Yamaha CX-A5200 vs. Marantz AV7705 comparision.

[TheWarrior]

Think in another thread they said streaming services stopped on oppo after the shutdown of sales of those players.

Could one of you guys elaborate on what this 'streaming service' is? Thanks!

 

[snakeeyes]

Could one of you guys elaborate on what this 'streaming service' is? Thanks!

Oh there’s a thread from yesterday saying no streaming on the 205.

https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/oppo-105-vs-205.113079/#post-1281176

 

[PENG]

Could one of you guys elaborate on what this 'streaming service' is? Thanks!

I think they referred to services such as Netflix, Vudu that the BDP-105 and earlier models offered, there are many new ones now such as the Tidal, Amazon, hulu, etc. I think Oppo got rid of those apps because there are so many low cost external devices becoming available so there is no point to duplicate.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The biggest thing right now for streaming services are Netflix's and Amazon Prime's 4K/Dolby Atmos contents.

Unfortunately they require certain devices, so not all devices (like the Oppo) are capable.

For example, Daredevil Season 3 on Netflix is in 4K/Atmos. I can't speak about the 4K/UHD video, but the Atmos soundtracks are awesome IMO.

Oh, yeah, did I mention that I absolutely LOVE Dolby Atmos?

 

[TheWarrior]

I guess we'll see how the 4k AppleTV does on its own and with Netflix, if I still laud discs as much....

 

[PENG]

I guess we'll see how the 4k AppleTV does on its own and with Netflix, if I still laud discs as much....

I think the 4k Apple TV price is ridiculous, won't touch it until it gets down to $99, or may be even $119 but not more.

 

[snakeeyes]

I think the 4k Apple TV price is ridiculous, won't touch it until it gets down to $99, or may be even $119 but not more.

Mine was free with Direct TV Now subscription for 4 mo. I actually will save money using DirectTV Now instead of Comcast if I can get rid of the TiVo. My GF loves the TiVo so I may just end up canceling DirectTV Now instead of Comcast and TiVo. I need to decide soon.

 

[PENG]

Mine was free with Direct TV Now subscription for 4 mo. I actually will save money using DirectTV Now instead of Comcast if I can get rid of the TiVo. My GF loves the TiVo so I may just end up canceling DirectTV Now instead of Comcast and TiVo. I need to decide soon.

To be fair, I am quite happy with my cheap regular AppleTV, don't mind paying more for 4K. I don't use much of the other features so it isn't really for me unless the price comes down a lot but for people who do use even half of the features, that's a different story.

 

[TheWarrior]

I think the 4k Apple TV price is ridiculous, won't touch it until it gets down to $99, or may be even $119 but not more.

It makes the wife happy... $200 is more than worth it!

 

[clnconcpts]

I'm looking into the marantz 7705 cause that's all I need in terms of the 8805 . Yamaha is a serious build , but from what I remember they were known to enhance music . A little brighter then others and have a little more bump in the bass department. Is this still the case ?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I'm looking into the marantz 7705 cause that's all I need in terms of the 8805 . Yamaha is a serious build , but from what I remember they were known to enhance music . A little brighter then others and have a little more bump in the bass department. Is this still the case ?

Pure internet hearsay.

Whether you go with Marantz or Yamaha or anything else, if you don't use EQ or DSP, the sound will not be bright or clinical or forward or backward or sweet or sour or bitter or any other adjectives they use.

 

[CPatrick]

Hey Kids. I've just purchased the Yamaha CX-A5200 pre-amp. I haven't owned Yamaha equipment since my time with an A3090 . Anyway, I'm coming back into Yamaha from a 10 year stint with a Marantz AV8003/MM8003 combo. At first, I was blown away by newly discovered nuances that the CX-A5200 presented in 2-channel tracks that I know very well. But, I've found a few instances where instruments and vocals have simply disappeared from a few of my go-to tracks, and I'm afraid that I won't be able to get back what was lost.

I'm primarily serving up music through a Blusound Node 2i, or an OPPO BDP-105. I've set the Yamaha's YPAO setting to "through," and selected the "Pure Direct" listing program in an attempt to hear the OPPO's DACs, unadulterated. But, I experience the same results.

For instance, when listing to Muse, Matt Bellamy's vocals seem clearer, but any layered backing vocals from Matt are nearly inaudible. In most cases, vocals are clearer and much more discernible. (I haven't tried this, but I bet I could finally hear what Elton John is actually singing in the chorus of Rocket Man.)

There's a Younger Brother track that my girlfriend enjoys, named "Ribbon on a Branch." In it, the Marantz equipment presented an acoustic guitar on the right channel that is now almost inaudible. It's as if it's lost in a sea of too much sound. I don't know if that even makes sense.

Has anyone else experienced this issue, and been able to solve it?

