New Receiver

[grdunn123]

I have a 'significant' birthday coming fairly soon and have been given the green light to upgrade my receiver. I'm currently running a Pioneer SC-LX82 which has given me just over 4 years of faultless performance. I have an MA speaker set up which is a little 'skewed' as in I'm running an Apex A40 centre with Radius R270 fronts and RX-FX rears - these work well as far as I'm concerned and it's unlikely that I'll be allowed to get anything bigger for the front 3 speakers so I'm looking for a potential upgrade from the Pioneer and I'm considering the Marantz SR7009 as I may go down the Atmos route.

Any other contenders that I should consider?

 

[abacus]

As you are happy with the way Pioneer do things, why not stick with them, (They work great with MA loudspeakers) as they do Atmos units for a similar price as a Marantz. (Personally I have found Marantz to have a slightly warm sound due to a slight bass tilt, whereas the Pioneer I find more neutral)

The best way to decide is to pop along to a dealer and try a few out.

Bill

 

[bigboss]

As you are happy with the way Pioneer do things, why not stick with them, (They work great with MA loudspeakers) as they do Atmos units for a similar price as a Marantz. (Personally I have found Marantz to have a slightly warm sound due to a slight bass tilt, whereas the Pioneer I find more neutral)

The best way to decide is to pop along to a dealer and try a few out.

Bill

Pioneer LX58 is the lowest that can do Atmos. That is £350 more expensive than Marantz SR7009. Also, with the Marantz, you can expand to 11.2 channels with an external stereo amplifier. This is not possible with any Pioneer models. The maximum you get is 9.2.

I've had Monitor Audio Radius HD previously. I've currently got Marantz SR7009 with Monitor Audio Trimless 200 series of in wall and in ceiling speakers. It's simply stunning, better than my previous Yamaha RXV1900. I wouldn't call it overly warm. It is very musical and handles movies brilliantly.

For the money, you can't find a better specced AV receiver.

 

[grdunn123]

Thanks BB, after the Pioneer anything will sound 'warm'..The price for the Marantz seems like a no brainer at present too. I use my Sony Xperia Z3 to stream Spotify via bluetooth to a Crystal Bludac at present which works pretty well - I'm guessing that the Marantz will allow me to do the same so I can sell the Bludac or will I get better sound quality via DLNA? I've never really used it before so not really sure of the possibilities.

 

[bigboss]

Quoting from the manufacturer's page:

"The SR7009 has WiFi and Bluetooth built-in and it supports Apple lossless, Gapless, FLAC HD 192/24 and even DSD and AIFF network streaming. Spotify Connect and AirPlay audio streaming are on board too."

I haven't tried Spotify yet. I was meant to have Spotify Premium as part of my Vodafone package which mysteriously turned back to Spotify free. All restored now. Will test and let you know.

 

[abacus]

The Pioneers also have an 11.2 pre-out which allows an additional amplifier to be used,just like the Marantz. (This has been pretty much standard on most receivers in this price bracket for a number years)

Yes, the Pioneer is about £200 more, (Shop around) however we are coming to the AV Receiver refresh time of year, so it may be worth waiting, as there are usually some cracking deals to be had on out-going models.

There is also talk that some manufactures will be bringing out firmware updates for existing models to allow for the new DTS-X surround system, (The DTS rival to Atmos) so this may also be worth checking out.

Bill

 

[scene]

Quoting from the manufacturer's page:

"The SR7009 has WiFi and Bluetooth built-in and it supports Apple lossless, Gapless, FLAC HD 192/24 and even DSD and AIFF network streaming. Spotify Connect and AirPlay audio streaming are on board too."

I haven't tried Spotify yet. I was meant to have Spotify Premium as part of my Vodafone package which mysteriously turned back to Spotify free. All restored now. Will test and let you know.

Spotify works great on the Marantz - I tried it. And it transfers from playing on your phone to the amp pretty seamlessly and scarily... 🙂

Like bb, I'm a happy SR7009 user - I've got MA speakers as well and haven't found it too warm/bassy with them. In fact, I bought my sub AFTER I got the Marantz to increase the bass...

