Marantz or Onkyo??

jolax73

Guys,

I am looking to buy a receiver between these two brands to run my Lsi7 speakers and down the road, will get the LsiC and LsiFX. Can anyone give me their inputs as to which brand is a better buy? I know Onkyo has more bells and whistles but in terms of sound quality, which do you guys think is a better buy? I was thinking of the SR-6003 Marantz vs the 805/6 for the Onkyo. Also I see somebody is selling the SR9200, will that be a good buy?

hockeyboy

Marantz all the way IMO for overall sound quality. Realize that you are comparing a higher end Onk to a mid-range Marantz. Spend a bit more and get the higher end Marantz an dyou will be happy.

jolax73

Which Marants model is the one comparable to the Onkyo 806?

digitalvideo

I have the Pioneer Elite SC-05 a/v and I like it, but there is no HDMI processing, so I let my Oppo bluray/dvd do all the HDMI processing. Have you looked into any of the Pioneer Elite recievers or Denon's? I personally believe the best recievers on the market us common mortals can buy are Denon, Marantz and Pioneer.

If my budget would allow it this would be my ideal reciever and one of the best you can get Denon AVR-5308CI = http://www.ultimateavmag.com/avreceivers/708denon5308/

dave shepard

I am looking for a new pre and the Marantz is or was (still not sure) on my list but the problem I have with it is when you use any of the new HD formats Audyssey will shut off. It only works with the other formats, from what I have learned the processor inside does not have the power to run it with the new formats which is a real bummer because I really like the new recievers, I installed one (5003) for a buddy of mine with Monitor Audio speakers and the sound with HDMI was really really nice he is not setup for Blu-Ray yet (he had a Toshiba D-VR660) but when running standard DVD's the sound is very nice. It is just a shame that the EQing will not work when he gets a BD player.

Dave

jolax73

digitalvideo wrote: »

I have the Pioneer Elite SC-05 a/v and I like it, but there is no HDMI processing, so I let my Oppo bluray/dvd do all the HDMI processing. Have you looked into any of the Pioneer Elite recievers or Denon's? I personally believe the best recievers on the market us common mortals can buy are Denon, Marantz and Pioneer.

If my budget would allow it this would be my ideal reciever and one of the best you can get Denon AVR-5308CI = http://www.ultimateavmag.com/avreceivers/708denon5308/

Wow, that Denon you quoted was way too expensive. If that is the case, I would go with separate. For under $800, any specific model would you recommend though?

Dawgfish

If I were in your shoes running LSIs with 4 ohm loads I would look at buying an amp to properly power them. If I were just to run a reciever I would definitely prefer the Marantz over the Onkyo. I own an Onkyo 806, and have heard a few of the Marantz's, and the Marantz just sound better to me, especially for music. Of course sound is a personal thing and your results after listening may be different.

Here is what I would do though. The Marantz 6003 runs about $1000.00. The Onkyo 806 can routinely be found on the net for around $600, probably less now that it is being replaced by the 807. I would buy the 806 (or the 706, which could be found even cheaper around $500 and it has preouts also) and add a good 5 or 7 channel amp. You can buy new ones from Emotiva for around $800 for the XPA-5 and $700 for the UPA-7, or buy used ones here on the board, Craigs List, Audiogon, etc for around $500 to $600. By going this route you can pick up a good reciever AND an amplifier to properly drive those LSIs. I think you would be much happier going this route in the long run, I know I would. Your speakers will thank you for it also. Just my dos centavos.

Dawgfish

Oh yeah, one more thing if you decide you just want to run a reciever and not bother with the amp, I would strongly recommend you look at the Pioneer Elite SC 05, or SC 07. Their ice amps will do a respectable job on the LSIs and they sound great. You can get them at pretty good price points these days on the net.