 

[lovinthehd]

I think you're just getting broken in. Hard to imagine the kind of differences you're describing, sounds more like an over active imagination. You still have the old setup in place for a proper level-matched (and preferably blind) comparison?

ps Any other changes besides pre-amp were made?

 

[CPatrick]

I think you're just getting broken in. Hard to imagine the kind of differences you're describing, sounds more like an over active imagination. You still have the old setup in place for a proper level-matched (and preferably blind) comparison?

I do have the Marantz equipment available, but the swap would take time. i'll keep at it. Thanks!

 

[lovinthehd]

I do have the Marantz equipment available, but the swap would take time. i'll keep at it. Thanks!

See my ps question, too

 

[lovinthehd]

Not only time but a proper comparo is not easy to setup, most gear doesn't allow for quick comparisons which are really necessary so you don't let your brain run away with its imagination....

 

[KEW]

I do have the Marantz equipment available, but the swap would take time. i'll keep at it. Thanks!

Just thought I would share this in case you have not done this before!
I would approach this as follows:
1) list the specific instances where there is a difference (you have already done that in your post above)
2) Get one of these for $10 to quickly switch between preamps:

Amazon.com: AuviPal 4-Way RCA Switcher 4 in 1 Out Composite Video L/R Stereo Audio AV Selector Box for DVD VCR VHS/AV Receiver/ PS2/ Nintendo Game Consoles: Electronics

Buy AuviPal 4-Way RCA Switcher 4 in 1 Out Composite Video L/R Stereo Audio AV Selector Box for DVD VCR VHS/AV Receiver/ PS2/ Nintendo Game Consoles: Selector Switch Boxes - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

[I assume the differences show up when listening in stereo. The reason I would chose a 3 way or 4 way switcher (even though you are only testing two way) is because I don't trust these switches and am not confident that sending two signals into one channel of an amp is safe, but if you select a "null" channel between active channels, there is no chance of accidentally having dual signals sent to the amp at the same time].
3) I assume you have two live outputs from whatever source you use (for example, my BD Player has HDMI and TosLink, so I can feed one to one pre and one to the other). This way you don't have to switch anything.
4) Start out with both pre's in pure direct - Level match the pre's and start listening. It would be rather shocking if you heard a difference here, but would be worth knowing. But note which items are missing or revealed in PD.
5) One change at a time, revert your Marantz to the settings you always use, listening after each change. The objective is to determine where the sounds that got lost appear (assuming they were not present in the PD setting).
6) One change at a time, revert your Yamaha to the settings you use, listening after each change. The objective is to determine where the specific items get lost/revealed.

Note: My Oppo has a handy A/B loop feature that allows me to continuously loop between two points in a song so I can repeat the revealing spot in a song while switching between pre's.
Also, the linked switching device is listed as AV, but you can use the video connection for the pre-amp sub output!

 

[CPatrick]

Thanks for the replies. That AuviPal will be a useful piece of kit, Kurt. I've ruled out the sources. When headphones are plugged into the Node 2i, I can hear the missing instruments. I've sampled the tracks on my PC (both CD and flac) and can hear the missing instruments. Tone sweeps through the Paradigm S6's confirm the speakers are OK. I think it's just the Yammie sound. My conditioning to the old Marantz TI DACs vs. the new Yammie ESS Sabres. The new Marantz line is utilizing AKM DACs, I believe, so I don't know if I'd be happier switching back to a Marantz pre-amp.

 

[PENG]

Thanks for the replies. That AuviPal will be a useful piece of kit, Kurt. I've ruled out the sources. When headphones are plugged into the Node 2i, I can hear the missing instruments. I've sampled the tracks on my PC (both CD and flac) and can hear the missing instruments. Tone sweeps through the Paradigm S6's confirm the speakers are OK. I think it's just the Yammie sound. My conditioning to the old Marantz TI DACs vs. the new Yammie ESS Sabres. The new Marantz line is utilizing AKM DACs, I believe, so I don't know if I'd be happier switching back to a Marantz pre-amp.

I am not sure if I know what you mean in your last two sentence. As you probably know, in terms of audio specs, some AKM DACs are better than some ESS DACs and vice versa. So you have to compare the datasheets of the specific models of each brand.

 

[KEW]

Thanks for the replies. That AuviPal will be a useful piece of kit, Kurt. I've ruled out the sources. When headphones are plugged into the Node 2i, I can hear the missing instruments. I've sampled the tracks on my PC (both CD and flac) and can hear the missing instruments. Tone sweeps through the Paradigm S6's confirm the speakers are OK. I think it's just the Yammie sound. My conditioning to the old Marantz TI DACs vs. the new Yammie ESS Sabres. The new Marantz line is utilizing AKM DACs, I believe, so I don't know if I'd be happier switching back to a Marantz pre-amp.

No, the idea is to put this piece of kit between your two pre-amps and your amplifier. Thus you are using the same amp/speakers/speaker position! However, you can quickly switch between the two pres without the bother of having to rewire them!