Newbie looking for new receiver suggestions..help? Marantz 5011 thoughts?

[lithnights]

I'm a bit of an audio newbie, and am asking for help. I have a 2005 Pioneer VSX-1015TX. I have had zero problems with it, but lately I've had an urge to upgrade my receiver for hopefully better sound. I've been told by various A/V folks that I should probably upgrade my receiver. The Pioneer has no HDMIs or wireless but other than that, I'm not sure what the advantage of upgrading would be. I'm only powering five in ceiling speakers.. three Speakercraft AIM7 (one or threes) in the front, and two AIM5s (one or threes) in the back, plus a Definitive Technology SuperCube 2000 subwoofer. I am not an audiophile and I use the system for about 50% music, and 50% movies/TV. I have a Samsung plasma PN64D8000.

After a little bit of research, I picked up a Marantz SR5011 yesterday. The 6011 was $600 MORE and I didn't see anything about it that justified that price, nor did I notice a huge difference when listening to both in a Magnolia (Best Buy) sound room. The 5011 has been hooked up for a day, and sounds great (to me) but honestly I'm not sure it sounds $850 (the cost) better than my current receiver, so I'm wondering if I made a wise move.

So far the only cons I noticed are.. 1. The circle front display is tiny and I can't read it (specifically the volume) if I'm 8+ feet away. 2. The remote is not backlit, although I have a universal remote so I'm not sure how often I'd use the receiver remote. 3. It's wireless, but I'm not sure how much I need that since I use SONOS which doesn't require that anyway. 4. I'm out $850. (If I'm not allowed to post prices, please delete that...I apologize).

So my questions are..

1. Did I really need to upgrade? Will I likely notice a big difference in sound? Would I be better upgrading my speakers?

2. For my budget of $700 to $1000 (could go higher IF it's worth it), is the 5011 a wise choice? If not, is there any other receivers you would suggest?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Verdinut]

The Marantz 5011 is a very good receiver among the best which you can get, but I need to know more about your listening preferences etc.
1. What kind of music are you listening to, or are you using receiver mostly for movies?
2. What is the sensitivity of your speakers or the brand and model of speakers which you are using?
3. What is the size of your listening room?
4. How loud do you listen to music or movie sound?
5. At what distance do you listen from your front speakers?

 

[Verdinut]

I've just perused Speakercraft's website, and there's not even any note about their specifications.

I regret I won't be able to help you on this.

 

[Bucknekked]

So my questions are..

1. Did I really need to upgrade? Will I likely notice a big difference in sound? Would I be better upgrading my speakers?

2. For my budget of $700 to $1000 (could go higher IF it's worth it), is the 5011 a wise choice? If not, is there any other receivers you would suggest?

Thanks in advance!

The basic problem here, highlighted by Verdinut, is that with no defined problem, or no defined goal, its really hard to say anything about your purchase. Did you need to upgrade if you didn't have an actual issue with your existing system? You can probably answer that yourself better than I can.

Is an $850 purchase a wise one? Can't really tell much because you haven't really defined anything to base a comment on.

As far as the Marantz 5011 goes, its a solid AVR. Its feature rich. It has as much modern connectivity as you are likely to ever use. Its amplification section is well regarded. The company is also making good products so it has a good reputation for sitting around feeling good about what you bought. If you were starting out on a new home theater, or a new music setup, you could do far worse than the Marantz as a starter AVR. So, the choice is a good box as far as comparison choices might be.

Did you solve a problem with $850 bucks? That's up to you.
Most of the time, just as a piece of advice, forums like AH are a lot more helpful BEFORE you make a purchase. If you put a problem statement to the forum BEFORE a purchase, you'll get a ton of good advice based on your problem statement that can be quite detailed and very helpful. After the fact, its kinda tough to be useful

 

[lithnights]

