New AVR upto 80k....?

[rana_kirti]

Hi friends,

After upgrading the rest of my HT setup now it's time to show some loving to the heart of it all... the AVR

I've set a budget of 80k for this. I don't like bright & clinical sound so Sony & Pioneer are already out of the equation.

The contenders are.

1. NAD T 747
2. Yamaha RX V 2067
3. Marantz SR 7005
4. Denon AVR 3311
5. Onkyo NR 1008

All these beauties are going to try to win my heart and be the at the center of my home theater setup.

I'm going to demo these one by one and see which suits my preference. If anyone here has suggestions to add any other avrs do go ahead...

If you own any one of these avrs and want to share their strengths & weakness and the quality and signature of their sound then you are most welcome too.

If any dealers of these above mentioned products are reading this then please feel free to contact me with the best offer from your end.

Cheers

 

[S.P.KRISHNA]

Why are you hesitant to diclose your location.

Regards

 

[naren2512]

@ S.P.KRISHNA
what has his location to do with his thread !!.....

 

[S.P.KRISHNA]

Depending upon the place of his residence one can suggest the places where he can audition the products and he may also be invited by the members to have a look at the recommended products.

Regards

 

[prithivi]

My VOTE is For MARANTZ

But try high end brands such as ROTEL ARCAM

Why dont you try Pre power set up such as EMOTIVA UMC 1 + EMOTIVA UPA 7 (yu can import it for 1L From US Inclusive of shipping duty )

users in foreign forum compare it to 8000$ receivers

 

[niting]

Dude I would recommend you to listen to them personally. But you should be able to compare the two side by side for actual comparison. All I know is that the Marantz SR7005 is selling for 1600 dollars in the US and the Denon 3311 is for 1200 dollars. But here they both are almost equally priced. So value for money wise, Marantz is better, plus it looks better as well. The difference is also in the remote. While watching movies in a sort of dark room one would need a back lit remote. Marantz has it but denon hasn't.

 

[rana_kirti]

so i've done a few demos and i'll share my experiences here.... I would have preferred to hear all the AVR's with the same set of speakers but that's impossible....

All AVR's have their own sound signature and so do most speakers and hence the final sound will be a combination of the two and i'm sure this can make a difference to how a particular AVR might have sounded with another set of speakers from the ones that i ve heard them with....

1. NAD T 747 + PSB Speakers.

I've had the chance to hear the 747 for extended periods of time while i was auditioning the PSB speakers at Lakozy Delhi and also during my other visits there.

Ashish is one of the better dealers around in delhi and has always provided excellent customer service and encourages you to demo as much as you want to your heart's content.

A lot of people are not aware that NAD makes AVRs. Now you know they do. The T 747 is a Gem. It has that glorious Nad sound and according to me does everything right. It sounds just right with all frequencies and is exciting to listen to and at the same time very forgiving and easy on the ears for those long movie sessions.

It has a this lush and rich movie hall kind of sound. If you are in the market for a AVR upto 80k and you've never heard the 747 then do yourself a favor and go hear it. You'll forget all the mass market AVRs. hyeah:

Something missing from the 747 is the Hdmi 1.4/3D though you could always get a bluray player with dual hdmi outs to overcome that. Also no networking.

But that glorious sound is unforgettable and stays with you long after you have heard it.

Top pick at this point in time....

1. Nad T 747

 

[S.P.KRISHNA]

Have a look at Onkyo TX-NR808

Regards

 

[dillihifi]

Well I too have taken the demo from Ashish for the NAD. There are a couple of things which I would like to highlight.

Firstly the NAD does not output the 24Hz automatically i.e. every time you use it to watch material encoded in 24Hz then you have to manually switch the video to output 24Hz the auto setting automatically defaults to 60Hz/50Hz.

Secondly as pointed out it does not support 3D / HDMI 1.4. Ashish says that the 757 (soon to be introduced) will have Modular construction and will support 3D. Worth waiting for a few months????

 

[longshanks]

pioneer SC-LX73 or VSX-LX53

 

[haisaikat]

There is also Cambridge Audio 650R which is a 7.1 channel AVR with 100 w per channel of continuos power all 7 channels driven simultaneously. it consumes around 1400 watts of input power and costs 80k approx.

 

[micjak77]

my money is on Marantz 7005, but with that kind of money you might even start looking at a separates Marantz AV 7005 and Emotiva XPA 5 comes to mind

Hi friends,

After upgrading the rest of my HT setup now it's time to show some loving to the heart of it all... the AVR

I've set a budget of 80k for this. I don't like bright & clinical sound so Sony & Pioneer are already out of the equation.

