Denon 3312 vs NAD T757

[renjith lal]

Hi,

My speaker system is PSB Image T6 and Image center C5 ,sony surround speakers (old hifi speakers) and super cube 3 sub woofer.I am planning to upgrade my Onkyo 609 AVR.

Need help in finalizing AVR. I have shortlisted Denon 3312 and NAD T757.
I have home auditioned Marant 6006 but not impressed by it for stereo performance. I dont have a dedicated CD player. I am using Panasonic BDP 220 3D blue ray player. I have apple TV so I can connect using optical out to any AVR. Using this I am playing mp3 and others using AVR.

I want expert advice from you guys for finalizing AVR.I am bit inclined to NAD T757. I heard it is good for stereo and movies but it is not feature rich like denon 3312. T757 does not do up scaling, doesn't have usb,no network connectivity. I dont know how to do firmware update with such AVR.

Denon on the other side is feature rich and have all the above features.
But I have not compared the sound performance of these two.If any one of you have compared please let me know. I know it is better audition myself and decide. But unfortunately home audition is bit tough.

I have bought a Rotel 5 channel power amp. It is 100W * 5 channel and THX certified. I can biamp this power amp for stereo usage using the pre out from either NAD or Denon 3312.

I have read in net that NAD is not in to mass market like Denon and Onkyo.
T757 in some forum are comparing with Denon 4312.So I am very confused in finalizing.Two models above T757 are very expensive.

So please help me in deciding the best AVR. I am also open to some other AVR in the same range. Please give me your inputs.

Please provide your valuable inputs.

Thanks
Renjith

 

[renjith lal]

Looks like most of the guys are on vacation or busy with new year plans .
Guys, please share your views.

 

[darshanjoshi]

Many claim Denon 3312 and Marantz 6006 are clones.

If you did not like Marantz 6006 in Music, its very unlikely you will like Denon in Music. To my ears Marantz sounds better than Denon for Music.

I had auditioned PSB with NAD, it did not impress me much. Although, many would suggest PSB+NAD combo do very well. Again its very subjective. So best thing is to audition these AVR's with your speakers and Rotel Power Amp and let your ear decide.

In the end it will be difficult for you to get the Best Stereo experience from an AVR. Going for a dedicated Stereo Amp / Pre+Power will make you much happier for Music. In your case, you can add a decent Stereo Pre Amp since you already have a Power Amp.

 

[alphacentury100]

Many claim Denon 3312 and Marantz 6006 are clones.

If you did not like Marantz 6006 in Music, its very unlikely you will like Denon in Music. To my ears Marantz sounds better than Denon for Music.

I had auditioned PSB with NAD, it did not impress me much. Although, many would suggest PSB+NAD combo do very well. Again its very subjective. So best thing is to audition these AVR's with your speakers and Rotel Power Amp and let your ear decide.

In the end it will be difficult for you to get the Best Stereo experience from an AVR. Going for a dedicated Stereo Amp / Pre+Power will make you much happier for Music. In your case, you can add a decent Stereo Pre Amp since you already have a Power Amp.

The marantz 6006 is a clone of the denon 2312 and not 3312. So, try the new marantz sr7007, which is $1800 in the US but sells around 90K here, while the denon 3313, which sells for $1200 also sells around 90K here in India. The Indian pricing for Marantz is much better than the denon. Even the Yamahas and Pioneers are priced much cheaper than the Denons, Onkyos and the Nads, but however the pioneer and yamahas don't possess Audyssey.

 

[renjith lal]

Thanks a lot for your reply.

Even I have heard that Marantz is more musical than Denon.The main reason I didnt like Marantz could be due to the reason of not having a dedicated CD player. I didn't like marantz and PSB when played with my Panasonic blue ray player. But when I demoed PSB T6 with Denon one year back I liked it very much.But when I used at my home I didnt like it much. May be it could be due to room treatment also.

I agree with your point of auditioning it with AVR and decide myself. It is bit tough to get a home audition. I will try to do that.

I read many places that NAD is good for music. That is why I thought of going with NAD though Denon is feature rich.

I know that AVR is having lot of limitations and we cannot expect stereo amp, pre+power performance. What I was thinking if one box piece can give a decent performance for stereo with 10% less performance I can live with it.


If you compare AVR pre out to a 7.1 processor like emotiva UMC 200 or any other processor from Rotel/Marantz pre out there will be lot of difference in quality?

If you compare any 7.1 channnel processor and dedicated stereo processor preout which will be better? I think dedicated stereo processor preout will be better. So that means always we should have a separate processor for stereo and movies? There is no single processor available which is good for stereo and movies? I think it will be there but will be expensive .

Any suggestion for stereo preamp which will match with Rotel power amp?
I dont know power amp to pre amp matching is important like amp to speaker matching.

Thanks
Renjith

Many claim Denon 3312 and Marantz 6006 are clones.

If you did not like Marantz 6006 in Music, its very unlikely you will like Denon in Music. To my ears Marantz sounds better than Denon for Music.

I had auditioned PSB with NAD, it did not impress me much. Although, many would suggest PSB+NAD combo do very well. Again its very subjective. So best thing is to audition these AVR's with your speakers and Rotel Power Amp and let your ear decide.

In the end it will be difficult for you to get the Best Stereo experience from an AVR. Going for a dedicated Stereo Amp / Pre+Power will make you much happier for Music. In your case, you can add a decent Stereo Pre Amp since you already have a Power Amp.

