Marantz AV Owners Thread

[kiwimeat]

So it took a bit longer than expected for stock to arrive. 

Got the call on Thursday and I picked it up the Stereo 70s from Living Sound in Brisbane on the same day.

 

Before

I only found time to install it today due to work and the need to move a few things around from my previous setup in my Den/Hobby Room. 

With addition of 2 Marantz products I would no longer be able to have everything in a single stack as before (see below). Up top is the Denon RCD-CX1 that is being replaced by the Marantz Stereo 70s and Marantz SA8005. It's done good service but the tray is completely non-responsive and it lacks sufficient connections.

Box
Packaging and presentation is up Marantz's usual levels.

Setup

Setup up was straightforward (I was using a Computer monitor) and would be very familiar to owners of other Marantz AV products. 

There is no auto calibration just some basic questions to be answered. 

 

First Impressions
I am impressed and really quite happy with the improvements to my setup. 

It looks and more importantly sounds good. 

 

Positives

• Suits my Mission e81 speakers very nicely. 
• Analog audio is improved - both from my new (second hand) SA8005 SACD player and particularly my Sony HAP-Z1ES which appears to undergone a sonic transformation compared to the Denon RCD-CX1 I was using previously. 
• My sub (Rel T zero MklII) has integrated in nicely using the .1/LFE connected via RCA.
• Setup was easy - already familiar with Marantz menus. And what there is pretty basic (see Neutral impressions below)
• I like the remote - maybe Marantz have been listening to feedback.
• Plenty of available HDMI inputs including 3 that support full HDMI 2.1/ 120Hz/8K etc

  
  

   

  Neutral

  • No calibration - knew beforehand
  • No Dolby codecs/decoding - knew beforehand
  • I need to do some fine tuning on the audio levels from the SA8005. This is hardly surprising as this is also new to me (having been purchased off SN classifieds this week).

  Not quite so good. 

  • No native DSD support, needed to set output to PCM for my Oppo after puzzling why I heard nothing. 

  • The volume dial is very stiff and I have been using the remote to change volume. 

  • HEOS - not much to say really. 

  
  What's Next?

  I've got an Amazon FireCube to connect so I can watch streaming stuff. 
  I'll take some better pictures. 

   

Edited August 24, 2024 by kiwimeat

[betty boop]

marantz sure makes some lovely nice gear @kiwimeat, good to hear this has worked out for your. 

[kiwimeat]

12 hours ago, betty boop said:

marantz sure makes some lovely nice gear @kiwimeat, good to hear this has worked out for your. 

Thanks.

 

I spent a bit more time with the setup last night and this morning.
Think I have the SA8005 audio dialled in better - the 70s allows you to adjust input levels.

I also connected up the Amazon Firecube 4K so that completes my current round of reconfiguration (aside from further tuning).

 

I didn't have a chance to audition the Stereo 70s first hand but had heard the Cinema 70, and the Marantz NR1200 and Denon DRA-800h - which were the previous generation of 2 channel HDMI solutions. 
I did consider the new Denon DRA-900H which has 100W (compared to 70W) but it is larger (taller), doesn't look as nice, and not as optimised for music as the Marantz. 

The Stereo 70s is the first in the series of 2 channel 'HDMI receivers' to have HDAM.

I did also audition the Marantz 40n and considering the option of an HDMI switch to overcome the absence of more than a single HDMI/ARC port but the 40n was overkill for my hobby room and I remember swearing off HDMI switches from trauma long ago. Plus it well exceeded my budget. 

 

According to the product information and reviews the Stereo 70s DAC supports DSD but I am still trying to puzzle out why it won't accept DSD from my Oppo 103. I suspect the HDMI ports and DAC may not be connected, and without the full range of audio codecs that can be found in full AVR's (some, not all), I'll have leave the 103 to decode.

[RCADees]

For anyone looking for a good Marantz deal, they are back now all the way up to the amp 10 and AV10 models.

Even the stereo models are included. 20% off. The Cinema 40 Made in Japan for $4k. Very nice indeed.

I wish I had another cinema room

 

[betty boop]

24 minutes ago, RCADees said:

For anyone looking for a good Marantz deal, they are back now all the way up to the amp 10 and AV10 models.

Even the stereo models are included. 20% off. The Cinema 40 Made in Japan for $4k. Very nice indeed.

I wish I had another cinema room

Nice ! Good to see marantz getting into the Black Friday deals ! 
 

hopfully helps some folks get a great deal on some lovely gear !

[Grant Slack]

Hi guys, does the AV10 have any kind of fan or make any noises at all in operation?

 

cheers

Grant

[betty boop]

5 minutes ago, Grant Slack said:

Hi guys, does the AV10 have any kind of fan or make any noises at all in operation?

