marantz a/v receivers

Srini:

I have a quite a large collection of Indian music - Hindustani and Carnatic, in addition to of course, film music .

But, just for your information, some of my favourite CDs for auditioning are the following:

1. Voyage 1 and Voyage 2 by Rajesh Vaidhya
2. Carnatic Classical on Various Instruments by Magnasound featuring Jalatharang by A.S Dhandapani, Veena by E. Gayathri, Harmonium by Venkatramanna Rao, Mandolin by U Srinivas, Saxophone by Kadri, Flute by Sikkil Sisters, Violin by Ganesh & Kumaresh. This CD, in particular is very good as it has various instruments in one CD and is well recorded.
3. Music Today's CD featuring TN Krishnan playing Maha Ganapathi, Mari Vere, Raghuvamsa Sudha, Sarasaksha - Pantuvarali, Parulanna Mata, and Ramanai Taruvoy.
4. Magnasound's melody & Rythm featuring Sangeetha Shankar, and Zakir Hussain.
5. Magnasound's 'The Best Selection from Hindustani Classical' featuring Hariprasad Chaurasia, Allahrakha, Zakir Hussain, Sangeetha Shankar, Pt. Ulhas Bapat, Narayan Mani, Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Pt Shivkumar Sharma.

One CD that I just love is Ravi Shankar's 'Raga Mala' that he plays along with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Zubin Mehta. This is the only CD in the world that has a 100 man orchestra playing Lalit, Bairagi, Yaman Kalyan, and Mian Ki Malhar. Ravi is accompanied by Allarakha on the tabla.

Cheers

Hi pradski

Your situation sounds very similar to mine! Movies vs. music, budgets etc. etc. I have been reading, researching and getting more confused for the past 6-8 months on the same lines. Started with a budget of 60k for the entire HT system and have loosened my strings quite a bit since then.

Coming back to your question on the receivers, it finally comes down to personal choice. Out of the 4 you've mentioned, I have demoed all except the Yam. My opinion was that the Onkyo sounded too brash so was ruled out. Between the Marantz and the Denon there was little to give. I felt that the Marantz was a little better in balancing music AND movies than the Denon. You can do a feature comparison but remember that most of the time there are several bells and whistles that are thrown in in terms of specs, but 90% of these are ones that you rarely use. Look for the ones that matter to you the most and finally, hear them out. Whenever we talk about receivers, the speakers they are used with obviously make a huge difference. So make sure you get a good set of speakers as well.

Personally I have put my money in the Marantz 7002 paired with the Mordaunt Short 900i plus the Bravia 40" W-400 and the DVP 708 upscaling DVD player. The panel and the player are in and I'm waiting for the audio to get the whole thing running! Can't wait ..........

Thank you venkat and yog.

Infact i took off the other day just to hunt for speakers in bangalore.

I saw jamo, klipsch, elac and wharfedale 9.6. There was a B & W along with 9.6 it was good but it was 99k. And 9.6 had good sound for that price compared to klip, jamo.

Finally I bought 9.6 for 33.6k. I hope that is the decent price.

I got it in vector bangalore. I am waiting for delivery.

Yog I also thought of 7002 but i could see marantz in the places I visited nobody had brochures also.

I thought of driving 9.6 with existing yamaha and do some more r & d buy later.

Please let me know how is 7002 and the price of that.

What do you think about these receivers

Pioneer 1016,
Yamaha 663
Denon 2308
onkyo 606,

Thank you

Hi


Marantz is expected to release some Czech model i think it is sr 6003

Price is going to be like 6001, Full details not yet browsed.

Has anybody got a clue about this.

You can very well drive the Wharfedales with the RX-V450 and buy a new receiver a bit later. To get good picture, just buy a upscaling DVD player and connect it directly to the TV for a superb picture, and to the AVR for a superb sound.

If you have decided to buy a new AVR, I would choose one from Yamaha, Onkyo, or Denon. Though Pioneer has had some success in 2006 and 2007, the other three brands have left everybody else far behind in terms of technology and competitiveness.

Between the three which one. This question is best answered by you after audition of all three.

I dd read Yog saying he found the Onkyo harsh. But the 606 is selling like hot cakes, and certainly deserves a listen.

Cheers

I happened to hear the Marantz out when I recently visited HK. Here's the link for the specs ... Marantz America | AV Receivers

Marantz is launching their entire '03 lineup of receivers. You can find the 4003 and the 5003 already on the US websites. I think they will be available in India starting October.

With this new lineup, on a feature-feature comparison, they are on par with the Denons and the Onkyos & are at a competitive price. Also bear in mind that Marantz is the only receiver with a 3 year warranty ... says a lot!

venkatcr, I do agree that the 606 is selling like hot cakes! In terms of features :: price I think it still is one of the highest among all these brands. Of course, as I mentioned earlier, it ultimately boils down to what features you need and not what is provided! What I meant by harsh is that movies are LOUD (I know some people like it that way ) and music is not very ... musical Finally it boils down to personal choice of course ... Cheers!

What are the realistic street prices (with b/w) of
Marantz SR 301
Marantz SR 3001
Marantz SR 4001/4002

I think I've seen the 3001 at eZone for around 25K. But Marantz receivers are not listed in the futurebazaar site.

Thank you venkat and Yog for all the information.

Since i have been using yamaha 6.1 100w/c. I am not able to appreciate it well. May be after I receive my new diamond 9.6 i will be able to tell how they are.

I am thinking of trying denon this time. Lets see.

What you guys think should be the decent power output of a avr for a non dedicated room. ( it can be anything to a room to living room.)

Is more power good.




SHUVC, it is difficult to get the price of marantz online in india.

I have also tried invain.

Unlike denon, onkyo which can be found in sumaria.in or profx.com

Even av max and what's hi fi magazines do not give the price of marantz.

best if you live in metro. visit a dealer.