The Marantz 5011 is a very good receiver among the best which you can get, but I need to know more about your listening preferences etc.
1. What kind of music are you listening to, or are you using receiver mostly for movies? MUSIC IS PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING. I HAVE PROBABLY THE BROADEST MUSICAL TASTE OF ANYONE I KNOW..FROM CLASSICAL TO RAP TO COUNTRY TO POP TO ROCK ETC.
2. What is the sensitivity of your speakers or the brand and model of speakers which you are using? SPEAKERS REFERENCED IN POST. UNFORTUNATELY I DON'T KNOW THE SPECS. I'VE TRIED TO FIND THIS INFO OUT. I'M NOT EVEN SURE WHAT EXACT MODEL THE SPEAKERS ARE SINCE THEY'RE IN THE CEILING.
3. What is the size of your listening room? 20x15
4. How loud do you listen to music or movie sound? FAIRLY LOUD, AS LOUD AS I CAN.. (WHEN THE KIDS AREN'T AROUND)
5. At what distance do you listen from your front speakers? 13 FEET

MY ANSWERS ABOVE IN CAPS.

Thanks!

 

[lithnights]

The basic problem here, highlighted by Verdinut, is that with no defined problem, or no defined goal, its really hard to say anything about your purchase. Did you need to upgrade if you didn't have an actual issue with your existing system? You can probably answer that yourself better than I can.

Is an $850 purchase a wise one? Can't really tell much because you haven't really defined anything to base a comment on.

As far as the Marantz 5011 goes, its a solid AVR. Its feature rich. It has as much modern connectivity as you are likely to ever use. Its amplification section is well regarded. The company is also making good products so it has a good reputation for sitting around feeling good about what you bought. If you were starting out on a new home theater, or a new music setup, you could do far worse than the Marantz as a starter AVR. So, the choice is a good box as far as comparison choices might be.

Did you solve a problem with $850 bucks? That's up to you.
Most of the time, just as a piece of advice, forums like AH are a lot more helpful BEFORE you make a purchase. If you put a problem statement to the forum BEFORE a purchase, you'll get a ton of good advice based on your problem statement that can be quite detailed and very helpful. After the fact, its kinda tough to be useful

I understand what you are saying about the goal. I imagine my main "goal" is to make my room sound more like a real movie theater. To me it now sounds really good, but I guess I'm looking for great. I've been in other's homes, or in sound rooms, where the room feels/sounds more like a theater than my family room does. I want closer to that I guess. I know that's a subjective answer but I guess that's my answer.

And in telling various people that goal, the suggestion often was to upgrade my receiver. With that said, they didn't even really know what receiver I had, just that it was 11 years old, so I guess I should question that guidance. So that's why I was wondering whether to upgrade the receiver or the speakers or both.

And yes I agree, forums are ideal BEFORE. In fact, in pretty much every purchase I ever make, I research and over research before buying. This was more of an impulse buy, which rarely happens for me, and in the back of my mind, I had a feeling I may end up returning it once I got it home and listened. I still have 2 weeks to make that decision. So let's just pretend I didn't buy it yet. : )

Hopefully those answers helped define my issue better.

Thanks,

 

[lovinthehd]

Your receiver's role isn't so much sound quality as I think you've discovered, altho I wonder how you feel about the difference between the MCACC setup in your Pioneer vs the Audyssey in your Marantz. That's one way sound quality can be different, albeit not necessarily better. AVRs for me are about convenience otherwise, the ability to connect and play with my other gear; internet connection and hdmi can be good things. You got a solid avr but is it worth the differences?

If you want to change the audio you normally start with speakers or your sub; in-ceiling is limited IMO but may be necessary in your case, don't know but would be my last choice in speakers for a surround setup. The room is a huge part of your sound...got some details for your room to share? Pics?

 

[lithnights]

Your receiver's role isn't so much sound quality as I think you've discovered, altho I wonder how you feel about the difference between the MCACC setup in your Pioneer vs the Audyssey in your Marantz. That's one way sound quality can be different, albeit not necessarily better. AVRs for me are about convenience otherwise, the ability to connect and play with my other gear; internet connection and hdmi can be good things. You got a solid avr but is it worth the differences?

If you want to change the audio you normally start with speakers or your sub; in-ceiling is limited IMO but may be necessary in your case, don't know but would be my last choice in speakers for a surround setup. The room is a huge part of your sound...got some details for your room to share? Pics?

