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Marantz AV7705 Home Theater Processor Review

Frank Dernie

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with a 16bit digital volume control, if you listen carefully, you can actually discern the output step differences as you turn up the knob (or slide the fader up) from the lower extremities.
Do you really believe you can hear a volume increment of 1/64000?
I think it is your imagination because you think you might be able to, personally.
 

stevenswall

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Do you really believe you can hear a volume increment of 1/64000?
I think it is your imagination because you think you might be able to, personally.

Could you clarify? Does the Marantz actually have 64000 steps of volume without internally simplifying things?

Seems like the simple solution would be to give the user 10-50 steps of volume, and make the changes finer in the middle and rougher at the extremes. EX: going from volume 1-5/50 increases the volume by 20%, but going from 25-30/50 only increases the volume 5%.
Hopefully it goes up by decibels, consistently, and have ~100 volume steps if it's internally clumping things.
 
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Frank Dernie

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Could you clarify? Does the Marantz actually have 64000 steps of volume without internally simplifying things?

Seems like the simple solution would be to give the user 10-50 steps of volume, and make the changes finer in the middle and rougher at the extremes. EX: going from volume 1-5/50 increases the volume by 20%, but going from 25-30/50 only increases the volume 5%.
Hopefully it goes up by decibels, consistently, and have ~100 volume steps if it's internally clumping things.
I was replying to the person who claimed to hear volume increments using a 16-bit volume control and believing that 24-bit is needed for smooth volume change and resolution. This makes no sense at all.
No idea what the Marantz is but the increments are bound to be much, much more than 1/64000!
 

rccarguy

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Was about to purchase this over an Emotiva that costs twice as much, but this review worries me... And heck, almost all other processors seem terrible too.

Not sure if the issues are audible though... For example, does it hiss, and will I notice the lack of 16 bit resolution since to even hear the softest sound a CD can make, I'd have to blow my ears when it was playing a loud sound from what I understand.

Mostly wanted this because Audessey XT32 sounds easier to use than DIRAC, and this has XLR outputs which I'm hoping work well enough that it's okay to have modern amenities like Wifi and cellphones nearby. (Noise comes through regular RCA cables, and I'd rather get rid of XLR adaptors for my active monitors than keep buying more as I move towards surround sound.)

If I was buying a new av pre it would be anthem avm70 or monoprice htp-1
 

Sal1950

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Could you clarify? Does the Marantz actually have 64000 steps of volume without internally simplifying things?

Seems like the simple solution would be to give the user 10-50 steps of volume, and make the changes finer in the middle and rougher at the extremes. EX: going from volume 1-5/50 increases the volume by 20%, but going from 25-30/50 only increases the volume 5%.
Hopefully it goes up by decibels, consistently, and have ~100 volume steps if it's internally clumping things.
It goes by 0.5db, nothing to worry about here. You can set it to read in db's or 0-100 scale.
No, they do not hiss, and I don't believe the resolution difference to be audible.
I haven't worked with Dirac but from what I read they are about the same in hand-holding direction. At the most basic Audessey is super easy. If you want more fine control there are 2 steps you can work up thru in complexity,
I'm a fan or the 770x series, it offers a lot of features at a reasonable price and doesn't break the bank when you decide to move up.
At this point none of the pre-pro's I'm aware of offers stellar performance measurement wise but I hear nothing to bother me with my current 7703.
 

rccarguy

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It goes by 0.5db, nothing to worry about here. You can set it to read in db's or 0-100 scale.
No, they do not hiss, and I don't believe the resolution difference to be audible.
I haven't worked with Dirac but from what I read they are about the same in hand-holding direction. At the most basic Audessey is super easy. If you want more fine control there are 2 steps you can work up thru in complexity,
I'm a fan or the 770x series, it offers a lot of features at a reasonable price and doesn't break the bank when you decide to move up.
At this point none of the pre-pro's I'm aware of offers stellar performance measurement wise but I hear nothing to bother me with my current 7703.

Yeah ignoring bench tests, how good or bad it sounds the marantz av770x are best value for money. There is nothing even close, you have to spend another £1000 at least.

The new iota av pre s cheaper, however room eq is basic
 

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Yeah ignoring bench tests, how good or bad it sounds the marantz av770x are best value for money. There is nothing even close, you have to spend another £1000 at least.

The new iota av pre s cheaper, however room eq is basic

And it looks like it only has 1 subwoofer output. I think multiple subs is more important than extra channels. EX: 5.2>7.1 to me.
 

Sal1950

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And it looks like it only has 1 subwoofer output. I think multiple subs is more important than extra channels. EX: 5.2>7.1 to me.
It was to me also, that and Atmos was the main reason I stepped up from the 7701 I had before it. I'm now running a 5.2.4 config so I'm max'd out
in channels but that's all I'll ever need. No room here to ever step up to a 7 ch base config.
If you have dual subs being able to get the distance and levels correct is very important for their seamless integration.
I sold the 7701 for a price we both found fair to another ASR member and AFAIK it is still running without issue in his system.
If you go with one of the Dirac units be sure it has the latest version and the extra Bass patch in it or you may have to pay more for a upgrade.
 

Sal1950

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I wonder if the 7706 fairs any better?
I'm not real hopeful this soon, maybe another year or so 7707 ?
If Amir doesn't get one keep an eye open at Audioholics, Gene is also keeping an eye on them
 
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Hi all. Firstly, thanks Amirm for “blowing the lid” on these pre-pro’s, from which you’d expect more accuracy / cleaner outputs.

After scanning through 25 pages, I still have this question, if anyone would be so kind.


