Can you explain the above in simple terms for a non technical person?
I will be listening to 50% music and watching movies, my current equipment is here
My CD player is connected via analogue to use the Marantz DAC and not my AVR
LIVING ROOM SETUP
Panasonic TX-55CX802 Television
Amazon Fire TV Cube
Apple TV Box
Denon AVR-X2200W
Van Damme Hi Fi Speaker Cables
Monitor Audio Bronze 500 Floorstanders
(For Main front speakers)
Monitor Audio Bronze C150 Centre Speaker
Monitor Audio Bronze 50’s on stands
(For rear surrounds)
BK XXLS400 FF Subwoofer
Marantz CD63 MkII KI Signature CD Player
Pioneer BDP-180 Blu Ray Player
Sony PS4 Pro Games Console
I would just quote Amir as follow:
"Marantz takes one of the best AVRs we have tested, the Denon AVR-X3600H and reduces its performance into mediocrity in many areas. "
That's why I said Amir never said it was "crap", just mediocre..
He also found the same roll off due to the slow filter, similar performance to the AV8805 and 7705's, but do you think you can hear a difference due to the roll off starting at about 10 kHz and dropped only 2.5 dB by the time it hit 20 kHz? Also keep in mind this should not audibly affect analog input direct mode or even digital input with higher sampling frequency such as 88.2, 96 kHz or higher, because at higher sampling frequency, the roll off would start at much higher frequency too even with the slow filter. On this point, sorry, no layman's term that I know of can be used..
Musicality that you mentioned is a subjective term. To me, it would just mean "live like", or transparency, accuracy, neutrality. To others, it may mean the sound is "colored" to their taste, or with more harmonics distortions that could add to the original signal and make it sound "warm", "euphonic" etc.. So it can be a hit and miss thing if you are seeking a specific sound signature that you may prefer. I don't see any chance that Marantz can give you that kind of sound even if that's what you prefer, regardless what their marketing department claimed. They also aim for flat frequency response and minimum distortions of any kind, so they can't have it both ways especially if they used the same circuitry and parts, with the exception of the extra HDAM buffer stage, and yes the slow filter for the DAC, that affects many digital input at the low 44.1 kHz sampling frequency.
For distortions, you can easily compare the harmonic profiles measured by ASR and you will not find any particular reason why one would sound more "musical" than the other. If anything, the Denon actually seemed to have proportionally more even harmonics, that many believe contribute to the perceived so called "warm" sound. I would think that unless you are in a very quiet room and listen to near reference level you won't likely hear a difference between the two brand's comparable models. Even if you can hear the difference of a few dB SINAD, you may find the Marantz more musical because it has higher distortions, but then you may also find the opposite is true to you, and that's if you can see which one you are listening to. If you not allow to use you eyes, I would bet you can't tell a difference in a properly done comparison listening session using analog inputs and direct mode. The quality of the source contents and speakers are far more important than the difference between two very similar AVRs of Marantz and Denon.
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