New to Marantz - Looking for an AVP?

[70sMac]

Originally Posted by edward3132

As you can see from my signature I am all in with Rotel AB amps. The RMB-1585 is a great 5 channel amp at 200 watts/channel. Cost effective but still sounds great.

I prefer to spend my money on the two channel system.

Edward

Edward..... As we've added two new components to our system in the past month or so, your words about how you "...prefer to spend [your] money..." has me thinking. We enjoy our MX-130 to MC300 to B&W 802Ns for two-channel music, but our goal of moving toward a simple 5.1 setup for our large entertainment room changes things...much more than I ever imagined.

Needless to say, we would love to stick with Plan A -- a component based 5.1 surround system -- but funding has begun to come to the fore now...which brings me back to the question at the top of this post.

If we were to invest in an modern AV-capable receiver -- like the Marantz SR7103 we had demoed for us recently -- would we still be able to enjoy decent two-channel stereo?

I recall the guy in the Magnolia department of the BB store telling me that the SR7103 had preamp outputs and a way to "balance" the various speakers in a surround system, but I wanted to ask you just how much of our cherished stereo sound we would be losing by going to a receiver preamp circuit versus what we have in our Mac MX-130?

So, once again, Is There Such a Thing As a Good AV Receiver?

[silversurfer6]

Originally Posted by 70sMac

Edward..... As we've added two new components to our system in the past month or so, your words about how you "...prefer to spend [your] money..." has me thinking. We enjoy our MX-130 to MC300 to B&W 802Ns for two-channel music, but our goal of moving toward a simple 5.1 setup for our large entertainment room changes things...much more than I ever imagined.

Needless to say, we would love to stick with Plan A -- a component based 5.1 surround system -- but funding has begun to come to the fore now...which brings me back to the question at the top of this post.

If we were to invest in an modern AV-capable receiver -- like the Marantz SR7103 we had demoed for us recently -- would we still be able to enjoy decent two-channel stereo?

I recall the guy in the Magnolia department of the BB store telling me that the SR7103 had preamp outputs and a way to "balance" the various speakers in a surround system, but I wanted to ask you just how much of our cherished stereo sound we would be losing by going to a receiver preamp circuit versus what we have in our Mac MX-130?

So, once again, Is There Such a Thing As a Good AV Receiver?

From what I understand you do not any of the amplified channels of the SR7013. So why not get the AV7705 which is a processor like the MX-130?

[70sMac]

Originally Posted by silversurfer6

From what I understand you do not any of the amplified channels of the SR7013. So why not get the AV7705 which is a processor like the MX-130?

Silver Surfer..... You seem to have omitted a word in the first sentence, but, given the context, I'm assuming that the word you left out was "need." As in, "From what I understand, you do not "need" any of the amplified channels of the SR7013..."

If I'm interpreting you correctly, you've hit the nail on the head. We were definitely considering the component system approach. We would love to buy a quality multi-channel amp and a pre-pro, like the Mac MX130 we own, but the truth is: we don't have the funds for it. This is why I'm presently thinking about what one of those Magnolia reps told us recently. In short, he told us that we could use the preamp outputs from the Marantz SR7013 -- the receiver that, coincidentally, was driving the B&W speakers we went there to hear -- to drive our Mac MC300 stereo amp, and use three integrated amp outputs to drive the three remaining speakers in a 5.1 surround system. When I asked him about the imbalance between our MC300 -- a 300 watt per channel amp -- and the SR7103 -- a 125 watt per channel receiver (max) -- he stated that there was a way to adjust the SR7013 outputs to "balance" out the sound coming from each speaker. If any of this is incorrect, please feel free to let us know about it.

In summary, we've purchased two new pieces of A/V equipment in the past month or so: an Oppo 203 and a B&W HTM3S. This has put a dent in our entertainment budget, so we're now looking at alternative ways to put our five B&W speakers into a simple 5.1 surround system. If we can find a decent receiver that will modernize our pre-pro needs and, at the same time, allow us to continue enjoying the two-channel stereo we both love, perhaps it's time to start considering a decent receiver, aye?

[silversurfer6]

Veey good info.

If you are happy with the technology of the MX130 and do not need new features then I would just get a new 3 channel power amp.

What the Magnolia rep suggested is certainly possible and you can configure the channels to balance BUT you will suffer a great deal in quality if you move from the MX130 to the SR7013.

[silversurfer6]

Another option is to get the SR7013 now and start saving to get a Mac 2 channel pre. That way you will have an excellent 2 channel sustem and use the home theater bypass feature to connect the 2 amps together.

[70sMac]

Originally Posted by silversurfer6

Veey good info.

If you are happy with the technology of the MX130 and do not need new features then I would just get a new 3 channel power amp.

What the Magnolia rep suggested is certainly possible and you can configure the channels to balance BUT you will suffer a great deal in quality if you move from the MX130 to the SR7013.

Silver Surfer..... When it comes to stereo audio, yes, we are very happy with the Mac MX-130, but, as I'm sure you're aware of, we cannot achieve our goal of a simple 5.1 surround system with this pre-pro. We realize that, by employing an AV receiver, like the Marantz SR7013, we will be losing the Mac preamp in our MX-130, but what other choice do we have? Is there a way, perhaps, to switch over to the MX-130 for stereo music?