Falcon01

Marantz 100%. In my opinion it has an overall better sound but there are many factors that affect sound. I've heard the Onkyo 605 and 805 and they were good but the Marantz was cleaner and more detailed. Also the Marantz 6003 was really nice for music and I'm sure others will tell you the marantz is one of the better receivers for music.

digitalvideo

You can get a Pioneer SC-05 or 07 or a Denon 4 series for under $1000 at ebay and www.audiogon.com they always pop up with private sellers. A high quality reciever will drive a full 7.1 system with no sweat in 26x26 room like mine.

digitalvideo

Are there any true internal differences between the Denon and Marantz though since they are basically the same company?

deluxman

Yeah, I have been eyeing on the Emotiva XPA-5 since I read that there are a lot good reviews on that amp. But my problem now, what pre-pro should I get that does cost around $500 or less but has all latest hd decoding or should I just get a Marants, Denon or Pioneer receiver that has the preout that you guys recommended. However, I am also curious as to how big of a difference if I were to just use the amp from a receiver to run my Lsi7 compared to using separates.

Input guys, please........

Bernal

jolax73 wrote: »

Guys,

I am looking to buy a receiver between these two brands to run my Lsi7 speakers and down the road, will get the LsiC and LsiFX. Can anyone give me their inputs as to which brand is a better buy? I know Onkyo has more bells and whistles but in terms of sound quality, which do you guys think is a better buy? I was thinking of the SR-6003 Marantz vs the 805/6 for the Onkyo. Also I see somebody is selling the SR9200, will that be a good buy?

Denon 4308 Ci/4810Ci is excellent.

http://www.ultimateavmag.com/avreceivers/208denon4308/

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/recei...er-review.html

Dawgfish

deluxman wrote: »

Yeah, I have been eyeing on the Emotiva XPA-5 since I read that there are a lot good reviews on that amp. But my problem now, what pre-pro should I get that does cost around $500 or less but has all latest hd decoding or should I just get a Marants, Denon or Pioneer receiver that has the preout that you guys recommended. However, I am also curious as to how big of a difference if I were to just use the amp from a receiver to run my Lsi7 compared to using separates.

Input guys, please........

You can find an Onky 706, Yamaha V-663, Harmon Kardon AVR-254 on the net these days all for around $500 or less. They all have preouts and HD decoding. For a hundred bucks or two you could upgrade to an Onkyo 806, a Pioneer Elite SC-05, or even find a good deal on the Denon 2809 CI (which is what I am currently running in my main system and I love it). Add this to a good multi channel amp like the XPA-5, or a used Adcom, Carver, Rotel, Parasound, etc, and you have one heck of a nice sounding system that will push anything. Trust me on this, you will hear a huge difference running a seperate amp to push your LSIs as opposed to using just the amp on most recievers. Again if it were my money, I would get a good deal on one of the AVRs mentioned above, add a seperate amp and be done with it. Another option is to just buy a good two channel amp to power your front mains, and add a five channel multichannel amp in the future when funds permit and you upgrade to all LSI speakers. Nice used two channel amps like Adcom GFA-555s or Carver TFM-35s can be found pretty reguraly in the $300 range.

deluxman

Hey Dawgfish,
Since I will running with separate, using XPA-5, I guess, I don't really need and expensive AVR, as long as it has the pre-outs I needed and able to decode all the latest HD decodings, upscale to 1080p, I should be good to go, right? I was reading the specs on that Yammy V663 you recommended, sounds like a good deal to me with the price tag of $360 at amazon. Whaddaya think?

greymatter

Falcon01 wrote: »

Marantz 100%. In my opinion it has an overall better sound but there are many factors that affect sound. I've heard the Onkyo 605 and 805 and they were good but the Marantz was cleaner and more detailed. Also the Marantz 6003 was really nice for music and I'm sure others will tell you the marantz is one of the better receivers for music.

+1 agreed

deluxman

Do you also know if I were to use a 3 channel amp and for the surround, I can use the power from the receiver, right? But can bi-amp it in order to fully utilize the power from the receiver? Is this something that is possible to do? Just curious since the LsiFX is capable of bi-amp connection.

apphd

deluxman wrote: »

Hey Dawgfish,
Since I will running with separate, using XPA-5, I guess, I don't really need and expensive AVR, as long as it has the pre-outs I needed and able to decode all the latest HD decodings, upscale to 1080p, I should be good to go, right? I was reading the specs on that Yammy V663 you recommended, sounds like a good deal to me with the price tag of $360 at amazon. Whaddaya think?

