Yamaha RX-V1500 or Marantz SR8400?

[oscar6036]

Sold my Sony STRDE997B for $400 to a co-worker, looking to replace it with either one of these perhaps. Currently I have 2 sets of BIC DV62si's and the 62clr is on backorder; I haven't heard either seeing as how I sold my receiver. Not to mention I'm going with an SVS sub. I give this as background so that you guys know what gear I'll be using the rec. to push in the immediate future. Not stepping up to 7.1 anytime soon, these 6 speakers will do me just fine. Feedback is appreciated, thanks!

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

The Yamaha will have more control over the sound. The Marantz doesn't have a parametric or graphic eq. If you like to tweak your system, go with the Yamaha. If you want enjoyable, no hassle sound right out of the box, stick with Marantz.

 

[patnshan]

The Yamaha will have more control over the sound. The Marantz doesn't have a parametric or graphic eq. If you like to tweak your system, go with the Yamaha. If you want enjoyable, no hassle sound right out of the box, stick with Marantz.

I agree. I had a prologic yamaha (RXV-590) and now I have the Marantz 8400. Frankly, I didn't use or like any of that parametric EQ stuff anyway, a lot of people do however.
I like the clean sound of the Marantz and couldn't be happier. The remote is nice, the OSD is a little archaeic but works. The build quality seems top notch. The thing weigh's a ton, massive power supply. All gold connections in back. Nice unit.
I looked at the 1500 too, but got a deal on the Marantz that could not be passed up.

Good Luck,

Pat

 

[Kapolei01]

Yamaha RX-1500 or Marantz SR-8400

I concur with the others. I have the Marantz SR-8400 also. I've had Yamaha, Sony ES, and 2 HK's before and the Marantz tops them all. It is truly a nice piece of equipment; excellent build quality is quite evident and it sounds absolutely fabulous. Dialogue out of my center channel (Polk) sounds clearer than I've ever heard it before, the midrange sounds great, and it has very impressive bass. I can't say enough good things about my Marantz so far. This is only my humble opinion; I'm not knocking any other manufacturers because so many of them make excellent products but I think Marantz really takes quality seriously and it shows in the build quality of their produts.

 

[oscar6036]

I agree. I had a prologic yamaha (RXV-590) and now I have the Marantz 8400. Frankly, I didn't use or like any of that parametric EQ stuff anyway, a lot of people do however.
I like the clean sound of the Marantz and couldn't be happier. The remote is nice, the OSD is a little archaeic but works. The build quality seems top notch. The thing weigh's a ton, massive power supply. All gold connections in back. Nice unit.
I looked at the 1500 too, but got a deal on the Marantz that could not be passed up.

Good Luck,

Pat

How much did ya end up paying and realistically how much should I be willing to let go for one? I see a couple on Ebay at around $500, but would rather stay below that if at all possible, not really an object if I have to go up though.

 

[rikmeister]

watch ubid for the marantz they usually sell excess inventory there.

you should be able to get one for slightly under 500.00. The ones on ebay are some of the ones that were bought on ubid and being resold. denon sells on ubid too. kardon is on ebay. but there are lots of yamaha on ubid too. so watch for a good chance and take it. you could save quite a bit.

 

[oscar6036]

Getting antsy though, sucks having speakers and nothing to hook them up to.

 

[patnshan]

How much did ya end up paying and realistically how much should I be willing to let go for one? I see a couple on Ebay at around $500, but would rather stay below that if at all possible, not really an object if I have to go up though.

I paid $499 shipped from ubid. Hell of a deal. I would personally pay up to $800 with the warranty. I love this thing. Remember, ebay=no warranty.
Good Luck,
Pat

 

[Spiffyfast]

If your'e not dead set on the Marantz 8400 and another one of their receivers might meet your power and budget requirements check this website out

www.accessories4less.com

they have some new receivers and alot of Marantz refurbs go to this place and come with a one year warranty, and usually if somethings going to go wrong its gonna happen in the first year that Marantz 7500 is looking pretty nice for $700 b/c it comes with a waranty

 

[s_kris88]

Yamaha benefits

It seems to me this thread was slanted from the 1st response, claiming the Yamaha may be more fiddly due to the EQ options.

I purchased the Yamaha PRECISELY because of the EQ options. And they are fully automatic. And - most importantly - it has improved the quality of the sound I get 100-fold.

Since the room accoustics are a major part of the quality of the sound delivered to your ears, the auto-EQ features of amps like this Yamaha are a god-send. Sure there are better EQ units out there, but to go from 20Hz to 20kHz +/- 15db to the same response +/- 3db is a HUGE improvement, and I am convienced any slight additional phase distortion added will be far far less than the 12db improvement in sound quality.

