panasonic sa-xr45 vs marantz sr-5400

Most of the people that I hear agaist the new Digi amps are those that have a vested intrest on using conventional or have synergy issues with them.

They are remarkable value compared to what has come from Japan\orient in the way of A\AB receivers or other cheaply priced gear.

They act more like a Passive setup to me and there are always better things out there ,but at what cost?How many have the $$ to swap to get the best synergy. Many spend years. Till I find what I need for my particular setup then I will not lose out by using the Panasonic 45.

Remarkable as to how many discount them or do not do the proper setup and tweeks in order to get them to sing and do not really give them a chance. I really do not care that those that slam them as they lose.Money and quality sonic attributes for less.

While they can be sensitive to what is used with them they can sing given the right speakers. I found they work better with my 2-ways then my 3-ways.

Good luck on the hunt!

I would choose the Pany 45 over any other receiver bar none, if precise resolution from a digital source is your goal.
All others are very colored in comparison, and using a Pany receiver is a cheap way to hear something that is not colored for reference.
I just sent two of these 45's off to be fully modified at Reference Audio Mods East, and I will be using them in a 2-6 channel bi amped dual receiver configuration.

I also have owned the B&K 202,and most recently was using a Parasound halo c2 pre/pro whith a Legacy (Coda) 5 x 250 amp.
Thats 8k worth of H/T gear that was not as revealing as a single 45.
The higher priced combo had slam, and headroom to spare, and possibly better perceived midrange.
What to do...well I snatched a second 45 and daisy chained them together whith the digital out.
Most of the slam and headroom are back, the bass response is much improved, and the exacting highs are smoother also.

I no longer miss my old combo, except for its great non digitised analog ins for hi rez.
When I get my modified 45's back, I will be comparing to my modified Sim I-5 for analog use.

My all Scan Speak speakers whith revelators are all(5) 6 ohm 88db and sync well whith the stock 45's, using two improved matters greatly, and I am thinking nirvana for two modded 45's.

At least thats the plan.

The 45 falls way short of hi end whith analog sources stock imo, but with digital, its an amazing bargain.

I sold my XR-45 because I wanted something else for a try. I picked up a Marantz 7400 and realized I should have kept the XR-45. The XR45 outperforms the Marantz in every way. (I never turned up the volume to the max on either of them)

Now I have sold the Marantz after 3 weeks of trying to live with it, and it looks as if the XR-70 will replace it.