4 pics of the family room are attached. Hopefully they post OK.

The room is 20 wide by 15 deep, and opens up into a breakfast room/kitchen area, where I often am when I listen to the music. Hopefully that helps.
And as far as a sub, I just replaced that a few months ago..Definitive Technology SuperCube 2000 subwoofer.

 

[lovinthehd]

4 pics of the family room are attached. Hopefully they post OK. View attachment 20363 View attachment 20364 View attachment 20365 View attachment 20366 The room is 20 wide by 15 deep, and opens up into a breakfast room/kitchen area, where I often am when I listen to the music. Hopefully that helps.
And as far as a sub, I just replaced that a few months ago..Definitive Technology SuperCube 2000 subwoofer.

Nice looking room. Definitely a large room especially your "sub" (it's really too small but for maybe a very small bedroom/office; 7.5" driver can only do so much and Def Tec specs are usually less than honest with their bass modules, that they're small is really their selling point but bass thrives with larger drivers and cabinets, particularly sub bass territory). Subwoofers need to deal with the entire volume of space open to them, so that includes your breakfast/kitchen area; I'd use several larger subs in a space that size but that's me

Having your speakers point down, particularly the mains up near the tv, is just not going to give you the best dispersion patterns for good audio, particularly if you're sitting over in the kitchen/bfast area. Aesthetics/WAF may rule the roost, though it limits many audio setups in the home. Any tolerance for standard speakers or at least in-walls to flank the tv?

Still curious if you experienced any noticeable differences with the new receiver's Audyssey room eq program vs the Pio's MCACC? Any decision to keep the new receiver or not?

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

IMO if you are looking for movie theater sound, as HD mentioned, you'll need to get your speakers down into the room and the fronts should be along the horizontal axis of the display. I believe surrounds should not be in the ceiling either but again, we don't know your waf factor. Or your own approval factor even. I would also look to return the def tech for something better. The sound difference in receivers as said, will be in the room correction more than anything else. So depending on what it's driving you might not notice much. The real question is how much value you place on connectivity. For me, it matters but you may not find the need. Might want return the avr for a denon or Yamaha that you can read the display.

 

[lithnights]

Nice looking room. Definitely a large room especially your "sub" (it's really too small but for maybe a very small bedroom/office; 7.5" driver can only do so much and Def Tec specs are usually less than honest with their bass modules, that they're small is really their selling point but bass thrives with larger drivers and cabinets, particularly sub bass territory). Subwoofers need to deal with the entire volume of space open to them, so that includes your breakfast/kitchen area; I'd use several larger subs in a space that size but that's me

Having your speakers point down, particularly the mains up near the tv, is just not going to give you the best dispersion patterns for good audio, particularly if you're sitting over in the kitchen/bfast area. Aesthetics/WAF may rule the roost, though it limits many audio setups in the home. Any tolerance for standard speakers or at least in-walls to flank the tv?

Still curious if you experienced any noticeable differences with the new receiver's Audyssey room eq program vs the Pio's MCACC? Any decision to keep the new receiver or not?

My "sub" was essentially the result of it was one of the few options out there that were in my price range that came in a small but powerful package. The wife didn't prefer a large sub, so I tried to find one that i thought would be powerful enough, yet quite small. Even though it's small, it sounds better than my old 8" or 10" Acoustic Research sub I had. I think I could add another sub in the future..I just don't know where I'd put it that would keep her happy. I appreciate the advice on the large room and sub impact.

From the advice I'm hearing, I strongly believe at some point (once we replace the TV stand with some kind of entertainment center), that I will get L/R bookshelf speakers and a center channel. But that could be a few years down the road.

I'm not sure I noticed a huge difference in the Audyssey vs. MCACC. I'm leaning towards returning the Marantz and possibly getting a Yamaha with similar specs.. RX-A760 or RX-A860 perhaps? I've read good things about Yamaha and I like the display a lot better. Any thoughts on those options? Also, if I'm pretty sure I'm getting better speakers in the future, should that impact the wattage of the receiver I get now? i.e. is there some kind of formula to use to know if one needs 90W or 100W or 110W etc. per channel?

