Is bigger better?

[Roddi]

Hi guys.


I’m a relative novice, but seem to have caught the vintage bug.


I currently have a Marantz 2275 with Marantz Imperial 8 speakers. In my large room, the system sounds absolutely fantastic, warm, smooth, lots of body. I love the receiver.


I've come into a position where I can get a 2325 at a very reasonable price, and I’m considering snapping it up as I’ve always considered the 2325 "THE one to get".


However, I wonder if it is "to much" receiver? I've read on forums that the 2325 output can sound both a little bloated/basey and lacking in some areas of the spectrum unless you are playing it loud: How it was designed to be played.


I listen to most of my music as background, and pump it up for the occasional song. As mentioned, my room is large, but not auditorium sized.


Would I be doing myself a disservice by getting something with as much push as the 2325's 125W? I.e., would it actually degrade my audio experience because I’m not typically playing it loud?


Any help gratefully appreciated.


Rod

 

[yepimonfire]

The difference between 100w and 125w isn't even a whole decibel. You'd need a doubling or quadrupling of power to get a noticeable increase in volume.

Its much more effective to just get larger speakers with higher sensitivity.

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[Roddi]

Hi Yep, thanks for your reply.

my 2275 puts out 75W, so the difference between it and the 2325 is 50W, or 75% more then my current reciever.

R

 

[lovinthehd]

Hi Yep, thanks for your reply.

my 2275 puts out 75W, so the difference between it and the 2325 is 50W, or 75% more then my current reciever.

R

In spl that's only a difference of 2.2 dB. As Yep said, not much gain by changing amp. If you're getting unclipped and distortion free sound now at your preferred listening levels, you're good. If you simply want the bigger old receiver, go for it.

 

[Roddi]

Or put another way:

Playing a 75w and a 125w reciever at 70dB, would sound quality be exactly the same?

 

[Pogre]

Or put another way:

Playing a 75w and a 125w reciever at 70dB, would sound quality be exactly the same?

Yes. Most well made amps should sound exactly the same when played within their stated limits. A neutral sound is what any good amp manufacturer goes for. An amp should never color the sound. If it does, it's either a tube amp or something's not right.

The only differences should be are when you engage room correction or eq of any kind.

*Edit: It takes a doubling of amp power for every 3db of spl. If you're using 50 watts and getting 90db you'd need 100 watts to get 93db. 200 watts for 96db, etc....

SPL Calculator

 

[lovinthehd]

Or put another way:

Playing a 75w and a 125w reciever at 70dB, would sound quality be exactly the same?

At 70dB spl at your listening position I should certainly hope so or something is screwed up....amps amplify, they shouldn't change SQ unless they're being driven outside their limits. 70 dB spl at your listening position are likely using less than a watt power. Try inputting your specs into an spl calculator like this one

 

[lovinthehd]

Try this article http://www.audioholics.com/frequent-questions/relationship-between-watts-and-dbs

 

[yepimonfire]

Hi Yep, thanks for your reply.

my 2275 puts out 75W, so the difference between it and the 2325 is 50W, or 75% more then my current reciever.

R

If the difference between receivers was double, maybe it might matter, but in reality you don't need the kind of headroom for music that you do movies, even classical only has around 30dB of dynamic range, whereas movies often have as much as 60dB, and are played back louder.

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[-Jim-]

Hi guys.

I’m a relative novice, but seem to have caught the vintage bug.

I currently have a Marantz 2275 with Marantz Imperial 8 speakers. In my large room, the system sounds absolutely fantastic, warm, smooth, lots of body. I love the receiver.

I've come into a position where I can get a 2325 at a very reasonable price, and I’m considering snapping it up as I’ve always considered the 2325 "THE one to get".
Rod

Back in the day I had a Marantz 2245 and then moved up to a 2325. The latter was the most capable stereo receiver I ever owned. (Even if the Dolby section was a bit of a toy.) The amplifier specs were under rated, and I know it pushed 145 watts per channel at it's rated distortion level. (Not that 20 watts per channel was a big deal.) Sound wise it was the same as the 2245, but it could play a higher levels pretty clean. And I remember it was heavy. It had a power supply transformer in it much heavier that what whole receivers weigh today. A friend of mine was so impressed he bought one to power his Altec Santiago speakers, and dam it could rock!

It was definitely the top of the Marantz line at the time, and the best of it's generation.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

Back in the day, the Japanese manufacturers put incredible effort into their flagship receivers. The bigger unit may have features other than simple power output that makes it special. Also there is a possibility that the corporate Bean Counters left the Engineers alone for the best product in the catalog, so there's no telling what upgrades actually were applied versus a smaller receiver. Keep in mind that the big boy would be the one sent to reviewers.

Furthermore your resale value with knowlegdable collectors will be proportionally higher with the top-of-the-line unit.

There might be a small improvement in applied power although it won't be significant. If you go for it, do it for other reasons than the spec sheet.

 

[yepimonfire]

Back in the day I had a Marantz 2245 and then moved up to a 2325. The latter was the most capable stereo receiver I ever owned. (Even if the Dolby section was a bit of a toy.) The amplifier specs were under rated, and I know it pushed 145 watts per channel at it's rated distortion level. (Not that 20 watts per channel was a big deal.) Sound wise it was the same as the 2245, but it could play a higher levels pretty clean. And I remember it was heavy. It had a power supply transformer in it much heavier that what whole receivers weigh today. A friend of mine was so impressed he bought one to power his Altec Santiago speakers, and dam it could rock!

It was definitely the top of the Marantz line at the time, and the best of it's generation.

Power supply differences definitely help, especially in multichannel. A beefier power supply can better handle peaks and impedance dips from speakers.

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