Marantz Cinema 50 AVR Review

[peng]

I tried and it didnt helped. Please see some plots in another forum.

https://www.avsforum.com/threads/the-official-marantz-cinema-series-2022-2023-av-owner-thread.3253659/post-62420014

Found some of my old REW plots, this one shows the effects of different crossovers for the FL and FR on the Sub1+Sub2's FR curves:
The difference between using XO from 80 Hz and up weren't much but 40 and 60 Hz would be bad, by my standard anyway.

 

[jiji]

Found some of my old REW plots, this one shows the effects of different crossovers for the FL and FR on the Sub1+Sub2's FR curves:
The difference between using XO from 80 Hz and up weren't much but 40 and 60 Hz would be bad, by my standard anyway.

View attachment 273150

Thanks for sharing.
In a system with Home theatre and 2 channel listening, its difficult to settle below 60Hz. That makes it clear in your plots around 80Hz to 100Hz not much of differences. until crossover point.

 

[jiji]

I spend my full weekend with listening music , movies , connecting external DAC etc with switching Audessy and DIRAC.
The biggest thing I noticed is in Audessy, bass is bit boomy and bit brighter which is affecting the whole presentation.
To be honest before DIRAC live i was saying Audessy was the best.
Now i won't switch back to Audessy , as DIRAC live is simply natural and it's perfect.
In music Dirac live its really awesome like bass is perfect , sound is not fatiguing and you can listen to it for hours . Imaging and vocal is really good. Instrument are perfect.Its clean and smooth and neutral..No extra bass or no extra brightness. In Audessy bass is extra punchy and bit brighter in music(may be can do some tuning, but dont know).
In movies Audessy is puncy as well and bright. well the extra bright some times i like in movies as you feel lively . But DIRAC is neutral and rich. Bass is perfect. voice is natural .
Connecting extenal DAC with DIrac live not much of difference now. So i'm now using cinema 50 DAC with DIRAC live.
Overall really neat job DIRAC live. Also Marantz did a great job integrating DIRAC live without any issues on the first attempt. Would be great if one more preset is there for DIRAC live, so that i can switch between focus and wide calibrations of Dirac live. Hope they can bring it in future?
Now i can listen close to reference level in my apartments the movies.

I'm not saying Audessy is bad, but DIRAC is doing its best.
Its subjective and can differ with different equipments, difference in calibratrions etc.
I used Mini DSP for tuning both subs , which really improves the sound signature.
I also felt Dirac live calibration needs quiet scenario(no extranal noise). This improve the results(for me atleast).
I need to learn a lot in DIRAC live tuning , which i will do going forward.
Now i feel the extra money is worth spend on Dirac live, also it saves me from avoiding the speaker update from my Kef LS50 as now it is no more brighter.
Happy to listen now..

 

[Rottmannash]

I spend my full weekend with listening music , movies , connecting external DAC etc with switching Audessy and DIRAC.
The biggest thing I noticed is in Audessy, bass is bit boomy and bit brighter which is affecting the whole presentation.
To be honest before DIRAC live i was saying Audessy was the best.
Now i won't switch back to Audessy , as DIRAC live is simply natural and it's perfect.
In music Dirac live its really awesome like bass is perfect , sound is not fatiguing and you can listen to it for hours . Imaging and vocal is really good. Instrument are perfect.Its clean and smooth and neutral..No extra bass or no extra brightness. In Audessy bass is extra punchy and bit brighter in music(may be can do some tuning, but dont know).
In movies Audessy is puncy as well and bright. well the extra bright some times i like in movies as you feel lively . But DIRAC is neutral and rich. Bass is perfect. voice is natural .
Connecting extenal DAC with DIrac live not much of difference now. So i'm now using cinema 50 DAC with DIRAC live.
Overall really neat job DIRAC live. Also Marantz did a great job integrating DIRAC live without any issues on the first attempt. Would be great if one more preset is there for DIRAC live, so that i can switch between focus and wide calibrations of Dirac live. Hope they can bring it in future?
Now i can listen close to reference level in my apartments the movies.

I'm not saying Audessy is bad, but DIRAC is doing its best.
Its subjective and can differ with different equipments, difference in calibratrions etc.
I used Mini DSP for tuning both subs , which really improves the sound signature.
I also felt Dirac live calibration needs quiet scenario(no extranal noise). This improve the results(for me atleast).
I need to learn a lot in DIRAC live tuning , which i will do going forward.
Now i feel the extra money is worth spend on Dirac live, also it saves me from avoiding the speaker update from my Kef LS50 as now it is no more brighter.
Happy to listen now..

The RZ50 allows for 3 presets. How many does the Cinema50 allow for?