Thanks,

 

[lithnights]

IMO if you are looking for movie theater sound, as HD mentioned, you'll need to get your speakers down into the room and the fronts should be along the horizontal axis of the display. I believe surrounds should not be in the ceiling either but again, we don't know your waf factor. Or your own approval factor even. I would also look to return the def tech for something better. The sound difference in receivers as said, will be in the room correction more than anything else. So depending on what it's driving you might not notice much. The real question is how much value you place on connectivity. For me, it matters but you may not find the need. Might want return the avr for a denon or Yamaha that you can read the display.

I believe you are right and I realize at this point, I will be getting L/R bookshelf speakers and a center channel..likely in a couple years.

I'm leaning towards returning the Marantz for a Yamaha as referenced in my post above this one.

Thanks!

 

[lovinthehd]

My "sub" was essentially the result of it was one of the few options out there that were in my price range that came in a small but powerful package. The wife didn't prefer a large sub, so I tried to find one that i thought would be powerful enough, yet quite small. Even though it's small, it sounds better than my old 8" or 10" Acoustic Research sub I had. I think I could add another sub in the future..I just don't know where I'd put it that would keep her happy. I appreciate the advice on the large room and sub impact.

From the advice I'm hearing, I strongly believe at some point (once we replace the TV stand with some kind of entertainment center), that I will get L/R bookshelf speakers and a center channel. But that could be a few years down the road.

I'm not sure I noticed a huge difference in the Audyssey vs. MCACC. I'm leaning towards returning the Marantz and possibly getting a Yamaha with similar specs.. RX-A760 or RX-A860 perhaps? I've read good things about Yamaha and I like the display a lot better. Any thoughts on those options? Also, if I'm pretty sure I'm getting better speakers in the future, should that impact the wattage of the receiver I get now? i.e. is there some kind of formula to use to know if one needs 90W or 100W or 110W etc. per channel?

Thanks,

Yeah WAF is tough on subs. Wait until you try a proper sub....and there are ways to hide them if you diy or pay a cabinet maker enough; they can become end tables quite easily for example. The amp power isn't a very reliable factor, altho the smaller the sub driver and cabinet generally the more power you'll need if the driver can handle it...depends a lot on the sensitivity of the sub and how deep you want it to play.

Was just curious as to whether one or the other room eq routines was a noticeable advantage.

The power of an amp section needed is more about the speakers so if trying to future proof really the best option is to look for higher impedance (6-8 rather than 4 ohm) and higher sensitivity speakers (at least high 80s, preferably in the 90s) so your amp needs aren't as great. In order to gain a mere 3dB in spl (sound pressure level) it takes a doubling of amp power so the real differences in amp power between various avrs is trivial, usually only a few dB different, altho some amps are better at 4 ohm loads than others, usually the flagship models come with those amp sections nowadays. If you want amp options get an avr with pre-outs so you can add a power amp to the avr later if needed.

What are the specs for your current speakers in terms of nominal impedance and sensitivity?

 

[PENG]

I believe you are right and I realize at this point, I will be getting L/R bookshelf speakers and a center channel..likely in a couple years.

I'm leaning towards returning the Marantz for a Yamaha as referenced in my post above this one.

Thanks!

If you don't like the Marantz, consider returning it for a Devon AVR-x3300w or Yamaha RX-A1060 but not the lower models.

 

[lithnights]

Yeah WAF is tough on subs. Wait until you try a proper sub....and there are ways to hide them if you diy or pay a cabinet maker enough; they can become end tables quite easily for example. The amp power isn't a very reliable factor, altho the smaller the sub driver and cabinet generally the more power you'll need if the driver can handle it...depends a lot on the sensitivity of the sub and how deep you want it to play.

Was just curious as to whether one or the other room eq routines was a noticeable advantage.

The power of an amp section needed is more about the speakers so if trying to future proof really the best option is to look for higher impedance (6-8 rather than 4 ohm) and higher sensitivity speakers (at least high 80s, preferably in the 90s) so your amp needs aren't as great. In order to gain a mere 3dB in spl (sound pressure level) it takes a doubling of amp power so the real differences in amp power between various avrs is trivial, usually only a few dB different, altho some amps are better at 4 ohm loads than others, usually the flagship models come with those amp sections nowadays. If you want amp options get an avr with pre-outs so you can add a power amp to the avr later if needed.

