HarmonicExtorsion
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- Jul 26, 2020
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This is just personal experience. YMMV.
I own a Marantz SR6014. Like it. For music, I take pre-out into a Parasound A21. Speakers: (1) Martin Logan Motion 60XT and twin subs (Martin Logan Dynamo 1000W). Have extra speakers for 5.2 but that is irrelevant.
After reading this whole measurements thing, I got a 3700H and tried it out extensively using same set-up (crossovers, etc) as both are quite similar receivers other than that 'questionable' HDAM module.
I listen mostly to soft jazz / classical (input: Tidal Hifi / Qobuz Premier into HEOS) at not too high levels (around 65-70db) in a 20x23x9 room.
In my room, to my ears, with my set-up, at these listening levels, the SR6014 sounds better. The Denon sounds harsher, though there bit more detail in the highs. The Marantz sounds more musical and non-fatiguing. The difference is significant enough.
Sad: I already had committed to returning the SR6014 before purchasing the 3700H.
But a big thanks to the OP for taking the time out for this venture. It is tremendously useful - particularly as the manufacturers are paying attention to it.
BTW: a little bit I did not know about both receivers till recently: if you use 4-ohm speakers, refer to the manual to change the setting on the receiver to 4 ohms and they shall sound better.
What you are talking about is like 101 basics in the Audio world.
The accepted belief and going by personal experience, one that tends to ring true is that Marantz makes warm sounding amps, Denon neutral and Cambridge is typically bright. Of course, in a perfect world, neutral would be the way to go as anything else colors the sound, but we do not live in a perfect world and speaker manufacturers test and tune their speakers with a multitude of amps and typically aim for some middle ground.
Hence, if you have bright speakers, you do not want to pair them with a bright amp or often, even a neutral amp.
Most hi-fi speakers on the market today are quite sensitive, detailed and while impressive for HT use, will fatigue the ears during music listening sessions where one is playing treble rich, sibilant heavy and or poorly recorded music.
Why is Marantz called a musical receiver? Because it's warmer and won't rape your ears when using bright speakers. It's all about proper pairing in this case.