Marantz Cinema 40 AVR Review

[betonven]

I can almost guarantee you (would put my engineer's stamp on it lol...) that you will still be fine though if everything gets to turn on at the same time, it could trip your breaker once in the blue moon when the instantaneous current might reach a huge value (many times, like >20 times or much higher of the rated 15 A). That sort of condition could happen but very unlikely.

I prefer to use dedicated circuit for the mid, especially upper mid (your Marantz) and flagship level such as the TX-NR5010 (if yours the little 2ch M-5010 then no problem), but that's mainly because I like to follow best practices.


Those labels are only useful for comparing units within the same brand/model lines, because different manufacturers may follow different rules/standards/best practices etc., or even just their own.

Denon and Marantz follow some sort of existing standard and the best write-up I could find is one published by Gene of Audioholics.com and I have posted it a couple time before, sooner of later I need to book mark that great article for D+M users, so I don't have to search for it every time I want to post it for them.

Since you have the Marantz, you really should read it:

Receiver Power Consumption Rating vs Output Power Is Not Watt You Think!

Ever wonder how your favorite manufacturer rates power consumption on their AV receivers and how it relates to maximum available output power to your speakers? The answer may surprise you so read on.

www.audioholics.com

Especially the following section:



The sad thing about the internet/forums is that no matter how many times I post, you re-post such informative articles, people would keep on telling the internet that such and such manufacturers (could be D,M,S (Sony), Y(Yamaha), O/I/P (Onkyo, Pioneer, Integra) power outputs are BS because the power consumptions are so low based on the back labels. Those people, who really don't have enough knowledge to spread such incorrect info but they do that all the time, you wonder why we have so much fake news, misconception, hearsay, oh yeah including the so called Marantz musical/warm sound (no offence, really, happy for you that you believe you heard that), I just feel like venting a little in case I am not alone of this lol........

So, again enjoy you really nice looking and so well build Cinema 40, one of these days I may even trade in my so called separates for the Cinema 30 when I am ready to downsize, by shedding weight and got rid the cabling spaghetti and multiple big and heavy boxes that I have to carefully vacuum a few times a year.

One box, plug into one 15 or 20 amp outlet is getting tempting by the day, as someone's getting older by the day.

In fact, that’s the exact article that I read and alarmed me, as it stated that under (not normal of course) cases this consumption could rise to almost double than labeled. Anyway, thanks for the reassurance, I will still get that separate 20A circuit but it’s going to be a mega-project to get it to the living room, so I’m still trying to find the best way to do it.

Yes, I’m talking about the small 2-ch Onkyo, but later on I’m dreaming of a competent 5-ch (Rotel 1555 maybe?) to comfortably drive a 5-ch bed later at 4Ω (dreaming between KEF R-series or Sonus Faber) and leave the Marantz to just handle the 4 Αtmos.

About the Marantz sound, I don’t know what this is exactly (I’ve been a Denon user for the past 20 years), but these two were indeed different in a blind test. Personally, I did like the Marantz more, someone else could prefer the Denon. Maybe what sounded to me more natural and less processed is in fact some sort of smoothing to get rid of digital noise (so probably not a good thing), but on the other hand, this is what we do for pleasure, so more pleasing is the way to go.

 

[peng]

In fact, that’s the exact article that I read and alarmed me, as it stated that under (not normal of course) cases this consumption could rise to almost double than labeled. Anyway, thanks for the reassurance, I will still get that separate 20A circuit but it’s going to be a mega-project to get it to the living room, so I’m still trying to find the best way to do it.

Yes, I’m talking about the small 2-ch Onkyo, but later on I’m dreaming of a competent 5-ch (Rotel 1555 maybe?) to comfortably drive a 5-ch bed later at 4Ω (dreaming between KEF R-series or Sonus Faber) and leave the Marantz to just handle the 4 Αtmos.

About the Marantz sound, I don’t know what this is exactly (I’ve been a Denon user for the past 20 years), but these two were indeed different in a blind test. Personally, I did like the Marantz more, someone else could prefer the Denon. Maybe what sounded to me more natural and less processed is in fact some sort of smoothing to get rid of digital noise (so probably not a good thing), but on the other hand, this is what we do for pleasure, so more pleasing is the way to go.