I have never heard such tight mid-bass and extended bass ever; thanks to my Yamaha!

 

[Kapolei01]

Yamaha or Marantz

s_kris88

I would hope that the posts on this thread are not biased towards the Marantz. I would like to think all of us are just trying to decide on something that gives us the most bang for the buck. I for one, actually came so close to purchasing the Yamaha RX-2500 that I demoed one for 2 weeks before returning it. I ran the YPAO, then measured the results myself using an SPL meter and I was actually impressed with it's accuracy and the sound.
I nearly tortured myself trying to decide on whether I should upgrade to a pre-amp or the Yamaha, Pioneer Elite, Hk, Marantz, etc, etc. Like others, when I saw the SR-8400 on UBID, it was too good a deal to pass up on a receiver of that quality.
I got it, hooked it up, calibrated the sound and after listening to it for about a month now, I must say, I hear things out of my Polk speakers that I never heard through the Yamaha 2500, the HK's I had, the older Yamaha 2095 that I had or the Sony ES. This of course, is only one man's opinion. It was my first experience with Marantz and it's been a great one so far.

On the other hand, here is no doubt in my mind that the Yamaha RX-1500/2500 are fine pieces of machinery. Oscar 6036, you really can't go wrong with any of the choices. Sorry for the long post.

 

[oscar6036]

Yeah, pretty much the Marantz 8400's are going no less than $600 neighborhood, where as I can probably eek by with that Yamaha at $400. Ehh, I don't know what I'm going to do, will keep you all posted no doubt.

 

[Doug917]

I have a soft spot for Marantz and like the quality of sound they produce. However, I feel Yamaha puts you into movies more, perhaps arguably somewhat artificially, but I like the experience you get with the Yammys none the less. A Marantz is definately smooth and a good choice as well. I'd still take the Yamaha for the addition of the "presence" speakers and top-notch DSP performance.

 

[Kapolei01]

Yeah, pretty much the Marantz 8400's are going no less than $600 neighborhood, where as I can probably eek by with that Yamaha at $400. Ehh, I don't know what I'm going to do, will keep you all posted no doubt.

If you can get the RX-V1500 for $400, by all means, go for it. I'm sure you won't be dissapointed. I'd grab it at that price, that's for sure! As for the Marantz (SR-8400), that receiver originally retailed for $1599 new, so even for $600, that's a steal. A manufacturer wouldn't be worth it's salt if they marketed a receiver at $1599 MSRP (introduced at the Vegas CES in Jan 04) with gold-plated connections, extra copper bottom plate shielding, etc, etc., and then turn out to sound no better than say for example, an $800 dollar (MSRP) receiver.

One would hope that they could hear a sonic difference between the two and without a doubt, my ears tell me that I do. I'm one that's always striving to satisfy my never ending thirst for different and better HT experiences; I'm already eyeing the Yamaha RX-V4600! All that being said, I'm probably going the separates route next time to see if I can hear a sonic difference between using my receiver as a pre-pro or using a dedicated pre-pro. I have a 5-channel B&K amp for my center/front/side speakers, and a 2-channel Kenwood THX amp for my back surrounds. (7.1 setup)

 

[oscar6036]

How much did that amp run and you realistically which is going to be the cheaper route? I'm still going for the Marantz, but thats more for curiousity than anything. Can't really demo stuff around here and I'm sure I won't be disappointed so I'm just going to go for it.



Edit: The 8400 went for $671, I wasn't willing to pay that at this time, especially when I'm pretty sure there were people gouging the price up. (People with 0 feedback bidding the price up) So now I'm eyeing the Yamaha, but man, I really wanted that Marantz. *sigh*

 

[oscar6036]

Ended up going with the Yammy for $450, pretty amped about it and can't wait til it gets here. Finally get to audition these speakers!

 

[Takeereasy]

Fantastic deal on theat Yamaha!. You can't beat that price for such a sweet piece of equipment. (this is coming from another satisfied Marantz 8400 owner) You are going to love your receiver. And just to help you celebrate a little more that receiver is about $1000 up here in Canada.

 

[Kapolei01]

Yamaha RX-V1500

oscar6036,

Hey sorry, I was out of town for a few days. I ended up getting my Marantz SR-8400 for a little over $500, including shipping. A little on the high side compared to other winners on UBID but I sold an HK AVR-525 which offset the cost anyway. Congrats on your Yammy 1500! As I wrote earlier, $450 for that Yammy is a great price. I would have bought the Yammy also, if I would have had a chance to get it at that price. It always seems to be about timing, just like a lot of us got the Marantz in the $400-$500 dollar range. Let us know how it sounds to you after you get it set up.