Marantz CR611+Q Acoustics 3010+Q Acoustics 3070S VS Ruark R7

[mikegtar]

Parents downsized to a property with a small lounge, 11 foot by 18 foot. Telly in the corner adjacent to the patio doors on one of the short sides.

Quite like the idea of a Ruark R7 with telly attachment for compact and neatness. I have heard the R7 at John Lewis but not an ideal environment for a listen - big open space, lots of people milling about, trying to compete with all the other noises. As far as I could tell, it sounded fine although a bit muddy. Maybe the built in subwoofer was turned up too high, but the salesman didn't seem to know much about it and certainly didn't want to play around with the settings.

Has anyone heard the R7 in a small room environment ? Does it sound hifi 'ish ?

Another option I thought about was the new Marantz CR611 coming out in a few months connected to Q Acoustics 3010 speakers and 3070S subwoofer plus appropriate tv corner unit. Not as neat and retro as the R7 but probably a better sound....

Which option would you go for given the above room size ?

 

[MajorFubar]

No one can really help you with regards to how the MCR611 will sound or how it will integrate with other components, because no-one's heard it. However, the Ruark R7 is a lifestyle product, and while I haven't heard it (so take my opinion with a pinch of salt if you wish), if I couldn't better its sound for the £2k list price using conventional separates or a digital source + actives, I'll run down Blackpool promenade mid-season wearing nothing but my birthday suit singing "I've Got A Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts".

 

[matthewpiano]

Why wait for the MCR611? I'd suggest going for a Yamaha CRX-N560D and pairing it with some Q Acoustics Concept 20s or, if you want to push the boat out, some Neat Iotas. The Yamaha is even better than the Marantz MCR610 both in sound and overall operation, with a particularly good iphone and android control app. Nicely finished too. Unless the appearance of the Ruark really appeals I wouldn't consider spending more double the amount to buy that.

 

[Snooker]

Found this on a website, could be the new Marantz MCR611, looks very similar to the Marantz MCR610 in black

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://raumklangbonn.de/m-cr-611-ifa-neuheit-2015/&prev=search

 

[Snooker]

This website posted twice by mistake !

 

[mikegtar]

Thanks for your replies,

I'm pretty sure that the holiday makers and day trippers at Blackpool will be safe, Major ☺. It would be interesting however to know how far off the R7 is off in terms of sound quality in a small room environment. My parents are not into hifi and for them if the lifestyle system system "has a nice tone" then how it looks and fits in holding a telly probably outweighs any minor forfeit in terms of sound quality. For me, I'm used to a resonabley decent system in my house and would be more critical about the sound quality so what to them may seem a 'minor' difference could be a 'major' one to me.

I didn't realise the Yamaha was better than the Marantz, Matthew. I thought that the Marantz was the daddy of the micro systems. I'll look into that option further. Aesthetically, the Concept 20's would be too big for the small space they would need to inhabit, but I had forgotten about the Neat Iota's and think they could be a good alternative, and probably no need for a sub woofer either with those....

Good find, Snooker. It's a bit surprising that Marantz haven't made a change in the appearance between the 610 and the 611. Or maybe that isn't the real picture of the 611. The spec seems to be right though compared to other web info, including the built in bluetooth. The date of the article says January 2014 which is misleading. I'm sure more pictures and information will emerge in the coming days/weeks to back this up.

 

[DIB]

For me, I'm used to a resonabley decent system in my house and would be more critical about the sound quality so what to them may seem a 'minor' difference could be a 'major' one to me.

Creek Destiny amp/cdp if I remember correctly Mike. You're being modest!

.

 

[mikegtar]

Hi Dib,

Yes that's right, Creek CDP and amps with EPOS M22i speaker and Spendor S5e speakers with REL Strata II sub. Listen to it most days and it's still going strong. There's always better kit out there but this set up works just fine.... but never say never, I might get an itch and feel the need to upgrade at some point.

It's different at the R7 / Marantz / Yamaha micro end of things, especially in a smaller room and the fact that I'm shopping for someone else too! Just hoping that someone who's heard the R7 properly can advise on it's relative performance. It does look good though

 

[paulselwood]

Just like to ask you matthewpiano. Does the yamaha crx n560d & dynaudio dm 2/6, work together. As your pioneer is 60 watts per channel, and the yamaha is 30 watts per channel. I had a yamaha 540, few years ago. I was well happy with it.