and HD format (Source decoded) through my T763. I have a friend in Oshawa who is a dealer of Onkyo and he says the same thing, that the 705 is the best bang for your buck. |
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Bronze Member Username: KbearPost Number: 15 Registered: Dec-06 | BE, have you looked into the Cambridge Audio Azur 640R? I took a listen to it yesterday (with Mordaunt Short speakers) and really loved the sound. It's up there in price ($1,299 at audioadvisor.com) but a store in my area has a great deal on an entire package (with the MS speakers and a Cambridge DVD player). The sound was so good I am now strongly considering getting the Azur and not even worrying about whatever features it may lack. It only has HDMI 1.0, however I believe it does PCM (I'll have to confirm this still). This could be worth looking into. Cheers |