Marantz SR6008 vs Denon avr-X4000

[Latent]

Just got a Marantz SR6008 for a good price to replace my old yamaha RX-V667. Was looking for one with auydssey XT32 but these were all out of my price range so ended up getting this older model Marantz that has XT. It arrived yesterday and then the same seller lists a Denon X4000 for 30% more than I paid for the SR6008. So contacted them and asked and they can trade me up to the Denon if I pay the difference plus courier costs x2 and they are not close so this adds to the cost.

So wondering if I really need the Denon or if I should just be happy with the Marantz. Advantages are XT32/subeq, 2 more channels of processing that needs external amp to use, and zone3 audio out. Marantz has a couple of sound quality improvement things which are hard to quantify.

Note I was looking at these older models as I don't care much for 4k due to my rooms viewing distance and so hdmi 2.0 and hdcp 2.2 are features that can wait till the next upgrade and current gen units are overpriced here. Also only have 1 sub right now and only have room for 7 speakers 5.1+heights in my room so don't know if 9.2 processing is useful for me.

 

[rojo]

The biggest advantage of the Denon is SubEQ HT. Do you have or plan to have 2 subs? If so, it might be a worthwhile upgrade. Otherwise, stick with the Marantz.

 

[Latent]

Yeah not sure at this point if I will get 2 subs at some point or not. Anyone ever managed to get a new sub and hide it so well the wife/husband never knows you put it in 'their' room?

 

[KenM10759]

Even when you can disguise a sub as being a large end table or steamer trunk, there's no denying what it really is once it's at work. There are some "fine furniture" level subwoofers out there which do a good job on Spouse Approval Factor, though they can get expensive for the performance level they give.

 

[herbu]

Any decent subs will have gain controls on them. If you decide to get a second sub, you can still balance them w/o .2 controls in your AVR.

If you're pinching pennies that closely, don't worry about it. You will always be able to find something just a little "better" if you keep looking. You can drive yourself, (and us), crazy.

 

[KEW]

Keep the Marantz. It is a nice unit and the Denon doesn't have enough more to offer until you get a second sub (if).
If you were getting the 4000, I might suggest you pay a little more for the 4100. It has a feature where the settings are retained by source that is very nice. For example, I have my BD player input associated with subwoofers turned up 6dB and my CD player associated with the subs turned down 2dB. This way, I don't have to mess with changing the settings when I go from music to HT.
Since my Oppo has two HDMI outputs, I have the first HDMI input set up for normal HT/movies and use the second set up for watching a music concert DVD.

I am being facetious, but also a bit realistic. As Herbu says, there is always a upgrade! Even if you buy the best current model, in a couple of years a new feature will come out. Most of those features I have little interest in (like Atmos - 5.2 is plenty nice by me!). The one I mentioned above is one of few that I think is truly worth having!

I try to buy refurbished units from Accessories4less or open box units from Amazon. That way I don't lose so much when I do decide to upgrade.
In the meantime, I still have an SR-6001 that is doing a great job!

 

[lovinthehd]

I went from an Onkyo with XT to a Denon 4520 with XT32, and have multiple subs at different distances, and thought that was a noticeable upgrade; I also wanted the additional processing the Denon offered for more speakers. YMMV. You can also get something like a miniDSP down the line to separately manage multiple subs, too. I have more subs at more positions than Denon's implementation can handle so have a miniDSP to augment now (Audyssey can do more than 2 subs but no avr manufacturer implemented such).

 

[Latent]

I try to buy refurbished units from Accessories4less or open box units from Amazon. That way I don't lose so much when I do decide to upgrade.

Thanks for all the advice guys. I'm in New Zealand so don't have as many options for where to purchase from. The SR6008 I got was an older model that was ex demo 6mth warranty so got it for a good price relative to retail on new models here. Like KEW i'd prefer to get an older unit that I can recover a larger portion on resale when I upgrade again.

 

[herbu]

If you were getting the 4000, I might suggest you pay a little more for the 4100. It has a feature where the settings are retained by source that is very nice.

My 4000 does effectively the same thing. It remembers your settings by playback mode. In all the Dolby modes, plus the BDP multi-channel-in mode, I have the subs boosted 6dB. In stereo mode I have the subs flat at 0dB.

So TV/Movies, from whatever source, get the bass boost. Stereo music, from whatever source, plays flat. If ever I do want to change, it's one button press on the remote.

So if budget were a consideration, I wouldn't pay for the difference.

 

[KEW]

My 4000 does effectively the same thing. It remembers your settings by playback mode. In all the Dolby modes, plus the BDP multi-channel-in mode, I have the subs boosted 6dB. In stereo mode I have the subs flat at 0dB.

So TV/Movies, from whatever source, get the bass boost. Stereo music, from whatever source, plays flat. If ever I do want to change, it's one button press on the remote.

So if budget were a consideration, I wouldn't pay for the difference.

Thanks for pointing that out.
You are right, not near as big of a convenience as I was thinking.

 

[rojo]

I leave my AVR on "Auto" so that stereo source content plays stereo, 5.1 sources play 5.1, and I don't ever use any virtual surround modes (Dolby PLII, DTS Neo:X, etc). Quadrophonic sound is for cars; and using a virtual surround mode where a native surround mode is already provided in the program content seems like blasphemy to me.

Anyway, if I recall correctly, my SR6008 does compartmentalize some of its settings depending on the source. I can set Dynamic Volume to "medium" for the CATV source (to squash car commercials) and "low" for the HTPC source (to avoid waking up my daughter when she goes to bed), and the AVR remembers the difference. At least I think that's how it works, anyway. It seems like I also had to set the LFE volume for each source after running the initial Audyssey sweeps, but I could be mis-remembering that. I've slept since then, and I'm not home at the moment to verify.

 

[afterlife2]

This is a real good deal if you really want XT32. Maybe you can talk him down: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Onkyo-TX-NR818-7-2-Channel-135-Watt-Receiver-/291779069190?hash=item43ef634506:g:e~YAAOSwFEFXJpyi

 

[KEW]

This is a real good deal if you really want XT32. Maybe you can talk him down: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Onkyo-TX-NR818-7-2-Channel-135-Watt-Receiver-/291779069190?hash=item43ef634506:g:e~YAAOSwFEFXJpyi

Careful!

Onkyo made the dumb decision to incorporate XT32 in at least some of their AVR's without adding SubEQ. What this means is that it won't match the phases and level of two subs before equalizing them.
Not a bad deal at $350, but most people are looking for XT32 in order to manage dual subs and many of the Onkyo's do not have the proper features for it!

 

[afterlife2]

That's the one I got on ebay KEW last year, but I don't use 2 subs. My place it TINY. It's a great receiver and mighty capable of going to outstanding levels if pushed. They were going for 800-1000 a couple of years ago and refurb for $500 last year, but they ran out.

 

[herbu]

I leave my AVR on "Auto" so that stereo source content plays stereo, 5.1 sources play 5.1, and I don't ever use any virtual surround modes (Dolby PLII, DTS Neo:X, etc).

Me too. And you can still customize sub levels w/ the X4000.

 

[PENG]

Yeah not sure at this point if I will get 2 subs at some point or not.

I am sure the X4000 will do a much better job with bass regardless but even then it does not guarantee your will like the more accurate bass response in your room better. Other than that those two units will sound the same (audibly) in pure direct mode so I agree with others, don't waste money on shipping.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

If it were a nearby dealer and you only had to pay for the difference in price, I would say get the X4000.

But since it seems like a big hassle, I would say no.