 

[renjith lal]

Even NAD T757 doesn't have a very good audyssey. It doesnt have USB and networking also, but i heard it is good for music and movies. NAD`s main priority is audio quality and not other features. It doesnt do any video up scaling also.

Marantz is priced better in India compared to Denon.Don't know how it is done.
Denon is priced less in US compared to other markets.

 

[guls]

In my personal experience comparing NAD T747 against Marantz SR7005, NAD had better sound quality and I ended up buying the NAD. But since you already have a power amp, I feel you are better off buying a feature rich preamp - assuming you like the sound through your power amp which you are in a position to judge as you already have in your possession.

 

[renjith lal]

I thought of getting Emotiva UMC 200 but it is costing around 52k INR , including shipping and customs duty.
Any suggestion for feature rich processor/preamp?

 

[navin advani]

... So, try the new marantz sr7007, which is $1800 in the US but sells around 90K here...The Indian pricing for Marantz is much better than the denon. Even the Yamahas and Pioneers are priced much cheaper than the Denons, Onkyos and the Nads, but however the pioneer and yamahas don't possess Audyssey.

Which Yamaha, Pioneer or Onkyo model would compare against the 7007? I assume the 1020, LX56 and 818. Am I right?

The Yamaha 1020 is not available is it?
Would Onkyo's 818 compare? The 818 has XT32 and 4K, the 7007 does not.
Would Pioneer's LX56 would be about the same price as the 7007 in India?

 

[Vijay_s]

In this forum there are many people who recommend PSB NAD combination. From my experience NAD sound is a choice of very few. I do not even know whether they recommend it with a practical experience. From my experience NAD sound is not convincing, it can even screw up PSB speaker quality itself when paired with NAD.

 

[alphacentury100]

Which Yamaha, Pioneer or Onkyo model would compare against the 7007? I assume the 1020, LX56 and 818. Am I right?

The Yamaha 1020 is not available is it?
Would Onkyo's 818 compare? The 818 has XT32 and 4K, the 7007 does not.
Would Pioneer's LX56 would be about the same price as the 7007 in India?

The Pioneer India website "http://www.pioneer-india.in/product-category/home-entertainment/lx-series/lx-series-av-receivers/"
has mentioned the MRP of the Pioneer SC-LX76 as Rs.105000, so the street price will be under 100k. This pioneer receiver has a beefier amp compared to the marantz 7007. The pioneer is a 9 channel Class-D amp, which produces 140W at 8 Ohms. So, at least on paper, the Pioneer is much better than the equally priced Marantz 7007. But how much of it will be translated to the performance and your liking is subjective.
In India, these similarly priced Marantz 7007, Pioneer LX76 and Yamaha 2010 (until 2020 shows up) are priced way better than the Onkyo 818 (MRP $1200, street price $950 at Amazon) and the Denon 3313(MRP $1200, street price $950 at Amazon).
Though Onkyo818 has Audyssey multeq xt32 it doesnot have sub equalizer to set 2 subs.
If you are after Audyssey multeq xt32, I would recommend you shell out some extra money and go for Onkyo1010.
Else Marantz 7007 would be a good bet, as it is said to be more musical than the Denon and Onkyo, and its street price hardly drops below its Mrp of $1800. My GUESS is that Marants 7007 provides more nuance and reliablity than its clone Denon 3313, for its extra $600.

 

[renjith lal]

Marantz 7007 has HDAM ((Hyper-Dynamic Amplifier Module) and current amplification instead of voltage amplification compared to SR6006 and 5005.
I read that current amplification is better than voltage amplification.These features are used in Marantz Pearlite stereo amp also. These features could help in improving the quality of 7007.

 

[Doomster69]

Hi Renjith,

So which one did you finally buy?

Im evaluating Denon X3100 (95k), Onkyo 828 (90-100K) and Marantz SR6009 (80k) for the PSB X2T FS speakers, without any power amp attached.

Here are a few considerations:

- Onkyo has a marginally muffled sound compared to Denon & the AccuEQ is not that great either. Read on issues with the HDMI boards soldering coming off due to heating for predecessor models. Yet, in terms of features (ATMOS & 135w/channel) & price on offer, Onkyo seems like a loaded option for the price.

- Marantz isnt known to be bright enough for movies though is a clear winner for music. SR 6009 is also high on features (wireless & otherwise). The upside with Marantz is the Audyssey XT, general overall reliability and will balance the sound of the PSBs. My 2 concerns - heard of issues where the unit would be "hanging" alot & that its 110 watt/channel. But "spirovious" mentions its worth the try.

- Denon AVr X3100 is fully loaded on features and is a good choice for movies & music alike. Considering its a slightly bass heavy AVR and that X2Ts have somewhat lacking bass (compared to Paradigm 11s), this may work out to be a better match. An Audyssey Gold advanced DSP & delhi based after sales service office is a big plus. Only concern - given the Marantz and Onkyo, this one is on the higher price (95k) bracket with lower output per channel 105 watts per channel. The Denon dealer says the 105 is "pure & raw output" unlike the others - whatever that means!!

Dropped the NAD option - low features & almost 1.25k


Any suggestions would be welcome on WHICH ONE IS SUITABLE - please consider the observations as well.


Big thanks

 

[renjith lal]

I went with NADT757 though it was expensive than Denon 3312.
As you said NAD is not rich in features but it is good in music.

 

[n_sachin84]

have u listened to denon 3312 ?