 

[bigboss]

The Pioneers also have an 11.2 pre-out which allows an additional amplifier to be used,just like the Marantz.

Not according to this review of the flagship model:

http://www.homecinemachoice.com/news/article/pioneer-sc-lx88-review/20597

"For those looking to be so much at the cutting-edge of AV tech that they're constantly putting plasters on their fingertips, the headline feature here is Dolby Atmos processing. But, hang on! As a 9.2-channel amplifier the Pioneer can only drive nine of the speakers in an Atmos system – 5.1.4 or 7.1.2 are both possible natively.

Now, you would have thought an add-on stereo amp might bag you a full-fat 7.1.4 Atmos system via the Pioneer's 11.2 channel pre-outs. Alas not. The brand says the SC-LX88 only has the capability for 9-channel ‘processing,’ meaning this is rather more skinny than the full-fat we hoped for.

That will leave some of you in a bit of a dilemma – mainly those already with a traditional 7.1 array and a desire to add four height speakers. Do you instead go 7.1.2 or 5.1.4? I auditioned the latter – having gone through all sorts of domestic upheaval to fit four ceiling speakers, I was damn well going to use them – and discovered it makes Atmos really come alive, even if there is something of a hole in the soundstage behind the sofa with rear-backs missing.

For that fully-fledged Atmos experience, an alternative is to check out a rival model at around the same price point. Yamaha, for instance, assures us that its RX-A3040 will provide 7.1.4 Atmos using its nine channels plus an additional stereo amp."

I've done a lot of research on every single receiver in the market before buying the Marantz. This is the only reason for me to not consider the Pioneer.

 

[bigboss]

The SR7009 will not get DTS:X upgrade according to a Marantz rep here:

https://www.avforums.com/threads/marantz-sr7009-av-receiver-review.1919166/page-12#post-21978964

 

[abacus]

If you look at the previous models of Pioneer, you could not use Height and Wide speakers simultaneously, just by adding an additional amplifier, (At least thats what it looks like in the manual) however if you go to the section on speaker setup, then the section on external amplifier setup, followed by the manual speaker setup section, then you will find that you can. (The same applies for Atmos)

Once you have sorted that out, you can then run MACC to get the full Atmos.

The Pioneer instructions are quite frankly a pain, so its hardly surprising that reviewers (And many users) miss it.

Bill

 

[f1only]

Yep abacus very true my Pioneer SC-LX78 does 5.2.4 & 7.2.2 though 1 subwoofer in my front room is plenty due to room size restrictions. I'm just waiting for some B&W Atmos speakers if they ever come out, i'm finding the Onkos rather small & tinny.

 

[bigboss]

Yep abacus very true my Pioneer SC-LX78 does 5.2.4 & 7.2.2 though 1 subwoofer in my front room is plenty due to room size restrictions. I'm just waiting for some B&W Atmos speakers if they ever come out, i'm finding the Onkos rather small & tinny.

Can it do 7.1.4 though?

 

[bigboss]

Now that Pioneer has sold its AV business to Onkyo, any more details is unlikely to be forthcoming.

 

[bigboss]

If you look at the previous models of Pioneer, you could not use Height and Wide speakers simultaneously, just by adding an additional amplifier, (At least thats what it looks like in the manual) however if you go to the section on speaker setup, then the section on external amplifier setup, followed by the manual speaker setup section, then you will find that you can. (The same applies for Atmos)

Once you have sorted that out, you can then run MACC to get the full Atmos.

The Pioneer instructions are quite frankly a pain, so its hardly surprising that reviewers (And many users) miss it.

Bill

I think it's better to get an official confirmation first. Even on this thread, one member (jazz21) says it cannot do 7.1.4.

 

[grdunn123]

I've pretty much decided on the Marantz SR7009 as it's such a good price - then I noticed 2 possible alternatives - 1st is the SR6009 which can be had for £499, not sure if I'll use Atmos yet and there don't appear to be many other differences (that I can see). The 2nd is a Yamaha RX-A2030 for £799 - I know it's last year's model but it does seem to be right up there.

