Hello,
I am currently running a pair of Cerwin-Vega LS-15's both with woofer replacements of LaVoce WAF153.00 woofers.(Nominal is 400W originally, new woofers go for 500W) Also have a pair of Paradigm Model 11se Mk1(300W). Also will soon have a Centre woofer.
I am wondering what my best options would be for an A/V receiver and preamp for connecting to my computer. I do watch movies sometimes but am a huge music fan.(20/80 music) Currently I have a Harmon/Kardon AVR 130 that has been needing replacement. I am looking for something with lots of power and around 5 channels, maybe 7 if so. I think I will eventually hook up a preamp to the receiver, probably not right away.
I have been looking at Marantz receivers( Marantz SR5015 is what ive been considering, along with Anthem MRX 540) I'm just wondering what some of my best options would be, any recommendations would be greatly appreciated, thank you.
Budget is around 1500-2000(Looking for high power)
I can't believe this thread has gone for multiple pages already and I am not sure if all your questions have been answered so I would like to try to see if it can be summarized as follow:
1) Your listed your speakers, the Vega is rated 400 W, with new woofer 500 W, and the 11e MkI 300 W.
2) Want to know if your best options would be an AVR + a preamp
3) Looking at the SR5015, and MRX540
4) Budget is around $1,500 to $2,000 (want "high power")
My 2 cents are as follow:
1) You seem to think the 500 W and 300 W are "nominal". I can assure you those ratings are most likely "maximum", or "peak" power handling capability. Either way, speaker's power ratings are not that well defined, though we know one thing for sure, they are not "continuous" rating; and if your AVR-130 was doing fine for you before, you should have nothing to worry about as long as you pick a mid range AVR such as the SR5015 to replace it.
I don't remember if someone has suggested an online spl calculator, regardless, your first step should be to use the one linked below to find out how much power you really need. Your speakers have very good sensitivity, so even if you listen to sound pressure level as high as what you would hear in a movie cinema, I would guess as low as 60 Watt per channel would be good enough for you.
If you have questions on how to use it, just ask and someone will answer:
Peak SPL Calculator (homestead.com)
2) As others have explained, all AVRs, including the SR5015 you are looking at, come with preamps build in. Adding another preamp to it would be asking for trouble and a waste of money. If you want more power than the AVR can provide, you should add a power amplifier instead, not a preamplifier. You don't have to do that right away either. If you pick an AVR that has multichannel preamp outputs, you can add a power amplifier later.
3) I think most would agree the SR5015 is a better value than the MRX540, The Anthem MRX540 may cost you more for less features and power output. Anthem has to sell them for more because all else being equal, their cost would be higher as being a much smaller producer, they don't have the purchasing power that Marantz has.
4) For that budget, the Denon AVR-X3700H or AVR-X4700H have far better feature set and specifications than the Marantz SR5015, except if you need the 7.1 channel analog inputs then Marantz SR6015 would be your choice. Other than that, Denon's have been found to perform much better on the test benches. In terms of power output, they are virtually identical.
Next question?
