Marantz Cinema 30

[welwynnick]

On the face of it, the 6800 might just do the trick. Only concern is the difference in Denon AVR DAC performance with power amps on and off. The X4700 degraded from 97 to 76 dB when the amps were turned on. The amps themselves are reasonable (87 dB) but only with analogue input.

Denon AVR-X4700 AVR Review (Updated)

This is a second review of the Denon AVR-X4700 AVR. It was kindly purchased by a member and drop shipped to me. It costs US $1,700 from Amazon including free shipping. I will explain the reason for the revision in a bit. For now, I will cut and paste some of the information from the first...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Shimrra Jamaane]

I watched the whole thing, so I can tell you the following:

It measured better than the AV10's balanced out, in par with AV10's unbalanced output, i.e. 107 dB.

That's why they said in that video, if you only need 11, or 13 channel with ext. amp, the C30 may be perfect.

No SINAD has been shown for the X6800H, but given that the preamp/dac is the same less the HDAMs, I will bet SINAD will be about the same for both.

Honestly it might be worth it as a 13 channel preamp as long as you don't want/need balanced connections.

 

[pkgriffith814]

That's a fantastic deal if in perfect condttion that someone returns, so you are going to use it as prepro and buy the dlbc license? It is worth it, imo.

So got the A1H hooked up and Dirac with DLBC done last night. Haven't watched a movie yet (the NCAA games last night sounded great with sound everywhere) but I did some listening at lunch in pure direct from my SMSL M400 Dac with my subs using the speaker signal to get the below 60hz info and it seems a bit more dynamic and midrange seems a little more open compared to my Anthem AVM70.

The unit, while refurbished from accessories4less, was in perfect condition. Tested all the channels before moving the fronts to my Anthem MCA 325 amp. So far, it’s great and I’m normally a little hesitant with Denon as I’ve owned a couple of their receivers and they’be always sounded somewhat flat to me in direct mode. Not this one.

 

[Shimrra Jamaane]

How loud do the fans on the A1H get?

 

[pkgriffith814]

I was responding to an earlier conversation when I was looking at the Cinema 30 and decided on the A1H because the price was cheaper than the Cinema 30.

How loud do the fans on the A1H get?

Haven't heard them at all. Not using the fronts (pre-amp only) and I have an AC Infinity sitting on top so it should stay fairly cool. I will give it a workout later today once I'm done with work and see if they come on.

 

[CCCC]

 

[CCCC]

For those who say that Cinema 30 and Denon 6800 are the same and Marantz is stealing money from fools

 

[peng]

For those who say that Cinema 30 and Denon 6800 are the same and Marantz is stealing money from foolsView attachment 358693

I don't know why this sort of talks seem to get repeated a lot. As far as I know, at least on ASR, no one has ever than the two are the same. The above pictures have been posed multiple times, along with a reasonably detailed comparison tables so we all should know the two are no the same.

It is a fact that some boards, parts, even circuitry are shared between the two platforms but that does not equate to "same", far from it. For those who intend to use such AVRs as AVPs, then yes, they are more of same than different, except the obviously proprietary stuff such as HDAMs vs no HDAMs, DDSC, AL32 etc..

 

[thezoneC30]

Any proud owners want to share their subjective opinions? I am waiting to read or see reviews but so far nothing!

Yes! C30 arrived and set up yesterday!

Really happy with the sound and ease of use, very versatile UI. I'm using it in pre-amp mode feeding a 3ch Purifi and 6ch Hypex external amps and 2 x subs. I am coming from an Emotiva XMC-2 and its nice to have a unit that, well just works first and foremost : ). But to be fair, the Emo has a great sound but I think the C30 is superior, I'll get to that in a minute.

I also tried the Audyssey that came in the box but it just sucked the life out of the sound especially in the bass, so I disabled Audyssey.

