What is the best integrated receiver for Monitor Audio Silver RS speakers?

 

New member
Username: Demono

Post Number: 5
Registered: Jul-06
I currently have the Monitor Audio Silver RS series speakers running to a Onkyo TX-SR603X receiver. I like how the movies sound (DVDs) through this particular receiver but i am not happy with how the music sounds (CDs).

Any recommendations for an integrated receiver?

Current setup:

Front: 2 RS6
Sub: RSW12
Front: RSLCR
Rear: 2 RS1
Receiver: Onkyo TX-SR603X
 

Gold Member
Username: Exerciseguy

Brooklyn, NY United States

Post Number: 1864
Registered: Oct-04
What's your budget?
 

Platinum Member
Username: Nuck

Post Number: 10260
Registered: Dec-04
What are your room dimesions and how is it furnished?
What type of music do you listen to and at what volumes?
 

Platinum Member
Username: Nuck

Post Number: 10261
Registered: Dec-04
What cdplayer are you using?
 

New member
Username: Demono

Post Number: 6
Registered: Jul-06
I would like to stay within $1500 range.

Room size is 20' x 15' and the entertainment centre is along the shorter side.

I listen to various types of music at mid to low volumes. My choices include blues, jazz, electronic and some classical.

I am using JVC XV-S60 DVD/CD player to play my music and watch movies. I also have my Ipod running to my Onkyo receiver.

Thank You for the replies.
 

Gold Member
Username: Exerciseguy

Brooklyn, NY United States

Post Number: 1865
Registered: Oct-04
Give the MARANTZ SR8002 THX Select2 Surround Receiver for $1400 a look

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/MARSR8002/MARANTZ/SR8002-THX-S elect2-Surround-Receiver/1.html
 

Gold Member
Username: Frank_abela

Berkshire UK

Post Number: 2934
Registered: Sep-04
In my opinion, your limitation is your source. Depending on how you have ripped your music to the iPod, this can act as anything from a poor source to a reasonable source. Lossy compressed tracks (MP3 at 128kb/s for example) just don't have the resolution and a system that can expose this will make it sound a little boring or clinical. I haven't heard a JVC make music and most DVD players aren't particularly good in this respect either.

I suggest looking at the specialist manufacturers. One of the darlings of the CD player market you're looking at is Rega with their Apollo player. Another brand of much respect at this price range is Cambridge Audio, and another would be Creek.

If you are determined to continue looking at a new receiver, the Onkyo TX-SR875 is bang up to date, can cope with all the current formats including Blu-ray via its HDMI inputs and sounds very musical when fed with a musical source.

Regards,
Frank.
 

New member
Username: Demono

Post Number: 7
Registered: Jul-06
Frank, I believe you are correct to say that the source is the biggest issue.

I will look and consider other manufacturers for a CD player. In fact I was thinking about Sony SCD-C2000ES/B. I am not sure if Sony is a good choice so maybe someone can comment on that.

As for my Ipod audio I only encode and rip my music in 192kb/s and VBR. Further my problem may be the fact that I don't have the Onkyo DS-A2 Ipod dock and instead connect my Ipod using the Y cables - white and red(L & R) to 3.5 stereo.

I think that both Marantz SR8002 and Onkyo TX-SR875 are excellent choices however I am steering more towards the Onkyo. It sounds like the 875 can do everything and it will not became outdated quickly. since my wife is already used to the manuverability of the existing Onkyo remote this might take less convincing for me.

Thank You,
Damian
 

Gold Member
Username: Nickelbut10

Post Number: 1534
Registered: Jun-07
Your right Demono- Sony is not a good choice.
 

Gold Member
Username: Exerciseguy

Brooklyn, NY United States

Post Number: 1866
Registered: Oct-04
AC4L has the Marantz DV7600 on sale for $299 which is, IMHO, about as good a source/player as your likely to find south of $1K.

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/MARDV7600/MARANTZ/DV7600-Progr essive-Scan-Universal-DVD-Player-w/HDMI-/1.html
 

Gold Member
Username: Nickelbut10

Post Number: 1536
Registered: Jun-07
"AC4L has the Marantz DV7600 on sale for $299 which is, IMHO, about as good a source/player as your likely to find south of $1K."

What?

I am confused, I thought he needs a good cd player for music. For around a grand or under he could have the Rotel 1072, or a NAD C542, or a slightly used Rega Apollo from Audiogon. Also look at the Cambridge Audio cd players, great value. Any one of those brands should be the starting point for a nice sounding cd player.
 