Correct, Do not NEED, but along with a better amp section in the higher priced AVRs there is an improvement in the pre section as well (design and component quality). It's just trying to figure out at what point (model number) as you climb up the food chain this occurs, and does this SQ improvement justify the added $$ to your budgit.

Don't get me wrong the entry level stuff doesn't sound bad (I use a Yamaha 663 as a prepro, it fit my budgit/needs) just keep this in mind as you shop, like anything else there is always better for more $$.

hockeyboy

jolax73 wrote: »

Which Marants model is the one comparable to the Onkyo 806?

Actually that 6003 seems comparable but you might consider the new 6004 which is only a bit more. I absolutely agree that you should plan on adding a separate amp as soon as you can afford to pick one up on the cheap. I run a Marantz and used them for a bit to power my 15's to mediocre success. Once I added my separate amp it went from okay to incredible.

deluxman

Dawgfish wrote: »

You can find an Onky 706, Yamaha V-663, Harmon Kardon AVR-254 on the net these days all for around $500 or less. They all have preouts and HD decoding. For a hundred bucks or two you could upgrade to an Onkyo 806, a Pioneer Elite SC-05, or even find a good deal on the Denon 2809 CI (which is what I am currently running in my main system and I love it). Add this to a good multi channel amp like the XPA-5, or a used Adcom, Carver, Rotel, Parasound, etc, and you have one heck of a nice sounding system that will push anything. Trust me on this, you will hear a huge difference running a seperate amp to push your LSIs as opposed to using just the amp on most recievers. Again if it were my money, I would get a good deal on one of the AVRs mentioned above, add a seperate amp and be done with it. Another option is to just buy a good two channel amp to power your front mains, and add a five channel multichannel amp in the future when funds permit and you upgrade to all LSI speakers. Nice used two channel amps like Adcom GFA-555s or Carver TFM-35s can be found pretty reguraly in the $300 range.

Do you also know if I were to use a 3 channel amp and for the surround, I can use the power from the receiver, right? But can bi-amp it in order to fully utilize the power from the receiver? Is this something that is possible to do? Just curious since the LsiFX is capable of bi-amp connection

apphd

deluxman wrote: »

Do you also know if I were to use a 3 channel amp and for the surround, I can use the power from the receiver, right? But can bi-amp it in order to fully utilize the power from the receiver? Is this something that is possible to do? Just curious since the LsiFX is capable of bi-amp connection

Yes you can use the receiver to power the surrounds. As far as bi-amp feature it might depend on the AVR. I think most offer the option to bi-amp the main speakers by using the rear surround speaker outs. But I'm not sure if any offer you the option to bi-amp the surrounds.

debussyj

I'd go Marantz all the way. But my priorities are different than most. I place a high value on warmth, detail, musicality, and really enjoy listening to music. I have a full set of LSI speakers and they are demanding in the power department. I also don't have the room for extra amps. I recently did a small upgrade from my Marantz SR-9200 to the SR-9600. I like their flagship receiver line because they have the power and really do a decent job of driving the LSI-15's. I also took a long hard look at the top NAD receiver, which was a serious contender, but I couldn't get past the spartan looks. I've also found that with all that stuff under the hood, the Marantz's run fairly cool, which is a plus. As always, it's just a matter of taste and listening priorities. Best luck!

danz1906

Falcon01 wrote: »

Marantz 100%. In my opinion it has an overall better sound but there are many factors that affect sound. I've heard the Onkyo 605 and 805 and they were good but the Marantz was cleaner and more detailed. Also the Marantz 6003 was really nice for music and I'm sure others will tell you the marantz is one of the better receivers for music.

Agreed!