I've mostly been running it in pure direct mode listening to 2ch audio through a pair of Dynaudio Contour floor standers. I have also toggled the DAC filters back and forth and I really like the sound of both. They are a little different, but I don't mind that. I believe that Filter 1 "Marantz Sound" is rolling off an upper mid-range frequency a little which gives it a slightly warmer sound, although that's my opinion of course, with the Filter 2 "Benchtest" is a little flatter.

I like both better than the Emo, not just because the Emo is full of bugs, but I really like the detail and slickness the marantz produces, especially in the cymbals and high vocal area, its actually quite refreshing and tbh it actually allows the low-mid mid-range to open up more which gives it a more depth and soundstage. Whereas the XMC-2 sounded more brash and brittle in this area and a bit fatiguing after a while. I don't even care if the C30 is adding some sort of "marantz" coloring to the sound, its great.

 

[peng]

Yes! C30 arrived and set up yesterday!

Really happy with the sound and ease of use, very versatile UI. I'm using it in pre-amp mode feeding a 3ch Purifi and 6ch Hypex external amps and 2 x subs. I am coming from an Emotiva XMC-2 and its nice to have a unit that, well just works first and foremost : ). But to be fair, the Emo has a great sound but I think the C30 is superior, I'll get to that in a minute.

I also tried the Audyssey that came in the box but it just sucked the life out of the sound especially in the bass, so I disabled Audyssey.

I've mostly been running it in pure direct mode listening to 2ch audio through a pair of Dynaudio Contour floor standers. I have also toggled the DAC filters back and forth and I really like the sound of both. They are a little different, but I don't mind that. I believe that Filter 1 "Marantz Sound" is rolling off an upper mid-range frequency a little which gives it a slightly warmer sound, although that's my opinion of course, with the Filter 2 "Benchtest" is a little flatter.

I like both better than the Emo, not just because the Emo is full of bugs, but I really like the detail and slickness the marantz produces, especially in the cymbals and high vocal area, its actually quite refreshing and tbh it actually allows the low-mid mid-range to open up more which gives it a more depth and soundstage. Whereas the XMC-2 sounded more brash and brittle in this area and a bit fatiguing after a while. I don't even care if the C30 is adding some sort of "marantz" coloring to the sound, its great.

Congrats! The C30 has two great features for people (like me) who like to try different things whether there would audible differences or not, 1) Audyssey vs Dirac Live, 2) Filter 1 vs 2. As far as the Marantz coloring, it seems that you are fine with or without, so you are immune lol...

On the technical side, this being a science leaning forum, I would have to add that in theory, there is no "coloring" to be concerned about though again, you seem okay either way, because measurements did not show scientific evidence, but it would be there because those who choose Marantz for that Marantz sound (only those, others may choose it for other reasons) will for sure hear it, for the obvious reason (hint: psychological), so that would be a good thing too. That being said, some may actually hear the difference made by filter one as there is that slight roll off, but a) they would have to have almost perfect hearing, i.e. very little loss in the high frequencies above 10 kHz, b) such difference would only apply to contents with sampling rate lower than 48 kHz and would not apply if analog inputs are used, in direct/pure direct mode.

By the way, I am sure you know that already, if you want to try, I am sure you can get the "life" out of sound back by putting something like a 5-6 dB tilt from about 200 Hz to 20 Hz using the $20 MultEQ Editor App. Many have done it and happy enough with Audyssey, without spending $200 on the Audyssey Mult EQ X app.

 

[EWL5]

Congrats! The C30 has two great features for people (like me) who like to try different things whether there would audible differences or not, 1) Audyssey vs Dirac Live, 2) Filter 1 vs 2. As far as the Marantz coloring, it seems that you are fine with or without, so you are immune lol...

