Amp or new AVR

spawn
spawn Posts: 6
edited November 2017 in Speakers
Hi All,

I have RTI A9s and Black Friday is coming and I am planning to add CSi A6 a new AVR or Amp to my system. I am thinking about Marantz SR7011 as AVR. I also saw a used NAD M25 (160Wx7) with M15 pre-amp. My problem is my current AVR does not have pre-outs but I really like to get M25. My budget prevents me to buy both amp and a new AVR. So which one I should go with? A new AVR or get the NAD pre-amp and amp despite pre-amp is old.

Another question SR7011 specs: 125W (8 ohm, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 0.05% 2ch Driven). Would it make big difference if I upgrade from my current AVR Onkyo 115 W/Channel (6 Ohms, 1 kHz, 0.7%, 2 Channels Driven, FTC).

Thank you in advance.

Cheers!
Post edited by spawn on

Comments

  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,454
    Hmmm, tough one.

    That Onkyo is WAY under powered for those speakers. Marantz SR7011 would power them better than what you have now. RTi like a lot of clean power so the amp would be better.

    Did you think of adding the best of both worlds. Get a lesser AVR

    https://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-X3300W-Channel-Receiver-Bluetooth/dp/B01HL8KYAY/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1510966556&sr=8-5&keywords=denon+avr-x4300h

    If you can swing it this is the way I would go.


    Sell the Onkyo to add more funds.

    Cheers
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
    Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
    Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
    Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
  • rpf65
    rpf65 Posts: 2,127
    Buying an amp and not being able to use it? Sounds slightly on the crazy side.

    I think the Marantz would work better than the Onkyo, but your speakers will sound better with more available power.

    You could for a little lower level Marantz, add a Parasound 2250, and the price point will be pretty near the NAD. Think the Marantz 5011 would be able to push the CSI A6 alright, and the A9' s will get what they need; power.
  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,454
    After looking at the NAD combo, I think you would be much better off getting the Denon 3300 or Marantz SR5011 and a Parasound 2250. I would go for the Denon due to Audyssey XT32.

    New Parasound is on sale
    http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PAC2250V2

    The NAD is an older model and only has HDMI 1.3a
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
    Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
    Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
    Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
  • gudnoyez
    gudnoyez Posts: 8,056
    Bite the bullet and get a used 3 channel amp and a AVR with preouts, as stated those A9s and CSIA6 need some power.
    Home Theater
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    2 Channel
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    Shower & Off the beaten path Rigs
    Polk Audio Boom Swimmer, Polk Audio Urchin B)
  • spawn
    spawn Posts: 6
    Thank you for input everyone.

    I wanted NAD mostly for the AMP. Master series AMPs are really good. I was going to get a cheaper AVR with pre-outs later. But I guess it is better to go with Marantz SR7011 for now and save some money for Parasound or Rotel or Crown.

    Thanks again.
  • voltz
    voltz Posts: 5,384
    ^^^^^
    This!

    I have a NAD T-758 with a ghost in the machine.
    even the newest version 3 of the T-758 gets 2 stars reviews. when it work its awesome, then no sound..turn off and on and sounds back or plug in a head phone and unplug it and sounds back! 90% its great but...


    2 ch- Polk CRS+ * Vincent SA-31MK Preamp * Vincent Sp-331 Amp * Marantz SA8005 SACD * Project Xperience Classic TT * Sumiko Blue Point #2 MC cartridge

    HT - Polk 703's * NAD T-758 * Adcom 5503 * Oppo 103 * Samsung 60" series 8 LCD
  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,454
    spawn wrote: »
    Thank you for input everyone.

    I wanted NAD mostly for the AMP. Master series AMPs are really good. I was going to get a cheaper AVR with pre-outs later. But I guess it is better to go with Marantz SR7011 for now and save some money for Parasound or Rotel or Crown.

    Thanks again.

    Good choice, might be better in the long run. The SR7011 is one big bad "A" of an AVR.

    What are your surrounds and sub? what is your end goal for your setup?
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
    Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
    Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
    Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 7,952
    Why an SR7011? Why not a 5011 with an amp? Or u planning to go to 9 channels?

    I would get an SR5011 and good used 200 wpc amp from parasound, title, or b&k.
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es; Squeezebox Touch with Bolder Power Supply
    Game Room 5.1.4:
    Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra

    Bedroom 2.1
    Cambridge Azur 551r; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,454
    I own two SR5010, even though they are very nice AVR's I would say get the SR6011 or Denon 3300. Reason being is Audyssey. The SR5011 only has Audyssey XT, The others come with Audyssey XT32. XT32 is a much nicer setup program then XT.

    I set up a friends Denon AVR-X3300W and the Audyssey XT32 dialed it in with very little tweaking after setup. This AVR sounds just as good as my SR5010 and cost less, still has pre outs for adding amps. It took me some time to dial in my SR5010 while the 3300 was only about 10 minutes and my old RTi8 were rocking nice.
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
    Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
    Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
    Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
  • Upstatemax
    Upstatemax Posts: 2,623
    voltz wrote: »
    ^^^^^
    This!

    I have a NAD T-758 with a ghost in the machine.
    even the newest version 3 of the T-758 gets 2 stars reviews. when it work its awesome, then no sound..turn off and on and sounds back or plug in a head phone and unplug it and sounds back! 90% its great but...


    NAD is having some SERIOUS software issues with their receivers recently. A lot of it came up when they tried to make the move to HDCP 2.2.

    My father is ready to throw is T787 out the window. NAD has been to his house multiple times with updates, they have flat out replaced the entire unit. None of it has fixed the issues.

    He has a lot of HDMI handshake issues, zone 2 not working properly...

