Marantz Cinema 40 or AV7706

[guyp2k]

I am looking to replace a Marantz AV7705 w/ either the Cinema 40 (Preamplifier mode) or the AV7706. So, my question trying to determine the best option, would the Cinema 40 provide any advantages over the AV7706? Looking for some feedback on the best option moving forward.

Thanks

 

[ban25]

Cinema 40 hands down. The AV7706 is beyond obsolete. It has only a single HDMI 2.1 port. Comparatively speaking, the Cinema 40 has 6 HDMI 2.1 ports all at 40 Gbps. It is also upgradable to Dirac Live and, in 2024, DLBC, and maybe even DIrac ART beyond that. The AV7706 supports only Audyssey and will see no further upgrades or support.

 

[guyp2k]

Cinema 40 hands down. The AV7706 is beyond obsolete. It has only a single HDMI 2.1 port. Comparatively speaking, the Cinema 40 has 6 HDMI 2.1 ports all at 40 Gbps. It is also upgradable to Dirac Live and, in 2024, DLBC, and maybe even DIrac ART beyond that. The AV7706 supports only Audyssey and will see no further upgrades or support.

Thanks for the reply. Would I be losing anything from a preamplifier perspective leveraging the Cinema 40 i.e., the ability to drive my external amps accordingly?

 

[peng]

Thanks for the reply. Would I be losing anything from a preamplifier perspective leveraging the Cinema 40 i.e., the ability to drive my external amps accordingly?

No, but for some external amps that have relatively low gain, then the 7706 would have the advantage of having balanced outputs that give you higher voltage. The C40 can output about 4 Vrms without clipping so it is unlikely that you would have trouble finding the right power amp for it.

 

[guyp2k]

No, but for some external amps that have relatively low gain, then the 7706 would have the advantage of having balanced outputs that give you higher voltage. The C40 can output about 4 Vrms without clipping so it is unlikely that you would have trouble finding the right power amp for it.

I am going to leverage my existing 2 and 7-Channel Emotiva amps, XPA-7 Gen 3 and XPA-DR2.

Thanks

 

[Vacceo]

You also have the pure preamp, the AV 10, if you absolutely need XLR´s; but the cost is much higher.

If you´re planning on using the AVR as a preamp, not using the internal amps, you should consider both the 40 and 50, as both can be used in preamp mode thus turning off the internal amplification.

 

[guyp2k]

You also have the pure preamp, the AV 10, if you absolutely need XLR´s; but the cost is much higher.

If you´re planning on using the AVR as a preamp, not using the internal amps, you should consider both the 40 and 50, as both can be used in preamp mode thus turning off the internal amplification.

Love to have the AV10, but is out of budget unfortunately. That is my plan to use the C40 as a preamp, just wanted to make sure there are no drawbacks, specifically driving my Emotiva amps mentioned above.

Thanks

 

[peng]

I am going to leverage my existing 2 and 7-Channel Emotiva amps, XPA-7 Gen 3 and XPA-DR2.

Thanks

If I remember correctly, Emotiva power amps typically have gains >28 dB, some as high as 32 dB, again iirc.. So the C40 will do very well with those amps, that's in terms of having much higher output than is require. In terms of overall distortions level, the bottleneck will be the Emo power amps as the C40 is expected to have very low THD+N based on figures provided in the Masimo videos, most likely as good as the previous years Denon AVRs measured on ASR.