Audio for two rooms

[Gil]

I have the 6006, since 2017 and it is a good amp in its category. The 6007 will be better. It has better S/N figures, which is a weakness in the 6006 and support for a sub-woofer, if that is important to you. They also replaced the loudness button with a filter button, not that I think the filters make much difference.

So the answer, is yes, it is a better amp. How much you'd notice, I am not sure and whether it is 350 Euros better, only you can decide. You will get warranty with the new 6007.

I don't know anything about the Denon but it did get good reviews, back in the day. Denon and Marantz come from the same stable but generally a similarly priced amp will perform better than an AVR, because the AVR has many extra components to include in the price. It depends really one whether music or TV is more important to you.

Rather than a Bluetooth device, I'd look at one of the Wiim devices, particularly the Pro or Pro Plus. They have Bluetooth, transmitter and receiver and Chromecast, Airplay and support for most streaming services. I'm running a Wiim Pro through the 6006 Co-axial and recommend it. You'd still have 2 optical ports to connect TV etc to.

I have a Wiim Mini connected to another system and it is OK, as long as you don't need Chromecast.

Music will be more important than TV for me. I will only have a 2 x 2 speakers system, plus, eventually, a sub-woofer at some point. I chose the Polk ES20 also because thy seem to have very good bass, hoping that a sub will not be necessary.

Even if the music will be more important than TV, I still need to drive a dvd reader, a google chromecast end a console. That would be 3 hdmi's. Also I would need t a bluetooth. So, practically an AVR would be better.

The alternative to an AVR would be :
- buy a 3-way hdmi switch ;
- buy an hdmi audio extractor with optical/coaxial output ;
- buy a bluetooth device (receiver only is enough).

What I can't understand is if the audio quality gain with, say, a marantz pm6007 instead of a similar price AVR is worth adding all this stuff to the system.
Otherwise, does it exist some kind audio/video commutator capable of doing all this ?

 

[DCarmi]

An HDMI switch is not necessarily an expensive component.
You seem to already have Chromecast so Bluetooth seems redundant but again a Bluetooth dongle does not need to be hugely expensive (and I still say a Wiim would be better).

In terms of your apparent requirements:
PM6007 is a better amp but will cost more.

The Denon AVR was reviewed well back in 2016, so it is about the same vintage as the PM6006. It does do Bluetooth and it has all the connections you need and more than you want.

I can't tell you what the relative sound quality will be between these devices and whether you'd notice a big difference.

Check reviews and manuals for these devices. This site has reviews of all 3 and manuals are available on the manufacturers web site.

Given you've thrown a console into the mix, then the AVR makes a bit more sense.

 

[Fandango Andy]

Music will be more important than TV for me. I will only have a 2 x 2 speakers system, plus, eventually, a sub-woofer at some point. I chose the Polk ES20 also because thy seem to have very good bass, hoping that a sub will not be necessary.

Even if the music will be more important than TV, I still need to drive a dvd reader, a google chromecast end a console. That would be 3 hdmi's. Also I would need t a bluetooth. So, practically an AVR would be better.

The alternative to an AVR would be :
- buy a 3-way hdmi switch ;
- buy an hdmi audio extractor with optical/coaxial output ;
- buy a bluetooth device (receiver only is enough).

What I can't understand is if the audio quality gain with, say, a marantz pm6007 instead of a similar price AVR is worth adding all this stuff to the system.
Otherwise, does it exist some kind audio/video commutator capable of doing all this ?

A Marantz Stereo 70s seems to tick all your boxes but is more expensive. Reading the specs and manual it isn't 100% clear if you can use both sets of speakers at the same time. I leaning towards thinking uou can. If you cannot, there is a line out to connect a separate power amp to drive a second set.

 

[Gil]

An HDMI switch is not necessarily an expensive component.
You seem to already have Chromecast so Bluetooth seems redundant but again a Bluetooth dongle does not need to be hugely expensive (and I still say a Wiim would be better).

In terms of your apparent requirements:
PM6007 is a better amp but will cost more.

The Denon AVR was reviewed well back in 2016, so it is about the same vintage as the PM6006. It does do Bluetooth and it has all the connections you need and more than you want.

I can't tell you what the relative sound quality will be between these devices and whether you'd notice a big difference.

Check reviews and manuals for these devices. This site has reviews of all 3 and manuals are available on the manufacturers web site.

Given you've thrown a console into the mix, then the AVR makes a bit more sense.

I agree that an hdmi switch is not expensive but it adds a device to manipulate, as for a bluetooth device.

It is true that Chromecast handle bluetooth connections, but wouldn't I need to turn on the videoprojector every time I would listen to music ? I am not sure I could make the bluetooth connection automatically everytime (but I admit that dind't tray it).

And speaking about audio quality, would it be better a pm 6007 or something much older like a 6003 or 6004 (or even older) coupled with an external dac like the cambridge audio dacmagic 100 ?

