Marantz or Yamaha aventage?

SolidSnake1988

Hello everyone. I want to upgrade my receiver, right now I have a yamaha rx v671 which has no pre-outs . I'm thinking of getting a yamaha rx a820 or a marantz sr 5007. Im also planning to get an emotiva xpa-3. Any opinions would be nice . My speakers are polk Monitor70.

rebuy

I think you should do it. Since the end of the world is coming in Dec. max out all your credit and spend big. This might be your last chance for a really nice system and they might not have stereo in heaven. So get with it and start thinking straight, go out right now and spend spend spend. Hope this helps.

sponger

I don't know if it's true or not, but I read somewhere that even the new and improved YPAO does not allow post-calibration tweaks to the crossover settings among other things. If that's true, then the Marantz's Audyssey XT would be the better bet. Otherwise I would go with Yamaha just because I like Yamaha products in general.

B Run

I'd personally go Yamaha but they'll both do a good job.

evhudsons

calibration via automatic setups should not be the deal maker/breaker. use the intial calibration, then use a spl meter to finish. it evens out the discrepancies in the computing systems. look at other factors instead.

evhudsons

ha ha, I meant competing systems. i am using auto speech to text. works most of the time

sponger

evhudsons wrote: »

calibration via automatic setups should not be the deal maker/breaker. use the intial calibration, then use a spl meter to finish. it evens out the discrepancies in the competing systems. look at other factors instead.

I completely agree. But it's the post-calibration tweakability or the lack thereof which is what I'm not so sure about. From what I've been reading on various forums, even the newly enhanced YPAO is not audiophile friendly due to its lack of adjustability once the settings have been configured by the receiver. Again, I'm not sure as to whether or not it's true, and so I left it up to the OP to look into it. Have you had different experiences with YPAO? You were able to make level / crossover adjustments after the auto-calibration? If so, then I guess that would be great news.

drumminman

sponger wrote: »

I completely agree. But it's the post-calibration tweakability or the lack thereof which is what I'm not so sure about. From what I've been reading on various forums, even the newly enhanced YPAO is not audiophile friendly due to its lack of adjustability once the settings have been configured by the receiver. Again, I'm not sure as to whether or not it's true, and so I left it up to the OP to look into it. Have you had different experiences with YPAO? You were able to make level / crossover adjustments after the auto-calibration? If so, then I guess that would be great news.

I have a Yammy RX-V667, purchased new in 2010. I initially used YPAO to set up the surround sound and didn't like it. The output from the rear surrounds and front L-R mains was way too low, so I did a manual set up. Perfect!

BTW, it has pre-outs so I'm using it to power the center and rear L-R surrounds, and a separate power amp for the fronts. I can easily overwhelm the room (and my ears!) with clean, clear sound.
I'd be surprised if the newer units didn't have as much or more flexibility.

pearsall001

I have the RX-A3010 which is one awesome AVR. The YPAO does a fantastic job, all speakers were dead on & it made a significant difference as compared to before running the program. After the YPAO has done it's thing you can manually tweak away to your hearts content.

shadowlight

I have Yamaha Aventage (I think it is 1000) and love it. Using it with external amps and like other folks have mentioned I set it up with YPAO and used spl meter to confirm. I did that with my Denon 2807 also.

evhudsons

I have the yamaha that's in my signature. It's the entry level version but it works just fine. I use the YPAO to get the initial calibration, especially speaker distance. Then I adjust the levels with the spl meter which does a better job. I had the same experience and result that Drummingman had. I use the 7 speaker on setting a good bit, so I have separate amps for all the speakers except the presence speakers which aren't powered on during the 7 speaker turn on setting. Now I know that had I gotten the better amp I could have had them all on separate amps.
I can also set a lot of calibration in the EQ portion under manual settings. This provides a LOT more control of each speaker. I don't mess with it as I don't have a clue as to what I am doing. I think if you have a laptop, and a special mic and some free software you can use those settings to adjust each speaker. I presume it's to the pro level of adjusting the sound. One day I will try it. I think the mic is under $100.

