Yamaha or Marantz for new HT Recievers?

[Hyfi]

Hey all, I need to replace a failing Harman Kardon AVR-635. It was originally replaced with an Integra 30.3 and moved to another system but the front left channel stopped working.

As much as I liked the HK, I would have trouble buying another one for that reason as well as when it just started flaking out in my main system. May have just needed a processor reset but gave me a good reason to upgrade to the Integra with HDMI.

So now I want to replace the HK completely and trying to decide whether to get an inexpensive unit or go for something better than the Integra and move that to my secondary system.

So I have been looking at a few of the New Marantz units and the Yamaha Aventage units. I find the Integra to be a bit polite and maybe not the best for my Dynaudio 4ohm speakers. The HK had no issues driving them and I really liked it's auto setup over the Integra Audyssey but that won't be a determining factor.

I really don't have a price range but would like to stay at or under $800. I do want it to have Networking abilities.

What do you suggest and why over other units? Anything other than the two I have listed?

[bobsticks]

At under $800 I'd go for the Marantz simply due to sound quality. If you can go a little over I'd say something from the Yamaha Aventage line which has proved to be of such quality as to have obviated my Onkyo fanboy-ism...

[frenchmon]

I have both. The older Marantz SR 5500 and the Yammie Aventage A710 which replaced the Marantz due to the fact the older Marantz does not have HDMI. As far as sound processing, the Yammie has the Marantz beat. I have never heard a AVR with better separation in sound when watching movies. And the build quality is very good. I like it a lots...and it's a networking AVR. My model is a 2011 model and still can be had For about 600 or less. The new model that replaced it can be had for 700. And is a 7.2 . The only draw back to the A710 is it has no pre out for adding external amps. You would have to move up to the RX-A810 or RX-A820 for that option and is around in your price range. Another draw back is if you want to play music in direct mode for music the Yammie is not as good as the Marantz. But for movies I like the Yammie better.

[texlle]

The Aventage line looks like a viable replacement for your HK, but I would make sure you choose an amp with similar if not higher output wattage specs as we both know how demanding the 42s are under load. I would recommend a minimum of 125 wpc (or 150 at 4 ohms at least) especially if you're going to be using primarily for movies which I imagine you would play more loudly than you would for music.

[Hyfi]

I may have the HK sold if I can negotiate a price. Having one dead channel does not help but the pre outs to another amp solves the issue. I used it that way for a few years and did not know the channel was blown until I hooked it all up in another room as a 3.1 setup.

Anyway, I have it narrowed down to the following at $850 for each and very similar specs.

Yamaha RX-A820
Marantz SR5007

I will most likely replace the Integra 30.3 with one of the above in the main HT setup and use the Integra for my family room HT. All 3 are 100 wpc but I don't believe the Integra amps at 100 wpc to be as good as the HK amps at 75wpc.

If it goes into the main setup, it will be 80% HT and 20% Pandora.

[RoyY51]

I have owned both Yamaha and Marantz receivers. The Yamaha struck me as being clinical, perhaps overly so, while the Marantz was much warmer in the midrange and had more "ooomph" in the bass. I sold the Yamaha and still have the Marantz in my 2nd system.

[Hyfi]

I have owned both Yamaha and Marantz receivers. The Yamaha struck me as being clinical, perhaps overly so, while the Marantz was much warmer in the midrange and had more "ooomph" in the bass. I sold the Yamaha and still have the Marantz in my 2nd system.

What models, Roy?

[RoyY51]

The Marantz is the SR780, at one time the top of their line. The Yamaha didn't stay around long enough for me to remember the model number.

[3db]

I have owned both Yamaha and Marantz receivers. The Yamaha struck me as being clinical, perhaps overly so, while the Marantz was much warmer in the midrange and had more "ooomph" in the bass. I sold the Yamaha and still have the Marantz in my 2nd system.

Were your results done with the room correction employed? If so I can understand the claim in that Marantz uses Audessy which is better than Yamaha's YPAO. However, if tested without room correction employed, I have a hard time understanding your claim as both receivers have a flat frequency response well beyond the audio range. Coloration would be evident if one of the units exhibited bumps in the frequency range but this is not the case. I would suspect hearing differences as well once one reached the power delivery limits of the units in question.

[RoyY51]

Were your results done with the room correction employed? If so I can understand the claim in that Marantz uses Audessy which is better than Yamaha's YPAO. However, if tested without room correction employed, I have a hard time understanding your claim as both receivers have a flat frequency response well beyond the audio range. Coloration would be evident if one of the units exhibited bumps in the frequency range but this is not the case. I would suspect hearing differences as well once one reached the power delivery limits of the units in question.

"Back in the Days of the Dinosaurs", no receivers had room correction. My listening was done in the same uncorrected space for both units; same speakers, same source. "Bumps in the frequency range" came with the territory...and I am still in the process of working on it via acoustic room correction methods.

[3db]

"Back in the Days of the Dinosaurs", no receivers had room correction. My listening was done in the same uncorrected space for both units; same speakers, same source. "Bumps in the frequency range" came with the territory...and I am still in the process of working on it via acoustic room correction methods.

I applaud you for tackling room acoustic issues. That is my approach too. However, I think its fair to say that in today's world that most SS amps sound more similar than different when driving speakers well within their power envelope.

[Poultrygeist]

I have enjoyed the Marantz SR6006 in my HT for the past year. Being a tube guy I love it's classic Marantz warmth. It has more features than I care to learn about but do appreciate it's "pure direct" mode which by-passes the internal circuits that affect SQ. Audyssey makes set up a breeze and it has a nice phono stage that I don't use. I'm not so enamored with the port hole display.

http://gallery.audioreview.com/data/audio/500/medium/P7210007.JPG

[Hyfi]

I have enjoyed the Marantz SR6006 in my HT for the past year. Being a tube guy I love it's classic Marantz warmth. It has more features than I care to learn about but do appreciate it's "pure direct" mode which by-passes the internal circuits that affect SQ. Audyssey makes set up a breeze and it has a nice phono stage that I don't use. I'm not so enamored with the port hole display.

http://gallery.audioreview.com/data/audio/500/medium/P7210007.JPG

My whole plan has changed and I am not going to get a second HT Receiver. I really don't need another HT setup in the house but did want streaming and DLNA capabilities.

I decided to replace my failed HK635 with my Hafler gear in the family room and I am buying a second OPPO 93 to fulfill music, video, and streaming needs and will use a newer pair of Polk Monitor 30s and maybe a sub if needed.

I too was about to drop the cash on one of the Marantz guys but was not real keen on the spyglass thing either. I regularly listen to Pandora without the TV on and my Integra display includes one full line of text for the band and another line for the song title. I have been wondering how the Marantz units handle that or do you have to have the TV on to see what you are listening to?

[Poultrygeist]

I have the Marantz hardwired to a router via Cat5 and the TV screen displays all the multitude of streaming options ( Napster, Pandora etc ), high quality internet stations by genre, strength, favorites and lots more. The Marantz turns off the TV screen display after a few moments but turns back on when a new song begins. The basics such as internet station or source, song title also crawl across the port hole but you gotta be close to read it. Whenever new firm ware is released it updates itself just like other video components.