Marantz SR5008 review

[DazzyJim]

Having recenly replaced my 6 month old Yamaha RXV773 with the Marantz SR5008, I just wanted to say how amazing the Marantz sounded. When I pushed the Yamaha to high volumes (in YPAO natural mind) the sound started to distort and just sounded really harsh, but the Marantz sounded unbelievably clean and warm and just would not distort! Even the subtle back ground noises, like wind, rain, even Bilbo writing in the book at the beginning of The Hobbit, the Marantz played these sounds back so much clearer, I could barely hear these on the Yamaha. The sound just seems so much more immersive! Wether this is due to it having the latest current feedback topology and HDAM that was only on last years top of the range Marantz, I dunno, but it just sounds amazing!! I was unbelievably impressed with the sound! I've been looking for a Receiver with a warm to sound to it because I'm quite the audiophile and the Marantz is definitely it!

One thing I noticed right away though, considering there is only 5 watts of power between the two, Yamaha 95wpc and Marantz 100wpc, the Marantz goes unbelievably louder and has so much more dynamic range. Clearly Yamaha are still being a little inaccurate about there figures. I should know, my first amp was a Yamaha rxv467 rated at 75wpc, but the real life figure driving 5 channels was actually closer to 25wpc! I'm not trying to slate Yamaha here, I've owned Yamaha products before that have sounded brilliant, but when it comes to Av Receivers, the Marantz wins hands down!

Also this is my first time using Audyssey for calibration and I have to say, its a massive improvement for me over YPAO. Wether this be based on my room, who knows, but the sound was fantastic. I also really enjoy using the Dynamic EQ and Volume (light setting) at lower volumes at night. The sound from the rears is normally completely lost at low volumes but these two features bring the rear channels back into play and those boosts to subtle noise and quiet voices at the front of the room sound brilliant!

Anyway I just wanted to say, anyone who is in the market for a new Receiver really need to test the new Marantz models! To me, they just sound the best I have heard!

 

[MrBangle]

Congrats on the new amp and thanks for the review!

 

[Leeps]

Always pleasing to see someone genuinely happy with their kit. I've always had a soft spot for Marantz as my first 'proper' hifi was Marantz CD & amp many years ago!

Out of interest, it's always handy to know what amp / speaker combos people recommend. What speakers are you driving with your receiver?

Are you using the Marantz control app at all? If so, how are you getting on with it?

 

[emperor's new clothes]

+1 for Marantz (SR7007) Shame they don't feature in WHF group tests.

 

[DazzyJim]

Hey guys thanks for the comments. I havn't tried the Marantz control app yet but will post when i have tried it out. The speakers I am using with my amp are the Q Acoustics 2000i speakers and they sound amazing, definitely a good match in my opinion.

 

[wj731]

+2

And like OP, am a fan and former long term serial customer of Yamaha but the Marantz was a nervous but very rewarding purchase.

I'd recommend looking at this re Audyssey set-up etc - http://www.avsforum.com/t/795421/official-audyssey-thread-faq-in-post-1/5700#post_14456895 - as there were many items I changed (no DRC, LFE+main etc) after reading.

I've got the B&W 685 surround set-up and it's a match made in heaven, imo.

 

[kinda]

10 or so years ago Marantz were incredibly well regarded for AV amps, and continuously battled it out with Yamaha for top honours. For some reason they don't seem widely in favour these days.

I still have a Marantz stereo amp and ran an SR6001 AV receiver to great effect with a set of Tannoy Arenas until it suffered a terminal problem, (it was out of warranty but Marantz did give me a substantial partial refund - it had been a demo amp so I'm prepared to give Marantz benefit of the doubt on quality). It had a lovely rich sound.

When looking for a replacement I listened to various amps but to me nothing gave the solidity of sound especially in bass that the Marantz and Denon amps offered while maintaining the detail. Yamaha were very natural and fluid, and the Pioneers almost hissed with high frequency detail but to me all round they just couldn't match Marantz / Denon, especially for music.

For various reasons I ended up with a Denon that I'm very happy with. For me they're very similar in tone, but the Marantz I think was slightly richer and smoother, while the Denon offer slightly more bass control / impact, and maybe a smidgeon more detail. The Marantz build quality is probably also a step ahead.

As you say the midnight modes help a lot from a neighbours perspective, and the audyssey set up is very good, producing a great sound in a room that I suspect is quite difficult, (almost a full wall of glass doors at the rear).

It's horses for courses and I've heard amps from other brands sound very good, but across my demo material it's clearly Denon / Marantz for me.