Gold Member
Username: Frank_abela

Berkshire UK

Post Number: 2940
Registered: Sep-04
Damian, the three CD player brands I mention above are the darlings of the sub-$1500 market. As for the receivers, the 875 is a very good machine indeed. As you say, it is as future proof as you can get nowadays. However, I should warn you - it's big!

Regards,
Frank.
 

Gold Member
Username: Exerciseguy

Brooklyn, NY United States

Post Number: 1867
Registered: Oct-04
I have no doubts as to quality the other aforementioned players, however, the Marantz DV7600 for $299 from AC4L is a factory refub. & a discontinued model; it originally sold for $900, and represents a unique value at its current close-out price. And, although it is a universal player, it is exceptionally adept at playing CDs, and I'm fairly certain it is (at least) competitive with the other CD-specific players suggested.

For less than $1500, you should be able to upgrade both your player & receiver to something more musically inclined. The Marantz/Monitor Audio combo has always sounded good to my ear, but as always, try to audition if & when possible.
 

New member
Username: Demono

Post Number: 8
Registered: Jul-06
I had a quick look at the suggested CD players and I don't think that at this point I am prepared to drop $1-1.5K for a CD player alone, however the Marantz DV7600 for $300 sounds very tempting. Plus it can do so much more than just CD's - mp3 cd's & CD-R's

I think i will pay my local Marantz distributor a visit and see if they have one laying around for an audition (http://www.livewireaudio.com/).

Frank, you are correct to say that the 875 is big. It's over 3" deeper than my 603X and more than twice the weight. This will most likely be a problem with the current HT furniture.

Thank You,
Damian
 

New member
Username: Demono

Post Number: 9
Registered: Jul-06
I apologize, I meant to say "I am not prepared to drop..."
 

Gold Member
Username: Frank_abela

Berkshire UK

Post Number: 2947
Registered: Sep-04
Damian, you do realize that a system is only as good as its source component right? FWIW I haven't heard a musical Marantz in a long time and that includes the latest much vaunted Legend series...

I really don't get where Chris is coming from on this. As for MP3, that's not a quality stream and causes more problems than it's worth but for the record I believe all the ones I mentioned are capable of playing MP3s and CD-Rs.

Inciddentally, I think your original 'I am prepared' is correct because you said you didn't think you were prepared to drop...

English - lovely language, especially when you start adding negatives early in sentences...
 

Gold Member
Username: Nickelbut10

Post Number: 1543
Registered: Jun-07
"FWIW I haven't heard a musical Marantz in a long time and that includes the latest much vaunted Legend series"

Same here.

Demono- If your not willing to drop the cash on a dedicated cd player. Then be prepared to never be happy with your two channel listening experience.
 

Gold Member
Username: Exerciseguy

Brooklyn, NY United States

Post Number: 1868
Registered: Oct-04
"FWIW I haven't heard a musical Marantz in a long time and that includes the latest much vaunted Legend series"

Come on guys, we may have preferences, but to effective say that a Marantz player, particularly a higher-end dedicated one, can't handle music, is a bit hard for me to swallow. I don't claim to have nearly as much experience, or perhaps as well a trained ear, as many of the vets of this board, but I know what I like, and the DV7600 is a solid performer, particularly with 2-channel.

I also disagree that one can "never be happy" with 2-channel without a dedicated CD player. As I stated, I am fairly certain a solidly built, well thought out universal player, like the $299 DV7600, with proprietary HDAM® audio circuits, adjustable-delay bass management, a double-layered chassis bottom plate that controls vibrations, and weighs in at a hefty 10.1-lbs., outclasses every sub-$500 dedicated CD player on the market, and is competitive with other dedicated CD players up to & perhaps past $1000.

But that's just one man's opinion.
 

New member
Username: Demono

Post Number: 10
Registered: Jul-06
Frank, I am not sure if I am understanding this correctly but in the 875 overview description it says that a 480i signal can be upscaled to 1080p. Does this mean that my satellite receiver which I have connected with component video cables and broadcasting at 480i will now be displayed at 1080p? Please confirm.
 

Gold Member
Username: Frank_abela

Berkshire UK

Post Number: 2949
Registered: Sep-04
Chris,

Indeed it is one man's opinion, and there are many people who buy Marantz, Pioneer, Denon et al on that basis. All those people would say similar things - and that Marantz kit really ought to sound pretty special.

