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Marantz SR8015 Review (Home Theater AVR)

Whoareyou

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WAIT maybe this is the argument to pay up for Trinnov and StormAudio products? Because both of these companies sell pre/pro designed to to last beyond 5 years but of course, you're paying $18,000 up front for the Trinnov Alt16 but it I think the customer service and trouble free performance makes up the difference over the 10 years of ownership that many are enjoying.

For what I've spent on receivers.... it's *almost* tempting.
But does not that Trinnov only handle 4k, and 8k is now the latest and greatest? I'm sure Trinnov will update to a new board, but It's never ending cycle. And 8k has presented it's own set of challenges for manufacturers.

If I was going to spend another $18000 on my system, I'd much rather spend it on a pair of speakers.

It's interesting business/hobby. On one hand, I'm amazed at functionality/technology that Marantz. Denon. Yamaha get into these receivers.

But something needs to change. Perhaps a combination of improved reliability + a modular design that handles these ever changing standards.
And by modular, I don't mean a new board that costs same as the entire receiver.
 
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I have, at a high quality movie theatre. The systems they have make the stuff people have in their homes look pathetic. I know exactly what these systems can do and I also know that I don't have the time, space or money to have something like that that I would be satisfied with in my home. I can on the other hand have a 2 channel system that I am more than satisfied with and any funds I have for audio are allocated to that.

The sad fact is that HT is a salesman's wet dream. "Look at this system, sir, 5 speakers and a subwoofer. It is ok, but I recommend more channels. If sir wants better sound he can opt for the 11 channel intergalctic hero amp and all the speakers and cables that go with it. Sir can then go and tell his neighbors all about it... It is never going to sound as good as 2 speakers and a 2 channel amp for the same money but does sir really care about that? 11 channels, count em!"

11 channel amp?

Nope six 2 channel amps.

1 Subwoofer?

Lol.... Make it 4 to 16 in a room mode free Single or Double Bass Array...

Home Theatre has long surpassed cinemas in sound quality, loudness and comfort.


But let´s stay on topic and stop feeding the troll.
 

Rottmannash

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The trouble is that when you have so many channels to amplify, so many cables, so many speakers and so much processing it becomes very expensive and very space consuming to even approach the sound quality of a relatively cheap 2 channel system. As Amir seems to be saying any time he reviews gear like this, it is ok as far as HT stuff is concerned but it can not really compete with good quality 2 channel equipment.

To match what I am getting from my 2 channel system with an HT system I would need so much space and so much expensive equipment that it just does not work for me. I would rather spend my money on other things.

Whatever may be "missing", I find the sound of my 2 channel system immersive and enjoyable when I watch movies. If I really wanted sounds from the side and behind me I would go to a movie theatre. How much do I want it? I want it so much that during the past decade I have been to a movie theatre once. Thats right, one time. So, am I going to spend tens of thousands or maybe hundreds of thousands of $ on something I don't really want and consider a gimmick? No.

What has been the single worst thing that has happened to good quality audio reproduction in the home? Home theatre. A lot of people have spent a lot of money on HT gear and where has it got them? A lot of money spent, a lot of clutter and poor sound quality.

On the contrary-the last time my partner and I graced a movie theater (appx 8 years ago) we got up and walked out about 5 minutes into the movie due to a young lady playing on her smartphone the entire time-the light from the phone and her talking on it were just more than we were willing to put up with for the price of tickets. Therefore I've invested in what I consider to be a decent HT and I haven't regretted one penny spent. We can sit at home and crank it up as loud as we want, hear what's intended and can pause it and go to the bathroom whenever we like-oh, and the snacks are much cheaper. I don't think I'm alone in this perspective, as evidenced by the number of AVRs sold per year. Not sure why you feel the sound quality of HT is so poor. It's the same quality as my 2 channel chain except for slightly lower SNR on the DACs in the AVR. I have external amplification (Purifi and Buckeye) on all external channels but the center and the 2 atmos channels-the AVR powers them so don't think I'm sacrificing in that regard.
 

