Hello everyone, I need to get a new Pre and trying to decide between the Marantz AV8801 or the Yamaha CX-A5000. The Marantz is about a $1k more, is it worth it? Speakers are SF Liutos, Mac MC205 for power, thanks in advance.
I'm using the Arcam avr400 for about two years now and love it, works great with my Merlins vsm mme, very powerful at 90wpc and slams the bass. The Arcam avr750 would be my next receiver if I can justify the extra power or convince myself that I needed which shouldn't be too difficult. Love Arcam! thanks
I sold Arcam for over 8 years of time. It has a very musical sound, but does not give the level of depth and wide of the Onkyo and Integra. There is almost no depth. And there is no roomcorrection. With Audyssey Pro you can get a superior level in sound compared to any system without. Audyssey EQ and Dynamic Volume will give you a lot more resolution and dynamics when it is used precise.
The Marantz has the option to use Audyssey pro as well. The difference between XT32 and our way of Audyssey Pro is so big. Like you bought an amp which is 2-3 the amount. It is so much more natural sounding, like you bought a class A amp. There is so much more drive and also resolution compared to XT32.
BTW Marantz uses Audyssey MultEQXT32, and I agree with Bob_Reynolds as far as the Marantz, it does sound smooth, I've had some of the higher end Yamahas the Marantz sounds better to me.
I owned the Pass Labs XP-20 for over 2 years of time. I have over 3 years of experience with Audyssey. With my way of measurement with Audyssey pro I beat my old XP-20 with my Pass Labs poweramp. The Onkyo PR-SC5509 with Audyssey pro is stunning. I have to admit that I measure totally different than Audyssey does. I use Audyssey Pro from a highend perspective. People with very expensive pre amps don't understand why an Onkyo beats there expensive stereo pre amp. Hearing is believing. Without Audyssey the Onkyo is not that special. With the Marantz the same thing. Audyssey is not an easy system to use.
Bo1972, thank you for response. I was thinking about the Onkyo as well, as it is in the same price range of the Yamaha. I will find a Onyko dealer and take a listen.
I sold Marantz for a very long period. In the past I loved it a lot. But during time Marantz started to use less expensive parts in there sources and amps. This changed the sound i the lower price range Marantz works. They use quite small transformers in there amps. When you compare it to Onkyo they use more and better parts. So what is the difference between the Onkyo PR-SC5509 and the Marantz AV8801? The focus of instruments and voices is a lot sharper with the Onkyo. But the biggest difference is when you use a higher level of amps and speakers which also can give a wide and deep stage. The stage of the Onkyo PR-SC5509 is a lot wider and deeper when you compare it with the AV8801. Marantz is what we call a more 2-dimensional image. I am also a Audyssey installer. With Audyssey Pro and the Onkyo PR-SC5509 I beat many even stereo pre amps of 10.000 dollar. With the Marantz I cannot get the stunning 3 dimensioanl image of the Onkyo PR-SC5509. Yamaha is not of the same level of these both.
If you're budget permits the new Marantz AV8801 around $2300 has a great review on home theater magazine, I've had Marantz AVR and like them very much I also had several Yamaha AVRs and prefer the Marantz. I now use an Arcam AVR400 that I'm happy with. Good luck!
I use to have the AV7701, but whenever I had any type of component connected to it, there would be a hum/buzz coming from all 5 speakers. I tested the amp, Oppo, PS3, cable lines and TiVo. I've returned multiple AV7701s, I tried the Oppo as my pre, no noise, I tried a different pre and no noise. Just seems like the AV7701 isn't playing nice with my components.
i'm still not clear whether you have two speakers or 5+, but if you're only using two speakers, you're better off with a two channel preamp that the multichannel ones you're looking at.
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