For my ears however, it's not very good, very unmusical, and not even particularly good fidelity, both at the high end and the low end prices. I've heard them and for me I'd take an NAD 525BEE at a lot less money than that Marantz. That's my opinion. In fact, I'd take the NAD over most Marantz players!

As for the dedicated CD player argument, sure one can be content with a 'universal' player if it's any good, but that doesn't mean it IS any good and I ahve yet to hear a universal player beat a dedicated player at similar money - even in the same brand. Sure, you can spend your money on the HDAM circuits, the video circuits, the adjustable delay bass management and all the stuff that doesn't concern CD replay, and then spend what's left of your resources on actual CD replay, but it's not goign to sound as good as if you'd taken all the cash spent on the other bits and put in high quality CD replay circuitry now is it?

Of course, if you like the way Marantz makes music then we will never understand each other, because I just don't hear it; Ken Ishiwata and I will probably never agree on what constitutes quality sound - at least from my observations of his latest abortions he calls product. I'm not usually into product bashing but Marantz has really got me lately. Their latest high end stuff is all flash and no biscuit in this man's opinion. Genuinely horrible.

Damian,

The 875 can scale any incoming video signal to 1080p. So yes, if your satellite tuner delivers 480i, the 875 can scale it up to 1080p before sending to your TV. However, this doesn't miraculously make a poor quality picture into a better one. Understand this...

Let's say you have a FullHD TV. This means it has 1920 x 1080 pixels on the screen. In order to fill the screen, any 480 (DVD, Satellite, NTSC), 576 (PAL, Freeview?), HD (SkyHD, FreeSat's HD stations, Virgin's HD broadcasts, these are all 720p or 1080i) has to be scaled up to fit on its 1920x1080 matrix. If the TV receives one of these it will upscale the signal automatically. The question is how good it is at doing this. Many TVs do not have very high quality scalers so many AV receivers are doing the job instead, usually (but not always) with slightly better scalers. The 875's scaler is better than most TVs offer so it is useful to take advantage of the scaler in the 875.

Of course a 1080p signal needs no rescaling and gets throughput unchanged, both via the 875 as well as the TV. Since it has the least processing done on it, this helps make the 1080p picture better! I hope this is clear.

Frank.
 

Gold Member
Username: Exerciseguy

Brooklyn, NY United States

Post Number: 1869
Registered: Oct-04
The NAD 525BEE is an very nice player, no argument here, I like it, but we will have to agree to disagree when it comes to Marantz's sound.

Excellent DVD players & excellent CD players share some common traits, yes?

http://www.homecinemachoice.com/cgi-bin/displayreview.php?reviewid=6401

Simply stated, the physical stature of this $900 universal player that currently sells for $300, in addition to the HDAM circuits, and other bells & whistles, also makes for an excellent foundation for the makings of an excellent CD player, IMHO.
 

Gold Member
Username: Nickelbut10

Post Number: 1550
Registered: Jun-07
I personally can't really comment on Marantz, as I have not heard it nearly enough. But I will say this, I have heard a lot of cd players. From what I have heard, I still have not heard anything better for UNDER 1000 CDN than the NAD 542 and 525bee. I want to hear that new little 515bee.
 

Gold Member
Username: Frank_abela

Berkshire UK

Post Number: 2953
Registered: Sep-04
Chris,

Excellent DVD players and excellent CD players may share some traits, and even some parts, but the fact remains that you can't expect a jack of all trades to be master of any, and when confronted by similarly priced dedicated units, those will beat the pants of the DV7600. (In 2005 a rega Apollo was £500 and the 7600 £600 - goes to show what's happened to the dollar since then!) In my view, the 7600 is a good DVD player, a ropey SACD/DVD-A player and an awful CD player. Oh alright perhaps it's almost as good as the C525BEE. So I guess the $300 price is about right since you get the extra goodies.

In the final analysis, it doesn't matter what's in the unit so long as it makes music. If the contents were the only arbiter of the decision process, many high end players would never stand a chance because they use fairly basic ICs and circuits. It's their know-how you're paying for, not their ability to create circuitry which keeps them from paying royalties to other companies (which is what HDAM is all about).
 

Gold Member
Username: Exerciseguy

Brooklyn, NY United States

Post Number: 1870
Registered: Oct-04
"In my view, the 7600 is a good DVD player, a ropey SACD/DVD-A player and an awful CD player. Oh alright perhaps it's almost as good as the C525BEE."

