Denon 3310 vs Marantz 5004 vs Marantz 6004

[renegade]

Budget: 50-70K
Movies 80%, Music 20%
I am pretty much a novice in this domain.

1. How much will these cost in India (say in Delhi or Chennai)?
US prices w/o taxes are as follows:
Denon 3310: $1500 (7.1, 120 WPC, PLIIz, THD 0.05%, 8 Pre-amp outs, USB support)
Marantz 5004: $850 (7.1, 90 WPC, No PLIIz, THD 0.08%, 8 Pre-amp outs, No USB)
Marantz 6004: $1250 (7.1, 110 WPC, No PLIIz, THD 0.08%, 8 Pre-amp outs, USB)
Here are the links:
Marantz: http://store.audioholics.com/compare_products.php?xSec=69&compare[2697]=&compare[2698]=
Denon: Denon USA | AVR-3310CI

2.One criterion for my selection of AVRs is that it should have bi-amp and pre-amp outputs (might go for external amp in future). I like the integrated bi-amp that comes with Marantz 6004 and Denon 3310. Does Marantz 5004 has the bi-amp option?

3. How do I know the difference in effect with and w/o the bi-amp capability? I auditioned Denon 2310 (it has no bi-amp, I believe) vs Denon 3310 (has bi-amp) in "Direct" mode and did not find much difference. There was no external amp in the set up and the AVR was connected to only 2 front channel speakers. The salesman said for music you generally play in "Direct" mode instead of "Stereo" mode. I don't know what these modes mean.

4. Has anyone tried the USB feature on AVR. I mean can I connect a hard disk to the AVR via USB and will it be able to play movies/music from the disk? Marantz 6004 and Denon 3310 has USB support.

5. Suggestions for other AVRs?
Preferences: 7.1 WPC, Pre-outs option, THD < 0.1%, Sensitivity >= 86dB, Component/HDMI/Composite/VGA support, USB support (if it can play movies direct from hard disk), native 1080p, native 16:9, upconversion capable.

 

[venkatcr]

Irrespective of which AVR you get, let us try to clear some misconceptions here.

3. How do I know the difference in effect with and w/o the bi-amp capability? I auditioned Denon 2310 (it has no bi-amp, I believe) vs Denon 3310 (has bi-amp) in "Direct" mode and did not find much difference. There was no external amp in the set up and the AVR was connected to only 2 front channel speakers. The salesman said for music you generally play in "Direct" mode instead of "Stereo" mode. I don't know what these modes mean.

Most AVRs that have 7.1 output will have bi-amping capabilities. For bi-amping in an AVR, you do not use an external amplifier. What you do is to connect the front L&R to one set of inputs in the speakers, and the REAR or BACK channel outputs from the AVR (itself) to another set of inputs to the same speakers.

When you use an external amplifier, you have to take the pre-out of the AVR to the input of the external amplifier and connect the output of the external amplifier to the speakers.

Direct, Pure Direct, and Stereo, again in most AVRs, set off the DSP and the video processing. In Direct and Pure Direct the AVR will accept data from most of it's inputs. In Stereo mode, the AVR will not accept multichannel audio in in analogue mode from a DVD player. In other words, in Stereo mode, the AVR amplifies in 2.0 mode and no data will be sent to the sub.

4. Has anyone tried the USB feature on AVR. I mean can I connect a hard disk to the AVR via USB and will it be able to play movies/music from the disk? Marantz 6004 and Denon 3310 has USB support.

No AVR has media playing capability. The USB connection is to connect any media player that has an USB output. If you connect a hard disk, the AVR will do nothing. The media - whether audio or video - has to be played outside the AVR.

Cheers

 

[zervinb]

My Pioneer VSX-919 has a front USB input, it can be used to connect an iPod (with the supplied cable) or one can connect a pen drive (FAT32 formatted) with mp3's and wma's. I haven't tried it myself, but the manual describes that it should work for audio files. It won't play movies though.

Regarding the OP's question, I would steer clear of the Marantz 5004 and 6004, since worldwide, there have been problems with them, called as the Pops of Death (PODs). There is a dedicated thread on the POD at AVSForum. Don't know what the cause of the problem is but Marantz USA has been denying that anything is wrong in their AVR. Stay away from them though, would be my humble advice.

 

[venkatcr]

Yes, I found out that some of the AVRs can play audio files of a few specified format. Even Arcam does play MP3 files but their manual is very vague. The best is to not expect too much and check very carefully before buying.

As said before, no movie files will be played.

Cheers

 

[corElement]

Why arent you looking at cambridge audio azur 650r, I'd take that anyday over a marantz or denon but thats a personal choice.

 

[sud98]

BTW, The Denon 2310 in India has pre-outs (the US version does not), so maybe the comparison should be with that. The advantages of buying in India would be no step down required as well as full warranty. The list price is 62k Rs., actual price would be atleast 10% lesser. Check out the features in the Profx - Advanced Audio Solutions