    When the handshake issues come up, he has to do a hard reset on the machine. This requires turning it off, pulling out the AVR that's over 50 pounds and flipping the switch on the back. The make life easier, the AVR sat in the middle of the floor for quite some time as it was just too much a pain to constantly pull it out and reinstall.
  • spawn
    spawn Posts: 6
    Thank you for replies all.

    I decided on SR7011 because it has a bit more power and I might upgrade to 9 channels in future. Actually Denon X4300H is also good option and $500 cheaper but I read the reviews and looks like SR7011 has better Amp and sound quality. Both has same output (125Wx2ch). Do you have any suggestions on this?

    My surrounds are old Onkyo surrounds but in the future I am planning to upgrade to Polk FXi series. And I will add Atmos up-firing speakers. My sub is also old Onkyo. I am thinking that if I provide enough power to A9s I will not need sub. But upgrading to a Polk sub is no problem. Just to complete the set in Cherry looking :)

    I think NAD is not an option any more.

    Thank you all.

    Cheers!
  • rpf65
    rpf65 Posts: 2,127
    The 7011 is a good AVR.

    Don't get too caught up on watts. As an example the spec you mentioned is 2-channels driven at 8 ohms. You put on 9 channels on the single power source it will probably be down to 75 watts or so, and that's available power. Usable power is even less.

    The A9's are good in the bass department, but can't compare to a dedicated sub for HT use. Probably to as well, if not better than any Onkyo sub, provided they are properly powered. You'll want to start learning about subs. Lot of good ones out there, but they aren't what one would call cheap.

  • Nice AVR. I would suggest a good subwoofer and set the crossover at 80hz, until you get an amp for the A9s. This will take a lot of the load off the AVR while watching movies. Then, for two channel listening switch it to pure direct to hear your towers at full range. Doing this will help keep you out of a clipping situation and save your tweeters.
    Oh, Listen here mister. We got no way of understandin' this world. But we got as much sense of this bird flyin in the sky. Now there is a lot that bird don't know, but it don't change the fact that the world is happening to him all the same. What I am tryin to say is, is that the course of your life, well its changing, and you don't even see it- Forest Bondurant
  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,454
    edited November 2017
    For subs look at HSU or SVS

    http://hsuresearch.com/

    https://www.svsound.com/index.cfm

    Oh and the Denon are good AVR, Marantz is just better. My Friends 3300 does sound as good as my SR5010.

    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
    Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
    Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
    Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
  • spawn
    spawn Posts: 6
    Hi again all,

    I need just one more advice on AVR. I am between Denon X4300H and Marantz SR7011. I leaning towards to SR7011 but Denon is $500 cheaper. I read some stuff on forums and looks like they are almost identical except Marantz has HDAM. I know I will get external AMP eventually but still want to choose a good AVR so it will be future-proof and won't cause problems later.

    Anyone had chance to compare this two?

    Thanks & cheers!
  • cfrizz
    cfrizz Posts: 13,415
    Both are good products that mate well with Polk speakers. If the Marantz is calling to you, then get it since that is what you want.

    Don't forget this gear is built to last for years, so plan on keeping it for years so you will get your moneys worth out of it.
    Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2
  • Upstatemax
    Upstatemax Posts: 2,623
    If it were me and my money. I would grab the Denon and use that extra $500 towards the external amp that you’re planning on...
  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,454
    edited November 2017
    ^^^^^what he said^^^^^

    For the Denon the 3300, 4300 and 6300 are very nice AVR that may even share some of the components with Marantz.
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
    Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
    Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
    Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
  • spawn
    spawn Posts: 6
    Hi everyone! I decided to go with Denon X4400H. Newer version of X4300H. It comes with few extra features but output power is same (125W, 8 ohm, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 0.05% 2ch Drive). Still $400 cheaper than Marantz SR7011 which is out of stock :)

    PS: Ordered CSI A6 as well.
  • Excellent. Enjoy!!
    Oh, Listen here mister. We got no way of understandin' this world. But we got as much sense of this bird flyin in the sky. Now there is a lot that bird don't know, but it don't change the fact that the world is happening to him all the same. What I am tryin to say is, is that the course of your life, well its changing, and you don't even see it- Forest Bondurant
  • gp4jesus
    gp4jesus Posts: 1,969
    At those $s, consider an Outlaw 975 prepro - ~$350 used?
    Samsung 60" UN60ES6100 LED Outlaw Audio 976 Pre/Pro Samsung BDP, Amazon Firestick, Phillips CD Changer Canare 14 ga - LCR tweeters inside*; Ctr Ch outside BJC 10 ga - LCR mids, inside* & out 8 ga Powerline: LR woofers, inside* & out *soldered LR: Tri-amped RTi A7 w/Rotels. Woofers - 980BX; Tweets & “Plugged*” Mids - 981, connected w/MP Premiere ICs Ctr Ch: Rotel RB981 -> Bi-amped CSi A6 Surrounds: Premiere ICs ->Rotel 981 -> AR 12 ga -> RTi A3. 5 Subs: Sunfire True SW Signature -> LFE & Ctr Ch; 4 Audio Pro Evidence @ the “Corners”. Power Conditioning & Distribution: 4 dedicated 20A feeds; APC H15; 5 Furman Miniport 20s *Xschop's handy work
  • spawn
    spawn Posts: 6
    Hi everyone,

    Updates. I pulled the trigger and bought Denon X4400H last week. It is a very good AVR. Sound quality and surround sound is better. Of course still not enough power to drive RTi A9s in full capacity but I guess if I do that I'll be kicked out from the apartment. I will still look into getting an external amp.

    Thank you for your advices and help.

    Cheers!