Marantz HD-Amp1 bit disappointing

robdmarsh

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So, I'm sorry to say that the above mentioned amp did not meet my expectations. I gave it about 10 hours of run-in time, which I'm sure some of you think is nothing like enough. Others might argue that you need some time to live with and get used to the sound of a new amplifier, and you may have a point. But what I heard was not what I was looking for.

The sound was maybe (no.... definitely) more detailed than my Marantz mcr603 but not really any more likeable and engaging. I'm sure that detailed sound would have grown as the amp burned in, but what struck me was that I wasn't getting more scale and a bigger sound stage or separation of instruments that I was hoping for. It's certainly a lovely looking piece of kit and is very well-designed but I get the impression that it's aimed at a lifestyle product kind of market. Maybe I was wrong to think that I would get a bigger sound, after all it's 35wpc into 8 ohms, but three or four reviews I read emphasised how it drove big speakers with ease. This could be the case with bigger higher sensitivity speakers but my Elacs are 85db at 6ohms.

So, the hunt goes on. Good connectivity is important and that front usb connection for ipod is still necessary as I still enjoy playing music off my old iPod classic. So I'm thinking of maybe going the other way size-wise and taking a look at the Onkyo tx-8150. This is a beast of a thing, but not an ugly one imo, with a definite whiff of old school! Although end of line only is available, this time I can audition so that's what I'm gonna do!
 

robdmarsh

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You have a point there. Don't have a stand-alone CD player. Even on my m-cr603 I can tell the difference between 320kbps and CD, but some albums at 320k sound ok (or even better than ok to my ears). Now it's that last bit of the sentence where me and a lot of the members this forum would probably part company! ;)
 

newlash09

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insider9 said:
Have you tried any CD Quality music at all? If all you're playing is compressed music you're not doing yourself any favours.

May be the marantz deserves a better source to sound it's best. Can you borrow a cd player from one of your friends and see how it sounds then. If you are then pleased with the sound, then those 600 pounds can be better spent on a source component like a modern streamer.
 

rainsoothe

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There's a Naim Unitiqute (first gen) with a current bid of 351 GBP, maybe you're lucky enough to snipe it in your budget when the auction ends. Or wait a bit more, till you can up the budget to 800 and get a UQ2.
 

robdmarsh

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I'm sure the Marantz amp would reward a better quality source. But will I get a bigger and broader sound? I thought that was more amplifier dependent and this is where I'm thinking that the Marantz is not powerful enough at 35w.
 

robdmarsh

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I think I'm kind of more on the side of buttons and knobs interface than monolithic black box interface. I think Bluesound powernode looks like brick for a new office block. I said so to a guy over the phone at Audio T and I think he was a little offended. whoops...
 

newlash09

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Could be limited by the speakers and their positioning too. The sense of width also comes from reflections from side and rear walls. If you imagine your side walls to be like mirrors. Then moving your speakers further into the room, will make their reflected images to be wider. Same happens to sound presentation. So please try moving your speakers till you are happy with the width.

In my limited experience, I have not experienced any drastic improvement in width or scale due to amplification. And I've tried four modest amps in my setup. Going up to more powerful amplification imparts a sense of authority and better control. The speakers also sound bolder. However the scale and width are completely room and speaker dependent.
 

Paulq

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I am a bit new to the Yamaha game but last week picked up their R-N402D and it's pretty impressive so may be worth your having a look at. Better still, and for not a lot more, is the R-N602 which has more features and a phono stage. That's a bit of a steal for around £330.

They sound great too!

Best of luck.
 

rainsoothe

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Shouldn't have prejudice against Naim until you hear one, like Cno :) And authoritative and exciting is what they do. Boogie.

Arcam too, if you want buttons and knobs.

I also agree that source and material is very important. I can easily tell the difference between radio paradise 320 kbps stream and a CD rip, mainly in the dinamics department, so sorting that out first is the cheapest or free solution to your troubles.

The reason for the Naim suggestion is that it provides both superior source and amplification. And connectivity too. Yamaha will sound even less exciting than Marantz.
 

rainsoothe

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That is a nice read, but it IS a flawed test (which the OP admits to), and it only proves that a majority of people (not an overwhelming one) can't tell the difference - which doesn't mean that they aren't there or that they aren't audible, just that not everyone can notice them - and that people have different preferences, which is nothing new.