 

[Gil]

A Marantz Stereo 70s seems to tick all your boxes but is more expensive. Reading the specs and manual it isn't 100% clear if you can use both sets of speakers at the same time. I leaning towards thinking uou can. If you cannot, there is a line out to connect a separate power amp to drive a second set.

Indeed the stereo 70 is too expensive :/

 

[DCarmi]

And speaking about audio quality, would it be better a pm 6007 or something much older like a 6003 or 6004 (or even older) coupled with an external dac like the cambridge audio dacmagic 100 ?

You are over thinking things and the Video Projector is a new variable.

If you can afford the PM6007, then that is the way to go. The 6003 is probably about 14 years old and the 6004 about 12, and you'd have to add another device and a chunk of cash to bring it up to somewhere near either the 6006 or 6007.

If it were me, I'd go for the 6007 or if too expensive take a punt on the 6006. I'd also get a Wiim Mini or Pro and plug that into one of the optical connections on the amp.

It is possible that there may be deals on the Google Chromecast devices which often happen during Amazon sales, so you could think of getting one for the TV.

In a my world it would be:

• PM6006/7
• Wiim (Mini or Pro) into the amps DAC .
• Chromecast into the TV

That way all bases are covered ( Bluetooth, wireless streaming, TV audio, physical and . In fact it is pretty much what I have i.e. PM6006, Wiim Pro, Chromecast, except I don't play the TV through the amp and I do multi-room music streaming (Spotify or Amazon) through the Wiim, to another Wiim or a Google speaker(Wiim Pro only). Technically I could stream audio files from my phone, but I don't.

You could swap for a PM6006 and probably not notice a whole lot of difference.
If you are considering a PM6003/4 check the manuals to make sure they can do A+B and not just A or B and it had better be cheap.

At the end of the day you have to work to your budget. The amp is the main component, so you want to get that right and add the extras, as and when.

 

[Gil]

You are over thinking things and the Video Projector is a new variable.

If you can afford the PM6007, then that is the way to go. The 6003 is probably about 14 years old and the 6004 about 12, and you'd have to add another device and a chunk of cash to bring it up to somewhere near either the 6006 or 6007.

If it were me, I'd go for the 6007 or if too expensive take a punt on the 6006. I'd also get a Wiim Mini or Pro and plug that into one of the optical connections on the amp.

It is possible that there may be deals on the Google Chromecast devices which often happen during Amazon sales, so you could think of getting one for the TV.

In a my world it would be:

• PM6006/7
• Wiim (Mini or Pro) into the amps DAC .
• Chromecast into the TV

That way all bases are covered ( Bluetooth, wireless streaming, TV audio, physical and . In fact it is pretty much what I have i.e. PM6006, Wiim Pro, Chromecast, except I don't play the TV through the amp and I do multi-room music streaming (Spotify or Amazon) through the Wiim, to another Wiim or a Google speaker(Wiim Pro only). Technically I could stream audio files from my phone, but I don't.

You could swap for a PM6006 and probably not notice a whole lot of difference.
If you are considering a PM6003/4 check the manuals to make sure they can do A+B and not just A or B and it had better be cheap.

At the end of the day you have to work to your budget. The amp is the main component, so you want to get that right and add the extras, as and when.

Well, if I hadn't a vaideprojector I would still turn on the tv just to listen to music with google chromecats, which is not the best.

But you are right, I am surely overthinking it. I'll try to find a second-hand 6007, but the wiim will be over budget. I'll find some other bluetooth receiver with optical output and it will be ok, at least for the moment. Thank you for your help

 

[Gil]

Update + (hopefully last) questions

I ended up buying a second hand pm6006, since I found it in perfect condtions at only160€. I finally bougtht the polk ES15 instead of the ES20 because these were too big. I also ordered a wiim pro that should arrive soon. I will buy two more speakers (for the second room) in a couple of months.

So, hopefully the last questions :

1) Should I use the internal dac of the pm6006 or the one of the wiim pro ? Which one is better ?
2) The speakers will be wall-mounted at about 2 meters from the floor. Should I direct them slightly downward ? Or it does not really matter ?

Thank you for your help

 

[Gray]

Update + (hopefully last) questions

I ended up buying a second hand pm6006, since I found it in perfect condtions at only160€. I finally bougtht the polk ES15 instead of the ES20 because these were too big. I also ordered a wiim pro that should arrive soon. I will buy two more speakers (for the second room) in a couple of months.

So, hopefully the last questions :

1) Should I use the internal dac of the pm6006 or the one of the wiim pro ? Which one is better ?
2) The speakers will be wall-mounted at about 2 meters from the floor. Should I direct them slightly downward ? Or it does not really matter ?

Thank you for your help

1) Decide by LISTENING when you've got both.
2) Yes.