The contenders are.

1. NAD T 747
2. Yamaha RX V 2067
3. Marantz SR 7005
4. Denon AVR 3311
5. Onkyo NR 1008

All these beauties are going to try to win my heart and be the at the center of my home theater setup.

I'm going to demo these one by one and see which suits my preference. If anyone here has suggestions to add any other avrs do go ahead...

If you own any one of these avrs and want to share their strengths & weakness and the quality and signature of their sound then you are most welcome too.

If any dealers of these above mentioned products are reading this then please feel free to contact me with the best offer from your end.

Cheers

 

[rana_kirti]

Have a look at Onkyo TX-NR808

Regards

808 is only 7.2, i'm looking at the 1008 as it has 9.2 so one can do 5.1 + front heights + rear surrounds.

Well I too have taken the demo from Ashish for the NAD. There are a couple of things which I would like to highlight.

Firstly the NAD does not output the 24Hz automatically i.e. every time you use it to watch material encoded in 24Hz then you have to manually switch the video to output 24Hz the auto setting automatically defaults to 60Hz/50Hz.

Secondly as pointed out it does not support 3D / HDMI 1.4. Ashish says that the 757 (soon to be introduced) will have Modular construction and will support 3D. Worth waiting for a few months????

yep it's true, you have to set the frame rate manually as per your input. it's slightly inconvenient but can live with it. Don't forget about that "Glorious" NAD sound That kind of makes me forget all the cons the 747 has.

Yep waiting for 757 is a very good option which i'm considering so i'm gonna talk to ashish about it. I hope it comes with Dolby IIz coz front heights is something i'm really keen about.

Since it'll have MDC i hope it can be upgraded in the future to DTS's version of front height/wides/rears "The Neo. X" which i totally believe will trump Dolby IIz and Audessey heights/wides and put them into oblivion....

Although the T 747 is short on some of the fancy features that other avrs haven in my opinion none of them can match the NAD as far as sound goes. NAD is all about sound first and features second where as the other manufactures it's the other way around.

Whoever has never heard the NAD T 747... Do audition it... It's just something else.... You forever forget the sound of these other mass market avrs.

pioneer SC-LX73 or VSX-LX53

Pioneer.... too clinical/bright. Besides are they officially available for demo and sale in india ?

There is also Cambridge Audio 650R which is a 7.1 channel AVR with 100 w per channel of continuos power all 7 channels driven simultaneously. it consumes around 1400 watts of input power and costs 80k approx.

will surely look into it....

my money is on Marantz 7005, but with that kind of money you might even start looking at a separates Marantz AV 7005 and Emotiva XPA 5 comes to mind

The 7005 has been getting awesome reviews and i did audition it a few days back... i'll put a review here in some time.

Cheers

 

[rana_kirti]

Demo 2.

Marantz SR 7005 + B&W CM series.

Ever since i decided to get a new avr and started reading reviews for potential candidates the 7005 kept coming up in my research. It seems to be well liked all over the world and is consistently getting tipped as a best buy, recommended product etc. So offcourse when i went to demo it the expectations were high.

First things first... The 7005 is like the Super Model of the AVR world. It's gobsmackingly beautiful. Just gorgeous. It makes other avrs look like ordinary pedestrians.

- The sound was very smooth and easy. but it kind of lacked the get-go. And i found it to be rather flat. It did very well with the music parts but i felt it lacked the detail and punch of the yamahas and the onkyos as far as the movie part was concerned.

- it could have been because of the B&W CM series speakers and the 7005 might have had more detail or punch with another pair of speakers so i'm gonna try to see if i can demo then with another set of speakers.

- that being said can any of the others who have demoed Marantz avrs or current owners of Marantz avrs confirm if the Marantz is indeed a generally warmer sounding avr....?

Top pick at this point in time.

1. NAD T 747

more coming tomo....

 

[rana_kirti]

I'm was looking forward to demo the Marantz again. Last time i heard it I found it to be dull and flat and I felt it was partly because of the B&W CM speakers or some setting by the demo guy. So i did a 2nd demo today.

3. Marantz 6005 + PSB speakers

- the sound was excellent and was dynamic with lots of detail and vibrancy.

- I was impressed. ( and it's pretty difficult to impress me )

- So since I have PSB speakers I'm sure it will sound identical at my home.

- but to be really sure I'll have to hear the 7005 coz that is the one i have on my original shortlist. Although I found the 6005 to sound perfectly alright as compared to my previous 7005 demo I can only be sure if I can hear the 7005 again with different speakers than the first demo.

