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Marantz or Yamaha preamp and power amp?????


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Need thoughts or suggestions for a preamp and power amp Currently looking at the Yamaha AVENTAGE CX-A5200 with Yamaha MX-A5200

or the Marantz AV7705 with Marantz MM8077

 

I just bought this setup:

Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-8060FA are the towers

Klipsch Ref Premiere RP-504C W center channel speaker

Klipsch Ref Premiere RP-502S W surround speakers

Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-600M

Klipsch SPL-150 x2

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Unless you absolutely have to visually match gear, you could do better than either amplifiers for the same or less $$$ with maybe an amp from Outlaw Audio or Monoprice, IMO.

 

https://outlawaudio.com/shop/index.php?id_product=25&rewrite=model-7000x&controller=product

 

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=18682

 

As far as preamp/processors, either will do a fine job.

 

Bill

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Based on my personal and many other Klipsch speaker owner experiences, I tend to go with the Marantz solution. Saul Marantz and PWK were friends and built amplifiers together. The amplifier sound philosophy of Marantz and Klipsch loudspeakers results a perfect balance of sound. Of course, there are always alternatives, both in terms of price and product specificity. But as the saying goes ...never change a winning team

 

Ymtc on this subject

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4 hours ago, willland said:

Unless you absolutely have to visually match gear, you could do better than either amplifiers for the same or less $$$ with maybe an amp from Outlaw Audio or Monoprice, IMO.

 

https://outlawaudio.com/shop/index.php?id_product=25&rewrite=model-7000x&controller=product

 

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=18682

 

As far as preamp/processors, either will do a fine job.

 

Bill

ok great..i will check into them..thanks for the advice

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I’ll add to study a bit as to what the units are capable of with regards to zones, amp assignments, bi-amping, native streaming apps, the particular DAC chip or chips used, other features, and an app are important.


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Claude J1 has a Yamaha CX-A5200 that he is very happy with, and it's controlling a pretty serious system.

 

As for me, I've been a Yamaha Natural Sound fan since 1974, and I'm using an RX-A2060 to control a pair of Yamaha MX-D1 power amplifiers.  Yamaha rules!

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2 hours ago, RandyH000 said:

500 watts per channel , now this is power , tiny amps , no fans  , you can carry these in a shopping bag --

 

Yeah, they're a low profile design, only 3 inches/7.5 cm. tall, with minimal internal cooling fins, but they never get very warm.  The overall shape is like a large bathroom scale, only with wide piano black borders.  They weigh just 23 pounds, but with the small size, they feel very solid.  You'd need a pretty strong shopping bag to carry them.  I got one amplifier brand new, from a clearance sale by an online vendor, so I saved there, and I bought the second one from a Forum member in Seattle.  That was 13 and 12 years ago, respectively, and they've performed perfectly all the while.  

 

Acting on recommendations from two Yamaha reps, I don't turn them off anymore.  Both amplifiers have been on since early 2018.  Previously, I had them connected to the receiver via the 12V trigger outlet on the receiver, so when I turned it on in the morning, both amps fired up.  However, they're said to sound best when they've been running for 24 hours or more.  Supposedly, this also protects the amplifiers from the startup and shutdown power surges, which would shorten their lives.

 

I had considered getting a third MX-D1, to power the surround La Scalas.  I know how much better it would make them sound, because when I first got the second amp, I connected it to the Heresy IIs that I was using as surround speakers at the time.  It was amazing!  The speakers sounded so much clearer, with more authority.  However, having to make room for a third amplifier, plus all the associate cabling, would make the system just that bit too complex.  When I'm doing any serious listening, it's with the main front speakers only, and anyway, the receiver is only powering four speakers:  the surround La Scalas, the front centre Belle, and the rear centre Heresy III.  The RX-A2060 is a 9.2 channel receiver, so driving only 4 speakers means the receiver's power is not split up too much.

 

As it happens, I was free this afternoon, and spent all of it listening to Radio Paradise, a Net Radio station from Southern California near San Diego.  They play music from the Sixties up to 2020, and use AAC encoding, which is clearly better than MP3.  Great system, great station, and great music.  And I was on a great Forum at the same time.  It was the most pleasant afternoon I've had in a while.

 

So that's that. 

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34 minutes ago, Islander said:

 

Yeah, they're a low profile design, only 3 inches/7.5 cm. tall, with minimal internal cooling fins, but they never get very warm.  The overall shape is like a large bathroom scale, only with wide piano black borders.  They weigh just 23 pounds, but with the small size, they feel very solid. 

 

So that's that. 

