Marantz AV20 13.4 Channel AVP Discussion

[peng]

ProfP, what is the sinad of the c30?
Al

It is amazing, just listen to Gene at time mark 31 minute:

It really is a similar case, Anthem fans can save money buying the AVM70 instead of the AVM90, Marantz fans can save money buying the AV20, and the AV30, for the same audio performance (practically speaking):

 

[ryanosaur]

Warning of anticlimactic post:
AV20 is in hand and installed. Haven’t had a chance to do any calibration or listening. All I can say from basic setup is that it seems to work.

Eager for some free time!

 

[Stinga]

Thank you mate, did not realise it was that good!

 

[darth]

Some comparison (untested / marketing based) of marantz latest to emotiva's latest here @ 30min in

New Emotiva XMC-2+ and RMC-1+: What is the difference, and what do you think?

I got an answer from Emotiva to the original question here, which is what is the difference between the two units. In response to a comment I made to the Youtube video linked above: "Both units use the same core boards and have the same performance. The RMC-1+ is 1 RU taller for the expansion...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[masterhw]

Some comparison (untested / marketing based) of marantz latest to emotiva's latest here @ 30min in

New Emotiva XMC-2+ and RMC-1+: What is the difference, and what do you think?

I got an answer from Emotiva to the original question here, which is what is the difference between the two units. In response to a comment I made to the Youtube video linked above: "Both units use the same core boards and have the same performance. The RMC-1+ is 1 RU taller for the expansion...

audiosciencereview.com

XMC-2+ looks like stiff competition for the AV 20. We'll have to see how the Emotivas do on the testbench, but if they don't disappoint then it should do essentially everything the Marantz does for around $2000 less. The Marantz is certainly more pleasant on the eyes and Emotiva doesn't have the best history for stability/feature support though.
Room for both to exist.

 

[ryanosaur]

XMC-2+ looks like stiff competition for the AV 20. We'll have to see how the Emotivas do on the testbench, but if they don't disappoint then it should do essentially everything the Marantz does for around $2000 less. The Marantz is certainly more pleasant on the eyes and Emotiva doesn't have the best history for stability/feature support though.
Room for both to exist.

I think people willing to invest energy in building a relationship with an authorized Marantz Dealer may find a much more attractive price. Even just knowing folk on the various forums can make this an easy accomplishment.

Frankly, Emotiva still has many flaws I cannot look past based on previous experience almost purchasing from them.

(Along with your critique...) Coupled with Emo's track record of short product life cycles and undelivered promises, as well as unwillingness to support 'retired' product (which has been documented more than a few times), I see very little value in "saving" by ordering through them.
***I do wish this wasn't the case! But I am not impressed, nor swayed, by fanboyism. Until I see people not complaining about their purchases from Emo, however, I think it is something that all potential consumers should keep in mind.

Absolutely room for both to exist!

 

[Oddball]

Sorry for ignorance, but have not been really following Emotiva for a while. Would Emotiva support DLBC and ART?

 

[darth]

Would Emotiva support DLBC and ART?

Apparently I read they have been promising DLBC for more than year now, but no new word. And no word on ART. Safe to assume not anytime soon if at all.

 

[Oddball]

Apparently I read they have been promising DLBC for more than year now, but no new word. And no word on ART. Safe to assume not anytime soon if at all.

Thanks - yeah perhaps a reason why they need to be more price sensitive. But as noted, we should all welcome anything new in current HR environment.

 

[pogo]

Here will be new information about the AV20 tomorrow evening:

 

[franknorris12]

Warning of anticlimactic post:
AV20 is in hand and installed. Haven’t had a chance to do any calibration or listening. All I can say from basic setup is that it seems to work.

Eager for some free time!

Have you managed to get some listening time in? How does it sound compared to the AV10 and also the Denon 4700H (if you're familiar with that unit)

 

[ryanosaur]

Have you managed to get some listening time in? How does it sound compared to the AV10 and also the Denon 4700H (if you're familiar with that unit)

I can only compare it to my old sr6012.
Sadly I haven’t had any free time since running Aud… what, like a week and a half back? (The cost of my life as a freelance contractor.)

I’ve only listened to one test song, stereo. Solid performance.

In discussion with the Dealer I ordered from, the biggest improvement is in processing power. Certainly the DACs are solid and overall design is well done. He commented that he likes the mechanical layout of the AV20 over the AV10 because or is more symmetrical.

If it interests you, there is a user over at AH that just installed his AV10. He is a bit of a card but he really knows his stuff. Here is his input:

Marantz AV 10 installed: - Early Review and Impressions.

I started the installation Saturday afternoon, three and a half days ago. This was in many ways a formidable undertaking to mount this unit in a 19" rack. This unit is not specifically designed for 19" rack mounting. However third parties have rack mounts available. This is all complicated...

forums.audioholics.com

Beyond anything else, as it regards my setup, I am definitely impressed with it, even though I’ve not had a chance to sit and listen.

 

[Vacceo]

XMC-2+ looks like stiff competition for the AV 20. We'll have to see how the Emotivas do on the testbench, but if they don't disappoint then it should do essentially everything the Marantz does for around $2000 less. The Marantz is certainly more pleasant on the eyes and Emotiva doesn't have the best history for stability/feature support though.
Room for both to exist.

Emotiva hardly goes out of the American market. While I have seen some distributors over here, Marantz and Denon are a lot easier to get in Europe.

