Audio (amp) upgrade time!

matt_fsr

matt_fsr

matt_fsr

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OK so I've had a very nice, faultless Marantz PM4200 amplifier for over 10 years now, and am fancying an upgrade.

Currently I have the amp driving a pair of floorstanding Mission speakers (can't remember the model number, they be massive) and is fed from a CD player, and the media PC for films / some music playback.

I'd like to bring it into the 21st century a little and get a proper AV receiver that supports HDMI and that will work with the TV as well.

I've been looking at the Marantz NR1504, for around the £250 mark.

Anyone got one? Used one? Heard one before? Any advice, or anything that I should check it has before I buy it?

I don't think I'll be using the full 5.1 surround capability straight away, although I may look into adding a centre speaker to the existing front speakers.

Any comments / advice welcome :)
 
Probably won't be an upgrade really. For an equivlent budget an AV receiver has to squeeze in a whole lot more for the budget. As a result cheaper components are used and ultimately quality suffers. Personally I'd save my money.
 
No perhaps it won't be an upgrade in terms of sound quality, but more in terms of capability really, both in terms of 5.1 sound (or partial 5.1 for the near-term) and the much-improved connectivity, as well as being able to route the TV audio through the speakers, which I can't currently do.

Appreciated that the AV reciever must "do" a lot more work per £ spent, but also hoping that some of this effect is counter-balanced by component improvements and price reductions in things over the last 10-12 years.

Doesn't look like I'm going to get much of a response to this anyway, so I can always buy it, fit it and see, and then if I hate it I can always return it minus the restocking fee.
 
Why can't you connect the TV to the amp you have?

What TV is it, and does it have any outputs?
 
To tell you the truth, I went from a Marantz ki sig amp to a pioneer receiver (LX standard) then to Sony SN1040 receiver, I would be hard pressed to tell you they all sounded so different and drastic that I can tell you whih one is better in a double blind test, and I kept the same speakers throughout.

The convenience of having a receiver is more important now than that negligible quality difference, if any.
 
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Sorry to dissapoint, but my experience of "sonic enhancement" in the last few years has been a bunch of BS.
Sure, there's been a lot of functionality additions (e.g. additional channels, support for HD audio and room correction). For all that, absolute sound quality is typically driven by simple high quality engineering, e.g. the quality of the PSU, and that technology has gone nowhere. If anything, the new technology has watered down the funds available to spend on the real quality elements as the manufacturers have to pay licensing fees to dolby, DTS etc.

Not trying to say you shouldn't buy an AV amp, but do go into it with open eyes.
If you can, drag your existing amp into a dealer and conduct a side by side dem with an AV amp.
 
I used one of those Marantz amps for years, and enjoyed it very much but when I went for an upgrade I went for a second hand 7.1 channel Yamaha RXV-2500, which was £800 new but as HDMI was just coming in I paid fewer pounds than I did for the Marantz. It was a good upgrade, the extra power in particular (130wpc compared to 30) and I loved the sound. I spent the next few years buying more speakers (went from standmounts at the front to matching floor standers, added some far rears too and went through a couple of subs) but eventually realised that the AV amp just didn't quite sing in stereo, so bought a Nait5i for the front speakers. Now I am left feeling the lack of power when I want it, but stereo is better for music....

Anyway, I say go for an AV amp but don't go new but get a decent upgrade. The Marantz amp you have now though does have the advantage of a laid back sort of sound that doesn't expose cheaper sources, mine is now in the workshop connected to a tuner and some speakers that came off an old midi system some friends killed on a camping trip... sounds very nice for a workshop wireless I must say :)

Your floorstanders would appreciate a bit of power I would guess ;)
 
Jano said:
Why can't you connect the TV to the amp you have?

What TV is it, and does it have any outputs?
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It's a Samsung 46" LED, can't remember the model number. It does have outputs, but I think they're only HDMI and possibly optical, which my current amp doesn't have the capability to handle.

Raymond Lin said:
To tell you the truth, I went from a Marantz ki sig amp to a pioneer receiver (LX standard) then to Sony SN1040 receiver, I would be hard pressed to tell you they all sounded so different and drastic that I can tell you whih one is better in a double blind test, and I kept the same speakers throughout.

The convenience of having a receiver is more important now than that negligible quality difference, if any.
Click to expand...

That's useful to know :)

Mr_Sukebe said:
Not trying to say you shouldn't buy an AV amp, but do go into it with open eyes.
If you can, drag your existing amp into a dealer and conduct a side by side dem with an AV amp.
Click to expand...

Good theory, it's how I chose my Marantz amp and bookshelf Mission speakers when I first got them, I took my CD player in and had a listen to several different combinations until I found one I liked.

My current speakers are Mission 704a. Yes, they are massive, yes they laugh at 30 watt per channel input, and yes each one needs its own plug socket to power da bass. And yes, I love them to bits! :D

And no, it really isn't feasible to drag them anywhere to listen to an AV receiver to compare, so I'll probably bite the bullet and risk the restocking fee if I don't like it, which I suspect will be unlikely.

Your floorstanders would appreciate a bit of power I would guess ;)
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The current amp just isn't able to give them what they need, I'd love to be able to afford to hook them up to a very powerful amp and see how they really sing!

But I have a semi-detached house :( and we like the neighbours...
 
Agreed Jano

AV receivers really aren't all that unless you're spending serious money. The power they say they produce is often quoted when running a single channel. When you start to push several channels hard their power supplies run out of juice quickly. This is why one if the best upgrades for a receiver that has pre outs is to use separate power amps for the channels. It made a huge difference in my case. I'm honestly not trying to put you off, like Mr Sukebe says, just making sure you go in with your eyes open :)
 
While I agree adding a power amp to an AV amp can improve things for music, it still won't match a good stereo amp.

In my setup music sounds brilliant through my Anthem MRX510 with the Krell integrated in power amp mode, but if I switch to my M-DAC feeding into the the Krell it sounds noticeably better again.
 
The current Marantz pm6005 is newer and you'll probably be able to tell the difference as it has better deeper bass and not as much high treble as the old Marantz amps. I went pm5004 to 6003 and the difference was actually really big. the 6003 was larger deeper sounding and swapping back to the 5004 there was totally no bass so the new 6005 will be a good recommendation for you. Having said that missions floorstanders aren't well known for being subtle so it's unlikely you'll notice the difference with those. I find speakers with a metal/silk tweeter like Monitor Audio S6 and Kef iq7 are suitably old to be affordable 2nd hand now and are suited to the Marantz amps lower levels of treble as they compensate.
 
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Nick1881 said:
While I agree adding a power amp to an AV amp can improve things for music, it still won't match a good stereo amp.

In my setup music sounds brilliant through my Anthem MRX510 with the Krell integrated in power amp mode, but if I switch to my M-DAC feeding into the the Krell it sounds noticeably better again.
Click to expand...

That's a rather blanket statement though isn't it. Very much depends on the DAC, AV receiver and amp being compared to does it not? The DACs in AV receivers are typically the next weakest point after the PSUs so with your situation I'm not surprised in your experiences. :)
 
Lowe said:
That's a rather blanket statement though isn't it. Very much depends on the DAC, AV receiver and amp being compared to does it not? The DACs in AV receivers are typically the next weakest point after the PSUs so with your situation I'm not surprised in your experiences. :)
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The DACs in the Anthem are meant to be very good, for movies it's the best I've ever heard, easily beating high end Yamaha and Onkyo's.

I'm just saying for 2 channel always get an integrated amp, for the best of both worlds get an integrated with AV mode or power amp mode and an AV amp with pre outs, though this can be expensive.
 
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