Marantz AV10 AV Processor Review

[yodog]

Can the AV10 perform exceptionally well in 2 channel with high end 2 channel power apps/speakers?

I’m kind of confused, if using the av10 in 2 channel stereo music listening mode, what DAC chip does it go through? Would it of benefit to have a topping e70 velvet in the chain?

 

[dlaloum]

Can the AV10 perform exceptionally well in 2 channel with high end 2 channel power apps/speakers?

I’m kind of confused, if using the av10 in 2 channel stereo music listening mode, what DAC chip does it go through? Would it of benefit to have a topping e70 velvet in the chain?

See the review at Audioholics...

Marantz AV 10 15.4CH 8K AV Processor Bench Test Results

The Marantz AV 10 15.4CH 8K AV Processor produced excellent bench test results. This $7K AVP has bass management features no other competitor has at this price. We thoroughly test to show you how it works.

www.audioholics.com

Yes it performs exceptionally well in stereo...

The most important benefit a device like the AV10 brings to the table, is the Room EQ/Treatment provided by Dirac - this has a more substantial impact on sound quality, than the DACs or Amps...
For it to process the sound with Dirac, it requires a Digital signal - if you use an external DAC and feed it with analogue, the AV10 will pass it through its own ADC, convert it to digital, before processing it and putting it out its own DAC. - This is 2 additional processing steps, with associated sound degradation along the way (whether those steps are above the audibility threshold is a different question!)

Best results are therefore achieved via feeding the AV10 directly from your source, and letting it do the DAC work alongside it doing the room processing.

 

[yodog]

See the review at Audioholics...

Marantz AV 10 15.4CH 8K AV Processor Bench Test Results

The Marantz AV 10 15.4CH 8K AV Processor produced excellent bench test results. This $7K AVP has bass management features no other competitor has at this price. We thoroughly test to show you how it works.

www.audioholics.com

Yes it performs exceptionally well in stereo...

The most important benefit a device like the AV10 brings to the table, is the Room EQ/Treatment provided by Dirac - this has a more substantial impact on sound quality, than the DACs or Amps...
For it to process the sound with Dirac, it requires a Digital signal - if you use an external DAC and feed it with analogue, the AV10 will pass it through its own ADC, convert it to digital, before processing it and putting it out its own DAC. - This is 2 additional processing steps, with associated sound degradation along the way (whether those steps are above the audibility threshold is a different question!)

Best results are therefore achieved via feeding the AV10 directly from your source, and letting it do the DAC work alongside it doing the room processing.

Good to know, thank you. I’ll be purchasing the AV10 tomorrow, it will pair with a Rotel michi s5 power amp. I need to now think about (plan?) getting a matching center channel speaker.

Do you know what DAC chip the av10 uses? I watched the audioholics video review and it mentioned it but I didn’t recognize it and it sounded a bit confusing. From the video review i interpreted it as saying it uses some 2 channel DAC chip per channel? Or something? I dunno, I thought it would use like akm4497 or akm4499 or something but I guess it uses something else I’ve never heard of. Just wonder if that DAC chip has a good reputation of sounding good or not…

 

[dlaloum]

Good to know, thank you. I’ll be purchasing the AV10 tomorrow, it will pair with a Rotel michi s5 power amp. I need to now think about (plan?) getting a matching center channel speaker.

Do you know what DAC chip the av10 uses? I watched the audioholics video review and it mentioned it but I didn’t recognize it and it sounded a bit confusing. From the video review i interpreted it as saying it uses some 2 channel DAC chip per channel? Or something? I dunno, I thought it would use like akm4497 or akm4499 or something but I guess it uses something else I’ve never heard of. Just wonder if that DAC chip has a good reputation of sounding good or not…

I believe it uses ESS 9018 chips.

However the performance as measured on here by AmirM and on Audioholics by Gene, are excellent - and that is the purpose isn't it!

 

[Vacceo]

Good to know, thank you. I’ll be purchasing the AV10 tomorrow, it will pair with a Rotel michi s5 power amp. I need to now think about (plan?) getting a matching center channel speaker.

Do you know what DAC chip the av10 uses? I watched the audioholics video review and it mentioned it but I didn’t recognize it and it sounded a bit confusing. From the video review i interpreted it as saying it uses some 2 channel DAC chip per channel? Or something? I dunno, I thought it would use like akm4497 or akm4499 or something but I guess it uses something else I’ve never heard of. Just wonder if that DAC chip has a good reputation of sounding good or not…

At 107 db SINAD, I'd say that It matters little if it's AKM, ESS or from Mars: that is an incredibly clean signal.