Alice of Old Vincennes

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WAIT maybe this is the argument to pay up for Trinnov and StormAudio products? Because both of these companies sell pre/pro designed to to last beyond 5 years but of course, you're paying $18,000 up front for the Trinnov Alt16 but it I think the customer service and trouble free performance makes up the difference over the 10 years of ownership that many are enjoying.
I will replace regularly before pay those prices.
 

Alice of Old Vincennes

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Can relate and totally agree with the planned obsolescence. Even with open rack and fans I had three cooked HDMI/videoI boards on two different late model Denon AVRs, all under the 4 year service point with no replacement boards available from Denon. This HT addicted sucker ran out and bought a third one.....insanity defined.

I can't believe no one has addressed Amir's after test post that the unit locked up after the stress test....lol I can't decide if it's funny or sad.
Never turn AVR off. Lasts longer.
 

Spocko

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For what I've spent on receivers.... it's *almost* tempting.
But does not that Trinnov only handle 4k, and 8k is now the latest and greatest? I'm sure Trinnov will update to a new board, but It's never ending cycle. And 8k has presented it's own set of challenges for manufacturers.

If I was going to spend another $18000 on my system, I'd much rather spend it on a pair of speakers.

It's interesting business/hobby. On one hand, I'm amazed at functionality/technology that Marantz. Denon. Yamaha get into these receivers.

But something needs to change. Perhaps a combination of improved reliability + a modular design that handles these ever changing standards.
And by modular, I don't mean a new board that costs same as the entire receiver.
where to begin with 8K! We’re nowhere near capable of delivering native 8K content - I say we’re at least 8 years away so it’s a non-issue in the near future. We’re still remastering to 4K!
 

Whoareyou

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where to begin with 8K! We’re nowhere near capable of delivering native 8K content - I say we’re at least 8 years away so it’s a non-issue in the near future. We’re still remastering to 4K!
I hope that's true, but there have just been too many times where some new format or standard has come out that leaves me with some silly, and very frustrating, incompatibility. So, it might not be 8k for a while, but past experience tells me it will be something.

Anyway, getting off track a bit from the 8015, which (regardless of what I've said) is an amazing piece of hardware.

And from the specs, seems like it should be a great sounding unit.
 

bigguyca

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SR8015: Is it the Capacitors?

The graph below is from Rev 0 of the datasheet for the AK4490 DAC IC Evaluation Board as provided by AKM. The graph is not in the current Rev 1 of the datasheet. Similar relationships between the size of capacitors used on the voltage reference inputs are available for some other AKM DAC IC's.

The AKM voltage output DAC IC's use a 5V reference voltage. The quality of this reference is important to quality of the output of the DAC IC's.

The information in the graphs is not provided for the AK4458 DAC IC used in the SR8015, but there is no reason to believe that a similar relationship between capacitor value and THD+N does not exist for the AK4458. The SR8015 has two AK4458 DAC IC's. Each of these IC's has a capacitor on each of the four voltage reference inputs.


1623342827262.png


The measurements of the SR8015 for the multi-tone input signal are below. Are either low value capacitors or perhaps mediocre capacitors affecting these measurements? The answer is unknown, but clearly something is affecting these measurements in a negative way.

