Receiver For Mission Speakers

[ZeroPlex]

Hi all,

My current speaker setup consists of 2 Mission 774 Fronts, 2 Mission 773 Rears, Mission 77C Centre and a Yamaha YST-SW160 Sub.

They may seem like antiques to some of you as they are all 10 years old lol.

The AV Receiver that I'm currently using with the speakers is a Marantz SR4002 and I'm thinking about upgrading to something better as I do feel it's lacking a bit.

I've read that Denon and Yamaha receivers are best suited to Mission given they are warm sounding. Is this correct?

The receivers I like in that range are the Yamaha 765 and 1065, and the Denon 1910/2310.

For my speaker setup, with it be worth going for the 1065 over the 765?. The same applies to the Denon, the 2310 over the 1910?

I like the Onkyo 807 aswell by the way. Would this receiver suit the missions?

All of the mentioned are just about within my budget, although ofcourse I'd like to get things done as cheaply as possible where suitability and performance is concerned.

With all that said, would it be a better option to keep the Marantz and upgrade the speakers instead?

For anyone that knows the speakers I have, how do they stand by todays standards?

Thanks for any help guys.

 

[rnatalli]

I've read that Denon and Yamaha receivers are best suited to Mission given they are warm sounding. Is this correct?

This is a myth. A receiver should be bought for price, features, and overall power (actual not rated).

I personally like Denon, Marantz, and Onkyo because their amp sections are good and they offer Audyssey.

What do you feel is lacking? A receiver change likely won't make a difference unless you engage the EQ for room correction. I think I would upgrade your sub before anything else.

 

[ZeroPlex]

Thanks for the response.

I feel there is a lack of bass compared to the Sony I previously owned, plus at higher volumes it feels as though there isn't enough power to drive the speakers to their potential. Again, I problem I didn't have with the Sony.

The Marantz is only a basic Model with no real bells and whistles, and it's 80 Watts @ 8 ohms RMS. Is that enough power do you reckon?

I'd like a more powerful receiver, with onboad HD decoding and more DSP Modes, but they aren't overly important, as my PS3 will decode HD audio internally and output as LPCM, which the Marantz will do.

I'm at the crossroads with regards what to do really.

Do you think my receiver is good enough?

I'm trying to post a link to the specs, but my post count isn't high enough yet to do so, but you could look at the Marantz SR4002 on the Marantz Europe website from the archived section.

 

[walter duque]

IMO 80 watts is not enough to drive any speaker to it's full potential.

 

[ZeroPlex]

IMO 80 watts is not enough to drive any speaker to it's full potential.

Yes, I think it's the power of the amp that is my problem really.

Would you have any amp recommendations?

By the way, how do you determine the actual power rating of a receiver?

The 80 watts rms was what was advertised.

 

[rnatalli]

What is your crossover set at? Did you recalibrate levels when you hooked up the Marantz?

Marantz receivers have very good amp sections, the 4002 included. You'd really have to step up to get a more powerful receiver. An external amp is always a possibility, but I don't recall if the Euro 4002 has preouts. Keep in mind, it takes twice the power for a gain of 3db. Assuming the 4002 is capable of say 50wpc all channels driven, you'd have to go to 100wpc to gain 3db. I'm not talking 100wpc ratings on budget Yamaha's and Pioneer receivers, but a real 100wpc. I still think you'd benefit more by upgrading your sub to something like an HSU or SVS.

 

[ZeroPlex]

What is your crossover set at? Did you recalibrate levels when you hooked up the Marantz?

Marantz receivers have very good amp sections, the 4002 included. You'd really have to step up to get a more powerful receiver. An external amp is always a possibility, but I don't recall if the Euro 4002 has preouts. Keep in mind, it takes twice the power for a gain of 3db. Assuming the 4002 is capable of say 50wpc all channels driven, you'd have to go to 100wpc to gain 3db. I'm not talking 100wpc ratings on budget Yamaha's and Pioneer receivers, but a real 100wpc. I still think you'd benefit more by upgrading your sub to something like an HSU or SVS.

Thanks.

Crossover is set at 80hz on the receiver and maxed out on the sub to take it out of play. All speakers are set to small and balanced with an SPL meter.

I'll have a look at the manual of the Marantz for THD and S/N, aswell as Dynamic Headroom.

I intend to buy a new sub anyway, so no harm starting there first.

The Yamaha YST-SW160 that I'm using isn't the best of subs anyway.

 

[ZeroPlex]

Ok, THD is 0.08%. S/N is 105db (analog/Pure Direct), doesn't mention digital...

8 ohms - 80 watts per channel

6 ohms 105 watts per channel

Doesn't say anything about dynamic headroom.

 

[Seth=L]

What Sony receiver did you have before the Marantz? I seriously doubt your problem is power, and the Marantz shouldn't sound different from the Sony unless there's some setting differences. Maybe the Sony didn't have a x-over and your speakers where getting full range sound and that's the difference you are hearing. If you prefer the sound of bass coming from your Missions maybe you could try setting them to large on the Marantz, at least until you get a better subwoofer. The SR 4002 has preouts allowing you to connect a higher power amplifier to it. Most of the comparably priced receivers lack this connectivity option, which I feel is a major drawback for those that can do with some flexibility.

 

[sholling]

I agree about the sub being a great place too start but you need to do your homework first. You'll want to figure out how many cubic feet your room is. That includes any rooms that it opens directly into. The space that the subwoofer will have to pressurize. Once you've done that SVSound or Hsu Research will help you size a subwoofer to your space.

Being cheap I had to learn the hard way about receiver power ratings. My first AVR was a Pioneer VSX-912 with "6x 110w", my second was a 19lb VSX1014 with "7x 110w". 110w with all channels driven my foot. The 90w x7 Onkyo TX-SR607 in my bedroom puts both to shame. When you jump up to something like the 145w (54lbs!!!) Onkyo TX-NR906 that I have family room you're talking about a receiver with the reserve power to add punch with all channels driven. That extra (35lbs) weight is made of of big beefy power supplies. Anyway see how a new sub works out before spending money on a new receiver.

 

[ZeroPlex]

Thanks guys.

Seth,

The Sony Amp I had before was an STR-DB930, and there were so many settings in that, including a whole host of DSP Modes that perhaps some things were set so as to augment bass, possibly from the speakers themselves.

Sholling,

I did consider one of the new Onkyo 807's, which is apparently a monster. 180 watts per channel here in Europe I think it is, but the reviews say that it will completely blow you off the sofa and you'd even need to take a break half way through a movie, so it's a bit beefy in the bass department.

Maybe it would be my ideal receiver, but there are issues with Onkyo and reliability, plus build quality, which puts me off. What is your opinion on this?

 

[ZeroPlex]

Just one more thing to add.

I'm using a Y Link subwoofer cable which I had lying around instead of buying a single RCA to RCA.

The Y Link I have is a PPX to 2 RCA. It's this cable here:

http://www.hificablesdirect.com/256/Supra-Y-Link-Subwoofer-Cable-.html

It's not any harm to use that connection between the amp and the sub is it? It won't affect performance in any way?

I have the PPX on the amp side and both RCA's fed into the left and right inputs on the sub.

Both inputs on the sub are black by the way, and not red and white, or red and black like you see on some others.

 

[Seth=L]

The Sony Amp I had before was an STR-DB930, and there were so many settings in that, including a whole host of DSP Modes that perhaps some things were set so as to augment bass, possibly from the speakers themselves.

That's more than likely true. The solution could be an eq.