Denon X6700H & Marantz SR8015 Pre Amp Options

[Robf59]

I'm considering purchasing either the Denon AVR-X6700H or the Marantz SR-8015 receivers. I have a question regarding adding an external amplifier and what the pre-out options would be with either of these receivers.

I saw Gene discussing the new Denon AVR-X6800H with Phil Jones from Masimo. On some AVR receivers, adding an external amp adds two more channels and gives you the option to power the two front main speakers or two height speakers. If you want to run all the channels off an external amp the pre-amp mode shuts down all the internal amplifiers so it's like an all or nothing affect. Phil mentioned that on the new X6800H you have the option for example to program the pre-outs to have your external amp power your mains, the center and the surrounds and then the X6800H can now power the rest of your back surrounds, heights etc. He didn't mention if that option is limited to five channels or more but regardless it's a great option. Ultimately running two external seven channel amps for a 9.2.4 system would be great but this option lets you run one five or seven channel external amp and your receiver for a 9.2.4 system that both receivers I'm considering are capable of.

Do you know If either the X6700H or SR-8015 have these pre-out options like the X6800H has?

 

[-Jim-]

I incorrectly looked up the Denon for you and you can add external amplification to any or all channels as you describe (see page 80) it can process (but not amplify) 13 channels plus up to two Subs.

As for the SR8015 Specs , it's a 13.2 receiver and the maximum number of processing (preamp) channels is 13.2 Here's the Manual

Sorry for the error. Thanks for pointing it out @PENG

 

[PENG]

I looked up the X6800H Manual for you and it's specs, and while you can add external amplification to any or all channels as you describe (see page 80) it only can process (and amplify) 11 channels plus up to two Subs, so there's no way to get 13 channels from it in a 9.2.4 configuration that I can find.

As for the SR8015 Specs , it's a 13.2 receiver and the maximum number of processing (preamp) channels is 13.2 so that's where you should dig into further. Here's the Manual

Enjoy!

Jim, that is not correct, the AVR-X6700H and the SR8015 are both 11.1 AVRs but can process 13.1 so both can do 13.1 by adding a 2 ch external amplifiers. I suspect the AVR-X6800H can also process 13.1.

 

[PENG]

I'm considering purchasing either the Denon AVR-X6700H or the Marantz SR-8015 receivers. I have a question regarding adding an external amplifier and what the pre-out options would be with either of these receivers.

I saw Gene discussing the new Denon AVR-X6800H with Phil Jones from Masimo. On some AVR receivers, adding an external amp adds two more channels and gives you the option to power the two front main speakers or two height speakers. If you want to run all the channels off an external amp the pre-amp mode shuts down all the internal amplifiers so it's like an all or nothing affect. Phil mentioned that on the new X6800H you have the option for example to program the pre-outs to have your external amp power your mains, the center and the surrounds and then the X6800H can now power the rest of your back surrounds, heights etc. He didn't mention if that option is limited to five channels or more but regardless it's a great option. Ultimately running two external seven channel amps for a 9.2.4 system would be great but this option lets you run one five or seven channel external amp and your receiver for a 9.2.4 system that both receivers I'm considering are capable of.

Do you know If either the X6700H or SR-8015 have these pre-out options like the X6800H has?

You can get the Denon for US$1,999 or C$1,899 now, unless the Denon site's hacked but it looks legit:

AVR-X6700H - 11.2 Ch. 140W 8K AV Receiver with HEOS® Built-in | Denon - US

The SR8015 is better build, but how much can you get it for?

The two will do pretty much exactly the same thing, the 8015 has a slightly larger PS that you won't notice the difference. For practical use, the two will perform equally well in all aspects.

 

[Robf59]

You are correct Peng. All three of those receivers amplify 11 channels but will process 13 channels with an external amplifier. The X6700H is a great buy at $1899 cdn, just trying to find out if the pre-outs are assignable for more options than just the two fronts or two heights. I know with the new X6800H they are but quite a price jump to the new model.

Would love to have and prefer the SR-8015 but again quite a price jump to $3299, about the same price as the new X6800H. One retailer has offered it to me for $3000 so not too bad. This receiver has a ton of configuration options and have looked through the manual but still not sure if the pre-outs are assignable. I've reached out to Marantz and waiting for a reply. Any thoughts on that?

 

[lovinthehd]

What is your specific concern about just using the pre-outs in typical live mode vs exclusive mode?