 

[peng]

Can the AV10 perform exceptionally well in 2 channel with high end 2 channel power apps/speakers?

I’m kind of confused, if using the av10 in 2 channel stereo music listening mode, what DAC chip does it go through? Would it of benefit to have a topping e70 velvet in the chain?

As mentioned, it has the ES9018K2M (K2M is the low power version). All of ESS Sabre's 90X8 series are their "reference" class, and whether is the 08, 18, 28, or 38, 39, SINAD will be in the >120 dB range so in theory that DAC IC won't be the bottleneck even if you compare it with those used in the well measured desktop dacs such as Topping's. So, short answer is "no", not in terms of sound quality. In fact, according to D+M, even the Cinema 30, and presumably the AVR-X6800H, managed 107 dB SINAD and they have the non reference class ESS dac, namely the brand new model ES9017.

 

[yodog]

Im purchasing the av10 tomorrow morning, thanks to this thread! The authorized reseller I’m purchasing from has sold out of them and I’m getting the one whose shipment arrives tomorrow. Guess they are popular, despite the high price tag!

 

[dlaloum]

Im purchasing the av10 tomorrow morning, thanks to this thread! The authorized reseller I’m purchasing from has sold out of them and I’m getting the one whose shipment arrives tomorrow. Guess they are popular, despite the high price tag!

It's an excellent box.... there have been no negatives raised... nothing but praise - except for the price.

 

[Vacceo]

It's an excellent box.... there have been no negatives raised... nothing but praise - except for the price.

Perhaps the problem is not so much the price, but the lack of equally performing devices with a more-contained channel count or gives away FM.

 

[EWL5]

Perhaps the problem is not so much the price, but the lack of equally performing devices with a more-contained channel count or gives away FM.

This will always be an issue for "reach for the stratosphere"-type products!

 

[Vacceo]

And considering the performance, it's not that bad in comparison. McIntosh sells stuff with a lot less features for far more. North of that AVP, you have Trinov or Storm Audio...

Not that I can afford any of that, including the AV10, but considering the landscape...

 

[dlaloum]

Perhaps the problem is not so much the price, but the lack of equally performing devices with a more-contained channel count or gives away FM.

The Onkyo/Integra/Pioneer flagships provide similar performance with greater value... (AVR rather than AVP, but still...)

 

[Vacceo]

The Onkyo/Integra/Pioneer flagships provide similar performance with greater value... (AVR rather than AVP, but still...)

Depends on the features you want. In general terms, I agree; but there are people who want 4 subwoofers.

 

[dlaloum]

Depends on the features you want. In general terms, I agree; but there are people who want 4 subwoofers.

Yep... the real competitor would be the as yet unreleased Onkyo/Integra RZ90 (in both AVR and AVP versions...)

 

[Newman]

Are you saying they have announced a forthcoming RZ90 in AVR and AVP? Or just a rumour?

 

[dlaloum]

Are you saying they have announced RZ90 in AVR and AVP? Or just a rumour?

They never announced it, however it appeared on a WiFi certification listing, and on the DTS-PlayFi certification list, and during one US convention, the Voxx management mentioned that they had "the model up from the RZ70" in their auditorium for testing, which the Japanese engineers had brought down from Japan just prior to the convention.

So the prototypes exist, have been tested and certified, but never announced/launched. - and the faithful still await the arrival....

 

[welwynnick]

The Onkyo/Integra/Pioneer flagships provide similar performance with greater value... (AVR rather than AVP, but still...)

I've been wondering about that.
On the one hand the better receivers have similar price, features and performance to the processors.
On the other hand, receivers often only achieve their best performance when their power amps are turned off.

 

[Shimrra Jamaane]

At this price point only Marantz/Dennon have 4 independent sub outs which is annoying.

 

[quattro98]

At this price point only Marantz/Dennon have 4 independent sub outs which is annoying.

It's great if the alternative is that no product offers 4 sub outs at this price point.

 

[peng]

I agree that 4 sub outs >2 sub outs, but that resulted in another frustration for people who would like to have the options to pay less for AVPs/AVRs that are limited 5.2 through 7.2 that probably are enough for most hobbyists. As it is now, D+M mid range AVRs come with 11.4 processing so they have to pay for the additional hardware and potentially associated licensing costs for things they will most likely never used or benefit from it. Onkyo has the RZ50, 7100 and equivalent Pioneer's to fill the gap, but they over did it by providing 2 sub outs that are connected to the same output, effectively just a .1.