For clarity, when we consider the maximum, understand that we have to consider the duration as well.

For example, 15 A breakers and wires in homes have to endure >100 A, on regular basis, even >1,000 A on rare occasions, but they are designed for such overcurrent on short to extremely short (such as micro seconds) durations so not an issue. Gene was just using examples to emphasize the important point that the back panel labels are often misunderstood to mean something else.

 

[Descartes]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Marantz Cinema 40 9.4 channel AV Receiver (AVR). It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $3,500.
View attachment 335356
As is typical in this class, you get a very large box. At least the look is unique and to my liking. The port hole display while limiting fits in the style.

Back panel as usual has hundreds of connections:
View attachment 335357

While I liked the remote on Marantz AV 10 I reviewed recently, in this instance had rather sticking and hard to use 4-way arrow buttons. I updated the unit to latest firmware and performed a factory reset for testing.

Marantz Cinema 40 DAC Measurements
I set the pre-outs to be only that (not driving speakers) and tested the left front and right front channels using HDMI input:
View attachment 335358
Usually I don't see a difference in "Pure Direct" mode here but as noted, we earned 2 dB for turning off some subsystems in the receiver. We gained more though by using Toslink:
View attachment 335359
Giving the benefit of doubt and going with this value of SINAD (ratio of noise+distortion), we get a reasonable ranking for an AV product:
View attachment 335360

Above is at volume level of 82.5 which on all Denon/Marantz products generates nominal 2 volts out. We can test at other levels first by sweeping the digital input level:
View attachment 335363

As you see, we already have the optimal output at 2 volts/volume of 82.5. As you crank up the volume, noise level increases so performance drops (green). You do get more output though if you need that at the expense of distortion. At 3.6 volt though, the preamp clips so best to not go above that.

We can alternatively keep the input at full digital level but crank up the volume 30 dB starting at volume level 58 dB going up to 88 dB:
View attachment 335364

I have put a cursor at 2 volt/82.5 volume level. All the way on the left is volume level of 58 dB which has a SINAD of 84.5 (13 dB loss relative to 2 volts out).

Would have been nice to land in green though. Form here on, I used Toslink unless noted otherwise. Noise performance is good for AV class:
View attachment 335361

IMD is not great as DACs are concerned but in the context of AV products, we bend the rules and call it good:
View attachment 335362

Multitone response is where the rest of the measurements are:
View attachment 335365

50 Hz response is the same.
View attachment 335368

AV products tend to generate suboptimal linearity but results are fairly good for the class:
View attachment 335369

We have a pronounced jitter source at 6 kHz that gets worse with HDMI:
View attachment 335370

I am relieved that Marantz now has a proper filter but its attenuation needs to be improved:
View attachment 335371

Frequency response is flat which we didn't have in previous generations:
View attachment 335372

The less than ideal filter impacts wideband THD+N measurements:
View attachment 335373

We can see that clearly by performing a wideband spectrum analysis of 1 kHz:
View attachment 335374

The tall spikes are the reason the previous graph looks so poor. Fortunately they are not audible.

Marantz Cinema 40 Amplifier Measurements
Let's start with the same Toslink input and see what we get at 5 watts:
View attachment 335375
That is decent performance which improves a bit with analog input:
View attachment 335376

Average for all amplifiers tested is in low 80s so the Cinema 40 is doing good here:
View attachment 335377

And oh, no warm up issues as we saw in Cinema 70s AVR review:
View attachment 335378

Noise performance is very good:
View attachment 335379

Frequency response is wide and unimpeded with analog input:
View attachment 335380

Crosstalk is disappointing:
View attachment 335381

Same for 19 and 20 kHz tones:
View attachment 335382

That's because distortion sharply rises at high frequencies:
View attachment 335383

Which we can confirm in our power vs frequency sweeps:
View attachment 335384

We do have good bit of power with overall good performance:
View attachment 335385
Some kind of feedback loop is keeping distortion constant but allows it to rise early in the sweep.
View attachment 335386

We naturally have some headroom as the power supply has to feed more than the two channels we test:
View attachment 335387

Marantz Cinema 40 Reactive Load Testing
For desert, we have some stress testing by varying the phase from -60 to +60 with resistance of 8 down to 2 ohm:
View attachment 335388
Ideal amp would keep its output voltage constant no matter what the load. Here we some drooping but good robustness, handling down to 2 ohm even though it is rated at 6 ohm! Even though voltage drops as impedance decreases, we still pump out a lot of power:
View attachment 335389

I should note that the amplifier never shut down even though it was pushed hard and into clipping. Very happy about that!