evhudsons

By the way, my amp is probably two years old. I got it new last year, but I am always getting deals so I usually go for one year old but new. That's a valid point though if what you are reading in forums is true. I would try and verify with Yamaha directly, but I've also heard that is not so easy. Polk Audio is open to communication, but supposedly Yamaha is not. This would be a great test of that rumor.
I think avs forums have special threads started by owners of specific avr's. Try them and see what they say.

evhudsons

Also also, for what it's worth, I got my spl meter from radio shack. they just happened to have one. But before I got that, I simply used an iphone app spl meter and it still helped more than the YPOA for adjusting the levels even. So don't feel the need to get an spl meter but the radio shack version is MUCH better than the phone. The idea of the spl meter is really to make sure each speaker level is even, so either way still gets about the same result. I paid $.99 for the app, about $50 for the actual spl meter.

samfraser

I have a RX A710, I like all the connectivity, but what AVR these days doesn't have Network, DNLA, Internet Radio, Multiple HDMI, etc. I hate the fact it has no pre's, the YPAO sucks, it drives the monitor 70's really well, all in all, I am letting it go, and stepping up to a RX 820 or 1010. I have had 3 yammy's and I personally like how they work, menu's, settings, etc, and how they sound. I think they sound better than denon, and onkyo, personal opinion, never spent much time listening to a Marantz.

SolidSnake1988

Thanks for posting your opinions. Well i've decided to spent a little more. Im between rx a1010 or sr6007. Debating on this now :-/ . Im more into music so im leaning towards more to the marantz. But yamaha has this app on android that I can play my music that is on my phone into the yammy. Marantz has a app but bad reviews on the app.

Inspector 24

I've got a SR7002 and while I've not been overly impressed with it, I did find the Audessy calibration a bit more to my ear's liking Vs my previous Yamaha HTR-5990. Also the ability to set speaker distance down to the tenth of a foot improved imaging a bit.

Have not been so impressed with movie performance, but music using the Dolby Pro Logic II 'MUSIC' setting is far superior to any surround setting for music on the Yamaha. The SO and I watch/listen to quite a bit of Youtube/Vimeo/Vevo music and with the ability to expand the center image to the left and right speakers it's opened up compressed music files such that they're actually enjoyable.

Of course being an older model the information may not help much. :redface:

mdaudioguy

SolidSnake1988 wrote: »

Thanks for posting your opinions. Well i've decided to spent a little more. Im between rx a1010 or sr6007. Debating on this now :-/ . Im more into music so im leaning towards more to the marantz. But yamaha has this app on android that I can play my music that is on my phone into the yammy. Marantz has a app but bad reviews on the app.

In my opinion, the sonic improvements in the AVENTAGE line became more noticeable with the A10xx models and higher, so that would be a good choice. I also like the Yamaha AV Controller app. I probably use it more than the actual remote. I've had three Yamahas and never had a problem with YPAO. But I guess everyone has different ears.

mesquitehead

I just retired a Marantz SR8001 and got the Yammy RX-A820....love the Yammy! The Marantz was a POS and their customer service was terrible! Have the Yamaha connected to a wireless bridge and have the iphone and ipad app which are both awesome. Also hooked up the PS3 so I can watch all the movies, see pics and stream all my music from my main pc. The Apple Airplay is also killer. Really nice to sit on the sofa and control everything from the phone or ipad. The 820 sounds great as well, I had the RX-V671 for 3 months and took it back because it lacks pre-outs and I sometimes use a pair of Martin Logans rated at 4 ohms and the 671 did not like the load, couldn't add an amp due to no pre outs. I set the 820 to the 6ohm setting and have worked it hard on the Martin Logans and it has not flinched. Remember the PS3 is the only way to view pics/videos, the Yammy stuff only allows music streaming or AirPlay.