The Dude Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 What about Onkyo aren't they pretty much the same as integra maybe not as good build quality. But maybe a little cheaper, also what about some other brands such as Rotel, or even Mcintosh which seems would be really expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 The Anthem or Arcam would be nice, but not at what I see as a crazy price Price aside, what puts the Anthem or Arcam ahead of the Marantz.....? In my opinion, Anthem does have the ARC advantage (which is worth more than just a bell or whistle or two)... Can you audition these in your area? I've been wanting to try that Marantz head to head versus an Anthem MRX , but have not yet made the time (so far, I've only discussed the possibility with a dealer . Maybe we can get Carl (CECAA850) to post his experiences on this.ROb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 That's well and good if I wanted to watch the same HDMI signal in two different locations. How about two different sources....? So....there is a unit that does this? If so that's where your $5k is going to.I must admit I never got that far with any unit as it has no use to me.I just listen to music when I audition, that's where 98% fail.Be sure to look for that feature if it's important, few if any have it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornfedksboy Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 The Anthem or Arcam would be nice, but not at what I see as a crazy price Price aside, what puts the Anthem or Arcam ahead of the Marantz.....? I love music, the Anthem sang and the 7005 was not as good as my UMC.I have not heard the Arcam but I once had an Arcam avr and it did music nicely.The XMC may have only one HDMI out, it's a non issue as that is easily solved for a few bucks, as to bugs who knows? But I'm way in.There is no unit with no complaints, if there is it will have.The 7005 was the Giant killer, then someone discovered it used Denons cheap avr analog section,so I read.I know I was not impressed with sound, it operated great. Just throwing this out there. If music is important, you could purchase the Marantz PM8004 in addition to the 7005 for analog processing. It has a pass-thru feature that removes it from producing any sound during HT operation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Well the UMC did everything I wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panacea Engineering Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 Sorry....Just wanted to do a shameless bump of this to see if there was any more sugestions or comments to be made. At this point I am leaning towards the Integra but I was really curious if anyone out there had either of the Marantz (8003-7005) pre/pro's and couild offer an opinion. I will certainly look at the used market but if they are THAT good there may not be many to choose from. Thanks - W. C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandoyen Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Price aside, what puts the Anthem or Arcam ahead of the Marantz.....? Heli001, I've been exactly where you are now, and we have similar speakers! I ended up going with the Marantz 7005 and for the price, it is a wonderful unit. I did, however, have a friend bring over his Anthem D2 (older version of the D2V). I've also heard the FMJ AV888 in my system (I have some good friends []). The thing that sets these units apart is the room correction. Audyssey in the Marantz is good, but doesn't hold a candle to either of the others, the anthem in particular. It can literally tame any room, and I've got the room to test it (only 3 walls...). Additionally, the DACs in the Marantz are good, but music out of the Arcam and Anthem just jump out of the speakers and put the band in your room. I have heard nothing like it. Closed my eyes and I was in the front row. They truly are in a different league. The D2V offers upgraded video codecs for 3d, etc. The Marantz is good, and I just couldn't turn it down for the price. That said, it will be going in my bedroom system, to be replaced by a used D2V in my Jube-anchored system. I don't regret buying the Marantz, but I DO regret not pulling the trigger on the Anthem originally. Hands down worth it. The difference was night and day, something you have to hear to believe. I'd put the Anthem up against the Meridian 861 ($20k+) any day. Heard the Meridian, but not in my system. Can't speak for the other pre/pros, but I have first-hand knowledge of these. If the Outlaw 978 EVER came out (not looking good at this point), it would give you a good alternative to the Marantz for similar price but better room correction and DACs. Good luck in your search! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandoyen Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Forgot to mention this, the phono stage in the Anthem puts the Marantz phono to shame (not that hard to do though, I've found the Marantz lacking in this area...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwa Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 The Marantz "only" has Audyssey MultEq XT whereas the Integra has MultEq XT32. Not sure how XT32 compares to Anthem's ARC, but relative to XT, XT32 is supposedly a HUGE leap forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 In my opinion, Anthem does have the ARC advantage (which is worth more than just a bell or whistle or two)... Can you audition these in your area? I've been wanting to try that Marantz head to head versus an Anthem MRX , but have not yet made the time (so far, I've only discussed the possibility with a dealer . Maybe we can get Carl (CECAA850) to post his experiences on this.ROb ARC is truly incredible. It makes every seat a good seat to watch HT and makes it appear that you gave your speakers a good crossover upgrade. Those of you who've heard the change know what I'm talking about. On the video side, I've not seen a DVD/HDDVD or Blu-Ray player that can take a normal CD and bring it as close to Blu-Ray quality as the D2 can. As Mike stated, you can find tremendous discounts on used units as well as being able to get dealers come off MSRP. I've had my D2 for (I believe) over 4 years and in that time, it's never once done anything other than what it was supposed to do. Firmware updated are easy but I haven't done one in a couple years. Customer support is second to none, but I confess, I've only used it when I needed help understanding a particular function. Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 I am just curious if anyone has ever read a pro or otherwise review where the Onkyo's/Integra that really did fantastic for music, I never heard one myself that did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panacea Engineering Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 Dandy,Carl and others, First....THANKS for the replys to everyone and I am certainly glad that I selfishly Bumped this..... Couple of questions: 1. Is not the two channel supposed to be a straight pass through with NO processing? 