On the technical side, this being a science leaning forum, I would have to add that in theory, there is no "coloring" to be concerned about though again, you seem okay either way, because measurements did not show scientific evidence, but it would be there because those who choose Marantz for that Marantz sound (only those, others may choose it for other reasons) will for sure hear it, for the obvious reason (hint: psychological), so that would be a good thing too. That being said, some may actually hear the difference made by filter one as there is that slight roll off, but a) they would have to have almost perfect hearing, i.e. very little loss in the high frequencies above 10 kHz, b) such difference would only apply to contents with sampling rate lower than 48 kHz and would not apply if analog inputs are used, in direct/pure direct mode.

By the way, I am sure you know that already, if you want to try, I am sure you can get the "life" out of sound back by putting something like a 5-6 dB tilt from about 200 Hz to 20 Hz using the $20 MultEQ Editor App. Many have done it and happy enough with Audyssey, without spending $200 on the Audyssey Mult EQ X app.

Echoing what @peng said, pay the $20 Audyssey tax, get rid of MRC, and favor the Harmon curve if you're not buying into Dirac any time soon!

 

[thezoneC30]

I forgot to mention, the inclusion of Center spread in the DSU for upmixing 2ch is absolutely superb.

 

[Whoareyou]

Have mine now for a few days, and it is superb! The level of clarity I am hearing, with Dirac, Audyssey (without any apps), or pure mode is very good.

I'm coming from a Marantz 7010, and I thought it was fine for movies, especially those which are Atmos sourced.
Problem was that I hated listening to any music on that AVR (and any other AVR I've ever owned). It couldn't compete with my external multichannel DAC.

This is not the case with the cinema 30, and it makes it a difficult decision as to whether my Exasound DAC sounds better to my ears even with music. It's a close call.
Yeah, it's all very subjective, and it very well could be coming down to differences in DSP (I use Audiolense with the DAC), matching sound levels, etc..

At this particular moment, I think that Audiolense gives the DAC based playback chain a very slight advantage over the AVR's DLBC.

My preference could change with more listening.

 

[CCCC]

I am changing next week from a Marantz SR7013 to a Cinema 30. I like a lot my current 7013, for both movies and music, but good to hear the C30 is much better in music

 

[Ze Frog]

Might be controversial, but a friend had a Sony AN-1000 I think it was and upgraded to the Marantz, personally I thought the Sony sounded better. Admittedly that could have been because of the movie's recording or such, but would be interesting to watch the same again and see. He still had the same Wharfdale surround package for both.

 

[EWL5]

Might be controversial, but a friend had a Sony AN-1000 I think it was and upgraded to the Marantz, personally I thought the Sony sounded better. Admittedly that could have been because of the movie's recording or such, but would be interesting to watch the same again and see. He still had the same Wharfdale surround package for both.

You might be comparing the room correction skill level on a Sony vs Audyssey on the Marantz. Without knowing if both were done properly, it could really be apples to oranges!

 

[Ze Frog]

You might be comparing the room correction skill level on a Sony vs Audyssey on the Marantz. Without knowing if both were done properly, it could really be apples to oranges!

Yeah, could very well be many variables. I mean the Marantz is certainly a leap in quality of build and specs. Have to admit I'm not a fan of that front design though, maybe that effected my take on it also as weird as it sounds.

Must say, I am tempted to get back into HT, it's definitely improved massively these days.

 

[Oddball]

Yeah, could very well be many variables. I mean the Marantz is certainly a leap in quality of build and specs. Have to admit I'm not a fan of that front design though, maybe that effected my take on it also as weird as it sounds.

Must say, I am tempted to get back into HT, it's definitely improved massively these days.

If you don’t have to and happy what you have, probably best to pass on it. There is so much out there to suck the life out of you if you really want to get to the bottom of it all.

 

[CCCC]

Considering that music is important… would a Cinema 40+Model 50 a better option than a Cinema 30?

 

[EWL5]

Considering that music is important… would a Cinema 40+Model 50 a better option than a Cinema 30?

For the Cinema series, the lower the number the better: Cinema 30 > 40 > 50