Which shall I get, or do you have other suggestions for <$1000? Planning on buying paradigm reference 20s (alternative may end up being the minimonitors). Room is about 12x18. Any help would be appreciated.
With Paradigm, I can't think of any better receiver than NAD. Check out the T743 or T753. Of the two you listed, Denon would pair best with Paradigm. In my opinion, Marantz receivers are too laid back and warm sounding for Paradigm (which does better with a slightly brighter receiver).
For Paradigm I also second the choice of NAD and would add Rotel and the newer Yamaha 1400/2400 and even newer 1500/2500. This is the first time in 20 plus years I feel I can recommend a Yamaha receiver and Paradigm is the best speaker to match with Yamaha in my area. I would recommend waiting for the 1500/2500 because they are supposed to have a pure direct mode finally and that's the best way to listen to 2 channel music. Yamaha has finally woken up after a long,long slumber and the only thing I fault them for now is their greatly inflated power specs. Check out all three brands and you'll find a good unit that matches the Paradigms and pick the one you like best. All winners.
Great speakers...maybe not the greatest choice choice of receivers, I listened to the Marantz 7400 and was not impressed by it's lack of detail and warmth. In a recent review the Denon 3805 beat out the Marantz 7400 and the Nad 763 in pretty much all aspect, but I think still the Nad might be your best choice here...
If you end up with the Studio 20's maybe you should invest a bit more in your receiver lets say the Rotel 1056 or the Arcam 250...
If you buy the Mini Monitors (still very good speakers) then maybe you should match it up with the Denon or the Nad.
By the way I really don't think that a receiver who has a reputation for being warm sounding should be labelled too warm to match up with specific speakers, I think that we sometime confuse warm as negative when it should be viewed as great, finally a full natural sounding reciever.
I've listened to both Denon and Marantz. I have a Marantz SR-7300 and a Denon DVD-2900. I'm not into brand bashing - both are excellent pieces of equipment, but imo, the Denon receivers I've heard can't light a candle to those from Marantz. To say they lack detail and warmth compared to Denons well, someone's not listening! But, I agree, Marantz would not be the best choice for a warmer sounding speaker.
And I take most reviews with a pessimistic view. In the final analysis, your own ears are the best deciding factor - but listen for the most extended amount of time possible. What sounds great early can turn fatiging later.
nikofdus
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Hi, Not really highjacking the thread....continuing on the Marantz issue... I am also thinking of Marantz for my B&W 601's. Can anyone enlighten me on the bass management options in SR7300/SR6300/SR5400OSE. Also, my dealer tells me that between Yamaha,Denon,Pioneer,Marantz and even Harman, the best match for the B&W'S is the Marantz. Is that true? The Nads, Rotels are beyond my budget so lets not take them into consideration. cheers,
Sound Advice, that review you mention was really suspect. While it certainly represents that gentleman's opinion, it was not set up as a consistent test nor were specs taken. I would take the "review" with a grain of salt. That said, I have experience with both NAD and Marantz and I have respect for the adherents that rave about Denon. I expect, with the right combination of speakers and with some listening tests, that any of the three would be an excellent choice.
I know the two are of different model levels, but i could get those at a price point i was comfortable with.
Initially I am planning on just getting two 20's and will expand to 5.1 surround from there (I currently have some old speakers that will fill in the gaps til i can round it out). That said, I will probably get the dipoles that go with the reference line. Eventually I will upgrade the front and move the 20s to fill in a 7.1 system or move them to the office.
In the end, I did opt for the denon since it was the higher model for a good price that i could afford. I somewhat have buyers remorse because I almost feel like I should have bought a cheapo and gone after the marantz 8500 when available, but I think I will have a solid receiver to get me through a couple of years until I can jump into preamp/processor with a separate amp.
Any suggestions on where to the get the mic for the denon?