 

[EBN]

Would love to have and prefer the SR-8015 but again quite a price jump to $3299, about the same price as the new X6800H. One retailer has offered it to me for $3000 so not too bad. This receiver has a ton of configuration options and have looked through the manual but still not sure if the pre-outs are assignable. I've reached out to Marantz and waiting for a reply. Any thoughts on that?

ACC4L has Marantz factory refurbished SR8015 with 3 year warranty for $1999! You can extend the warranty up to 5 years.

Accessories4less: High End Audio at Low End Prices!

www.accessories4less.com

 

[Robf59]

What is your specific concern about just using the pre-outs in typical live mode vs exclusive mode?

I'm just looking for options when connecting a external amp. I currently have the SR-6015 and it's pre-out external amp options are only the two front mains or two heights or you turn the receiver into a processor shutting down all internal amplification and power all channels off an external amp. If you have a seven channel external amp you'll need a second external amp to power the rest of the channels. If you have a seven channel external amp and have assignable pre-out options you could power seven pre-out channels and depending on your receivers processing capabilities, the other four or six channels off the receiver eliminating the need for a second external amp unless you have deep enough pockets to purchase that second amp. The new Denon X6800H that can process thirteen channels has this assignable pre-out ability added as new feature and I'm wanting to find out if the SR-8015 has this feature as it's a receiver I'm interested in purchasing. Sorry for the long winded response but I hope this all makes sense.

 

[Robf59]

ACC4L has Marantz factory refurbished SR8015 with 3 year warranty for $1999! You can extend the warranty up to 5 years.

Accessories4less: High End Audio at Low End Prices!

www.accessories4less.com

Yes that's a great deal and I had seen that but I'm from Canada and with the dollar exchange, shipping and duties I'd be over 3K. I can buy a brand new one here online here for 3K cdn including shipping.

 

[PENG]

You are correct Peng. All three of those receivers amplify 11 channels but will process 13 channels with an external amplifier. The X6700H is a great buy at $1899 cdn, just trying to find out if the pre-outs are assignable for more options than just the two fronts or two heights. I know with the new X6800H they are but quite a price jump to the new model.

Would love to have and prefer the SR-8015 but again quite a price jump to $3299, about the same price as the new X6800H. One retailer has offered it to me for $3000 so not too bad. This receiver has a ton of configuration options and have looked through the manual but still not sure if the pre-outs are assignable. I've reached out to Marantz and waiting for a reply. Any thoughts on that?

You don't need to wait for Marantz, the SR8015's amp assign feature works the same way as the SR6015, and AVR-X6700H, you can only assign the front L and R to pre out, aside from the default settings that depends on your floor and height layouts selected.

It is on page 250 or the owner's manual:

It is rare to see Canadians price better than US price. In this case, it is C$1899 vs US1999, converted to US$, price in Canada for the 6700 would be about US$1370, that's $629 cheaper!! The last time I saw that happens was a few years ago when we can buy the SR7012 and 7013 at lower price here in Canada than in the US.

Unless you can get the SR8015 down to around $2,500, I would find it tough to justify paying so much more for the SR8015. I know what people says on forums, but I am 100% sure in a blind test, all those claims of the so called music, or warm Marantz sound will disappear completely. I have owned and still own enough Marantz products, in addition to analyzing information in some of their service manuals to know that those D+M equivalent models are virtually identical in terms of the parts and circuitry of the audio signal path. The SR8015 does have a better build, as you will get some copper plates, and a toroidal transformer but none of those matters in terms of specs and measurements based on bench test results on both Audioholics and Audiosciencereview.com. In fact, in preamp mode, the X6700H still edge out the 8015, though the 8015 has improved by miles, versus any of the earlier models measured on ASR.

So since you are in Canada, it should be an easy decision based on the super low price of C$1,899, brand new from Denon, presumably with full warranty. At that price, you can use it for a year or two, and then trade it in for the near flagship upcoming 20124/25 models and likely can get at least the same value for the trade-in credit.

 

[lovinthehd]

I'm just looking for options when connecting a external amp. I currently have the SR-6015 and it's pre-out external amp options are only the two front mains or two heights or you turn the receiver into a processor shutting down all internal amplification and power all channels off an external amp. If you have a seven channel external amp you'll need a second external amp to power the rest of the channels. If you have a seven channel external amp and have assignable pre-out options you could power seven pre-out channels and depending on your receivers processing capabilities, the other four or six channels off the receiver eliminating the need for a second external amp unless you have deep enough pockets to purchase that second amp. The new Denon X6800H that can process thirteen channels has this assignable pre-out ability added as new feature and I'm wanting to find out if the SR-8015 has this feature as it's a receiver I'm interested in purchasing. Sorry for the long winded response but I hope this all makes sense.

