I quickly scanned the service manuals just now. There are many fuses, based on the info you provided, it is quite possible (cannot be sure, without troubleshooting) that the main transformer primary fuse is blown. It is 2 A fuse, the SCS2A, that you can buy from Denon (surprising it says made by Denon). I guessed unlike Denon, Marantz doesn't make parts, or at least not too much if they do.
65205003443AS Denon Fuse Sct2a from Encompass parts & accessories
encompass.com
View attachment 285442
I don't know how accessible it is, without open the case to look. Before attempting, two things need to be clear:
1) unplug the power cord, wait long enough to ensure all the capacitors have been discharged, to avoid getting shocked.
2) if you can locate the fuse (probably close to the power inlet based on the diagram), and it can be removed easily, checked it with a multimeter for continuity.
After that, you have to decide if you really want to replace it, after some careful consideration. Assuming it is in fact blown, because fuses usually are blown to protect the downstream parts/components. So, if you replace it without troubleshooting to find out if there are damaged parts, when you turned power back on, if there are in fact damaged parts, the fuse will blow again for the same reasons before, and this time it may result in new/more damages in certain downstream part, or parts.
However, if it is this fuse, then there is a good chance that there might have been nothing else damaged, and the fuse just blew after many times of the unit being power on/off many times, typically during power suge/outages and the fuse got aged/weakened/damaged by the transformer inrush currents.
So, if you are not an experienced repair person, it may be better to ask a technician to do some troubleshooting first and if no obvious damages are found, replace the fuse and see what happens, before going for a full blown troubleshooting/repair. In the latter case, you should insist on at least a not to exceed $ number so you can make an informed decision.
I have the power amps too at the time, for all 11 channels, but I switched to AVR due to limit spending at the time when the only viable alternative as the AV8805 that was listed for about $5,000, and knowing that it will not perform as good as the Denon AVRs, based on Amir's bench test results and so in doing so I saved more than $4,000 (I am in Canada). Yes, I never used the AVR's internal amps, so you are right that it is a waste. That being said, the fact that I spent $4,000 less and get better results, overall, I call it a win. Then I switched to the AVM70 because the Marantz AV10 (that I prefer) was not out yet at the time, and when it finally launched at US$7,000 list price, I thought wow, I made the right decision for switching to the AVM70, as that saved my $4,000 again!!
Waste or not, to me it is the overall results that counts, that is spend less, much less, and get more, or at least equal or close to equal value. You mentioned the heat to the pre/pro area, again, it is all engineering, if designed well, that is not an issue and at the end of the day you best bet is to see the bench test results that should reflect the effects. Having seen the measurements on ASR, it would make absolutely no sense for me to invest so much more on an Marantz AVP and get lower performance than any of those 4000 series Denon AVRs.
The AV8802A and AV8805/05A all have very decent AKM DAC, the AK4490, but after the factory fire, Marantz went with the ESS Sabre, but they picked the one that has very average specs, the ES9010K2M, so if you buy a 8805A now, you will get the ES9010K2M chip, that is same as those used in Anthem AVRs. The AVM70 uses a much better ES9038Q2M, that has specs very comparable with AK4490, the one used in the original AV8805/8805A. It is not just about the DAC chip itself, but the overall preamp/DAC implementation. Marant's overall performance as shown in the ASR bench tests just did not perform that well, while better than the Marantz AVRs, it is just not as good as any of the Denon AVRs measured on ASR in the last 3 years.
That's all about objective measurements, on the subjective side, I believe the different sound quality people claimed on forums, or reviews might have been mostly due to people not doing apples to apples comparison. It is very difficult to compare multichannel AVPs/AVRs side by side under the exact same conditions, let alone doing it in single or double blind. Based on specs and past measurements, I would say with certainty that in direct/pure direct mode, in a real apples to apples conditions, you will not be able to tell a difference between the 8805, AVM70 and their AVRs, but I am used to rely on facts and data/science... Subjectively, I am very impressed with the AVM70's sound quality, but less so with Anthem's way of doing things, it took a lot of getting used to. I also found Anthem ARC Genesis not as good as Audyssey XT32 Sub EQ Ht. For experience users, guided by REW/Umik-1 mic, I could get ARCG to perform as well as Audyssey in the bass range, but to just run it and use it, I suspect most users would end up with better bass performance with Audyssey (I posted graphs on the relevant threads).
If I were to face the same decision I had to face a few months ago, it would be tough for me to choose between the AVR-X4800H and the AVM70, or bite the bullet and go with the AV10.
, so really appreciate the references.
