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Time to upgrade AV Receiver

Hi All,

It’s time to upgrade, so let’s start with my current setup:

B&W CM10’s front left and right
B&W Center 2 front
B&W 685’s rear left and right
B&W PV1 sub
Yamaha CX-A5000 AV Receiver

Monolith 7X Amp
Panasonic DP-UB820 Blu-ray Player
Sony 65” X900H TV

At the time the Yamaha CX-A5000 was a budget pick based on financials as I was moving from a receiver with built in amp to separates, so I feel this is by far the weakest link in my system and so considering an upgrade and would to hear some expert advice. My budget is ~$2k - $2.5k and I’m going to buy 2nd hand.

The main use of this system is watching TV & Movies, though I’m also building a collection of HD music. If there’s one characteristic of the sound I’d like to adjust with this upgrade is that the sound can become a bit harsh when watching movies (Blu-ray source mostly) and so this is leading me towards Marantz as a brand but I’m open to anything so long as it’s compatible with the latest 4k HD video capabilities and also I use XLR cables.

 

Kevin

kdochert
loomisjohnson
1,943 posts
 

+1 soix. i've owned both anthem and arcam, as well as numerous mass market avrs and anthem sounds the most hi-fi of the bunch (although tbh some of the current denon and yamaha stuff sounds pretty good to my ears)

auxinput
2,920 posts
 

Curious question.  If you already have a Monolith amplifier, why are you looking for an AV "receiver"?  A preamp/processor would be better.

The Marantz processors have some of the most natural sounds since they use discrete analog output stages, but they do have a slight roll-off in the high frequencies.  This could compensate for your harsh system sound.  The used Marantz AV770x series are in your price range.

kdochert OP
20 posts
 

Sorry I used the wrong terminology, indeed I’m looking for an AV processor. I realised this when soix pointed me to a device that had built in amplifier but the website isn’t letting me edit the title of my original post.
 

After realizing this I did start looking at the Anthem AVR line (rather then MRX), so it seems my choice is between Anthem and Marantz. Anthem seems to be overall getting better reviews and I could always tailor the sound to my liking, but Marantz might be a better match for my particular setup and the old school in me likes the idea of listening to a system without any equalizer / tonal adjustments. I think both options will be a big step forward. I’m also not planning on any more upgrades for some time other than keeping upto date every several years with av processors and video standards.

The Marantz 7705 seems very good value for money?

 

elliottbnewcombjr
5,363 posts
 

Marantz 13.2 says make offer

https://www.ebay.com/itm/325694885188?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338381866&toolid=10001&customid=928fbd00-0d05-11ee-be9b-313062313365

Marantz, 11.2, New (open box?) 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204366416152?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338381866&toolid=10001&customid=f9feb5c2-0d05-11ee-b14a-313062313365

Marantz, NEW, make offer

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204077883846?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338381866&toolid=10001&customid=30a6197a-0d07-11ee-8dec-333535616431

 

 

 

secretguy
1,702 posts
 

Gee...if only the sound could be adjusted to be less bright....

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