Marantz vs Yamaha Recievers. Which to buy

[speakerman39]

It needs to be stated that "Factory refurbished" doesn't mean it was returned to the factory for the refurb, it means that the unit was sent to a factory-authorized service center for the work to be performed. Unlike years past, these service centers are no longer scattered around the country, with the shop and its technicians being trained and passing the applicable tests- the manufacturers decided that on-site training was no longer cost-effective and later, they decided that even using online training and participant-active webinars wasn't worth the money, so they eliminated most of the authorizations and all of the training for service techs who don't work for the large service centers.

Very good point here. Reminds me when we sent car audio gear to New York for warranty service albeit United Radio. We learned rather quickly that they were much faster at servicing said warranties than sending directly to the specific manufacturer. Over time, manufacturers just outsourced everything to regional service centers. Apparently, that is exactly how it is done in the HT realm as well. Thanks for pointing that out. Either way, I have had excellent luck with Acc4Less. Still very highly recommend them.


Cheers,

Phil

 

[lovinthehd]

Some people seem to think A4L does the refurbishing, so good to specify what actually happens. Was nice when factories had their own shops here in the US, are any left at all?

 

[hemiram]

I just got a factory Refurb Yamaha TSR-7810, the same as the RX-V781, except sold at Costco. Looks brand new, smelled like brand new, works like brand new. My cats avoided it like it was on fire. Until Sunday. For the price, it was a no brainer. I've owned Yamaha receivers going back 40 years. Never had any real issues with any of them. I recently retired my 12 year old RX-V659, which, other than YPAO problems (It sounds awful) has been bulletproof. I got that brand new on closeout in March of '06, I think it was, for an insanely cheap price. I called to order a lower priced one, a 559, I think, and they were out, and the guy said he had the 659 for the same price. I was sold.

 

[highfigh]

Some people seem to think A4L does the refurbishing, so good to specify what actually happens. Was nice when factories had their own shops here in the US, are any left at all?

The regional ones are there, but local are mostly gone. I know of one that started as a TV store with repair, then they grew and are the SE Wisconsin regional for most major TV brands. They service other equipment that's out of warranty, too. The store where I started out closed a few years ago and the service tech went to GE Medical Systems and the guy who was service manager of the second place retired a couple of months ago, so that took out over 70 years of experience.

At the first store, we got most of the refurbs that Sony had and absolutely killed with those deals. They were usually show samples or initial defect pieces that were returned by dealers, rather than repaired. Once we got them, we serviced them if they had a problem and for a while, the only things I bought were refurbs that were a bit unique and a few had been on display at the Consumer Electronics Show.

 

[vintage dj]

Hi,
I went with Marantz.

It is for sure that Yamaha and Denon are great equivalents on performance and cost.


My quick observations on Marantz. It was great to see a heavy duty heat sink that was not thin stamped assembled parts. Also so many great inputs-outputs. I sure would appreciate help on quality speaker cable.

Thanks.
Dean

 

[lovinthehd]

Try reading this first, and then use the handy wire table to pick appropriate gauge for length of run and speaker impedance...personally I buy good 12g all copper speaker wire in bulk for all connections. Which Marantz did you end up with?

 

[vintage dj]

Thank you once again for great information HD.

I went with a SR-7011. What a great receiver! I put on my go to Steely Dan Aja. I heard sound nuances I had never experienced before. Is it HDAM? or.................

 

[lovinthehd]

Thank you once again for great information HD.

I went with a SR-7011. What a great receiver! I put on my go to Steely Dan Aja. I heard sound nuances I had never experienced before. Is it HDAM? or.................

Don't know. What did you use before? What sort of sound nuances?

 

[vintage dj]

Well HD I hear horns, sax, whistles, woodwinds?, and other random sounds I have never heard ever with that clarity!! I felt like a kid at Christmas with my new toy! I guess it is oranges vs apples compared to my Yammy rx-v563. More clarity with less volume with a sub par initial configuration on two channel front Cerwin Vegas with no sub. Just had to check it out before all cables are here and speakers get moved.


I think I am comparing apples to oranges.

 

[lovinthehd]

I think you're probably more excited about a new toy than there being that big a difference between the 563 and the 7011 in playing content. My experience with a variety of avrs isn't all of a sudden more detail blooming. Curious, did you make any other changes other than swapping avr in/out?

Plus you're comparing like setup/mode?

 

[3db]

When I swapped out the old Techics for a Yamaha RX-V1800,the olny differences I heard was that the Yamaha could drive my mains a lot louder before they started sounded strained or harsh then the Technics.

