Receiver and Amplifier Help

[KEW]

OMG!!! I just dropped some more hard earned cash into another failed attempt at what I want, dang. I do have to say that I am EXTREMELY happy with my NR1506 though, I am still waiting on my amp, who knew that 50 watts from a good product will out shine 125 watts of a sub par product. I might be able to return my AVR for the NR7008. I bought it from a company called Orion AV out of Miami FL. They seemed pretty customer service savy.

Since you like the NR 1506 and it seems like it has solid power for your needs, why not cancel or return the 5 channel amp. The design intent for the L & R pre-outs is to allow you to use higher quality amplification for your mains and use the Marantz for everything else. If you feel like you are pushing the Marantz hard, get a 2 channel amp. It sounds like you have already established that the NR-1506 is capable of playing the surrounds and center (which are easier loads since they do not include significant bass content).

 

[Odessa_Man]

To quote Dave Ramsey "Stupid hurts" And after 3 misadventures I finally got to where I want to be. I was able to get some really good deals on the Marantz SR7008 and Marantz MM7055. For all the newbies who are just getting into this...DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Ask lots of questions. Did your dad ever teach you measure twice cut once? That same principle applies to home theater. Know what you want first, then buy.

That being said, I am not saying that all AVR's don't sound good, but OMG the difference between just my receiving pushing my speakers, then my amp pushing my speakers is like watching a movie with the brightness turned half way down. The amp, for what ever reason makes my speakers sparkle. My glass break alarms go off in my house on gun shots during movies. Next, buy good stuff. You get what you pay for. I am not saying that Best buy doesn't have nice stuff, they are the ones who got me into home theater, but the difference between my Best Buy Onkyo receiver and my Marantz is almost night and day. The onkyo has a sort of "tinny" sound to it, where as the Marantz has a more warm-full sound to it. I dont need all the gidgets and gadgets, I just wanted a receiver that pushed my speakers and sounded good. I don't care about spotify, wifi, etc.

I chose Marantz over Sony Elite series, or Rotel because it had some of the best reviews from people who know (and I really like the way they look). Emotiva was out of my budget, so I went with the best bang for my buck, and I would recommend Marantz to anyone. Even my NR1506 which is only 50w per channel outperformed my Onkyo NR-TX636 which boasts 125w per channel.

The long story short here is this: choose your speakers first (which I did) and buy something that will push the heck out of them (which I did not). The best advice anyone has ever said to me regarding home theater is this: "buy your speakers first, because just like a car, you can't put a Ferrari engine in a Ford Topaz and expect the car to perform well" Meaning, if you have good speakers, even a so-so receiver will sound pretty good, but if you have a really great receiver and garbage speakers, then you have a really expensive way to watch TV.

Finally for all the electricians, and technical nerds like me out there, power is good in home theater. The more you have the better. So get the notion of thermal run away, or distortion out of your mind, and know that the speakers are rated for lets say 10, most receivers are giving them 4 maybe 5. An amp will give them 8-9.5, so given the larger power supply they can perform much, much better. Example: V=square root of P*R, in my case its Squre root of 140*8 which is 33 volts. My receiver only has 125w of power per channel, which is 31 volts, those 2 volts make a world of difference. If the receiver is actually putting out 125w. The amp has the capacitors to maintain the voltage during the ups and downs of theatrical reproduction of sound. I don't believe the receiver has the same capability. Those are my opinions, and as the old saying goes "the proof is in the pudding" and I am extremely happy.

Thanks Audioholics for all your support and help.

 

[PENG]

Even my NR1506 which is only 50w per channel outperformed my Onkyo NR-TX636 which boasts 125w per channel.

I have no idea why the NR1506's 50W could outperform the Onkyo 636 if you are referring to the power output. I looked at their specs briefly, and I have seen many bench test data on other Onkyo and Marantz AVRs. The 636 is much more powerful than the 1506. I have to guess their is some other reason, such as you have a defective unit, or you have done something wrong with the settings.

At 98 dB/1M/2.83V, 8 ohms nominal, the Klispch speakers you have are very sensitive. Just a few watts should cause hearing loss if you are not careful and sit close enough to them.