2. When you say the sound "Jumps out at you" or sounds like you have upgraded the crossovers; are you talking of two channel music? 3. The room correction (ARC Audessy xt and xt32) is that basically the only difference in the Anthem and Arcam (and others)? 4. Are we paying six to seven thousand difference for a better room correction? 5. Does anyone own a Denon AVP A1HDCI....? I have found one of these new, below 5K (MSRP 7500) and everything I have read about it has been very positive. The Marantz also sounds very attractive, at the 1500 price tag. I was hoping that someone on the Forum may have one or at least been able to audition one. I certainly understand that they would have better processors and a few more options than say a Marantz or an Integra but I am really having a very hard time justifing thousands of dollars in difference for these features. As to being able to audition one it would be very hard to judge the unit in someone elses's room (with speakers that I am not familiar with) and I doubt that they would lend out a very expensive processor for home trial. Dealers for this equipment are either, not local or do not really stock the High End processors. How good does it actually have to be to process Blu-ray's? That's all that I use on the movie side and the two channel should be a straight pass through with no processing. Again, I would like the second HDMI out and the Anthem does not have that, IIRC. I have really searched and searched for any kind of deal on these and have not run across anything other than the Denon above.. As Mike stated, you can find tremendous discounts on used units as well as being able to get dealers come off MSRP. In reference to the above, I have NOT seen any of these "TREMENDOUS" discounts or anything used at all. I kind of pride myself on being pretty good in the search department. I would rather decide on what is going to be best first, rather than settle on something that MAY be found cheap. As it stands now, I am looking at the Marantz and also considering the Denon. I really appreciate all of the input so far and hope that we can continue discussing it as I have plenty of time and am not pressured to buy. There has been a lot of talk about the new Emotiva that will be coming out possibly in our lifetime but I am a bit leary of it just because of all of the issues of the first processor they put out. Thanks again for all of your very valuable input..... W. C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danzo Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 This discussion might be of interest: http://www.avforums.com/forums/audio-processors-power-amps/1579884-new-hi-end-processor.html Some points of interest: Meridian and ADA 7.1 HD solutions, also Anthem MRX series receivers with ARC and also Onkyo 5509 processor sporting latest XT32 Audyssey which is apparently leaps and bounds ahead of previous version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 W.C. I ust my D2 for HT only. I did a lot of AB'ing when I installed ARC. ARC was originally not on my unit buit I bought the kit from Anthem as soon as it was available. I used two discs for comparison purposes as I was very familiar with each disc having heard them several times. One of my wife's favorite movies is Phantom of the Opera. There's an aria that she and I particularly like. After ARC was installed the breaths between notes were clearly heard as well the words being clearer. I heard words clearly in that track that I had not previously heard. The other disc I used was the HDDVD disc of the Eagles Hell Freezes Over tour. Everything became cleaner even at concert levels. I do have an Anthem TLP-1 preamp that I use for 2 channel listening that I really like however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 D2 with ARC for 3600.00 HERE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 I got my D2 (not D2v) used for about $3k about a year ago. I see the prices are a little above that at the moment, but I'm sure there is some wiggle room. Like Carl said, the upsampling of normal DVD's on this player will blow you away. Very close to Blu-Ray standards. Plus the ARC made a huge difference in my room. I only use mine for movies, dvd-a and multi-ch sacd use, and it sounds awfully good to my ears. Ymmv... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panacea Engineering Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 Carl and Mike, Thanks for the very quick replys. Carl, I missed that one as I searched Search Tempest this morning. I for some stupid reason had the milage radius set to limit the distance. Ever since they made the change, I have had some issues with searches. I appreciate both of you guys feedback on the sound quality. ARC appears to be a very good room correction system si it does give it merit and the pricing down at 3K certainly makes it more attractive. This "UNIT", whatever I buy, will be used in the NEW sound room, so I really want to get the best I can without going totally crazy with the price. The search continues........... W. C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwa Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 This discussion might be of interest: http://www.avforums.com/forums/audio-processors-power-amps/1579884-new-hi-end-processor.html Some points of interest: Meridian and ADA 7.1 HD solutions, also Anthem MRX series receivers with ARC and also Onkyo 5509 processor sporting latest XT32 Audyssey which is apparently leaps and bounds ahead of previous version. XT32 is leaps and bounds ahead of XT, but the 5509 is very, very similar to the 5508. Aside from a different-looking chassis, the addition of Spotify streaming and DTS Neo:X, and the move from the HQV Reon VX video processor to the HQV Vida/Marvell Qdeo video processing solution, they're basically the same. Besides, there's no telling when, if ever, the 5509 will make its way to the U.S. If the 5509 (or Integra 80.3) strikes your fancy, you might be better served by picking up a NOS 5508 while you still can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A1UC Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 If you listen to music more I would buy the 7005 , If you are more into HT go with a Onkyo PR-SC5508 or Integra 80.3 Stay away from Emotiva Processors unless you want stress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Sorry, I think the 7005 sucked for music, just buy a cheap avr if you like it.The 5508, sure, do a $1000 mod and it's decent. To the op, if you want to convince yourself the only diff in the Anthem and others is correction your gonna be in for a real disappointment.Those type units are made by companies that care about sound, not just making a product..The parts chosen by these companies that care are not chosen because they are the cheapest, it's because they perform. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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