1623342720115.png
 

Sal1950

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Like I have always thought and said. Home theatre is garbage and if you want good sound from music or movies stick to 2 channels. Yes, for movies two. This philosophy has served me well over the years.
And is absolute hogwash!
I remain suspicious that there is an element of cartel behaviour involved here.
I wouldn't mind paying the extra cost so much if the pre-pro's offer SOTA performance along the lines of the best 2ch preamps.
Not that I believe much of this is audible but hell we're paying for top shelf performance already
My wish is that they would put a mode in where it would run the fans at very low speed at a lower threshold than what they have now. This can be a menu option for people who operate it in less than ideal environment.
But that would mess up it's pre-planned obsolescence chart. ;)
No, I am sure it sounds great. The point is that if you took the money you spent on your entire HT rig and spent it on a 2 channel system it would make your Denon whatever sound rather average by comparison.
So tell me, since this is a science oriented site, which of the measurements in Amir's review do you believe you could hear in a bias controled DBT of this AVR against whatever 2ch gear your running playing back a very high quality 2ch source into your speakers? There is only one that I can think of that "might" be somewhat audible, the DAC filter choice that Marantz believes is sonically the best one. But if you don't like it, Denon offers much the same product with a more usual choice.
Then when you add in the fact that all AVP-R bring DRC to the table and most 2ch gear does not, the final sound when correctly done will stomp the 2ch rig in bass smoothness.
What I do know is a fact is that a quality multich system brings so much more to the table for not only movies but the whole world of multich music, to make the best 2ch rig sound stuck in 1955. There's no doubt here, if you don't believe me ask Floyd Toole, he has some respect in the field.
I can on the other hand have a 2 channel system that I am more than satisfied with and any funds I have for audio are allocated to that.
Sounds like your very easily pleased.
I guess you also spend a lot of time in McDonnalds, it's cheap to eat there too. ;)
WAIT maybe this is the argument to pay up for Trinnov and StormAudio products? Because both of these companies sell pre/pro designed to to last beyond 5 years but of course, you're paying $18,000 up front for the Trinnov Alt16 but it I think the customer service and trouble free performance makes up the difference over the 10 years of ownership that many are enjoying.
True, but they're also designed for,
People with very large Multich systems with lots of channels.
People who can afford to trade up/replace the rig on about the same schedule as the $3k receiver.
This market is rapidly changing with a obsolescence factor of 3-7 years. They all talk about upgrade-ability but then something always comes along. LOL
In the pre-covid days, I went to the theater for sci-fi and action movies, but only when they were on the IMAX screens otherwise I can do better at home. But in reality I only use my system for watching movies maybe 10% of the time. The rest is listening to music, much of it native 4, 5.1 or Atmos mixes, the rest upsampled with one codex or the other. Most anything is better than plain ole stereo. :p

MAJOR Cudos to ASR for being a partial factor in the design improvements of this market segment over the last few years. It's too easy for manufacturers to get lazy when no one is watching. The resurgence of objectivity in audio is having some good effects in the industry with more to come I hope. A market willing to spend more on good engineering rather than snake-oil could have some wonderful effects!
 
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Peternz

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And is absolute hogwash!

I wouldn't mind paying the extra cost so much if the pre-pro's offer SOTA performance along the lines of the best 2ch preamps.
Not that I believe much of this is audible but hell we're paying for top shelf performance already

But that would mess up it's pre-planned obsolescence chart. ;)

So tell me, since this is a science oriented site, which of the measurements in Amir's review do you believe you could hear in a bias controled DBT of this AVR against whatever 2ch gear your running playing back a very high quality 2ch source into your speakers? There is only one that I can think of that "might" be somewhat audible, the DAC filter choice that Marantz believes is sonically the best one. But if you don't like it, Denon offers much the same product with a more usual choice.
Then when you add in the fact that all AVP-R bring DRC to the table and most 2ch gear does not, the final sound when correctly done will stomp the 2ch rig in bass smoothness.
What I do know is a fact is that a quality multich system brings so much more to the table for not only movies but the whole world of multich music, to make the best 2ch rig sound stuck in 1955. There's no doubt here, if you don't believe me ask Floyd Toole, he has some respect in the field.

Sounds like your very easily pleased.
I guess you also spend a lot of time in McDonnalds, it's cheap to eat there too. ;)

True, but they're also designed for,
People with very large Multich systems with lots of channels.
People who can afford to trade up/replace the rig on about the same schedule as the $3k receiver. This market is rapidly changing with a obsolescence factor of 3-7 years. They all talk about upgrade-ability but then something always comes along. LOL
In the pre-covid days, I went to the theater for sci-fi and action movies, but only when they were on the IMAX screens otherwise I can do better at home. But in reality I only use my system for watching movies maybe 10% of the time. The rest is listening to music, much of it native 4, 5.1 or Atmos mixes, the rest upsampled with one codex or the other. Most anything is better than plain ole stereo. :p

MAJOR Cudos to ASR for being a partial factor in the design improvements of this market segment over the last few years. It's too easy for manufacturers to get lazy when no one is watching. The resurgence of objectivity in audio is having some good effects in the industry with more to come I hope. A market willing to spend more on good engineering rather than snake-oil could have some wonderful effects!