"So I guess the $300 price is about right since you get the extra goodies."

Frank, that was more or less my point, it's a good value @ $300. I use my DV7600 exclusively in 2-channel mode, and I have absolutely no complaints, I think it's an impressive machine, and the fact that it looks & feels like a more substantial player than any CD player less than $500 surely factors into my impressions.

I'm not sure how you jumped from "awful" to "almost as good as a C525BEE" because that's quite a wide chasm to jump given how good the C525BEE is.

http://www.goodsound.com/equipment/nad_c525bee.htm
 

Gold Member
Username: Frank_abela

Berkshire UK

Post Number: 2960
Registered: Sep-04
The C525BEE is good...that's about it. It's not great. Sure it's probably the best at its price point, but once you start looking a bit futher up the tree, there are better apples to be had.
 

Gold Member
Username: Gavdawg

Albany, New York

Post Number: 1161
Registered: Nov-06
we all have different tastes....

Frank hates both my speakers (kef) and my CD player (marantz sa-8001), but I enjoy them endlessly, and feel they have fantastic synergy.

in the end, buy what makes you and you alone happy.... NOT US!

 

Gold Member
Username: Mike3

Wylie, Tx USA

Post Number: 1332
Registered: May-06
Chris,

I have a Marantz two channel receiver in my family room running my Mirage Omni-stats. I run a Sony linear tracking turntable and a Rotel CD changer through it. I am not fussy about how it sounds, hell, the speakers and my PS Audio sub are all stuck up behind the flat panel TV. It works for me in that situation. It would work better if my wife was not adamant about not seeing speakers.

I have an older Denon 5.1 receiver running my Klipsch in wall / ceiling surround plus shelf hanging center with Klipsch and Paradigm subs in my media room. It works.

My point being is I find it utilitarian and as long as everyone is okay with the presentation I am okay with it.

My 2 channel system is another animal in every sense of the word.

Never think you have to defend what works for you and I am sure Frank would agree with that.

Demono, have you considered pre-outs from your receiver to a separate power amp for the MAs?

I had a Creek 5350 SE running my Monitor Audio Silver 8is and they mated very well.





Gavin, I think Frank just doesn't like you...
 

Gold Member
Username: Gavdawg

Albany, New York

Post Number: 1167
Registered: Nov-06
LOL
 

Platinum Member
Username: Nuck

Post Number: 10359
Registered: Dec-04
hehehe
 

Gold Member
Username: Artk

Albany, Oregon USA

Post Number: 7046
Registered: Feb-05
Hey Gav Frank hates my Rega R5's as well...we do all have different tastes...as you know Frank is a great contributor here, he does however get just a bit snooty from time to time (forgive the term Frank, however I'm sure that you understand what I mean)...then again it's all relative, to many folks we are all a bit snooty.

My coworkers think all of this audio stuff as nuts and ofcourse they are right...lol! However they have recently begun to seek me out for information and actually know the word audiophile...as they refer to me as one while pointing and laughing (ofcourse the last part is a stretch....I hope). We now have fun with audio at work.

Today I was approached with questions about how and where to purchase a better ghetto blaster....I'm still pondering a response....
 

Gold Member
Username: Gavdawg

Albany, New York

Post Number: 1168
Registered: Nov-06
my coworkers think I am insane... most of them have boomboxes or low end htib stuff.

yep...never said frank wasn't valued here and didn't mean to imply it. just looking for an example of our different tastes.


:-)


Snooty would be the right word (I think). My coworkers now think I am snobbish with my audio equipment after I made my disdain known for the "cube-sub" systems regarding frequency response, time, and accuracy during a discussion that happened once they found out that I thought a grand was acceptable for a single disc cd player.
 

Gold Member
Username: Artk

Albany, Oregon USA

Post Number: 7049
Registered: Feb-05
Yeah Gav...when I called a Rega Apollo a great budget CD player they stood there slack jawed...remember I'm a social worker, I work with 90% + women.
 

Platinum Member
Username: Nuck

Post Number: 10364
Registered: Dec-04
Great place to talk about shoes, Art.
 

Gold Member
Username: Artk

Albany, Oregon USA

Post Number: 7054
Registered: Feb-05
At least I'm privvy to all kinds of discussions that are interesting...eh!
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