- you're saying that keeping them ON  ----- protects the amplifiers from the startup and shutdown power Surges -----interesting , I gotta look into this ----you may be onto something -----the DClass power supplies are cutting edge technology -

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I did get the advice to leave the amps on from a Yamaha service tech at Yamaha Canada Music, and from a Yamaha rep at a dealer open house, so I trust that they know what they're talking about.  To be honest, I don't remember hearing much difference in the sound with cold amps or warm amps.  It's entirely possible that leaving power amps on all the time is not the best advice for every brand or model of amp, but for these specific ones, people who should know agree on this, so I believe them.  After three years, things are fine.  I think any problem would have shown up by this time, don't you?

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On 11/28/2020 at 2:12 PM, baron167 said:

I’ll add to study a bit as to what the units are capable of with regards to zones, amp assignments, bi-amping, native streaming apps, the particular DAC chip or chips used, other features, and an app are important.


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The Yamaha Audio Control app is pretty good.  I've got it on my Android phone and my iPad, and it lets me do everything I want, much more than I can do with the remote control, like choose the input, the speaker mode, the radio station or music you want, and much more.

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The Yamaha Audio Control app is pretty good.  I've got it on my Android phone and my iPad, and it lets me do everything I want, much more than I can do with the remote control, like choose the input, the speaker mode, the radio station or music you want, and much more.

Right. I’ve got it on everything including my wife’s devices. She learned it in 1/2 a second. I think it’s better than pretty good [emoji18].


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9 hours ago, Islander said:

I did get the advice to leave the amps on from a Yamaha service tech at Yamaha Canada Music, and from a Yamaha rep at a dealer open house, so I trust that they know what they're talking about.  To be honest, I don't remember hearing much difference in the sound with cold amps or warm amps.  It's entirely possible that leaving power amps on all the time is not the best advice for every brand or model of amp, but for these specific ones, people who should know agree on this, so I believe them.  After three years, things are fine.  I think any problem would have shown up by this time, don't you?

the Yamaha was quite an expensive amp and compact ,  if the rep told you to keep them ON , is because of a known issue with  DClass power supplies , since they sink the energy returning from a load , and by returning it  , the power supply must be able to store it --- it is cutting edge technology --Class D power supplies are half the amp -

 

nothing but the best here  copper chassis  /screws -dual mono construction DClass -  mini-transformers  -  500 watts x2 -20lbs in 2005 , heck my Crown Install series also weigh 20 lbs , but they are a 2u size -

 

 

 

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@Islander said .... Radio Paradise, a Net Radio station from Southern California near San Diego.  They play music from the Sixties up to 2020, and use AAC encoding.

 

Yes Sir, I´ll listen to the same radio station since a couple of years from germany right away. Great Music, Great Fun, Great Sound ! 

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Randy, what are you on about?  What "known issue" are you imagining?  There is none.  I turned the amps on and off every day for ten years, and now I've left them on for three years, with no issues, known or unknown, in either situation.  I've used them to drive original La Scalas in stock form, bi-amped La Scalas and La Scala IIs, and Heresy IIs.  They're rated to drive into 8 and 4 ohm loads, and did fine when Stereophile tested one driving 2 ohm loads, which suggests that they're able to drive nearly any speaker you can name.  Yes, they were expensive when they came out in 2005, at $4995.00 USD MSRP.  The fact that used ones are very hard to find suggests that anyone who owns one is happy with it and is not interested in selling it.

 

Here's a better picture of the insides of an MX-D1 power amplifier.  Rather than a typical stereo amp, with both channels sharing a single power supply, it’s a dual-mono design, and you can easily see the two separate amplifier sections and the two separate power supplies in their separate section on the far left.  The left and right finned heat sinks are easy to see in the middle, and they sit under vent openings in the top plate of the cabinet.  The chassis is made of copper-plated steel, so that is the actual colour of it.  I didn't intend to go on this long about these amplifiers, because everyone's probably bored of reading about them by now.  Sorry about that.

 

2362127-yamaha-mx-d1-amp-ypc-1.jpg

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11 hours ago, Islander said:

I did get the advice to leave the amps on from a Yamaha service tech at Yamaha Canada Music, and from a Yamaha rep at a dealer open house, so I trust that they know what they're talking about.  To be honest, I don't remember hearing much difference in the sound with cold amps or warm amps.  It's entirely possible that leaving power amps on all the time is not the best advice for every brand or model of amp, but for these specific ones, people who should know agree on this, so I believe them.  After three years, things are fine.  I think any problem would have shown up by this time, don't you?

Satellite headends do the same 24/7x365

Was told when l picked up sat receiver at Comtech, that is how they were built. Besides the inside unit, was told the LNA outside in cold weather received a bit of a shock even with the low dc current, so yes. Heard then and since about others failing from the off/on.

Guessing you are surge protector plugged in.

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