Conclusions
Our suite measurements show some progress toward a more uniform and performant AV product, far outperforming previous generation AV products from Marantz. Other than the weak attenuation of the filter, there are no major holes. I like to see the company attempt to climb up one step in total performance as to not make me stress over whether recommending it or not!

I am going to recommend the Marantz Cinema 40 AVR. It is expensive but delivers good enough performance.

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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

Hope the Cinema 30 measures better than the 40! Will you be reviewing it soon?

 

[peng]

Hope the Cinema 30 measures better than the 40! Will you be reviewing it soon?

I thought you already have the AVM90, are you looking to Marantz for your next AVR or AVP?

 

[Descartes]

I thought you already have the AVM90, are you looking to Marantz for your next AVR or AVP?

Marantz has Auro3D up mixer and now Sony 360 which I find really useful!

 

[CCCC]

I tried Auro 3D upmixer on the cinema 30 and I do not find it better than Dolby Surround. In fact I do not like it. Maybe it is because I have just 2 ceiling speakers

 

[Palmspar]

I have the cinema 40 since 5 days i like it a lot its a nice avr, and has a high end look and feel.
The review from Amirm between the denon 4800 and the marantz c40 helps with one to choose.
Use it with Arendal speakers in 5.2.2 atmos setup.
In the app only under 500hz correction and midrange compensation off.

 

[Junkru11]

Hi. I id the Adyssey One thing. And i put it to preset2. Preset 1 is my own. And its good. I have listeing it 3 days now and i like it.

 

[Vacceo]

I have the cinema 40 since 5 days i like it a lot its a nice avr, and has a high end look and feel.
The review from Amirm between the denon 4800 and the marantz c40 helps with one to choose.
Use it with Arendal speakers in 5.2.2 atmos setup.
In the app only under 500hz correction and midrange compensation off.

Asking out of pure curiosity: how far are your speakers from your listening position and what is the average spl of your system?

Arendals are nominally 4 ohm, hence the curiosity.

 

[ban25]

Marantz has Auro3D up mixer and now Sony 360 which I find really useful!

They can decode 360RA (MPEG-H), which is not the same thing as 360 SSM (which appears to be quite broken based on reports at AVS). There's almost no content available in 360RA, maybe a couple songs on Tidal.

 

[Palmspar]

Asking out of pure curiosity: how far are your speakers from your listening position and what is the average spl of your system?

Arendals are nominally 4 ohm, hence the curiosity.

The speakers are max 3 meters away, i listen mostly between -20 and -28db.
Arendal 1961 monitors kan play above 100db@3 meters with a normal avr without distortion.
In the review from the cinema 40 its almost 2 ohm stable, but with normal listening levels you will never have problems with 4 ohm speakers.
The subwoofers are sealed 12 inch scan-speak/peerless drivers

 

[Vacceo]

The speakers are max 3 meters away, i listen mostly between -20 and -28db.
Arendal 1961 monitors kan play above 100db@3 meters with a normal avr without distortion.
In the review from the cinema 40 its almost 2 ohm stable, but with normal listening levels you will never have problems with 4 ohm speakers.
The subwoofers are sealed 12 inch scan-speak/peerless drivers

Have you tried playing content with several channels active in a continuos way?

Again, this is not "normal use", and it's are that seven (or more) speakers are active at the same time. From your previous words I can imagine you have had no issues so far, but I'd rather ask.

 

[Palmspar]

Have you tried playing content with several channels active in a continuos way?

Again, this is not "normal use", and it's are that seven (or more) speakers are active at the same time. From your previous words I can imagine you have had no issues so far, but I'd rather ask.

I watch films where 7 speakers are in use, but on my listening levels i need no more then 15 watt for al 7 speakers or so.
Sub crossover @80hz for al speakers, subs need the most power but have their one amps.