Dawgfish

deluxman wrote: »

Do you also know if I were to use a 3 channel amp and for the surround, I can use the power from the receiver, right? But can bi-amp it in order to fully utilize the power from the receiver? Is this something that is possible to do? Just curious since the LsiFX is capable of bi-amp connection

Yes you can use a three channel amp to power your front mains and center and use the reciever to push the surrounds and rear surrounds if you chose. I did this before and it sounds great. I have an Emotiva XPA-3 and absolutely love it, it's definitely worth checking out if you decide to go the three channel amp route. An external amp will free up the power from your reciever that would have been used to push the mains to better push your surrounds and rear surrounds if you chose to go that rout. Bi-amping off a reciever is not quite the same as true active or passive biamping using seperate amplifiers. Some people see little to no benifits when biamping with a reciever. You'll be much better off just using a good three, five, or seven channel amp, and using the receiver to push whatever speakers you are not powering by external amplification.

Apphd has given you some great advice on the reciever selection. He's right there will be a point where the AVR's DACs will be much better at a certain pricepoint. The knock a lot of people have on the lower level Yamaha recievers are they are bright sounding. I had a Yamaha V-661 and thought it sounded good, though I do tend to agree it was a little on the bright side as compared to some of the other AVRs out there. Running an external amplifier that has a warmer sound such as Carvers, Sunfires, B&Ks, etc will tame this brightness and will usually make for a good combo. The Onkyo 706 is pretty neutral sounding and is great for home theater and tv, but not quite as good for music as some of the other AVRs. Ditto for the 806. The 805 sound great for music and home theater however, but tends to run a little hot and has known HDMI handshake issues. The Harmon Kardon 254 is great sounding, especially for music, but it has a lot of known glitches and reliability problems. The Pioneer SC-05 is neutral, to slightly warm sounding and sounds great with everything. The ice amp on it will also do a pretty darn good job of pushing your LSIs until you can get an external amp. This is one gem of a reciever,and if you can find a good deal on one, I would jump all over it.

Denons and Marnatz's sound outstanding with everything to me. The only problem with them is the lower level AVRs don't have preouts. You have to step up their mid-level AVRs starting at about $1000 retail to get preouts. The positive is you get a great sounding AVR. Good deals can be found on the Denon AVR-2809CI/AVR-989 right now becase they are being discontinued and replaced by the new AVR-3310. I have the 2809 and absolutely love it. If you can find a good deal on it, I wouldn't pass it up. I'm not sure what kind of deals can be had on Marantz's, but it would stand to reason that if the **03 model Marantz's are being replaced with new models, you could probably find good deals on them as hockeyboy suggests. Hope this helps.

digitalvideo

I have a Pioneer SC05, but I also have a Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature 400 7.1 which I think is over kill, I am not an audiophile, I just use my system for tv and movies. I think I could get plenty of big sound out of my system with just a used Pioneer SC-09 or Denon 5308 a/v. A good powerful reciever is enough IMO. I might sell my Sunfire.

jolax73

What kind of speakers are you running and how much are you planning to sell your Sunfire? Send me a picture and describe the condition. Thanks.

bms

For what it's worth, I picked up a refurbed Onkyo 806 from Club Onkyo for $479.00, including shipping. Getting ready to install, set up, etc... Did a lot of reading and it seems to fit the bill for me.

We shall see...

vijayl

nice choice bms.
i'm sure u wud enjoy it. Onk/RTi combo may sound lil' bit on brighter side.. - just my opinion.

moe

I have an 805,get the Marantz,even a lesser model,if you're ever going to listen to music that is.

ls7z06

I am real happy with my Onk 806 but I am only running RTi series speakers.. I know a lot of guys bash them but I have been pleased with mine. To get 130w per channel with a Denon or ? it would have cost me 2 to 3 times as much.

wutadumsn23

ls7z06 wrote: »

I am real happy with my Onk 806 but I am only running RTi series speakers.. I know a lot of guys bash them but I have been pleased with mine. To get 130w per channel with a Denon or ? it would have cost me 2 to 3 times as much.

I also have an 806 and while I love it and Onkyo products in general don't be fooled by the 130W per channel. That isn't an accurate number, that is only with two channels driven. If you are running a 5.1 it will drop off a bit and if you are running 7.1 it will drop even farther. I am glad you like yours, because like I said I am tickled with mine. Pretty impresive list of equipment you have in your sig though ls7.

-Jeff