New AV Receiver

[rocketrazor]

Cheers BB, very useful link, ta

 

[stevee1966]

So what are peoples impressions of the 7011 for stereo music playback.

My listening room setup is currently just 2 channnel (Hegel H160 into B&W CM10 S2 speakers). I'm considering relacing the Hegel with a surround setup, just a bit concerned that i might take a big hit on 2 channel audio quality, though reviews of the 7011 do seem quite favourable.

Any opinions ?

 

[stevee1966]

Addition to my last post :-

My Hegel H160 is 150w @ 8 ohms

The Marantz is 125w (so not massively lower)

The B&W CM10's claim they need anything between 30 - 300w to drive them.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

Just read this and going to give my +1 to a few suggestions:

1. You need to assign inputs to your various sources, e.g. if you connect your CD player via a coaxial, RCA or fiber optic, you need to set the receiver up so that when you select "CD" on the receiver, the receiver knows which input its supposed to process. This goes for all the sources, which are set by default to the HDMI inputs as labeled on the back panel.

2. Try to use the DAC inside the receiver for all decoding. That means setting up your sources to output undecoded "bitstream". Note that the term may changed from device to device. I did this with my BDP and HTPC and it ensured I got Atmos properly and stopped audio "snap crackle and pop" on some BD playbacks. My only caveat would be that if you prefer using your CDP's DAC you have to use the analogue inputs (RCA cables) and assign the input as in 1 above.

3. The Marantz units display "Dolby Digital" when playing Atmos sources. There's a button or two you press on the remote and it will show you what the source code is providing and which speakers the receiver is driving in response though.

4. 125 watts vs 150? You'll barely hear a difference. What using an external "proper stereo" amp for your fronts will do, however, is (a) possibly give you better sound for "proper stereo" sources like CDs - if they are connected directly to the "proper stereo" amp and not via the receiver; (b) enable the receiver to deote more if its power to the other channels.

 

[Leeps]

Addition to my last post :-

My Hegel H160 is 150w @ 8 ohms

The Marantz is 125w (so not massively lower)

The B&W CM10's claim they need anything between 30 - 300w to drive them.

Beware AV receiver power ratings. They rarely indicate the amplifier's ability to grip the bass of speakers. My former 60wpc integrated amplifier had far better grip of the bass than my current 110wpc rated AV receiver (when playing 2-channel music in Pure Direct mode).

I've heard your Hegel. It grips the bass very well indeed. I think you would be disappointed with an AV receiver driving floorstanders like that unless it's a decent model from Arcam or Anthem. If you were looking at the usual suspects of Denon, Marantz, Pioneer & Yamaha, I'd be looking at their top models in the range at least. Floorstanders often have pretty high sensitivity, so technically don't need as powerful an amp to drive them as smaller speakers, (they produce a higher volume for the same amount of power) but in reality an AV receiver's power supply limits its ability to control the bass, so it can be bloated and slow and dominate the mix. Yes you can set a crossover and use a subwoofer for low frequencies, but that kind of negates the point of having floorstanders in the first place.

Sorry to mention this but bloaty slow bass is a bit of a hobby horse of mine. I remember hearing a demo comparing two Hegel amplifiers. The more powerful of the two had noticeably LESS bass presence, but what was there was well controlled and quick to react. Many people have the misconception that more power = more bass: but it's often the opposite. The bass may have more kick and speed to it, but there will also be less distortion and less bloom.

One possible way round it would be to add a decent power amp at some point. But knowing your Hegel, I'd definitely strongly recommend having a thorough demo before taking the leap, and pay good attention to how the bass sounds within the mix of tunes that you know well with your Hegel. Actually I'd recommend taking your Hegel to a demo and doing back-to-back comparisons.

 

[newlash09]

If I were in your shoes, I'd keep the Hegel, and add a marantz sr7011 for the surround sound setup.

Won't be easy for any av amp to come close to the Hegel's performance in my opinion. I haven't heard the Hegel ever. But that is the general opinion bandied around, regarding stereo Amps vs AVR's. And as someone suggested earlier, you will probably need a arcam SR series to get a equivalent level of performance. Cheers..