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Marantz AV7705 Home Theater Processor Review

Dreborn

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has marantz announced an 8k update to their processors? i know they announced their recievers but hopefully a 7705 update is coming soon?
 

Dreborn

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sorry when i say 8k i mean more the updated for goodies that the 8k receivers have. none actually that valuable but always nice to have newer stuff #fomo
 

milosz

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Does 8k matter?
It would if you spent the $$$ to buy an 8K TV. (By the way you can get a 55-inch 8K Samsung QLED set now for just under $2500. You'd have to sit awful close to see the extra resolution but there are people with small rooms.... and I would consider putting that screen on a desktop and using it for a computer monitor, just think of all the spreadsheets, documents, windows, etc I could work on at the same time! Right now I use a 43 inch TCL 4K HDR TV as my "monitor" on my desktop..... I paid $220 for it.)
 

beefkabob

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It would if you spent the $$$ to buy an 8K TV. (By the way you can get a 55-inch 8K Samsung QLED set now for just under $2500. You'd have to sit awful close to see the extra resolution but there are people with small rooms.... and I would consider putting that screen on a desktop and using it for a computer monitor, just think of all the spreadsheets, documents, windows, etc I could work on at the same time! Right now I use a 43 inch TCL 4K HDR TV as my "monitor" on my desktop..... I paid $220 for it.)

I just bought a 4k 48" OLED for my desktop monitor. I'd have to get a new desk to go 8k since the smallest is 55" and that's just too big for my setup. With 4k close, I can use 100% scaling. With 8k, I'd have to use 200% for things to be usable, which would largely defeat the purpose of the monitor. Of course if there were an 8K oled 48", I'd have gone for that in a flash just because. However, I don't want to deal with backlighting. It's harder on the eyes from up close, I feel, and it's not so good with the lights out for movies.
 

Nathan Raymond

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Does 8k matter?

https://www.signiant.com/blog/see-8k-resolution-television/

"For a person with 20/20 vision, while sitting 10 feet away, one would need about a 75-inch display-diagonal for HD, 120-inch for 4K, and a whopping 280 inches for 8K to be able to distinguish the resolution!"

That aside, my first reaction to seeing 8k receivers with only one 8k input and Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC) was why in the world would you want just one 8k input on a receiver if any TV that supported 8k would have eARC? Then I read about some recent LG TVs apparently not supporting passing DTS back to the receiver through eARC, only Dolby. So I guess there is some value to a single 8k input on a receiver, to work around that problem. However, as I read further I realized these 8k Denon receivers also support a bunch of other HDMI tech I do care about, and they support it all of their HDMI inputs: Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), Quick Frame Transport (QFT), and Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM). These will matter to anyone who cares about the upcoming Sony and Microsoft gaming consoles, since those features will improve the gaming experience a lot (bringing it a lot closer to what you get gaming on a PC with a FreeSync or G-Sync monitor). So that part is good.
 

beefkabob

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I have read somewhere that the new consoles, despite not having the same horsepower, will have effectively similar capabilities to PCs. Of course having a keyboard and mouse is vital.
 

mcdull

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It would if you spent the $$$ to buy an 8K TV. (By the way you can get a 55-inch 8K Samsung QLED set now for just under $2500. You'd have to sit awful close to see the extra resolution but there are people with small rooms.... and I would consider putting that screen on a desktop and using it for a computer monitor, just think of all the spreadsheets, documents, windows, etc I could work on at the same time! Right now I use a 43 inch TCL 4K HDR TV as my "monitor" on my desktop..... I paid $220 for it.)

No, don't do it. Better to spend on 3 monitors across (at least close to or over 100% sRGB) and rather than moving your head up and down which is not ergonomic and you will have posture problem soon (and much nicer when playing driving game that supports 3 monitors)
 

beefkabob

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I already have epic posture problems. Looking up seems to reduce it.
 

dkmaier

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It seems that it would more practical and cheaper buying a mid-range AVR and adding external power amps when required.
Can the DAC in an AVR be bypassed as well so that a quality stand alone can be used?
 

Sal1950

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Can the DAC in an AVR be bypassed as well so that a quality stand alone can be used?
In this one, yes. Use your own DAC connecting it's output to the 7.1 analog inputs
 

dkmaier

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I'm trying to plan a home theater with the best sound I can afford. I'm way below the knowledge level you folks seem to have so I'm still all over the place. I have active AVI DM 10s that I'd use as front left and right until I could move them to the back. So to start I'd look for a center speaker, maybe revel f208 or jbl hdi 3800 and then,eventuall, get two more as front left and right. I could get hypex ncore 400 to power them and save the avr's power for surround sound. I'm thinking of the upcoming marantz sr8015 for it's eARC and hdmi 2.1, etc. Am I thinking on the right track? Also, I'm not in a hurry and I enjoy trying to learn about all this.
 