 

cheers

Grant

No Grant. No noises and silent

 

they run daily cool too 

 

though I have still added a silent  fan for it and my amp10 for self preservation want these to last many years  

[Grant Slack]

Thanks Al. I haven't heard the silent fan idea before....where does one get such devices?

 

[betty boop]

1 hour ago, Grant Slack said:

Thanks Al. I haven't heard the silent fan idea before....where does one get such devices?

 

hi Grant, i just got these acinfinity from Selby..dont think they selby sell them anymore but i am pretty sure were a pair of these below,

https://www.spacehifi.com.au/ac-infinity/ac-infinity-multifan-s7-usb-cooling-fan

 

just plug into usb power on back of the av10 and they switch on and off with the av10+amp10

 

they have little rubber feet so just sit on top of the av10/amp10 cabinet and draw air up through the chasis of the amps...keeping cool inside.. can have on the lowest setting and wont hear it ... 

 

bot my av10 and amp10 are in an open rack so dont even see the fans  

[Grant Slack]

Curse Black Friday! I ended up ordering an AV10. Picked it up yesterday. Bit of learning coming up.

cheers

Grant

[CCRider]

12 minutes ago, Grant Slack said:

Curse Black Friday! I ended up ordering an AV10. Picked it up yesterday. Bit of learning coming up.

cheers

Grant

Be prepared to be very impressed.

I have this magnificent AV processor and love it.

[betty boop]

1 hour ago, Grant Slack said:

Curse Black Friday! I ended up ordering an AV10. Picked it up yesterday. Bit of learning coming up.

cheers

Grant

congrats GS ! its a magnificent beast ! centre piece of my system ... learning curve shouldn't be too steep given coming from the denon / marantz stable ...  

[Grant Slack]

On 24/12/2024 at 12:41 PM, betty boop said:

congrats GS ! its a magnificent beast ! centre piece of my system ... learning curve shouldn't be too steep given coming from the denon / marantz stable ...  

 

I wish, but I am coming from a 2009 Yamaha V3900. Non-Audyssey...

Edited December 25, 2024 by Grant Slack

[betty boop]

11 hours ago, Grant Slack said:

 

I wish, but I am coming from a 2009 Yamaha V3900. Non-Audyssey...

ha for some reason thought you were in denon land already. anyways things like audyssey is easy peasy.. just be sure to purchase the affordable audyssey app in the app store.. it makes for was work when comes to using audyssey and setup and configuration  

[kiwimeat]

50 minutes ago, betty boop said:

ha for some reason thought you were in denon land already. anyways things like audyssey is easy peasy.. just be sure to purchase the affordable audyssey app in the app store.. it makes for was work when comes to using audyssey and setup and configuration  

This is good advice, I followed the same coming from Advantage 3020 to Marantz SR8012 a few years ago. The few dollars extra for the Audyssey app was worth every penny and then some.  
 

12 hours ago, Grant Slack said:

 

I wish, but I am coming from a 2009 Yamaha V3900. Non-Audyssey...

Wow, that's quite the jump from a V3900 - which will have done great service over its life given its age and more than repaid every penny you paid all those years ago - to an AV10! 
Congratulations. 

[Grant Slack]

19 hours ago, kiwimeat said:

Wow, that's quite the jump from a V3900 - which will have done great service over its life given its age and more than repaid every penny you paid all those years ago - to an AV10! 

 

Thanks Aaron and yes, I should sing the praises of the old Yammy. She has been completely reliable in daily use, and the basic audio output has been beefy and very clean with low distortion and flat frequency response. 17.5 kg of solid trustworthiness. Plus, she has a couple of sound quality features that I don't think any of the competition offered at the time:-

• After running automated room correction, you could make manual PEQ adjustments to each individual output channel, without losing the automated EQ settings.
• She could accept DSD audio in original bitstream format and, get this, rather than convert it to PCM and run it through the DAC like any other PCM data, if one chose Pure Direct mode, the DACs would switch to a 'passive DAC' mode that basically bypassed the PCM DAC process and did nothing but run the DSD bitstream data through an analog output filter. Not bad for an AVR!

cheers

Grant

[Grant Slack]

Hi guys,

 

I have a general question about making best use of separate audio and video HDMI output ports. 

 

OK, I have this new AV10, and I now have two source components (an old 1080P Oppo that I need to keep for SACD and DVD-A, and a new Panasonic UHD BD) that have dual HDMI outputs, where one is dedicated to audio and the other combines video and audio. And I think I will soon add a Zidoo 3000PRO that also has similar dual HDMI ports.