In a well-treated 6m x 4m room, I’m running a 7703, with balanced cables out to these powered speakers:

* Front LCR:
Presonus StudioLive 315Ai

* Subs x 2
Presonus Temblor T10


*Front Heights:
Presonus Sceptre S8


*Side Surrounds:
Kali IN-8


*Rear Surrounds:
KRK 10-3 G4
(Doubling as edit desk main monitors, and effectively acting as 2 rear Subs)


* Rear/Top Heights
PSB Imagine Surround S bipoles, amped with 2 x Crown XLS 1502


Is there anything anywhere near the 7703’s price-point that would honestly yield noticeably more accurate sound?

(Bearing in mind that Audyssey doesn’t seem to be getting a good wrap here, especially with the 48kHz downsampling)



Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
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Sal1950

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Is there anything anywhere near the 7703’s price-point that would honestly yield noticeably more accurate sound?
IMHO No. Bias Disclaimer, I own a 7703 :)
Honestly I don't believe there's anything on the market in the 7703, (now 7706) price point that is going to deliver any better sound. If you read Amir's review of the Audyssey DRC software you've learned that combined with the Editor app it can supply results very comparable to the other autowizard DRC's. A big part of the final results is going to depend on you and how good a job you do with it. You can then take it to the next level and do "after" measurements with REW and then go back and tweak the curve to get it even better.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/audyssey-room-eq-review.12746/
I talk about the DRC because in the big picture the final sound of you system will be more greatly influanced by the DRC than a few points of DAC SINAD or THD. None of these guys are perfect but for what you paid for your 7703 you got a lot for your money. I see nothing on the market right now that I believe would give me an audible improvement over my 7703 unless I spent a LOT more money.
 

rccarguy

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Pretty sure the app only works on newer models 04,05 and 06 not 03.

So room EQ does full range can't limit it
 

peng

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Pretty sure the app only works on newer models 04,05 and 06 not 03.

So room EQ does full range can't limit it

If the owner of the 7703 says it can use the Editor App then the 03 must be on the list!! Yes it can, it is the AV7702 and SR7010 that missed the mark.:)
 

Sal1950

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If the owner of the 7703 says it can use the Editor App then the 03 must be on the list!! Yes it can, it is the AV7702 and SR7010 that missed the mark.:)
Correct, the 7703 works with the Editor app, it was the first Marantz model to have it available. One of the main reasons I sold my 7701 and bought the 03, that and the fact it also had Atmos and Auro, though the Auro app was an extra charge download. It cost $199 but IMO it was worth it, more to use as a upsampler for stereo and 5 channel sources than anything else. Very few Auro encoded material available in the USA. Nothing really new on the software market that has tempted me to upgrade my Pre-Pro
 
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IMHO No. Bias Disclaimer, I own a 7703 :)
Honestly I don't believe there's anything on the market in the 7703, (now 7706) price point that is going to deliver any better sound. If you read Amir's review of the Audyssey DRC software you've learned that combined with the Editor app it can supply results very comparable to the other autowizard DRC's. A big part of the final results is going to depend on you and how good a job you do with it. You can then take it to the next level and do "after" measurements with REW and then go back and tweak the curve to get it even better.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/audyssey-room-eq-review.12746/
I talk about the DRC because in the big picture the final sound of you system will be more greatly influanced by the DRC than a few points of DAC SINAD or THD. None of these guys are perfect but for what you paid for your 7703 you got a lot for your money. I see nothing on the market right now that I believe would give me an audible improvement over my 7703 unless I spent a LOT more money.

Thanks Sal. I guess I was thinking of the Anthem AVM70, as it's one peg up the price scale, and the consensus seems to be that it has a clear edge over Marantz (Gene from Audioholics is a big Antthem fan). The DACs and ARC are among the supposed advantages...
On that note, is it true that Audyssey down-samples everything to 48kHz?
 

peng

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The implementations of Audyssey that are commonly available in AVRs and processors do work at 48 kHz.

Yes, but would like to add that for MRX (AVRs) users, Anthem also convert to 48 kHz, only the AVM/D converts to 96 kHz.

For analog inputs, they all convert to 48 kHz, except the AVM/D's are selectable from 44.1 to 96 kHz.
This was confirmed by Anthem during the Audioholics interview in 2014. It may be different now but I doubt it because they would have said so in their website and/or marketing material. Technically speaking there won't be anything that result in audible difference either way, and the limit to 48 kHz, according to Audyssey, was imposed by D+M and other manufacturers, not them but they also believe there would be no advantage converting to 96 kHz. Even Anthem said the following:

"The selections range from 44.1 to 96 kHz and as a side note 176.4 and 192 weren't included because all they do is capture more noise. There's no extra audio signal to be had up there from an analog input. "

That's for analog input, so I would think the same would apply to digital inputs, even more so.
 

Sal1950

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Technically speaking there won't be anything that result in audible difference either way,
Amen, that's the bottom line.
I guess I was thinking of the Anthem AVM70, as it's one peg up the price scale, and the consensus seems to be that it has a clear edge over Marantz (Gene from Audioholics is a big Antthem fan).
I respect Gene and his opinions but you do have to compare on a apples to apples level. The basic Audyssey is a somewhat dumbed down system with a wizard that makes is very easy for Joe Sixpack to click-click his way to a very reasonable correction. There are also under the hood adjustments that probably not 1 in 100 ever look into. Then there is the Editor app that takes things to a whole new level, and if you wish to combine that with a umic and REW to measure whats really going on you can take things even further.
It's your money and up to you to make the decision but if I really wanted to spend more and look at some other options I would probably be looking at a Dirac system. There are a million if, and's, or but's involved and just pointing to one or the other and saying which is best for you is near impossible. At the time I bought my 7703 it's Audyssey was the only thing on the market (under $10k) doing dual subwoofer correction and I knew the Editor app would take it to a level I'd be happy with. Even now if you run dual subs the market is limited without spending a bunch more money.
YMMV
 
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