You can add an external amp thru any of the pre-outs on the Denon/Marantz units that have a full set, they're live all the time. The exclusive pre-amp mode may have a slightly better distortion spec, but I wouldn't be particularly be worried about it.

 

[Robf59]

You don't need to wait for Marantz, the SR8015's amp assign feature works the same way as the SR6015, and AVR-X6700H, you can only assign the front L and R to pre out, aside from the default settings that depends on your floor and height layouts selected.

It is on page 250 or the owner's manual:

View attachment 64233

It is rare to see Canadians price better than US price. In this case, it is C$1899 vs US1999, converted to US$, price in Canada for the 6700 would be about US$1370, that's $629 cheaper!! The last time I saw that happens was a few years ago when we can buy the SR7012 and 7013 at lower price here in Canada than in the US.

Unless you can get the SR8015 down to around $2,500, I would find it tough to justify paying so much more for the SR8015. I know what people says on forums, but I am 100% sure in a blind test, all those claims of the so called music, or warm Marantz sound will disappear completely. I have owned and still own enough Marantz products, in addition to analyzing information in some of their service manuals to know that those D+M equivalent models are virtually identical in terms of the parts and circuitry of the audio signal path. The SR8015 does have a better build, as you will get some copper plates, and a toroidal transformer but none of those matters in terms of specs and measurements based on bench test results on both Audioholics and Audiosciencereview.com. In fact, in preamp mode, the X6700H still edge out the 8015, though the 8015 has improved by miles, versus any of the earlier models measured on ASR.

So since you are in Canada, it should be an easy decision based on the super low price of C$1,899, brand new from Denon, presumably with full warranty. At that price, you can use it for a year or two, and then trade it in for the near flagship upcoming 20124/25 models and likely can get at least the same value for the trade-in credit.

Some very good points. I have looked at that part of the SR8015 manual and you're correct. Other than more configuration options than my SR6015 has, it has the same assignable pre out options and the X6700H appears to be the same.

As much as I'd love to have the SR8015, the $1899 deal on the X6700H here in Canada is a great buy and brand new with full warranty, not a refurb. The difference in price between the two is substantial and that saving also helps get you well on the way to a decent amp purchase to add two more channels for a 13 channel setup. Trading in or selling the X6700H a couple years down the road and updating also makes a lot of sense and looking more like that's the way I'll go.

 

[Robf59]

You can add an external amp thru any of the pre-outs on the Denon/Marantz units that have a full set, they're live all the time. The exclusive pre-amp mode may have a slightly better distortion spec, but I wouldn't be particularly be worried about it.

Yes they're live when the receivers are in full pre-out mode which shuts down all the internal receiver amplification and then requires one or two external amps to power all your channels. The new X6800H gives you the best of both worlds. For example you could power seven channels (or however many channels your amp has) with an external amp and the rest of the channels with the internal receiver amplification. Denon calls this a resolution to the "all or nothing affect".

 

[lovinthehd]

Yes they're live when the receivers are in full pre-out mode which shuts down all the internal receiver amplification and then requires one or two external amps to power all your channels. The new X6800H gives you the best of both worlds. For example you could power seven channels (or however many channels your amp has) with an external amp and the rest of the channels with the internal receiver amplification. Denon calls this a resolution to the "all or nothing affect".

The 8500 had the assignable pre-out mode, too. Nice to see it starting to come down the line if the 6800 has it. On the other hand, you can always use external amps in combination with the avr's amps for channels as you see fit, too....it just won't turn off some of the circuitry for the avr's amp for that channel, which is really not a big deal.

 

[PENG]

Trading in or selling the X6700H a couple years down the road and updating also makes a lot of sense and looking more like that's the way I'll go.

Full disclosure: I owned the AVR-X4400H for about 3.5 years, got $800 trade-in value for it. I paid less than $1,200 (Bestbuy, when it was on sale), the X6700H was listed for 3,999 on BB and Crutchfield prior to the Back Friday deal. That's why I thought in 2 years, the X6700H would likely be worth at least $2,000.

As of today, Bestbuy (Crutchfield and Amazon not yet but must be soon) you can get the same deal as Denon Direct, for $1898.98.