I bet a majority of people are not bothered or can't notice pitch variation in turntables and/or warped records, but that doesn't mean it's not there or irrelevant.

Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson albums are very well mixed and mastered, IMO, and, being familiar with them, I always feel there's just that little bit missing when a song comes on RP as opposed to a CD rip or hi-res dl.
 
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robdmarsh said:
Here's an interesting talk about Hi-res. I think this might throw the cat amongst the pidgeons!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5S_DI99wd8&t=1189s

Not really Rob, it all depends on the master used for the hi-res recording. I've got some hr downloads and personally I believe it's all bull****, just another way of getting us to purchase the same music all over again. It's a marketing ploy to separate us from our hard-earned cash. CD offers more than sufficient resolution for human ears, just wish sound engineers wouldn't screw with the format giving us overly loud recordings.
 

Paulq

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rainsoothe said:
Shouldn't have prejudice against Naim until you hear one, like Cno :) And authoritative and exciting is what they do. Boogie.

Arcam too, if you want buttons and knobs.

I also agree that source and material is very important. I can easily tell the difference between radio paradise 320 kbps stream and a CD rip, mainly in the dinamics department, so sorting that out first is the cheapest or free solution to your troubles.

The reason for the Naim suggestion is that it provides both superior source and amplification. And connectivity too. Yamaha will sound even less exciting than Marantz.

Funny how people hear things differently. The Naim sound tires me out and I find it to be very edgy - I guess you would term that as 'exciting' but I simply can't listen to it for very long before having to turn it off and go running back to my Linn.

Similarly, I don't find the Yamaha sound to be boring - quite the opposite as to me it sounds very warm yet detailed and is quite an engaging listen.

As someone else commented in one thread - it's about finding the sound that's right for you.
 

Gray

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robdmarsh said:
Here's an interesting talk about Hi-res. I think this might throw the cat amongst the pidgeons!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5S_DI99wd8&t=1189s

Do you mean because he was questioning the myth that 'hi-res' necessarily means better?

Can't blame you if you didn't listen to it all, but it was interesting (and he certainly had some experience in the recording industry).

Seemed to me, he was making the very points that Doug made (in post 21) about selling us the same stuff again and, in particular about the significance of the master. How, despite them having the potential to, neither CD nor hi-res can improve on the inferior dynamic range originally recorded by the analogue master tape (because magnetic tape is 'equivalent to 8 bit dynamic range' and most of our hi-res re-issues are from tape).
 

rainsoothe

Well-known member
Paulq said:
rainsoothe said:
Shouldn't have prejudice against Naim until you hear one, like Cno :) And authoritative and exciting is what they do. Boogie.

Arcam too, if you want buttons and knobs.

I also agree that source and material is very important. I can easily tell the difference between radio paradise 320 kbps stream and a CD rip, mainly in the dinamics department, so sorting that out first is the cheapest or free solution to your troubles.

The reason for the Naim suggestion is that it provides both superior source and amplification. And connectivity too. Yamaha will sound even less exciting than Marantz.

Funny how people hear things differently.  The Naim sound tires me out and I find it to be very edgy - I guess you would term that as 'exciting' but I simply can't listen to it for very long before having to turn it off and go running back to my Linn.

Similarly, I don't find the Yamaha sound to be boring - quite the opposite as to me it sounds very warm yet detailed and is quite an engaging listen.

As someone else commented in one thread - it's about finding the sound that's right for you.

Yes, but OP says Marantz lacks excitement (and I find Marantz more exciting than Yamaha), hence the Naim suggestion. I agree, that it's all very personal.

I also find some Naim syatems tiring, but it's all very ancillary dependant. Even among themselves, their products differ. Unitiqute is MUCH more relaxed and mainstream-sounding than Supernait 2, for instance, which I find tiring.
 

andyjm

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robdmarsh said:
I gave it about 10 hours of run-in time, which I'm sure some of you think is nothing like enough.

An amplifier isn't a Ford Escort, and no amount of using it is going to 'run it in'.

Nonsense started by HiFi retailers who wanted their clients to go away and stop bothering them until they had got used to the sound of their new system.
 

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