Worth upgrading to Denon AVR4500 or Marantz SR6014 from Denon AVR2500??

[Peteo]

Recently I posted on a B&W Group facebook page about upgrading my B&W DM602 S3 speakers to the newer 606 speakers and numerous people stated I'd be wasting my money and that I'd be better off upgrading my receiver as B&W speakers require lots of power. With that what's the consensus on those suggestions and would the AVR4500 or SR6014 be a worthy upgrade for sound quality for my speakers?

 

[lovinthehd]

Hard to know just what your power needs are, tho. The avr could be fine up to a point. I'd probably just get better speakers myself.

 

[Peteo]

Hoping this weekend I can find a store to do a comparison with the B&W 606 speakers.

 

[slipperybidness]

I think the only reason to move from the 2500 is that it does not have pre-amp outs.

The 4500 has the pre-amp outs.

If your speakers really need more power, then the ability to use the AVR as a Pre/Pro connected to a beastly external amp would be beneficial. In that case, I would be more inclined to look for a 3500 and spend the extra $ on the external amp (or whatever the Marantz equivalent would be)

 

[thebrieze]

Consider the 6013 given the close out pricing, and not much of an upgrade to the 6014. Spend the remainder on better speakers. The 6013 also has Pre outs, for adding an external amp down the road.

 

[Verdinut]

IMO, either the Denon X3500H or the Marantz SR6013 would be an excellent purchase if you need eventual external amplification.

 

[KEW]

I think the only reason to move from the 2500 is that it does not have pre-amp outs.

The 4500 has the pre-amp outs.

If your speakers really need more power, then the ability to use the AVR as a Pre/Pro connected to a beastly external amp would be beneficial. In that case, I would be more inclined to look for a 3500 and spend the extra $ on the external amp (or whatever the Marantz equivalent would be)

I want to point out that the 3500 and 4500 have XT 32 and with the new app you can only apply roomEQ to the bass frequencies where it can address room modes. I consider this combination (XT 32 and the app) an important asset to an AVR.

 

[Peteo]

I went and listened to the B&W 606's today and compared between the Denon AVR2600, AVR2500 and Marantz 5014 (they did not have a 6014). I set all at 63db so output was the same and noticed no major difference in sound quality. I'm not sure if an AVR4600 would have proved different.
All that being said the 606's sound amazing and definitely wouldb be a huge upgrade from my older DM602 S3 speakers.

 

[Pogre]

I think so for the preouts and XT32, but I really think if you're going for a sound upgrade you should check out some speakers from a different manufacturer. B&W are very hit and miss for me. Their top of the line has blown me away, but their entry level, mid-tier stuff leaves me wanting more.

 

[ryanosaur]

Though some will argue the point, it seems most here are in agreement that at a certain point (arbitrarily, lets say 1K, new, retail) any changes in SQ due to electronics are going to be so minimal that it would require the famed Golden Ears to hear said possible difference in a true DBT.
For your purposes, stepping up to a unit with better room correction, and perhaps a better feature set for your usage is the only real reason to upgrade, and any such upgrade should be planned on hopefully lasting you... say 5 yrs. (Arbitrary, again, but...)...

People that love B&W speakers seem to really love them regardless of the flaws. I'm in agreement that if you want to upgrade something meaningful, you need to get away from the 600 Series speakers. There are many other speakers out there that can outperform the B&W600 series. Several B&W aficionados have written here that they don't even consider the 700 series to be worth the cost.

It is your system and your Ducats... your ears, too. A step up in AVR would be nice for certain. Better speakers, though...

 

[lovinthehd]

I went and listened to the B&W 606's today and compared between the Denon AVR2600, AVR2500 and Marantz 5014 (they did not have a 6014). I set all at 63db so output was the same and noticed no major difference in sound quality. I'm not sure if an AVR4600 would have proved different.
All that being said the 606's sound amazing and definitely wouldb be a huge upgrade from my older DM602 S3 speakers.

Personally I find many in-store comparisons of avrs (and often speakers and subs as well) useless in a few ways. How many features and setups are you really going to apply to an avr for comparison's sake? Setting the same volume level doesn't mean they're all on equal footing in terms of setup. Your own room is a much better place to test speakers particularly. I'd definitely look at more speakers than just B&W in that range particularly.

 

[Pogre]

Personally I find many in-store comparisons of avrs (and often speakers and subs as well) useless in a few ways. How many features and setups are you really going to apply to an avr for comparison's sake? Setting the same volume level doesn't mean they're all on equal footing in terms of setup. Your own room is a much better place to test speakers particularly. I'd definitely look at more speakers than just B&W in that range particularly.

I have to agree. IME, speakers tend to sound a lot better, and different enough in my home than any of them do on the salesfloor. After I bought a set of SM55s I saw a pair set up in a demo room at Best Buy so of course I checked 'em out. They sounded far worse than mine did at home. I mean the DefTechs aren't exactly high caliber, but they weren't terrible speakers. They sounded bad at BB.