 

[PENG]

I think you're probably more excited about a new toy than there being that big a difference between the 563 and the 7011 in playing content. My experience with a variety of avrs isn't all of a sudden more detail blooming. Curious, did you make any other changes other than swapping avr in/out?

Plus you're comparing like setup/mode?

I don't expect big difference unless the RX-V563 was clipping a lot. It is a very weak amp for his big Cerwin-Vega floor standing speakers that have good sensitivity but relatively low impedance. So if he sits far away and/or listen loud, the 563 would struggle.

 

[lovinthehd]

I don't expect big difference unless the RX-V563 was clipping a lot. It is a very weak amp for his big Cerwin-Vega floor standing speakers that have good sensitivity but relatively low impedance. So if he sits far away and/or listen loud, the 563 would struggle.

That's understandable, but he didn't say anything about levels he's listening at, I usually assume one's talking within the comfort range of each amp....

 

[PENG]

That's understandable, but he didn't say anything about levels he's listening at, I usually assume one's talking within the comfort range of each amp....

Agree too, but think about it, he owns Cerwin Vega speakers and one that has 2X15" woofers, looks like horn loaded, and fuse protected!! If he had turned the volume down, distortions would no be an issue but I doubt such big speakers would do well when not played loud enough.

Based on specs, the Yamaha is rated 90 W, 6 ohms, 1kHz, 0.9%. My guess is that at 0.1% 20-20 kHz, it probably would still only do 80-90 W top into 4 ohms with 2 channel driven, due to current limits.

So with the Marantz, he gains least 3 dB headroom over the Yamaha. That could be just be enough for him to have avoided the Yamaha's excessive distortions that might have blurred the details in the sound.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I went with a SR-7011.

Congrats!

Are you using Audyssey Dynamic EQ?

I think this would have given you a more significant impact than anything else.

 

[vintage dj]

Hello,
I am still working on my complete install and waiting on cables due this weekend.It seems to me that the Marantz has a crisp or cleaner sound than my old Yamaha. Nothing against Yamaha.We are comparing 500.00 vs. 2000.00? Marantz also happier with 4ohms setting at higher levels. Sure like connectivity of Marantz. Am I correct in thinking can pair an amp on front anolog inputs?
Thx.

 

[KEW]

Hello,
I am still working on my complete install and waiting on cables due this weekend.It seems to me that the Marantz has a crisp or cleaner sound than my old Yamaha. Nothing against Yamaha.We are comparing 500.00 vs. 2000.00? Marantz also happier with 4ohms setting at higher levels. Sure like connectivity of Marantz. Am I correct in thinking can pair an amp on front anolog inputs?
Thx.

Yes, you can add external amplification if you like.
It may not offer any improvement in sound quality.
A good discussion to have here to help evaluate how much power you may actually need.
Or, if you have money burning a hole in your pocket, it can't hurt; but there may be better places to put that money.

Congrats on the 7011. I have a 7008 (three years earlier, I guess) and it is a solid AVR!

 

[lovinthehd]

Hello,
I am still working on my complete install and waiting on cables due this weekend.It seems to me that the Marantz has a crisp or cleaner sound than my old Yamaha. Nothing against Yamaha.We are comparing 500.00 vs. 2000.00? Marantz also happier with 4ohms setting at higher levels. Sure like connectivity of Marantz. Am I correct in thinking can pair an amp on front anolog inputs?
Thx.

Well, you could add an amp to the appropriate L/R pre-outs rather than analog inputs....

 

[vintage dj]

Thx guys. Things sure have changed since I had a clue with my Marantz 2265B and St 110 with additional EQ on 2 channel. Still fumbling through set up and....Yes my Yami clipped when pushed. It may have been smarter to post in this in audiophytes? Thx for my answering remedial questions. Became impatient waiting for cables and fired it up after work on 2 channel pure direct and did more manual adjustments. I become more impressed each time I listen.

 

[lovinthehd]

Thx guys. Things sure have changed since I had a clue with my Marantz 2265B and St 110 with additional EQ on 2 channel. Still fumbling through set up and....Yes my Yami clipped when pushed. It may have been smarter to post in this in audiophytes? Thx for my answering remedial questions. Became impatient waiting for cables and fired it up after work on 2 channel pure direct and did more manual adjustments. I become more impressed each time I listen.

Hope it helps. I had a Marantz 2270 with an Audio Control Graphic EQ way back when (still have the Technics SL1200 from that time period even after I went to separates after the Marantz, tho used the graphic eq a while longer)...glad we've gotten beyond that myself. Memories !

I think your post was fine here in any case. Your thread now, do with it as you wish. Lots of things to get familiar with in the modern avr....and not always intuitive.