Marantz Sr5005 or Yamaha RX V661

[NDyse10]

Hello all.

I have the chance to get either a Marantz Sr5005 or Yamaha RX V661 for the same price of $480 from a local audio store. The dealer is an authorized dealer for both Marantz and Yamaha. I have been doing some of my own reading but still can't get a great indication of which is better. The Marantz is a higher priced receiver by a good amount but I don't know how much stock to put into that.

Any suggestions would be great.

 

[Adam]

Hi. Are you sure that the Yamaha is the RX-V661? If so, that's a pretty old model and won't have the ability to decode the latest lossless audio codecs (i.e. DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD). The Marantz is a newer model.

Is this for a surround sound system? Do you want to be able to decode those audio tracks?

If it were me, and it was for a surround sound system, and I had to pick between those two, then I'd go with the Marantz over that Yamaha without hesitation.

 

[Stutz320]

Good price on the Marantz

 

[NDyse10]

Hi. Are you sure that the Yamaha is the RX-V661? If so, that's a pretty old model and won't have the ability to decode the latest lossless audio codecs (i.e. DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD). The Marantz is a newer model.

Is this for a surround sound system? Do you want to be able to decode those audio tracks?

If it were me, and it was for a surround sound system, and I had to pick between those two, then I'd go with the Marantz over that Yamaha without hesitation.

Yes I am sure it is the V661. Part of the reading I did, indicated that this was the case but I wanted confirmation. One thing that scares me about the Marantz is I have heard about a possible "Pop of Death". I believe this was present in the XX04 models and they fixed it for the xx05 models. Is this the case?

 

[avnetguy]

Yup, definitely the Marantz over that Yamaha. I'm shocked they're wanting that much for an old RX V661, even with the orange display.

Steve

 

[Adam]

I'm shocked they're wanting that much for an old RX V661...

Me, too. The 663 was going for about $300 around two years ago. There are a number of better options out there in the $480 range than a 661. I don't know enough about the Marantz to compare it to other things.

 

[NDyse10]

I was kind of leaning towards to the Marantz anyways because I have heard great things about them and the kind of sound quality they produce. The Yamaha does have more features in terms of networking though, correct? I prefer the sound quality more but just want to make sure I understand it correctly.

Another option for me is to wait for a while and save some more money and purchase another receiver that is a bit more money that is a lot better. I have been looking at the Marantz Sr5006 and like how it has the networking into it and the Airplay.

Also, is $480 a good price for the Marantz Sr5005?

 

[NDyse10]

The more I think about it, it may be the Yamaha Rx V671. I have a piece of paper that the owner wrote that says 661, but I think the one we talked about on the floor was the 671.

Does the 661 have Pandora/networking stuff? Because I know for sure the receiver we are talking about had Pandora. Also, someone mentioned it had Orange display and I know that the one I looked at and he priced was not orange display. So it is possible the owner made a mistake (he seems unorganized).

For discussion purposes: Lets assume it is in fact the Yahama Rx V671.

Does that change people's opinions because the more I think about it the receiver was the 671 and not the 661.

 

[avnetguy]

Changing to a 671 levels the playing field, now becomes a very close call. Both have about the same power output (10w stated as the difference, not noticable IMO) so just compare the feature sets of each unit.

A quick glance shows the 671 has more HDMI inputs and networking features while the 5005 has full pre-outs. I'm sure there are more feature differences so take a closer look.

Steve

 

[Lulimet]

Also, is $480 a good price for the Marantz Sr5005?

Decent price but not great.
Maybe you will get lucky by going to your local Best Buy and ask them if they have any left. I was lucky my local BB had 2 of them left and were marked down to $319.99

 

[NDyse10]

Decent price but not great.
Maybe you will get lucky by going to your local Best Buy and ask them if they have any left. I was lucky my local BB had 2 of them left and were marked down to $319.99

I have some old gear that I don't use that he is giving me $225 for so I actually only have to pay $255 out of pocket.