 

[franknorris12]

I can only compare it to my old sr6012.
Sadly I haven’t had any free time since running Aud… what, like a week and a half back? (The cost of my life as a freelance contractor.)

I’ve only listened to one test song, stereo. Solid performance.

In discussion with the Dealer I ordered from, the biggest improvement is in processing power. Certainly the DACs are solid and overall design is well done. He commented that he likes the mechanical layout of the AV20 over the AV10 because or is more symmetrical.

If it interests you, there is a user over at AH that just installed his AV10. He is a bit of a card but he really knows his stuff. Here is his input:

Marantz AV 10 installed: - Early Review and Impressions.

I started the installation Saturday afternoon, three and a half days ago. This was in many ways a formidable undertaking to mount this unit in a 19" rack. This unit is not specifically designed for 19" rack mounting. However third parties have rack mounts available. This is all complicated...

forums.audioholics.com

Beyond anything else, as it regards my setup, I am definitely impressed with it, even though I’ve not had a chance to sit and listen.

Many thanks for this. Hopefully you're able to get some more hands on time with it soon.

Does it have that typical Denon/Marantz smell that takes a few weeks of solid use to disappear?

 

[ryanosaur]

Many thanks for this. Hopefully you're able to get some more hands on time with it soon.

Does it have that typical Denon/Marantz smell that takes a few weeks of solid use to disappear?

I didn’t notice any smell when I was running Aud. But it also didn’t read above 85° at the AC Infinty on top (fans off). My old 6012 would push 115°. That’s a huge difference and if the engineers finally figured out how to keep the units cooler, it’s a big step forward.

 

[ryanosaur]

Many thanks for this. Hopefully you're able to get some more hands on time with it soon.

Does it have that typical Denon/Marantz smell that takes a few weeks of solid use to disappear?

FWIW, sat down with the new Pink Floyd At Pompeii on Blu-ray. Again, I can’t really compare it to much else than my previous Marantz. All there is to say, as I’m not much for the flowery nonsense you get with most reviews, is that the AV20 did not seem an impediment in any way as it would regard AV reproduction.
Also ran my old Dead Presidents CDs through the Blu-ray player.
Ah, I missed that old Funk and Soul.
Same comment though, music reproduction certainly came across clean and true. Nothing felt altered to my ears.

Hopefully I can get some more time soon, but I don’t expect anything to change really. More than anything, I need to dig into the nitty gritty of setup details and make certain I’m getting every last drop of performance I can.

If one were to ask me about whether to buy the 10 or the 20, I think the most notable point would be whether you need 15 channels or not. As best I can tell, there isn’t much else to set them apart in terms of what really matters.

 

[dlaloum]

There is a user rave review out on the Audioholics forum.... it seems the AV20 decoder/upmixer Atmos software is much improved.

Which does lead me to ask, whether some of the subjective improvements noted by users , may not be due to additional DSP power, or improved RoomEQ software, but much more basicaly, down to improvements at the base software level with the Dolby (and perhaps DTS?) software?

If that is the case - these software improvements are harder to identify, as generally we don't get much information as to which version of the Dolby/DTS software a specific AVR/AVP is running.

Will we see firmware updates to other models to update base Dolby/DTS software? Or will it be limited to new hardware releases?

 

[peng]

There is a user rave review out on the Audioholics forum.... it seems the AV20 decoder/upmixer Atmos software is much improved.

Which does lead me to ask, whether some of the subjective improvements noted by users , may not be due to additional DSP power, or improved RoomEQ software, but much more basicaly, down to improvements at the base software level with the Dolby (and perhaps DTS?) software?

If that is the case - these software improvements are harder to identify, as generally we don't get much information as to which version of the Dolby/DTS software a specific AVR/AVP is running.

Will we see firmware updates to other models to update base Dolby/DTS software? Or will it be limited to new hardware releases?

I don't take any of those subjective measurements seriously. Not in the case of AV10 vs AV20 anyway, for the obvious reasons.

 

[franknorris12]

There is a user rave review out on the Audioholics forum.... it seems the AV20 decoder/upmixer Atmos software is much improved.

Which does lead me to ask, whether some of the subjective improvements noted by users , may not be due to additional DSP power, or improved RoomEQ software, but much more basicaly, down to improvements at the base software level with the Dolby (and perhaps DTS?) software?

If that is the case - these software improvements are harder to identify, as generally we don't get much information as to which version of the Dolby/DTS software a specific AVR/AVP is running.

Will we see firmware updates to other models to update base Dolby/DTS software? Or will it be limited to new hardware releases?

I couldn't find this review.

Separately do the AV20 and AV10 match in terms of actual sound quality? Or is the AV10 superior in actual real world listening?

 

[ryanosaur]

I couldn't find this review.

Separately do the AV20 and AV10 match in terms of actual sound quality? Or is the AV10 superior in actual real world listening?

It’s what I linked above, post #92.

No answer to your second question will be possible in true scientific terms. AV20 has same DACs, possible improved design, better processing capability… if the data is to be believed, we can expect an inaudible improvement to SINAD/distortion measurements over AV10. If the user on AH is correct, the AV10 also would seem to have a much lower noise floor than previous models… so one could reasonably surmise the AV20 way perform as well in this claim.

To be clear, I make no such direct claim. All I will say is that this operates on a different level than my old SR6012. Whatever improvements have been implemented over the last 7 years, they are significant. Not that a mid-tier AVR from 2017/18 was worthy of calling SOTA, but the AV20 I think will easily meet that definition as the AV10 already has.