If I was in the market now I'd certainly be demoing the Marantz receivers, and considering the slimline ones they do as well. I'm glad there are other also appreciating the sound.

 

[Zax89swe]

Can you activate the subwoofer somehow in pure direct mode?

 

[Paddyfin]

I can on my 7007, I'm running B&W speakers with a Rel 328 sub ( very good sub) and in pure stereo mode my sub runs with my main speakers

my sub has both LFE connected and high level connected

 

[Native_bon]

I have always said Marantz amps are good for music.. I currenlty using my Sr7007 with power amps and m340 speakers which are tuned for marantz amps. very nice indeed.

 

[Greeferd]

Is there a metal front panel on sr5008?

 

[DazzyJim]

No its a plastic front, but it still looks really cool with the brushed metal effect.

 

[Greeferd]

:wall: No more plastic to my house, thank you.

 

[ianmclee]

I've just received my new SR6008 (replacing an aging Onkyo TX SR606).

Have to say that I'm a little disappointed in its overall sound quality. I was expecting it to be a good step up from my previous amp and I would say that I can't really tell any difference.

I mainly listen to lossless stereo, connected from a Mac Mini via HDMI, or general Sky Digital / Blu Ray. I have to turn the volume up quiet high to get it to be at what I would consider a resonable level (think the volume is around the -19Db on the display).

I have bi amped my front speakers (MA BX5's) and made the appropriate amendments to the amp for the bi amping. I have ran the auto calabration, and made a couple of tweeks to the levels but nothing major as they look about right.

Am I missing something that could be limiting its performance (given that the only parts of my set up that has changed is the amp and bi amping the front)? Or does it seem like I was expecting to big a difference in sound from the Onkyo?

 

[JohnKK]

I have SR6008 and am very satisfied with the sound quality.

The best result I got when I used Marantz built-in media server player - streaming ALACs and FLACs from server.

In Audio settings, what is the "level" for L and R speakers did Audyssey put?

Under Dynamic volume - did you put it on "light"?

There are several thing that you can play with in settings and output is depanded on speakers configurations that you use.

I never heard it with BX5 but I would expect that it sound should very powerfull...

 

[ianmclee]

I'll check the levels when i get in from work tonight. What numbers should I be expecting to see here?

Think Dynamic Volume was set to 'off' - again I'll have to check later on to be sure.

I can't really listen to any music in Direct / Pure Direct modes as they seem to be lacking in every aspect. Stereo mode improves things but cant help thinking that i'm missing something.

When bi amping speakers, does it matter which amp powers either the bottom / top set of speaker terminals? In other words, is it important to connect 'Front Right' to the lower set of terminals on the right speaker?

 

[JohnKK]

It shouldnt matter which amp terminal is connected to which na speakers, but I have put Low Freq. on speaker on "Front Left" on amp.

I have also find that DIRECT and PURE are not that good as "stereo" mod, voices are pushed to back; but you have to play with settings to find out what you like best.

 

[Paul.]

Did you set your amp to biamp before or after Audyssey setup? On my SR7007 there did not appear to be a setting to change to biamp until after the calibration stage, so I re calibrated after enabling biamp and this seemed to make a difference.

 

[JohnKK]

Same here, I had done audyssey setup, then bi-amp and that someting didn't work OK... then I have re-run audysey and everything was fine.

 

[ianmclee]

Interesting...

I'm pretty sure that I skipped audyssey set up, then enabled the bi amp settings, then ran audyssey - but I can run it again.

I know its very subjective, but what volume is your amp set to when watching normal TV? I seem to have mine towards the top third of its output just to watch Deal or No Deal!

 

[JohnKK]

For normal TV -30dB is more than enough.

But you have larger speakers with higher sensitivity, I think that from -30 to -25dB should be pretty loud.

Put Audyssey on "ON" and dynamic volume on "light" and make sure that audyssey didn't decrease level on L and R too much (it should be around 0 or -1 depanded on other speakers and room layout).

Do you use sub and how big room do you have?

 

[ianmclee]

Thanks - I'll have a look at the settings when I get home. I've got the 5.1 MA Bx set up (well with a tannoy sub).

The living room isn't anything above a typical modern room of its type - it is open plan with the dining room though. But my previous Onkyo was definitely louder at lower volume levels so it must be something I've set on the amp which is incorrect.

 

[ianmclee]

Settings all look good - in gonna run audyssey again to see if anything changes

 

[ianmclee]

Marantz - all is forgiven. I love you.

Seems like audyssey has has got the speaker distances and levels a little wrong. After a few adjustments it's now singing.

Lovely.

 

[JohnKK]

I had a feeling that is going to be your feedback after you set it up right.

Enjoy!