What are the specs for your current speakers in terms of nominal impedance and sensitivity?

Here are the specs for current speakers..
front 3..

• Nominal Impedance
  8 Ohm
• Recommended Amplifier Power
  5 Watt
• Sensitivity
  90 dB

back 2..

• Nominal Output Power
  75 Watt
• Frequency Response
  55 - 20000 Hz
• Nominal Impedance
  8 Ohm
• Recommended Amplifier Power
  5 Watt
• Sensitivity
  88 dB

Hopefully that helps.
Again, I plan to upgrade, and get 3 bookshelf speakers within a few years, so those specs will be different I'm sure.

 

[lithnights]

If you don't like the Marantz, consider returning it for a Devon AVR-x3300w or Yamaha RX-A1060 but not the lower models.

I'm leaning towards Yamaha RX-A860, so curious why you suggest the 1060 but not the lower models. What exactly am I getting for that extra $300, going from 860 to 1060? It seems it gives an extra 10W but I've been told not to worry about specs like that, so wondering what the upgrade is for the 1060? It's an extra 10 lbs so I guess there's something to be said for that? I'm willing to spend the money IF it's something that will give me extra benefits.

Thanks,

 

[PENG]

I'm leaning towards Yamaha RX-A860, so curious why you suggest the 1060 but not the lower models. What exactly am I getting for that extra $300, going from 860 to 1060? It seems it gives an extra 10W but I've been told not to worry about specs like that, so wondering what the upgrade is for the 1060? It's an extra 10 lbs so I guess there's something to be said for that? I'm willing to spend the money IF it's something that will give me extra benefits.

Thanks,

The 860's preamp section is likely not as good, so the 1060 and higher models are more future proof. For more details, you should read Gene's review on that unit.

Gene's take on the RX-A860:

Pros

• MusicCAST Integration makes it easy to stream whole home audio
• Manual PEQ works down to 15Hz for better bass control
• Dolby Atmos/DTS:X support

Cons

• Ho-hum bench test result

Link to the full review:

http://www.audioholics.com/av-receiver-reviews/yamaha-rx-a860

 

[lovinthehd]

Here are the specs for current speakers..
front 3..

• Nominal Impedance
  8 Ohm
• Recommended Amplifier Power
  5 Watt
• Sensitivity
  90 dB

back 2..

• Nominal Output Power
  75 Watt
• Frequency Response
  55 - 20000 Hz
• Nominal Impedance
  8 Ohm
• Recommended Amplifier Power
  5 Watt
• Sensitivity
  88 dB

Hopefully that helps.
Again, I plan to upgrade, and get 3 bookshelf speakers within a few years, so those specs will be different I'm sure.

The specs that are most useful are the sensitivity specs and the nominal impedance; seems these speakers would be fine for use with an avr. Power recommendation of 5W sounds at least realistic, but do wonder what their max recommended input is; perhaps that's what they mean by nominal output power. What brand/model are they?

 

[lithnights]

S

The specs that are most useful are the sensitivity specs and the nominal impedance; seems these speakers would be fine for use with an avr. Power recommendation of 5W sounds at least realistic, but do wonder what their max recommended input is; perhaps that's what they mean by nominal output power. What brand/model are they?

Speakercraft AIM7 two (in front) and AIM5 one in back.

 

[lithnights]

The 860's preamp section is likely not as good, so the 1060 and higher models are more future proof. For more details, you should read Gene's review on that unit.

Gene's take on the RX-A860:

Pros

• MusicCAST Integration makes it easy to stream whole home audio
• Manual PEQ works down to 15Hz for better bass control
• Dolby Atmos/DTS:X support

Cons

• Ho-hum bench test result

Link to the full review:

http://www.audioholics.com/av-receiver-reviews/yamaha-rx-a860

I actually had read that review late last night after posting. Also watched a few of his vids on youtube.