Sal1950

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Also, I'm not in a hurry and I enjoy trying to learn about all this.
Not sure a expensive receiver is the road I'd take. Since you already have 2 powered speakers why not go with a pre/pro like the above reviewed 7705. I use a 7703 and had a 7701 before it and I've been very pleased with both. Then Pick up 3 channels of power amps of your choice. As long as your not in a hurry I'm sure the 7705 is due for the eARC and HDMI upgrades pretty shortly.
Just my 2cents. LOL
 

beefkabob

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Not sure a expensive receiver is the road I'd take. Since you already have 2 powered speakers why not go with a pre/pro like the above reviewed 7705. I use a 7703 and had a 7701 before it and I've been very pleased with both. Then Pick up 3 channels of power amps of your choice. As long as your not in a hurry I'm sure the 7705 is due for the eARC and HDMI upgrades pretty shortly.
Just my 2cents. LOL
The denon are cheaper and have better DAC output plus an amp. They're better in, as far as I can tell, every single way.
 

Sal1950

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The denon are cheaper and have better DAC output plus an amp. They're better in, as far as I can tell, every single way.
Sure, that's fine too.
Guess I'm still too old school and like to pick my amps.
I'll probably never be a active speaker guy. LOL
 

dkmaier

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So neither of you bypass the given DAC for a stand alone upgraded one? And from what little I've learned so far, an external amp with lots of power could actually help the sound of the speakers.True? And by the way, your two cents is why I'm here.
 

Sal1950

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So neither of you bypass the given DAC for a stand alone upgraded one?
I've done that, I have a Emotiva DC-1 DAC here, an excellent DAC that produced really good numbers here. I used to keep it "at the ready" so with a quick wire switch to pure stereo, with my music server supplying the datastream via USB directly to the Emo, and the Emo as DAC/preamp to my L/R power amp. (It has volume remotely controlled) I gave up bothering as I never heard any improvement worth the hassle. And along with that, the loss of Audyssey room correction, bass subwoofer control, ablity to upsample to 5.1 multich and all the rest of the features that the 7701 & 7703 offered actually added up to a big step backwards. (IMHO) The Emo still remains in the system as an excellent stereo DAC/Headphone amp only use.
YMMV
And from what little I've learned so far, an external amp with lots of power could actually help the sound of the speakers.True?
Definitely true. One of the major failings exposed in many receivers was in the power amp sections. Some really fall on their faces. Of course many have pre-out connections but why pay for power amps you won't be using and most will still be drawing extra AC power that you'll also be paying for? Now these are just my opinions and I'm sure there are others that can well present alternative views.
But the bottom line is that I have put my money where my mouth is so I'm not talking pie in the sky BS. ;)
 

Frank Dernie

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So neither of you bypass the given DAC for a stand alone upgraded one? And from what little I've learned so far, an external amp with lots of power could actually help the sound of the speakers.True? And by the way, your two cents is why I'm here.
I used to take individual channel outputs of my Oppo 95, then 105 directly into a Parasound P7 preamp with active rear and centre channels to add to my stereo mains when wanted to play surround sound for films in my room.
First, in all my urge for purity, the front channels went directly to my stereo with just the surrounds connected to my P7 but then every volume adjustment had to be balanced between the two so I changed to route the fronts via the P7 as well into a bypass of my stereo pre.
Neither Oppo was a good tracker and I often had discs skipping or stalling which usually resulted in me abandoning watching a film in disgust.
I got a free Sony bluray player with a Sony projector but it had only HDMI output so, based on good experiences narrated here (and before any review...) I looked into a Marantz pre-pro and got a good price on the 7704.
So I now connected the Sony to the Marantz using HDMI and the Marantz feeds the surround, centre and sub direct and the mains via bypass on my main stereo.
The Oppo DAC is supposed to be better than that in the Marantz, and maybe it is on paper, but I have not been disappointed by any extra audible noise or distortion since I changed and the Sony hasn't skipped or stalled on the discs the Oppos could not play and I have Audyssey.
So, in summary I now have a reliable, easy to use system which may not have the purist cred of the hair shirt one.
I was not able to do a direct blind compare, so can't say whether they sound the same but they current system does not have anything about its sound which causes me disatisfaction (except I want to upgrade my centre channel speaker and maybe surrounds, not the 7004).
I may own a bluray where the dynamic range exceeds the capability of the DAC in the 7004 (and centre speaker) but only for the odd second or two of a 2 hour film so not worth bothering with IMO.
That is my 2 pence worth!
 

dkmaier

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If I bought a pre/pro I'd need to get power for even little speakers above me for atmos or auro. I'd have to figure that out. And are you sure that models without hdmi 2.1 and eARC will be upgraded to have those things?
 

Sal1950

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If I bought a pre/pro I'd need to get power for even little speakers above me for atmos or auro.
You just connect the pre/pro to an amp kept down by the pre/pro. Then just run the speak wires to ceiling. ;)

I'd have to figure that out. And are you sure that models without hdmi 2.1 and eARC will be upgraded to have those things?
No, I actually have no idea. You said you weren't in a hurry and I just meant for you to wait till they have what you really want. ;)
 
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