What do you think about the new Marantz NR1504 and NR1604 receivers?

A

admin

Audioholics Robot
Staff member
The new NR1504 and NR1604 AV receivers include high end audio components, discrete amplification, Apple AirPlay, Audyssey MultEQ, and much more. At any rate, there's a lot to like.



Discuss "Marantz NR1504 NR1604 Slim Line AV Receivers Preview" here. Read the article.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
Big fan of the size, appearance and features, just not the power vs price. While it is likely sufficient for the target audience, I think the fact that they have preouts only for the mains is a limitation for a larger audience.
 
M

marine87

Audiophyte
Marantz 1604 and 1504

I have a 1602 and it is great and anyone looking for a great AV receiver should look at these for their form factor. Sound is terrific!
 
fuzz092888

fuzz092888

Audioholic Warlord
Big fan of the size, appearance and features, just not the power vs price. While it is likely sufficient for the target audience, I think the fact that they have preouts only for the mains is a limitation for a larger audience.
I agree, I really like Marantz and think these slimline receivers would be perfect with a full set of preouts. With that price and a full set up preouts it would a terrific buy and would be a hands down choice over the Outlaw 975 IMO.
 
Steve81

Steve81

Audioholics Five-0
I agree, I really like Marantz and think these slimline receivers would be perfect with a full set of preouts. With that price and a full set up preouts it would a terrific buy and would be a hands down choice over the Outlaw 975 IMO.
Ditto. Heck, toss in the ability to disable the amps, and I'd be sold in a heartbeat :D
 
T

telemike

Audioholic Intern
Is 50 watts enough? Comparable Denon, Yamaha, etc are all 75-80 wpc. I like the NR1403 a lot for size and capability
 
N

nickboros

Audioholic
I agree, I really like Marantz and think these slimline receivers would be perfect with a full set of preouts. With that price and a full set up preouts it would a terrific buy and would be a hands down choice over the Outlaw 975 IMO.
I bet the only reason that we don't see five preouts here is because it would make it hard to justify the price of their higher priced preamps. The same is true for most other manufacturers.
 
fuzz092888

fuzz092888

Audioholic Warlord
I bet the only reason that we don't see five preouts here is because it would make it hard to justify the price of their higher priced preamps. The same is true for most other manufacturers.
I agree to a point. I think the higher priced, larger receivers still offer more and are geared to a different segment anyways. A full set of preouts, IMO, wouldn't take away business from their other products of grab a larger market share of small receivers because of the added versatility and upgradeability. I could be wrong, but I know it would be a lot more appealing to me if I did and I were in the market for another receiver for a bedroom or other room and not my main system.
 
S

Sathishdholic

Audiophyte
Reply to Steve81

Steve81 - I agree with your comments, but it still does have Front Pre-Outs. One could use that for a higher output or dedicated Stereo listening or just add more power to the front speakers. It would have been good if they added one for the center channel too. That said, my NR1501 has the ability to shut down the amps that are not in use. By default, you cannot shut down the front (L+R), but everything else can be disabled. So in my 5.1 set, I have shut down the Surround back left and rights. If used as 3.1, then all Surrounds can be disabled, allowing full amp power to be available to the speakers. Good stuff.
 
S

Sathishdholic

Audiophyte
These are quality 50 Watts and not over rated as Onkyo, Sony, Pioneer etc. Also all amps are discrete amps and not a single chip module. It has been this way for all Marantz amps. Good for small to medium size rooms, condos, dens etc.
 
RichB

RichB

Audioholic Field Marshall
I agree, I really like Marantz and think these slimline receivers would be perfect with a full set of preouts. With that price and a full set up preouts it would a terrific buy and would be a hands down choice over the Outlaw 975 IMO.
Absolutely!

I would have bought a 604 for my vacation home to replace the Onkyo 709 if there were 5.1 preamp outs and you could disable the amps. The 709 gets very hot in the cabinet and I am not using the amps.

I'll pass.

- Rich
 
P

pmcl77

Audiophyte
Steve81 - I agree with your comments, but it still does have Front Pre-Outs. One could use that for a higher output or dedicated Stereo listening or just add more power to the front speakers. It would have been good if they added one for the center channel too. That said, my NR1501 has the ability to shut down the amps that are not in use. By default, you cannot shut down the front (L+R), but everything else can be disabled. So in my 5.1 set, I have shut down the Surround back left and rights. If used as 3.1, then all Surrounds can be disabled, allowing full amp power to be available to the speakers. Good stuff.
What do you mean by shut down? Disabling the speakers in speaker setup?

Does anybody know if the fronts are connected through an added poweramp the front amps o the receiver still consume power?
 
fuzz092888

fuzz092888

Audioholic Warlord
What do you mean by shut down? Disabling the speakers in speaker setup?

Does anybody know if the fronts are connected through an added poweramp the front amps o the receiver still consume power?
No, disabling the amp section in the receiver and using the preouts connected to an external amplifier. If you are using an external amp, being able to disable the amp section uses less power, creates less heat, and theoretically wouldn't interfere with the audio or video signals :rolleyes:
 
P

pmcl77

Audiophyte
No, disabling the amp section in the receiver and using the preouts connected to an external amplifier. If you are using an external amp, being able to disable the amp section uses less power, creates less heat, and theoretically wouldn't interfere with the audio or video signals :rolleyes:
And how are you shutting them down? Is there a setting for that on your model? Just wondering if the newer 1603/1604 Models offer that too, or if they are being "shut down" automatically if no speakers are connected to its speaker posts (and instead are hooked up to a connected external amp like you say)?
 
P

pmcl77

Audiophyte
I think the fact that they have preouts only for the mains is a limitation for a larger audience.
Yes, but like someone said, that audience is likely to buy bigger AVRs, or at least that's what the manufacturer wants them to do :)

I wonder why there's no slim-line AV preamp in that form factor... they should design an "entry level" preamp in that size to use with external multichannel power amps. I think there would still be enough space on the back for more connectivity since the speaker posts would be gone.
 
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snowhiteboiler

Audiophyte
OK, so I'm definitely interested in either the 1504 or 1403 of this line, especially because of the pre-outs. I have an external amp that powers a set of outdoor speakers - I don't need a second source/zone, just wanted to be able to run the same audio from say the appletv or pandora inside and outside. Will one of these be a good option? Thanks everyone for your input.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
And how are you shutting them down? Is there a setting for that on your model? Just wondering if the newer 1603/1604 Models offer that too, or if they are being "shut down" automatically if no speakers are connected to its speaker posts (and instead are hooked up to a connected external amp like you say)?
He is just turning them off in speaker options, that is not technically "shutting them down", simply not using them. This is no different than not connecting speakers to them, however on the processing side it also reroutes the sound so you aren't missing any of the sound that would have gone to the surrounds. Pretty much every receiver on the market should be capable of this.

OK, so I'm definitely interested in either the 1504 or 1403 of this line, especially because of the pre-outs. I have an external amp that powers a set of outdoor speakers - I don't need a second source/zone, just wanted to be able to run the same audio from say the appletv or pandora inside and outside. Will one of these be a good option? Thanks everyone for your input.
IMO, you would still want a zone 2, otherwise the audio would ONLY be going to the outside speakers all the time. Although I am not sure if this receiver leaves the main channels powered simultaneously, though I would presume it does.
 
H

honeymonster

Enthusiast
Aesthetics are important in my family as well as performance so this is a strong contender. The slim profile of the Marantz NR1504 is a deal maker for me, as I have no space for a full height av receiver, and SWMBO would not allow it anyway!
 

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