Onkyo 602 or marantz 5400?

 

New member
Username: Nemex01

Post Number: 6
Registered: Nov-04
I have found brand new onkyo 602 7.1 for $349.00 delivered.
marantz 5400 $449.00
which one is better receiver.
I am a movie guy.
 

Silver Member
Username: Elitefan1

Post Number: 946
Registered: Dec-03
IMO the Marantz is a better unit and if you can afford the $449 then go that way but the Onkyo is not a bad receiver at all so it's up to you to decide if the $100 difference is worth it.
 

New member
Username: Trabadoor22

Post Number: 7
Registered: Dec-04
What about for mostly movies? I am in the same predicament.
 

edster922
Unregistered guest
therealelitefan,

Have you actually auditioned both receivers? I have the 601, 6 days now, have 8 more left on J&R's return period and can't decide if I want to trade up for the 5400 or not. I don't have any huge complaints about the 601 but couldn't honestly say that I'm bowled over by its music SQ, and from what I keep hearing people say on this forum, the 5400 is supposedly much better for predominant music listeners like myself.

Now, bear in mind that the Mordaunt Short speakers I have hooked up to the receiver (MS05) are not exactly audiophile quality, so how much of a difference do you think I would *really* hear with the 5400? It sounds like most people who own the Marantz also own speakers that are at least one or two price levels above mine.

To further complicate things, it now looks like hifi.com is out of stock of the 5400, their site says "ships in 2-3 weeks." Argh!
 

Silver Member
Username: Elitefan1

Post Number: 967
Registered: Dec-03
I have heard both receivers and some M-S speakers but not in direct comparison. I have also owned two Onkyo's. From memory I would say the Marantz would go better with your speakers who I found a bit bright and "brittle" but I do not know what model they were and to top it off I heard them through a godawful Sony receiver. To bad about the 2-3 week delay on the 5400. There are other Marantz dealers listed here though. The place I keep seeing here is "authorized audio" maybe or something similar that is a Marantz authorized new and refurb dealer. I think I will see if I can find them at the top of this page. Good luck and sorry I couldn't be more help.
 

Silver Member
Username: Elitefan1

Post Number: 968
Registered: Dec-03
I was thinking of accesories4less.com. Did not see the 5400 listed.
 

edster922
Unregistered guest
Well, I may be in luck after all: went to the Marantz website and did their local dealer locator, then started calling around.

Found a shop that's selling a Marantz 5400 demo for $379 and a 6400 demo for $479. The guy said they also have an Onkyo 602 on the floor so I can compare the two, plus bring in my own speakers (my Mordaunt Shorts are the ultra tiny MS05 which are about the size of a medium satellite speaker) to get a more accurate idea of how they'd actually sound.

Will go by there on Sunday to do all that, hope this won't be one of those "too good to be true" deals, maybe a defective return, "B" stock (not really sure what that means, actually), or missing the remote/manual---since they are an offically authorized Marantz dealer I'm keeping my fingers crossed for no funny business. He did assure me that I'd get the full 3 year warranty for either model.

What do you think? I don't know much about the differences between the 6400 and 5400, though $100 seems a reasonable price difference.
 

Silver Member
Username: Elitefan1

Post Number: 970
Registered: Dec-03
Great deal. This gives you the perfect opportunity to really compare. The 5400 for $379 sonds like a real steal to me. Let us know what you find out and end up doing. [think 5400]
 

New member
Username: Butkusrules

Schaumburg, Il

Post Number: 7
Registered: Nov-04
ecost is selling 602 for 299.99 delivered.
 

edster922
Unregistered guest
that's funny, I just went to the website and it lists a $50 Ground Service charge when I hit the "But it now" button.
 

Anonymous
 
pcmall has 602 for 299 (says free shipping, dont know about any other hidden charges)
 

edster922
Unregistered guest
therealelitefan,

Well, I auditioned both the 602 and the 5400 today and to be honest I could barely tell the difference.

The biggest difference though was when they switched off my Mordaunt Shorts and put on a pair of their own speakers (Triangle---never heard of them before, $300 range) which sounded MUCH better.

So I'm thinking right now that I should just save up for a good pair of speakers. Maybe will look at the Wharfedale Diamond 8.2 or 8.3 series, though I know some people really don't like them.

Damn, all this time I thought the Mordaunt Shorts were pretty good!
 

Silver Member
Username: Landroval

Post Number: 979
Registered: Feb-04
Triangles are great speakers, French made and very good quality. MS and Wharfedale are low-end and cant compete with the better makes.
http://www.triangle-fr.com/uk/accueil.php
 

edster922
Unregistered guest
Yeah, what impressed me about the Triangles was that at near maximum volumes with high-treble/mids music like Led Zeppelin, they didn't distort at all and in fact maintained a nice warmish sound.

It wasn't quite as glaring a difference as those humble Mordaunts versus the TRULY humble Polk R20s, though.

The question is, how often do I really listen to the likes of Led Zeppelin anymore, esp. at such volume levels?

I could be deaf, but damned if it doesn't seem as if sound differences between different receivers and speakers are really very subtle at moderate levels (-20 and under).
 

edster922
Unregistered guest
landroval,

btw, where would you put the Monitor Audio Bronze B-1 speakers...at the same level as the Wharfys or better? Therealelitefan recommended them a while back for accurate mids and highs, which is really all I'm looking for since I have a powered sub already.
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