 

Also, I want to use two display devices: a TV and a projector.

 

Question: what is the cleverest way to hook all this up so that I can switch any of the above source devices to either display device, while taking advantage of the supreme audio quality over the HDMI audio-only ports? It isn't obvious to this tired old brain. Can anyone help me out?

 

cheers

Grant

[betty boop]

15 minutes ago, Grant Slack said:

OK, I have this new AV10, and I now have two source components (an old 1080P Oppo that I need to keep for SACD and DVD-A, and a new Panasonic UHD BD) that have dual HDMI outputs, where one is dedicated to audio and the other combines video and audio. And I think I will soon add a Zidoo 3000PRO that also has similar dual HDMI ports

always use the combined ports. For timing hdmi video needs the audio or open self upto risk of lip synch errors.
 

The split output was for if had legacy avr where can’t pass full bandwidth video. So ran video to capable display and audio to legacy not fully compliant avr. Dont need do this with your av10

 

just pump everything to the av10 and let it be the hub to feed things to one or two displays you might have

Edited December 26, 2024 by betty boop

[betty boop]

note on dual displays (I run these, projector and tv) - Sony a90J and jvc nz800. Hook each one of these to hdmi 1&2 eg tv hdmi 1 and projector hdmi2 

 

the marantz has the hdmi out button on the remote so can select which display outputting too. Will pop up on the display behind the flap and onscreen as toggle through. Can use auto which will mirror same to both displays if they are exactly same in capability. If not will get lowest common denominator or if have non compliant display in mix even if on standby likely a hdmi block with hdcp kicking in. So best to use the discrete hdmi 1 output, hdmi 2 settings each display I find

Edited December 26, 2024 by betty boop

[Grant Slack]

7 minutes ago, betty boop said:

always use the combined ports. For timing hdmi video needs the audio or open self upto risk of lip winch errors.
 

The split output was for if had legacy avr where can’t pass full bandwidth video. So ran video to capable display and audio to legacy not fully compliant avr. Dont need do this with your av10

 

just pump everything to the av10 and let it be the hub to feed things to one or two displays you might have

 

Thanks Al. It does seem a bit strange that latest-generation products like the Zidoo have dual outputs, if the only reason for them is to work with legacy AVRs that probably aren't even 4K! 

 

That's why I was assuming that it might be for audio quality reasons. Which I don't want to forfeit if I don't have to (and if it is true in the first place).

 

cheers

Grant

Edited December 26, 2024 by Grant Slack

[betty boop]

5 minutes ago, Grant Slack said:

Thanks Al. It does seem a bit strange that latest-generation products like the Zidoo have dual outputs, if the only reason for them is to work with legacy AVRs that probably aren't even 4K! 

Back ward compatibility is very important in this industry with constantly evolving standards. Not everyone has it all cornered with fully update everything been there myself  

 

7 minutes ago, Grant Slack said:

That's why I was assuming that it might be for audio quality reasons. Which I don't want to forfeit if I don't have to (and if it is true in the first place).

Nope hdmi uses both audio and video intertwined.
 

Purists be fooled if thinking some audio benefit …

[Grant Slack]

I'm pleased to hear it, it certainly makes hooking up much simpler.

[Grant Slack]

54 minutes ago, betty boop said:

Back ward compatibility is very important in this industry with constantly evolving standards. Not everyone has it all cornered with fully update everything been there myself  

 

Me too! But if they want to be that serious about backward compatibility, all the players should still have multichannel analogue outputs to work with old AVRs that don't have HDMI.... 

[betty boop]

16 minutes ago, Grant Slack said:

 

Me too! But if they want to be that serious about backward compatibility, all the players should still have multichannel analogue outputs to work with old AVRs that don't have HDMI.... 

yeah they did for a while, Have to expect a transition …all players initially came that way. I was there with multi channel analogs hooking up when was only way for going beyond coax and optical for a while and until I got hdmi unit. I still explored analog for a while till hdmi just went way beyond ..,

 

Some later high end players eg oppo 205 still had multi analog outs. But it’s now defunct. It just costs a lot for a full multichannel dac board and analog board and power supplies go with it. When all that’s built in the av processor and avr anyways.

 

imagine doing 9.2.6 I run now days off analog … 16 cables  and 16 channels of processing player would need do… just no need to double up on all this when the avr and av processors do all this anyways 

 

And most folks have moved on especially if remotely serious  in ht and multichannel would have a hdmi capable unit by now. 

[powerav]

1 hour ago, Grant Slack said:

That's why I was assuming that it might be for audio quality reasons. Which I don't want to forfeit if I don't have to (and if it is true in the first place).

 

In the Zidoo at least it is for better multichannel audio.