Since your post seems to be serious in contrast to some of the silly off topic trolling that some people have seen fit to post in this thread I will dignify it with a reply.

"So tell me, since this is a science oriented site, which of the measurements in Amir's review do you believe you could hear in a bias controled DBT of this AVR against whatever 2ch gear your running playing back a very high quality 2ch source into your speakers?"

You failed at the first hurdle. If I had to pay for an AV processor, plus all the speakers and cables and renovations involved I would not have any money left over to buy "my speakers". Furthermore, my source, pre amp and power amp are light years ahead of this AV garbage and I would declare myself legally deaf if I could not hear the difference.

Over the past few years I have been through about 5 different pre amps? Why? Because they all sound different and I have not until recently found one that I am fully satisfied with. Over the past few years I have had the same power amp. Why? Because it sounds awesome. If you turned up with that AV monstrosity at my house and offered to give it to me free of charge I would politely tell you to keep it.
 

Rottmannash

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Since your post seems to be serious in contrast to some of the silly off topic trolling that some people have seen fit to post in this thread I will dignify it with a reply.

"So tell me, since this is a science oriented site, which of the measurements in Amir's review do you believe you could hear in a bias controled DBT of this AVR against whatever 2ch gear your running playing back a very high quality 2ch source into your speakers?"

You failed at the first hurdle. If I had to pay for an AV processor, plus all the speakers and cables and renovations involved I would not have any money left over to buy "my speakers". Furthermore, my source, pre amp and power amp are light years ahead of this AV garbage and I would declare myself legally deaf if I could not hear the difference.
Light years ahead? Perhaps tell us your exalted chain so we can marvel at your components. That might give some weight to your claims.
 

Sal1950

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Over the past few years I have been through about 5 different pre amps?
Yep, That tells me a lot right there.
Time for you to put in some time doing DBT of all this gear you claim sounds so different.
Even money says if you close your eye's, all that BS disappears.
 

beagleman

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Since your post seems to be serious in contrast to some of the silly off topic trolling that some people have seen fit to post in this thread I will dignify it with a reply.

"So tell me, since this is a science oriented site, which of the measurements in Amir's review do you believe you could hear in a bias controled DBT of this AVR against whatever 2ch gear your running playing back a very high quality 2ch source into your speakers?"

You failed at the first hurdle. If I had to pay for an AV processor, plus all the speakers and cables and renovations involved I would not have any money left over to buy "my speakers". Furthermore, my source, pre amp and power amp are light years ahead of this AV garbage and I would declare myself legally deaf if I could not hear the difference.

Over the past few years I have been through about 5 different pre amps? Why? Because they all sound different and I have not until recently found one that I am fully satisfied with. Over the past few years I have had the same power amp. Why? Because it sounds awesome. If you turned up with that AV monstrosity at my house and offered to give it to me free of charge I would politely tell you to keep it.


Seriously, not trying to be a jerk, but perhaps this discussion would be better suited to a new thread. You could explain your set up, and discuss what makes it better and how you believe multi channel home theatre is not a viable sound option.

As it is, kinda going into a new topic. Meaning this quite sincerely.
 

Urgo

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I don't know what he's doing here?
We want the test and the AVR Marantz SR8015 to be talked about, not its stereo.

Would it be possible to continue talking about the SR8015?
 

StuartC

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I don't know what he's doing here?
We want the test and the AVR Marantz SR8015 to be talked about, not its stereo.

Would it be possible to continue talking about the SR8015?
But his pomposity and self righteousness is captivating. How anyone can physically type such drivel while their head is firmly wedged up their own backside is a marvel to behold!
 
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