2. home-theater
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Marantz AV7005 or Oppo 105

I'm considering two different paths to upgrade my hybrid home theater - 2 channel system. Either get a higher-end pre-pro like the marantz av7005, or an Oppo 105.

Here's what I currently have:
Marantz SR7001 receiver
Sony BDP S550 bluray
Marantz SA8004 sacd/dac
Logitech Squeezebox touch
Google chromecast
Cambridge Audio 840a V2 integrated amp

Speakers are:
Mains: B&W CM7
The rest are JBL Northridge series
E250 sub, EC35 center, and E10 surrounds

The main LR speakers are connected to the Cambridge, which acts as the power amp while using the receiver. SA8004 is connected analog to the Cambridge, and the 8004 also acts as the dac for the Logitech. Bluray and chromecast go in HDMI to the receiver.

If I went with the oppo upgrade, it would replace the 8004 and the Sony, whereas replacing the receiver with the prepro I could potentially get rid of the 8004 also and update the bluray with a SACD-compatible one.

My goals:
2 channel (no subwoofer) listening at the same or higher quality than the current 8004-Cambridge chain. I should say that I am VERY HAPPY with my current 2-channel setup.

Higher quality HT audio, either from the improved processing of a prepro, or of the Oppo.

Get my feet wet in multichannel audio. Currently my SACD listening is done in stereo only.

I listen to stereo classical music, and watch bluray movies, and stream netlfix et al through the chromecast.

Of course going with a prepro would necessitate the purchase of a 3-channel amp, most likely something like an Acurus, or possibly a very modest 2-channel for the surrounds and a beefier mono for the center. Or maybe even ditching the Cambridge all together if the 2 channel performance of the prepro is on par with it.
markhyams
68pete
992 posts
 
Hello Mceljo
For the Oppo I did keep a log for the use . kept track of the hours used. for the first 100 hours no notable change, then things started to slowly happen. Friends would come by and ask if I had made a change or tweak to the system.
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markhyams OP
28 posts
 
Thanks for the responses so far. After more and more reading, I am really drawn to the latest Audyssey:MultEQ XT32. Most receivers/prepros seem to have XT, and only the highest-end ones have XT32. My current Marantz has plain MultEQ. I am especially keen to have my subwoofer tamed with this improved room correction. So my question now is this XT32 worth it? I've found people online saying both ways, with some saying XT32 is the best thing ever and others saying XT is plenty good. I've found some amazing reviews of the AV7005, and now with it selling for $800 refurbished (accessories4less) it's hard to pass up.

For XT32, the cream of the crop seems to be Marantz AV8801, but at $2400, that's out of my budget. Unless....

Could something like that replace my 2-channel gear? Don't get me wrong, I love my 2-channel setup, but it has significant resale value that could go toward financing this move. Something like a pure digital chain going into the prepro, with it doing all the D/A conversion, room correction, etc. Or acting as an analog pre only?

Anyway, that may be pie-in-the-sky thinking. A more practical and easier solution would be the Denon 4311 receiver (which has XT32). It seems silly to buy a unit with a 9-channel amp when I only need three, but at $949 refurbished, that's quite a deal. And it has a "preamp only" mode where you can switch off all the amps for less noise. Not sure if you can switch off specific amps or not.

Thanks all for your help!
mceljo
1,351 posts
 
Do you know how many points of correction XT32 has that would directly correlate to the subwoofer? The lower the frequency, the close the points of correction have to be.
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