How good is a receiver for stereo music?

Ferran Mazzanti · 07-10-2003, 06:25 AM

Hi folks,
just a question for you experienced guys. I have a Marantz SR6200 receiver and I'm happy with it. Last saturday I went to the shop and purchased a couple of PMC TB2 speakers, which sounded astonishingly good to my ear. Perfect sound stage, very detailed music etc etc... Then I brought them at home and connected it to my receiver which is paired with a DVD Marantz 4100OSE. he result is that sound is very nice... but not as nice as I heard it at the demo. I know I must wait for the speakers to break in a little bit longer, but still... I though I was going to get THE SYSTEM but simply got a very nice one. So knowing the speakers can deliver a really beautiful sound, I was wondering about the rest of the equipment. I insist I like the sound of my receiver, but now I start wondering if it can really compare to a stereo amp of the same price. Any thoughts about that?
thanks...

paulBAW · 07-10-2003, 08:55 AM

Consider your room, speaker placement first. CD source is the next thing I'd look at. I did an experiement the other day, I hooked up a $400 HK CD player against a $200 Sony CD player. Using the exact same equipment around, down to the interconnects. The results were staggering...

Angelo.M · 07-10-2003, 10:27 AM

This thread probably ought to be moved to Receivers/Amps/Separates.

John Garcia · 07-10-2003, 02:23 PM

When I hear something I really like, I always try to find out every item in the signal chain. Amp/receiver and source, including the listening mode and settings, as well as the type and model of interconnects (whether they are analog or digital). Next is to pay careful attention to the placement of the speakers relative to the room, particularly if it looks like they are very specifically placed. Often at better stores, you may not realize they have internally damped walls, and/or other obvious room treatments, so pay attention to the room as well.

I agree with paul, try playing around with placement of the speakers within your room. Let the speakers play as much as you can at a reasonable level, with a wide variety of music, even while you are away, to let them break in.

My sound improved when I moved to a better CD player as well, but I can tell you that my PM7000 (2ch integrated) puts out a much cleaner sound than my 6200 for 2ch. This is why I am now looking for something with more power or an external amp.

Chris Quinn · 07-11-2003, 01:06 AM

Are you using the DACs in the DVD or the receiver? You might try using the one you are not using presently to see how it sounds. The DACs in my Marantz 7200 are much better then those in my Pioneer CD player.

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Ferran Mazzanti · 07-11-2003, 03:34 AM

Thanks to everybody. I start to play with speaker positioning, but that means building new stands. i'll do that this weekend... And yes, I've tried to use the DACS in the receiver and the DACS in the DVD, and even though there's a difference between the two DACS, it is not really that different...

Brian tj · 07-11-2003, 07:15 AM

Hi
When moving the speakers you should only move a little at a time you my not need to make drastic change!! Yes this can be very frustrating

But don't let it get to you make it part of the fun

Want to see a bright room go to my web page http://users.nac.net/armor/ I have not up dated the site need new photos and time. I have added tapestry's on two walls and the area rug is on the way. Yes I heard a BIG

improvement in sound. I experimented with 4 large blankets on the floor. one more thing I would go back to store and look at the comp. they had on the speakers dos not mean yours are bad but where thaw real high end stuff? Have fun with

GOOD LUCK

david stark · 07-11-2003, 08:51 PM

I have a seperate 2 channel amp as well as an AV amp (denon avr2802). the stereo amp (rega brio) is approx half the cost of the denon and eats it for breakfast for stereo music.

Speaker placement and rooms themselves will produce very different sounds so be aware of this if listening to a demo at a store. If you do listen in a store insist that they use the same or similar equipment to what you have at home. Maybe try and persuade a dealer to let you have a home demo of an amp/cd player and then you can see if these improve the sound in your room.

paulBAW · 07-11-2003, 10:01 PM

If you spent the same kinda money on your CD player as you did on your speakers and Amp I'm sure you wouldn't have posted. If you can't hear that much of a difference between your source and av receiver DAC's I'd be really curious as to what you are using....most people are so willing to spend money on speakers and amp's when in reality a CD player has as much or more of an effect on your system's performance...

Chu Gai · 07-12-2003, 03:40 AM

Realistically you'll need to work a bit more on your speaker placements and perhaps your room. If it turns out your receiver can't deliver the power you need to drive your speakers cleanly then you may benefit from additional amplification.
Personally, I wouldn't gear my purchacing expenditure towards equal weight with amps or speakers. That's money better spent on better transducers. In the proper setting, driven within their means, a receiver may be the only thing you need. Might be that you want something else, but that's another matter entirely.

Arron H · 07-12-2003, 10:45 AM

Just curious, what equipment were they using with the PMC TB2 speakers in the dealer showroom? Room treatments and speaker placement are extremely important but the upstream equipment is also very important. You really have to factor in EVERYTHING that the dealer was using and also consider everything you are using. Start with room treatments and placement (much less expensive than buying a 2 channel amp). If that doesn't cut it, try the amp, especially if you are satisfied with the sound of the Marantz gear as a pre/pro. More power can really help to make speakers open up. If your speakers sound somewhat boxed in, flat, etc. it may simply be that the Marantz just can't deliver the juice that they need to really sing like they did at the showroom. As others suggest, try to bring the amp home to demo with your system rather than just blindly purchasing whatever the dealer suggests for your speakers. You should do some research on 2 channel amps over on the receivers/separates/amps forum as well.