Marantz AV7005 Networking A/V Processor Review

adk highlander said:

Stopped into my dealer and he gave me a number I could not refuse. I now have one on order.

Now I need to sell the 885.

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Well, congratulations, bud.

The AV7005 looks pretty sweet.

Thanks!

Great first review! I was hoping for a SR7005 review but beggars can't be choosers I guess. Any chance you could say a few words on how you'd estimate the SR to be in comparison? Clearly it's the internal and lower amp's that are the difference but how would all this shake down using average demanding speakers? Specifically I'm running B&W 602 S2 for L,R,C. Would the AV be overkill and unnecessary for my use? (I'd have to buy an amp as well)...Thanks!

AcuDefTechGuy said:

Well, congratulations, bud.

The AV7005 looks pretty sweet.

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Thanks. I've been thinking about getting the latest Onkyo but I can only get Denon and Marantz locally and I didn't want to chance another online purchase of one of these. It will be nice to have the 2 extra HDMI inputs and the Audyssey DSX, Dynamic Volume, and Dynamic EQ. I do watch many movies late at night so the low volume modes are something I really want to try out.

I'm really into the super clean look.

adk highlander said:

I'm really into the super clean look.

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One of the best looking pre-pro regardless of price IMO.

I've always loved their Reference amps/preamps aesthetics, and the AV7005 inhereted big time.

Anyone else...?

So, has anyone else seen the video performance and think it is a vast improvement over the 6003?

Inquiring minds..

(nice review, but I do miss the geek specs)

AcuDefTechGuy said:

Well, congratulations, bud.

The AV7005 looks pretty sweet.

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It sure is. My only concern is that on paper it has the same specs as the SR7005 and therefore it may also have sub par SN and cross talk figures. I can live with it's lack of Audyssey XT32 but I don't feel like settling for SN <100 dBrA. I'll hoping to see at least one review with lab measurements, before pulling the trigger.

AcuDefTechGuy said:

Well, congratulations, bud.

The AV7005 looks pretty sweet.

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It sure is. My only concern is that on paper it has the same specs as the SR7005 and therefore it may also have sub par SN and cross talk figures. I can live with it's lack of Audyssey XT32 but I don't feel like settling for SN <100 dBrA. I'll hoping to see at least one review with lab measurements, before pulling the trigger. Do you know what kind of DAC it has in it by any chance?

Found this on the Emotiva boards

The Marantz AV7005 pre/pro, as well the SR7005 receiver, have the Asahi Kasei Microdevices AKM DAC on board, the AK4358 chip DAC; a single 8-channel DAC on a chip.

* @ http://www.asahi-kasei.co.jp/akm/en/product/ak4358/ak4358.html

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Something else I found as well

* The Denon AVR-3311CI receiver uses only ONE AKM DAC, the AK4358, an 8-channel DAC on a single chip.
* The Denon AVR-4311CI receiver uses TWO AKM DACs, the exact same DAC as in the 3311 receiver.
Because the AVR-4311 receiver is an 11.2-channel receiver, it has 13 preouts for 13 channels. So it needs 13 DACs. And TWO AK4358 DACs equals 16 DACs all together; the three extra DACs are NOT used.
* Both the Marantz AV7005 (pre/pro) and SR7005 (receiver) use the exact same DAC (AK4358), and only ONE of them, because as the Denon AVR-3311, they are 7.1-channel components.
{The Marantz SR7005 receiver is based on the Denon AVR-3311CI receiver.}

And that is the true real fact (100% OFFICIAL), confirmed by DENON's technical chief engineer at Denon's headquarters in Canada. And he also confirmed my suspicion about those errors (the two DACs mentioned in the 3311's info on their website, and also the other missing DAC from the 4311)."

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So what does that mean for us idiots that don't know anything about chips...

either way, i'll bet money that any of those units will be better then my pioneer receiver...

Mm7055&mm7025

Hi Frans

Again nice 'fine tuned' review... has helped me alot with my setup of the past week. much appreciated

Heres the question.. I bought mine as a package i.e. AV7005, MM7055 & MM7025, becuase it worked out cheaper.

Now I bought this with the itention of being 5.1 since i have only a shallow lounge room and dont have other rooms to run an extra zone.

I tried selling the MM7025 but not at the price I thought i would get here in Aus

So I was thinking, would it be of any advantage running my fronts of the 2.1 channels on the 7025 and the centre and sides off the MM7055, or is that complete overkill and a waste??... Im assuming the MM7055 is more than capable of running the lot being 140watts through each channel. If my theory is incorrect pls educate me!

The only adv I can think of is cooler units??? and nothing else.

(if it helps i watch mostly movies, & the odd karaoke & audio from my fronts)

thanks again guys,

Steve (sydney AUS)

Hey Steve,

MM7055 AND a MM7025? I'm turning green here, buddy. That's awesome!

