Marantz Sr7011 volume almost all the way up

[doum121]

Hi guys,

I'm new to this forum and i'm praying for some help .

I just bough a Marantz SR7011 to replace my old Nad7225pe and I found myself needing to crank the volume way more than i thought.

Actually , 7 speakers are connected.

Energy Rc-70 2x
Energy C-C1 1x
Energy C-3's 4x as surround .

I did the audyssey auto setup multiple time .


Even while listening at music in stereo mode , I need to crank this puppy in the 70 mark ( on a 0-98 scale ) to have a great loud session
.
While watching movie , i'm 85ish to have a great loud sound to feel it. To be honest , I could use some more but i'm almost afraid to crank it more since im almost all the way up alrealy.

What's bugging me is.. why am I needed to crank that much ? I though 125WPC stereo was plenty of meat to feed my speakers... even if there may be 2/3 of that remaining using dolby..

Thanks for you help !

 

[lovinthehd]

The scale of the volume dials aren't always comparable. With the Marantz you have a choice of relative or absolute scales....most of us use the relative scale for comparing notes. The wattage rating doesn't have as much to do with it as you think either....

 

[doum121]

For the relative scale , I'm actually about +5 , max being +18DB.

 

[lovinthehd]

For the relative scale , I'm actually about +5 , max being +18DB.

Past the "0" reference setting is not a good idea generally...why are you doing so?

 

[doum121]

That's why i'm actually asking. I don't know why i do need to crank it that much to have a real home theater feeling. I thought my unit was defective and I replaced it for another.. same 'issue' . Am I doing something wrong or is the unit really built that way?

 

[lovinthehd]

That's why i'm actually asking. I don't know why i do need to crank it that much to have a real home theater feeling. I thought my unit was defective and I replaced it for another.. same 'issue' . Am I doing something wrong or is the unit really built that way?

Hard to know what your expectations are. You may need more capable speakers or amplification...

 

[agarwalro]

The numeric display is irrelevant. If the amp is not shutting down in second to minutes of cracking it and the speakers not terribly distorting, there's no imminent threat to either. That said, the volume readout does seem rather high, on the face of it. So, it is possible the amp is soft clipping and you don't realize it.

Those speakers are not the right ones for you. You need some with high efficiency.

Damn it Yepimonfire. Where are you when there's a job at hand?

 

[lovinthehd]

You do realize the volume scales are logarithmic and not linear? While adding external amplification may help somewhat, different speakers may do even better.

 

[agarwalro]

You do realize the volume scales are logarithmic and not linear? While adding external amplification may help somewhat, different speakers may do even better.

The absolute scale (0-99) is linear.

 

[lovinthehd]

The absolute scale (0-99) is linear.

He last quoted relative, and the absolute is still based on dB so it's not linear, not where you can compare scale numbers as percentages....

 

[j_garcia]

Also make sure DRC (night mode, whatever they call it on the current model) is turned off - this will limit peaks and it will seem like the output is lower than expected because it is not allowing full output.

 

[KEW]

Make sure that Audyssey Dynamic Volume is off and Audyssey Dynamic EQ is on!
The first reduces the volume of loud noises such as gunshots which might leave feeling short-changed such that you would want to increase the volume.
The second allows you a more full and balanced sound at lower volumes.

Last, the presence of bass can really impact our sense of "how loud" it is. You don't mention a subwoofer. If you don't have one, RC-70 certainly won't cover the deep bass. If you do have one, I have found I enjoy HT with the sub running 8-10dB louder than where I tune it for music (Audyssey puts it in between these two settings). Happily your Marantz retains settings unique to each input - for example, it will allow you to have one setting for your DVD player and another for your CD player! If you play CD's using your DVD player, see if you have a second audio output on your DVD player that you can connect to the CD input on the Marantz.

 

[agarwalro]

the absolute is still based on dB so it's not linear, not where you can compare scale numbers as percentages....

Not how I understand absolute scale. It has nothing to do with decibels.

A reading of 0 = Mute and 99 = Max output (whatever that means).

 

[KEW]

Last, you can buy an SPL meter and verify that 0dB on the relative scale is putting you around 105dB at your seat. This is quite loud (as in too loud for most of us)!
This would let us know if you like insanely loud levels or if your AVR is somehow not calibrating teh level properly.

https://www.amazon.com/Galaxy-Audio-CM130-Sound-Pressure/dp/B0002GWFG4/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1508352707&sr=1-1&keywords=SPL+meter

Just in case, make sure you don't have muting turned on (seems like a long shot, but...)!
As I recall, the mute can be set to reduce the volume by 20dB, 40dB, or completely off. A reduction of 20dB would fit what you are reporting.

 

[lovinthehd]

Not how I understand absolute scale. It has nothing to do with decibels.

A reading of 0 = Mute and 99 = Max output (whatever that means).

Just because the numbers go from 0-99 does not make it linear; usually 81/82 on such a scale is equivalent to reference level, each number still representing a change of 1dB. Why would the volume adjusting mechanism use two completely different measures? Whether it's a range of -80.5 to +18 or 0-99 it's still 1 dB increments....

Try this https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/volume-display-0db-reference-level-how-is-it-all-related.68081/

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Needs a subwoofer too.

 

[agarwalro]

Just because the numbers go from 0-99 does not make it linear; usually 81/82 on such a scale is equivalent to reference level, each number still representing a change of 1dB. Why would the volume adjusting mechanism use two completely different measures? Whether it's a range of -80.5 to +18 or 0-99 it's still 1 dB increments....

Try this https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/volume-display-0db-reference-level-how-is-it-all-related.68081/

1 absolute interval = 1 dB is valid because exactly 0 is the lower limit and exactly 99 was picked as the upper limit. If absolute scale is any different, 0 to 25, -50 to 0, -603 to 1111, etc. that equivalency to does not work.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Your main speaker is listed as 8 Ohm nom, 4 Ohms min, 92 dB sensitive in anechoic chamber.
So they are sensitive.
The center and surrounds are less sensitive but, at least the surrounds don't use that much most of the time.

Either your space is huge or just like it very loud. Or, indeed you have that night mode on.

 

[doum121]

I will do the SPL test for sure to clear that out. I do like it very loud .. but I was not aware it may be THAT loud.

For the night mode , i will double check for sure and the Audyssey dynamic OFF and Audyssey Dynamic EQ too !

For the mute part KEW , i did myself triple checked that out to be sure haha

Thanks all for help , keep posting if you have more ideas!

 

[PENG]

Last, you can buy an SPL meter and verify that 0dB on the relative scale is putting you around 105dB at your seat. This is quite loud (as in too loud for most of us)!
This would let us know if you like insanely loud levels or if your AVR is somehow not calibrating teh level properly.

https://www.amazon.com/Galaxy-Audio-CM130-Sound-Pressure/dp/B0002GWFG4/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1508352707&sr=1-1&keywords=SPL+meter

Just in case, make sure you don't have muting turned on (seems like a long shot, but...)!
As I recall, the mute can be set to reduce the volume by 20dB, 40dB, or completely off. A reduction of 20dB would fit what you are reporting.

If he ran Audyssey correctly he should get 85 dB at the main mic position with volume set to 0 in relative scale or 81 in absolute scale, not 105 dB.