 

[Descartes]

They can decode 360RA (MPEG-H), which is not the same thing as 360 SSM (which appears to be quite broken based on reports at AVS). There's almost no content available in 360RA, maybe a couple songs on Tidal.

I thought you could upscale to 360 and that it was just an algorithm!

 

[sask15]

Anyone compare the Cinema 40 directly to the Cinema 30? I have the Cinema 40 with a Rotel RMB-1555 for the center and surrounds and a Rotel RB-1582 MkII for the fronts. Speakers are Monitor audio gold 100 5g and C250 center. Just wondering if anyone has had the 40 and upgraded to the 30 and actually heard an improvement. It’s
been on my mind whether it would be worth upgrading. Like if you could flip a switch back and forth if you would hear any difference whatsoever. I guess I might have to order a 30 to try it.

 

[Chrispy]

Anyone compare the Cinema 40 directly to the Cinema 30? I have the Cinema 40 with a Rotel RMB-1555 for the center and surrounds and a Rotel RB-1582 MkII for the fronts. Speakers are Monitor audio gold 100 5g and C250 center. Just wondering if anyone has had the 40 and upgraded to the 30 and actually heard an improvement. It’s
been on my mind whether it would be worth upgrading. Like if you could flip a switch back and forth if you would hear any difference whatsoever. I guess I might have to order a 30 to try it.

I'd just consider feature/dsp differences rather than some sort of inherent hardware sq difference. I'd use zkelectronics.com to get the specific feature differences between models. I certainly wouldn't change avr just on the premise there is some sort of sq difference....

 

[Willems]

I have this AVR and I would like to use a Power Amplifier for my 2 main channels. Which gain setting should be used for the pre-outs of this receiver? Do I understand it right that at 0 db the pre-amp outputs 2 volts, and continues to 3,6 volts before clipping?

Will this work with the Nilai500 Stereo 2 x 250 which has 21,75db in medium gain or 27,8 in high gain, or do I need to find a power amp which has more settings?

 

[peng]

I have this AVR and I would like to use a Power Amplifier for my 2 main channels. Which gain setting should be used for the pre-outs of this receiver? Do I understand it right that at 0 db the pre-amp outputs 2 volts, and continues to 3,6 volts before clipping?

To be clear, Amir use the absolute scale, that was 82.5 dB on the volume setting, or about +2.5 in the relative scale. Also, that's under the test condition when the digital input signal was at 0 dBFS. For real world use, the pre out voltage obviously depends on the input signal voltage that is content dependent and will vary greatly continuously unless the content you play is a steady test tone.

Will this work with the Nilai500 Stereo 2 x 250 which has 21,75db in medium gain or 27,8 in high gain, or do I need to find a power amp which has more settings?

It will work with either gain setting, but if you want enough voltage to drive that amp to it's rated 250 W 8 ohms, or 500 W 4 ohms, then you need about 1.82 Vrms, if you set the gain to 21.75 dB, you will need about 3.66 Vrms.

The fact is, using the medium gain setting means the power amp will do better in terms of lower noise, but if you use the high gain setting, then the preamp will do better in terms of noise and distortions. I would suggest you find out what you actual power amp output voltage/current need is for your application. If you only need to power amp to out at level far below it's rated output then use the medium gain setting would get you the best results on paper. In terms of audible performance difference, I believe there will be none as I don't believe we humans are able to discern the differences between things like 90 dB and 100 dB SINAD, but many people do.

 

[IamJF]

I also don't care too much about 90 or 100dB SINAD - but I care about noise. Depending on your room/speaker/distance 6dB differenc in noise can be plenty.
So I would suggest to start with the medium setting and only switch to high when it's needed.

 

[peng]

I also don't care too much about 90 or 100dB SINAD - but I care about noise. Depending on your room/speaker/distance 6dB differenc in noise can be plenty.
So I would suggest to start with the medium setting and only switch to high when it's needed.

Me too, but SINAD already include the noise part, and -90 dB of noise won't likely be an issue for most people who likely have ambient room noise higher than 20-30 dB so I do believe the C40's >90 dB is quite adequate.