I would definitely run the fronts with the MM7055 since it has more capacitance (uF storage capacity) available! I'd use the MM7025 for the rears. Ideally, you can bi-amp the Fronts and use the last available channel at the MM7055 for your center channel.

I'm using a 4.1 set up, so I have one free channel at the back of the MM7055. With this set up even at loud volumes, the MM7055 doesn't get anywhere near hot. It just gets a tiny bit warm, yes, but it's really nothing much!

Warpdrv said:

So what does that mean for us idiots that don't know anything about chips...

either way, i'll bet money that any of those units will be better then my pioneer receiver...

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Basically this silicon integration simply shows more functions within a single piece of silicon. Costs on DACs have continually been decreasing, as the latest OE cost (< $2) for the AKM4358 as an 8-channel DAC is equal to their OE cost of the 4396 (2 channel DAC) of just 1 1/2 years previously.

Another significant example of silicon integration is the Cirrus Logic CS42528, which measures better than the 4358 and also includes a S/PIF transciever as well plus being less expensive...

Just my $0.02...

Mm7055&mm7025

Frans

ok great, thanks for the tips I understand running the fronts through the MM7055 makes more sense.

Your comment on "bi-amp"ing the fronts... can you explain how I achieve this, (stupid question to you probably) just dont want to blow up my fronts!!!

great units, love the portholes too

Cheers
Steve

Mm7055 & mm7025

Ill answer my own question here, had a bit of time to reaserch my speakers on the dynaudio site.. looks like bi-amping is not recommended..

"Dynaudio loudspeakers feature a carefully fine-tuned cross-over, optimized using selected parts and an advanced circuitry to achieve a truly balanced and smooth frequency response. Therefore, dividing the frequency sections through bi-wiring or bi-amping is neither beneficial nor optional"

so i guess i separate my rears through the 2 channel amp. Or just another thought, should I separate my centre speaker from my fronts as they would be the most power consuming of the set?

thanks as always Steve

I've bi-amped my fronts for about two years. Nowadays I'm not bi-amping anymore, ever since I got the MM7055. I can't say I've noticed a difference.

I'm not sure what you mean by separating the center. You mean running the center solo through the MM7025? Seems like a waste of amp to me But knock yourself out! Haha.

Mm7055 & mm7025

Yes I meant separating both the centre and fronts on different amps. Your right its a waste of an amp.. oh well ill just sell it for peanuts. cheers

After reading up on numerous postings on the Marantz separates I came up with a few apparent key points to consider, they are:

AV8003

Lacking a few features that are important to me, such as only 4 HDMI, no front ports, no upper mid range DAC, Cross talk, SN not much better than the AV7005, no USB ports, no Audyssey XT.

Lacking a few features that I really don't worry about but would like to have in something costing that much. These include the lack of wifi, superior video processing (the ABT in this unit is apparently not implemented as good as those in others such as the Denon and Yamaha models)

Price


AV7005

Lacking a few features that are almost useless to me, including S-Video (I found it worse than composite after converting to HDMI out), good plated stuff (love the look though), Denon Link (can't expect that in a Marantz), toroidal p/s transformer.

Lacking upper mid range DAC, S/N, cross talks not as good as my 4308

Price


MM8003

A few negatives I don't consider essential, such as:

Not 4 ohm rated (uncommon for a power amp), not THX certified, not ACD rated (a mere 600VA p/s transformer), power output roughly inline with my 4308.

Price

After agonizing over the above for a few days, I pulled the trigger nonetheless. I am going to miss the 4308.

M Code said:

Basically this silicon integration simply shows more functions within a single piece of silicon. Costs on DACs have continually been decreasing, as the latest OE cost (< $2) for the AKM4358 as an 8-channel DAC is equal to their OE cost of the 4396 (2 channel DAC) of just 1 1/2 years previously.

Another significant example of silicon integration is the Cirrus Logic CS42528, which measures better than the 4358 and also includes a S/PIF transciever as well plus being less expensive...

Just my $0.02...

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Price wise how does the AKM4358 compare to the Burr Brown 1791 used in the previous version mid range Denon AVRs?

Does Marantz have a setting to turn off the tacky, juvenile blue neon light around the control knob? I dont see the point of going to all the trouble to hide the buttons then feature that ugly light. It ruins what would otherwise be a half decent looking unit.

PENG said:

After agonizing over the above for a few days, I pulled the trigger nonetheless. I am going to miss the 4308.

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All I know is that in Direct Modes, I am confident that the AV7005 will sound every bit as great as any pre-pro out there, including the AVR-5308CI and AVP-A1HDCI.

I looked at the AV7005 brochure, and it says the SNR in DIRECT MODE is 105dBA:

http://us.marantz.com/AV7005.pdf