Any advice would be appreciated as usual! I've had my Pioneer for 5 years and I envisage that my next purchase will have to do similar so I don't want to get it wrong.

My primary use is home cinema/ HD tv but I have a Spotify account and use bluetooth to stream (Crystal Bludac at present which I could sell if I get either Marantz).

 

[grdunn123]

I took delivery today of a nice shiny silver Marantz SR7009 and it looks great!! I've connected everything up and run Audyssey and things sound great too although haven't had time to play properly.

I know Big boss has one so i have a few questions if you're around?

Firstly, is it normal for it to run alittle warm? coming from an ice cool Pioneer it reminds me a little of my old Onkyo which used to heat the room in the winter!

I'm guessing that there's an auto mode for switching between DD, DPL etc depending on what's being broadcast? I can't seem to see any info on what's being outputted to the speakers.

I'm running a basic 5.1 at present but I'm keen to experiment with Atmos - the cheap option appears to be the Onkyo speakers which can sit on top of my floorstanders which might work well?? what other options are there as I'm running MA setup at present?

I see there's an OTA update available but seem to have read a few posts on other sites where people have had issues either during or after the update.

Thanks in advance for any help!!

 

[bigboss]

Congratulations on your new purchase!

To answer your questions:

1) Yes, it does run a little warm, but not hot like Onkyo.

2) The info comes up on the TV screen. I think it also shows on the receiver, but will confirm when I'm back home tomorrow night. Make sure you set your blu ray player to "bitstream".

3) Can you install ceiling speakers? Trimless 200 series is worth looking at. If not, I'm only aware of Kef R50 and Onkyo speakers for Atmos. MA hasn't announced Atmos speakers yet, hopefully may come later this year. Email them to see if they have any plans.

4) I've done the update without any problems. Took 52 mins to install after downloading the firmware update. I didn't touch the AV receiver during this time.

The only issue (prior to update, and continues even now) I have is the AV receiver switching to Fire TV automatically or switching itself off randomly. This resolved after switching HDMI control off. I think that's because you can only only set Fire TV to "sleep" and not switch it off completely. So the Marantz senses the active HDMI input and randomly defaults to it.

 

[grdunn123]

Thanks BB - update running as I type and 52 mins is quoted time too. My Pioneer was about 5 years old and while it sounded great, set up was nowhere near as easy as the Marantz and the on screen menus are pretty good too.

I notice it has quite a smell from it too - must be all the circuits getting up to temp for the first time.

In ceiling speakers sound like a lot of hassle - I wouldn't be confident to do it so would have to be a pro install - would be great for the asthaetics but I'm guessing the speakers would be £150 -200 and the install would cost the same again??

 

[bigboss]

CT265 costs £155 but you should get a good discount on it. Speak to David at Frank Harvey and see what he can do for you. Yes, installation should cost about £150-200.

 

[bigboss]

CT165 is a tonal match for Radius series and costs only £105. You can negotiate a decent discount over this with your friendly dealer.

http://www.monitoraudio.co.uk/products/trimless-100

 

[grdunn123]

Man thanks BB - will have a chat with David.

I've done the initial update to the receiver and it's highlighting an Aura 3D update now but when I try to action it I get a message telling me to visit the Marantz website?

 

[bigboss]

Don't bother with that. They'll charge you for Auro 3D update. Auro 3D requires specific speaker placement, and no titles exist yet with Auro 3D.

 

[scene]

Glad to hear you got the Marantz - hope you enjoy it as much as I'm enjoying mine!

At this rate, we're going to have to start a Marantz SR7009 owners' club 😉

 

[grdunn123]

Glad to hear you got the Marantz - hope you enjoy it as much as I'm enjoying mine!

At this rate, we're going to have to start a Marantz SR7009 owners' club 😉

Thanks Scene - I am! After 5 years with the Pioneer I wasn't sure what to expect but it's a definite upgrade. I've run the Audyssey a coup,e of times now and it does set the speakers up a lot better than the Pioneer's MCACC.

A 7009 owners club sounds like a good move.