Originally Posted by silversurfer6

Another option is to get the SR7013 now and start saving to get a Mac 2 channel pre. That way you will have an excellent 2 channel sustem and use the home theater bypass feature to connect the 2 amps together.

Would you mind elaborating on this for us? How would a "...Mac 2-channel pre" help our situation? Bearing in mind that we've never owned an AV receiver of any kind, I'd also like to ask you how "...the home theater bypass feature..." will allow us to connect two amplifiers together?

[Dilettante]

Originally Posted by silversurfer6

Macintosh MX170? Different budget though

It is based on the Lyngdorf MP50/60 but the audio part should be superb. There is no OSD for volume though and of course no hdmi2.1.

There is no OSD for volume on my Classe SSP 800 either. no biggie for me. The GUI & OSD on the Classe is barebone, seriously those $300 Japanese AVRs have much better GUI / OSD than the Classe SSP 800. All Classe AV processors (SSP 800 & Sigma SSP) aren't equipped with video processor/upscaler. They don't do video processing / upscaling, they simply switch video.

My cousins moved from the SSP 800 to the Lyngdorf MP50 because he wanted the latest audio video formats eg Dolby Atmos, DTS-X, 4K HDR Dolby Vision but he wished he kept his SSP 800. In terms of pure sound quality he preferred the SSP 800 more refined smoother and lot more musical when listening to DVD-Audio, bluray concert discs, bluray musical films and those great movie soundstracks from bluray movie discs. The SSP 800 was able to pull you in when listening to those great movie soundtracks, watching bluray concert films and bluray musical films/movies whereas the Lyngdorf MP50 failed to do just that and sounding somewhat a bit sterile lean and lacking full body sound in comparison to the SSP 800. Not sure about the latest MP60 though.
So my cousins ended up selling the Lyngdorf MP50 and got the Trinnov Altitude processor and he seems pretty happy with the overall sonic results. Last time I was over at his place since he got the Trinnov imo it performed much better than the Lyngdorf MP50.

But the Lyngdorf is equipped with very good Room Perfect room correction also used in the McIntosh MX160 and works really well for movies' special effects and stuff and made the surround sound experience way more immersive than the SSP 800, not to mention that the Lyngdorf supports those 3D surround sound objects eg Dolby Atmos & DTS-X, which takes surround sound movie experience to a whole new level for people who have the room and space to accommodate those latest formats such as that of dedicated home theater rooms. It does not apply to me. I only have a living room to watch my movies.

I got to find a way to get a take home demo of the McIntosh MX160 or MX170. Or I should wait until Classe releases a new Delta series replacement for the SSP 800. I'm hoping that the new replacement for the SSP 800 will be equipped with a very good room correction since Classe is now owned by Sound United.
But not sure if Classe will ever release surround sound gears anymore or they only focus on stereo only now.

[Dilettante]

Originally Posted by 70sMac

Silver Surfer..... When it comes to stereo audio, yes, we are very happy with the Mac MX-130, but, as I'm sure you're aware of, we cannot achieve our goal of a simple 5.1 surround system with this pre-pro. We realize that, by employing an AV receiver, like the Marantz SR7013, we will be losing the Mac preamp in our MX-130, but what other choice do we have? Is there a way, perhaps, to switch over to the MX-130 for stereo music?



Would you mind elaborating on this for us? How would a "...Mac 2-channel pre" help our situation? Bearing in mind that we've never owned an AV receiver of any kind, I'd also like to ask you how "...the home theater bypass feature..." will allow us to connect two amplifiers together?

You should get a high end stereo integrated amp or stereo preamp that has a HT (home theater) bypass input and use this stereo integrated amp or preamp for your stereo music listening. For surround movies you can get a good quality AV pre pro and add additional power amps to power your center and surround speakers. You can then connect the front LR pre outs of the AV pre pro in to the HT input on the stereo integrated amp or stereo preamp and use the volume control on the AV pre pro when watching movies. This HT bypass input will bypass the volume on the stereo integrated amp or stereo preamp.
When listening to stereo music you use the volume on the stereo integrated amp or stereo preamp and you won't even have to turn on the AV pre pro at all.

[bart]

Bill, the way I see it, you have all the speakers you need now.
You have some serious amps, but are missing amplification for the center channel.

I see a couple of options. From cheap to less cheap (that's what we're here for on AA )

- You keep you MX130 and find a second hand mono McIntosh amp for the center channel. You have a decent source (Oppo).
-You go for a second hand McIntosh 5-channel amp.
-You buy a new NAD M28.

Later, when funds permit, you can add a (very) decent processor that handles all formats, including DSD.
I don't know if the Marantz receivers decode DSD, but I'm sure a receiver will not be the best way to go.
You'd lose too much compared to your MX130.
When I upgraded from a top Pioneer receiver to our Marantz, the difference was not subtle.
I did some comparisons, and our AV8802A performed very nicely with stereo as well.

[silversurfer6]

Bill do you alreay have an amp for the rear channels?