which is better old Marantz AVamp or new pioneer AV amp?

[admin_exported]

I currently have a four year old Marantz AV amp ( SR4300 which cost approx £450) which is pre HDMI/HD. I am happy with the amp performance in both surround and stereo. i have a buget sony bluray player and speakers are KEF Q series ( 5.1 set up ).

I am considering upgrading my amp to a Pioneer VSX- 920 AV receiver mainly as I would like to upgrade to HD sound quality. I would also like to try to future proof my next purchase as much as possible.Finally the amp has a few nice features eg internet radio etc.

I spoke to a chap at Sevenoaks, he thinks due to the Pioneer having more gadgets than my Marantz ( eg 3D ready, interenet radio, made for i-pod )the quality of the amplification will be better on my old Marantz. He therefore recommended I may be better buying the model above to gain similar sound quality as my my old Marantz.

I would be interested in what people think ???

Cheers Tim

 

[chudleighpaul]

If you just want to upgrade to HD audio, why not buy a Blu ray player with analogue audio outs?

Save you a fair bit of dosh especially if you are happy with the sound of the Marantz

 

[Anonymous]

Tanks for reply,

Yea I had thought about buying another blu-ray player and using analogue audio outs. However i still fancy an amp upgrade especially If I can get the pioneer at just over £300.

I still cant believe that I would have to supposedly spend approx £800 on a new AV amp to equal the performance of a 4 year old amp costing half the price. ???

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I had a similar dilema last October, I had a much older Marantz SR7200 surround amp, and a Marantz DV6001, but wanted to ddo the Blueray thing. I considered a Blueray with analogue channel outs but after some deliberation found myself buying a Pioneer VSX920k and a Pioneer LX52 blueray at the Manchester Audio show (£500 for both due to special offers!!)

I can honestly say I have no regrets about my purchases! The sound is fantastic (Kef iQ5se fronts, Kef iQ centre and some Gale rears due to size issues). I love the internet radio on the new amp, use it quite a lot to listen to my choice of genre, and the movie sound is awesome.

One person 'in the trade' at the show commented that although it would be probable that the older Marantz may have been better quality in the past, modern technology moves so quickly that the benefits of the new stuff far outweighs the perceived 'lack of performance'. I can't honestly hear a difference in the two when listening to music and the new one is so much better with the sound. (Although it should be noted I didn't listen to blueray encoded sound with the Marantz as I couldn't)

As everyone suggests you could hear them both for yourself, take your old amp to a decent store and get them to set up a blueray with analogues so you can compare the two, remember to factor in the hdmi cable too.

Hope it helps, and good luck with your (ultimately own) decision

Andy

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your thoughts.

I think the next thing is to see if i can audition the pioneer amp with a similar set-up as my own and then see.

Just a note on your own set up. I used to run Gale (di-pole ) rear speakers with Kef front and centre also due to size issues ( and wife! ). I have since changed the rears to Monitor audio bronze di-pole speakers and it has made quite a difference to surround sound on both DVD and Blu-ray. Just thought you may be interested???

Cheers Tim

 

[f1only]

I had a Marantz SR4300 too, then got a Pioneer VSX-1017AV which certainly sounded better & i now have a Denon 1910 which to my ears & my OH's is an improvement over the Pioneer.

Spending £800 to see / hear an improvement may not be necessary, see if you could get a loaner amp from you local dealer for a day or two & give it a demo / audition with your equipment, you may be suprised.

 

[grdunn123]

don't think you'll eed to send £800 - try the Yanaha Rx-V667, rx-v1067 or Onkyo 608

 

[Ronald Archiebald]

grdunn123: don't think you'll eed to send £800 - try the Yanaha Rx-V667, rx-v1067 or Onkyo 608

Are you still feeling the effects of a hangover, perhaps?

 

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a plan!

 

[grdunn123]

Ronald Archiebald:
grdunn123: don't think you'll eed to send £800 - try the Yanaha Rx-V667, rx-v1067 or Onkyo 608

Are you still feeling the effects of a hangover, perhaps?

My keyboard is!! Need a new laptop I think!!

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Tim

Sorry it's been a while, don't get on as much as I should!

Cheers for your suggestions regarding the rears (gale to monitor audio), may have to explore the possibilities soon. Also want to look at some kefs to complete the same manufacturer type set up scenario, but like you have the size/wife issues! (that's speaker size not wife size (in case she spots this!!))

Andy

 

[Anonymous]

I upgraded from Denon avr1905 to Yamaha 665 and I feel the Denon was a better performer in surround, didn't really like how the 665 sounded although both of them are on the same league. After much deliberation I changed to Denon avr2311 and what can I say, love it very much!

My point is if you are particular with how certain manufacturer sounds, it is best to listen first before jump ship.

 

[Anonymous]

PIONEER amp's are top notch high quality component's. If you've got the cash then splash and go for it, i did and i am very, very pleased indeed with my PIONEER SC-LX82 a/v receiver.