Marantz M-CR510/610 Mini Network Receivers Previewed

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admin

Audioholics Robot
Staff member
Most of us on these forums are dedicated to great sound quality.

A large rack of equipment, a few over-sized subs, and a pair of giant tower speakers don't both us.

But what about in situations where you can have all that? would you go with something like the M-CR510 ($599) or M-CR610 ($699)?

Read the full Marantz M-CR510/610 Preview and let us know.

 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
Thanks for the preview, Cliff! Like you, I like these smaller systems.

Regarding the power ratings, the manual for the CR610 lists 50 W + 50 W for 6-ohm, 1 Khz, THD + N 0.7%. Apples to apples, that compares against the Denon E400 at 125 W + 125 W. I'm a bit disappointed that they didn't list a 20-20kHz rating for comparison to other units.
 
M

malifact

Audiophyte
Thanks for the preview. The Marantz website does state that both the M-CR510 and M-CR610 have built in vTuner and Last.fm support.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
Despite the great set of features, price still seems a bit high for the power. Probably enough for the situations it is intended for (smaller room) but for the price, I'd like to see something with a little more oomph.
 
Cliff_is

Cliff_is

Audioholics Content Manager
Thanks for the preview. The Marantz website does state that both the M-CR510 and M-CR610 have built in vTuner and Last.fm support.
Our Marantz contact verified vTuner and we have updated the preview.

But he didn't say anything about last.fm and it's not in the press release. Where did you find it online, I can't locate it on the product page or specs. Thx
 
hk2000

hk2000

Junior Audioholic
Cool, but they can do better

Nice preview, I still prefer full reviews but in this case a preview is prbably more appropriate. We should all be greatfull for the advances in technology that allow for simplifying our audio systems, but for true audiofiles these two just don't cut it. For anyone interested, the ONKYO TX-8050 stereo receiver is rated into 4 Ohms and has most of the features for far less money. I just got it to replace my old receiver and it does a great job with DLNA playing all audio files on my network. It supports Pandora, Slacker, Spotify, vTuner, Aupeo, and others, and aside from the CD player which most of us carry over anyway I think the Marantz doesn't add much and is overpriced.:confused:
 
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malifact

Audiophyte
Our Marantz contact verified vTuner and we have updated the preview.

But he didn't say anything about last.fm and it's not in the press release. Where did you find it online, I can't locate it on the product page or specs. Thx
Hi Cliff, I got it from the specs page on Marantz's UK site. It is listed with the vTuner and Spotify support.

For anyone interested, the ONKYO TX-8050 stereo receiver is rated into 4 Ohms and has most of the features for far less money. I just got it to replace my old receiver and it does a great job with DLNA playing all audio files on my network. It supports Pandora, Slacker, Spotify, vTuner, Aupeo, and others, and aside from the CD player which most of us carry over anyway I think the Marantz doesn't add much and is overpriced.:confused:
I was interested in the Onkyo TX-8050, but was put off slightly by the lack of Airplay support, gapless playback and the larger size compared to the Marantz. What kind of speakers are you using with it (I have Monitor Audio RX1s)?
 
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hk2000

hk2000

Junior Audioholic
Hi Cliff, I got it from the specs page on Marantz's UK site. It is listed with the vTuner and Spotify support.



I was interested in the Onkyo TX-8050, but was put off slightly by the lack of Airplay support, gapless playback and the larger size compared to the Marantz. What kind of speakers are you using with it (I have Monitor Audio RX1s)?

I have it hooked up to a pair of NHT SB2s and a Ds-10 sub. Aside from the bigger size, it cannot be beat for under $250. It seems to me the Marantzs are meant for a desktop system rather than full blown room filling stereo sound system.
 
O

olc

Enthusiast
Very slick. Now if they would just make it without speaker amps and outputs and just make it a network music streamer I'd replace my Squeezebox with it. Be nice if it had more music services, MOG in particular.
 
Pyrrho

Pyrrho

Audioholic Ninja
I have a really hard time believing anyone really needs something that small. For a time, I lived in a small studio apartment. It was so tiny, it had a Murphy bed to allow one to use the space for other things while not sleeping. If I remember right, I had a folding table that I used for dining, and I had two chairs in case I had a guest. My receiver at that time was a Pioneer SX-1250. The fact that it was extra large was not a problem. It is all a question of how one chooses to use one's space.

I also had a turntable, cassette deck, and CD player, all on a rack.

Now, really big speakers could have been a problem in such a small space, but any normal sized speaker would fit, if one really wanted them. As it was, I had a pair of small bookshelf speakers, that I put on speaker stands (so tower speakers would not have taken up any more room, though back then, tower speakers were more rare than today, and I had limited funds; otherwise, I would have lived in a bigger place).

Of course, if others want something extra small, then that is what they should get. But they should realize that extra small comes at a price, both monetarily and in sound quality/capability.

I suppose if one is living in a closet it might be necessary to have something tiny, but I had a very small studio apartment and there was no problem fitting an extra large receiver in it.

I think there is about zero chance that I will ever want to pay extra to get a less capable tiny unit, even if I were forced back into that same tiny studio apartment I lived in over 20 years ago.

So my response to the last question of the article:

What do you think, is this type of product you would consider for a secondary system in the home, dorm, or office?
Almost certainly not. I would rather have something that takes up a bit more space that costs less and sounds better. Regular sized components easily fit in a regular sized room; they are not prohibitively big.

But, again, if others wish to pay extra for worse sound/less capability so that they can have something tiny, that is their choice.
 
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malifact

Audiophyte
While a mini system will not be able to compete with decent separates, the Marantz M-CR603 had a very impressive sound for a small system and could drive some seriously decent speakers. It doesn't seem they are changing too much for its successor in terms of sound and so it ticks most of the boxes for me.
 
agarwalro

agarwalro

Audioholic Ninja
I have never understood the allure of "executive systems" and am struggling to justify buying one of these over a full blown AVR. All the budget receivers in the recent AH article do more, albeit, at the expense of form factor.
 
Pyrrho

Pyrrho

Audioholic Ninja
I have never understood the allure of "executive systems" and am struggling to justify buying one of these over a full blown AVR. All the budget receivers in the recent AH article do more, albeit, at the expense of form factor.
Yes. The ONLY advantage to the tiny thing is that it is tiny. One sacrifices power and features and money for being tiny. If tiny matters more to you than the extra cost, the less power, and fewer features, then a tiny unit is for you. If extra cost, less power, and fewer features matters more to you than tiny, then it is not for you.

Regardless of what one's preferences are, one should face the facts squarely and honestly and select according to what matters to one.
 
Cliff_is

Cliff_is

Audioholics Content Manager
Very slick. Now if they would just make it without speaker amps and outputs and just make it a network music streamer I'd replace my Squeezebox with it. Be nice if it had more music services, MOG in particular.
SONOS supports MOG and a crap ton of other services.

Listen to All of Your Music with Sonos Wireless Music Systems

but not AirPlay...which is lame. You have to get an AirPort express and hook it up to the SONOS Connect.
 
panteragstk

panteragstk

Audioholic Warlord
Interesting unit, but I see no sort of bass management listed. Manual is a bit lacking. I'll stick with the NR1504 I've had my eye on.
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
I'll stick with the NR1504 I've had my eye on.
That's a nice one, for sure. If you have any questions about that one, just let me know. I've got one in my setup right now. I just wish that I like Audyssey more. Well, and I have a learning remote...the one that comes with it isn't universal.
 
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