But I still feel that the Nad T 747 sounds better to my ears. The Marantz offers a few extra things like the Dolby IIz which I'm keen on. Also it has 3d, networking etc but on pure sound I still prefer the Nad 747.

Top picks

1. Nad T747
2. Marantz 7005 ( have to hear it again )

 

[gautamz]

I have been following your search with great interest.

I am in the same boat as you - need to upgrade my AVR and currently divided between the Marantz 7005 and the Anthem MRX300/500.

I have heard the Anthem 500 on paradigm speakers and loved it. The 300 knocks of USB and network support - but retains the awesome sound.

If you can go get an audition, I'd love to have another informed view on these

You have also got me thinking of the NAD T757. It sounds interesting. With MDC the 757 should be a treat to own, with no worries on future updates.
What did the dealer say about its release date?

I have also come across good reviews for the Arcam AVR400 - not sure where I can get to audition this in Bombay.

 

[dillihifi]

Is the anthem MRX 300 released yet ? If so what is the mrp/asking price ? The MRX 500 costs 1lac plus (indian prices)

About the 757 as informed by Ashish (Lakozy)it will take around 6 months. I have seen the printed catalogue and it is the same power as 747 with added MDC. Further Ashish may be able to clarify whether the same sports HDMI 1.4 (3D)/ Dolby IIz or not.

 

[rana_kirti]

I have been following your search with great interest.

I am in the same boat as you - need to upgrade my AVR and currently divided between the Marantz 7005 and the Anthem MRX300/500.

I have heard the Anthem 500 on paradigm speakers and loved it. The 300 knocks of USB and network support - but retains the awesome sound.

If you can go get an audition, I'd love to have another informed view on these

You have also got me thinking of the NAD T757. It sounds interesting. With MDC the 757 should be a treat to own, with no worries on future updates.
What did the dealer say about its release date?

I have also come across good reviews for the Arcam AVR400 - not sure where I can get to audition this in Bombay.

yep, the options out there are bewildering... as a matter of fact i demoed the Anthem 500 with Paradigm Studio 5.1 setup a few days back and i'll put up my review as i find more time. Is the Anthem 500 available for demo in mumbai/india ?

The Marantz 7005 also is a very good option by i'm just a vary due to whathifi's review... where in they say... "Hefty midrange is an issue" check it out here...

Marantz SR7005 review from the experts at whathifi.com

although the 7005 has been further reviewed by home cinema choice, home theater etc and they don't seem to mention the same issue. I kind of hold What hifi in high regards as i've mostly found their reviews to be spot on across various products. Not to dismiss the other websites.

The Nad T 757 should be a cracking avr. Going by how good the 747 is the 757 should bring in all the new features and retain the same magical, lush and rich cinema sound that the 747 possesses. a few days ago, Ashish from lakozy delhi told me that the 757 should be about 3 months away.

I've heard a lot of avrs during my demo's for speakers and now for a new avr and trust me when i say none has come close to the 747. It's just in a different league. As far as sound is concerned it does everything that all these other avrs do and then adds that NAD richness to it. Demo it once to really feel it's magic.

Is the anthem MRX 300 released yet ? If so what is the mrp/asking price ? The MRX 500 costs 1lac plus (indian prices)

About the 757 as informed by Ashish (Lakozy)it will take around 6 months. I have seen the printed catalogue and it is the same power as 747 with added MDC. Further Ashish may be able to clarify whether the same sports HDMI 1.4 (3D)/ Dolby IIz or not.

Yeah i too would like to know the pricing on the 300 & 500. Do you have a link to the a 757 catalogue in pdf format or on the web...? i couldn't find it.

 

[darshanjoshi]

I have recently bought Marantz SR5005 and pairing it with Energy RC50 floorstanders. Not completed my entire HT upgrade, but very happy with the combo.

I auditioned Denon, Yamaha, Pioneer & Marantz AVR's with similar price range. I dont think any AVR did came close to Marantz specially in Music. Although i did not audition NAD.

Marantz generates enormous & pure 100wpc power which i think was missing in other AVR's although they claimed one.

 

[Kittu]

I have recently bought Marantz SR5005 and pairing it with Energy RC50 floorstanders. Not completed my entire HT upgrade, but very happy with the combo.

I auditioned Denon, Yamaha, Pioneer & Marantz AVR's with similar price range. I dont think any AVR did came close to Marantz specially in Music. Although i did not audition NAD.

Marantz generates enormous & pure 100wpc power which i think was missing in other AVR's although they claimed one.

From where did u buy the energy FS ? What is the price paid ?