 

[broncogr]

3 for Dirac and 1 for Audyssey

 

[jiji]

3 for Dirac and 1 for Audyssey

As far as i understood 1 preset for Audessy and 1 preset for Dirac with 2 different layout( 2 different distances, delays etc). The 3 slots for Dirac is only for adjusting eq (for example 1 slot with full band with and other with limited bandwidth etc). So to my understanding only 2 preset available for measurements perspective. (1 for DIRAC and 1 for Audessy). Please correct me if i'm wrong .

 

[jiji]

The RZ50 allows for 3 presets. How many does the Cinema50 allow for?

To my knowledge only 2 preset for measurements. (1 for Audessy measurements and one for Dirac measurements).

 

[Rottmannash]

To my knowledge only 2 preset for measurements. (1 for Audessy measurements and one for Dirac measurements).

bummer.

 

[jiji]

As far as i understood 1 preset for Audessy and 1 preset for Dirac with 2 different layout( 2 different distances, delays etc). The 3 slots for Dirac is only for adjusting eq (for example 1 slot with full band with and other with limited bandwidth etc). So to my understanding only 2 preset available for measurements perspective. (1 for DIRAC and 1 for Audessy). Please correct me if i'm wrong .

you are right

broncogr​

I had an oppurtunity to test it and found 3 presets for DIRAC live in preset2 can have different distance, level etc. Thats really good.
Apologize for my earlier comment which is not correct as i didnt tested it that time.
Now i have the comparision pictures as well.

 

[iaria]

I will order the cinema 50 next month, this is my first Audyssey for 10 years, it will replace an Arcam 390, its there anything I should do to start with? I'm enjoying reading all the comments on here, also, I have a TV with only 1 hdmi 2.1 input for game console, can I plug the amp output on it? Seeing that the amp has 2.1 hdmi's
Gerry

 

[peng]

I will order the cinema 50 next month, this is my first Audyssey for 10 years, it will replace an Arcam 390, its there anything I should do to start with? I'm enjoying reading all the comments on here, also, I have a TV with only 1 hdmi 2.1 input for game console, can I plug the amp output on it? Seeing that the amp has 2.1 hdmi's
Gerry

Over the years there have been a lot of misconception about Audyssey in terms of what and how they do things. So I would suggest you start (if not yet) reading up on instructions of how to use it, buy the $20 app, or the $200 app if you want to play around with the target curve. Both can do the job, the $200 app just make it easier, and offers more flexibility. Again, in you research, try to find sites/threads that contain mostly accurate information and posters are more of the objective types especially those that include actually measured results. Can provide some links if you wish... Marantz AVRs at the midrange level are rich in features, many are user adjustable so may as well start reading the Owner's manual too. It's a 326 pages manual that covers just the C50! For comparison, Anthem's that covers their whole 5 models line up has only 70 pages.

Just a side note: If you are in North America, unless you hate the Denon's look, you may want to consider the AVR-X4800H that is more comparable to the Cinema 40, measured very well on the ASR test bench and have additional features that are found on the Cinema 40 but not the 50. For some reason, in Europe the Cineman 50 cost a little more than the AVC-X3800H but in North America, the Cinema 40 50 sells at the same list price as the much better build/equipped AVR-X4800H, making the Denon's a much better value.

The Marantz sound thing is mostly hearsay, originated from their marketing information. Many who have owned both, including me, found that is largely untrue, comparable models sound very much the same as they should due to the use of the same, or virtually the same parts and circuitry (except the HDAMs, only found in Marantz), regardless what Marantz marketing said in their marketing videos.

If you are set on Marantz, and again, especially if you are in Europe, forget what I said about this part. As I said, just a side note.

 

[lessthanjoey]

you are right

broncogr​

I had an oppurtunity to test it and found 3 presets for DIRAC live in preset2 can have different distance, level etc. Thats really good.
Apologize for my earlier comment which is not correct as i didnt tested it that time.
Now i have the comparision pictures as well.

Yes, they are just filters, it doesn't matter what measurements were used to create them.

 

[ivo.f.doma]

but in North America, the Cinema 40 sells at the same list price as the much better build/equipped AVR-X4800H, making the Denon's a much better value.

You probably wanted to write Cinema 50...

 

[peng]

You probably wanted to write Cinema 50...

Yes, thank you, will edit right away.

 

[iaria]

Over the years there have been a lot of misconception about Audyssey in terms of what and how they do things. So I would suggest you start (if not yet) reading up on instructions of how to use it, buy the $20 app, or the $200 app if you want to play around with the target curve. Both can do the job, the $200 app just make it easier, and offers more flexibility. Again, in you research, try to find sites/threads that contain mostly accurate information and posters are more of the objective types especially those that include actually measured results. Can provide some links if you wish... Marantz AVRs at the midrange level are rich in features, many are user adjustable so may as well start reading the Owner's manual too. It's a 326 pages manual that covers just the C50! For comparison, Anthem's that covers their whole 5 models line up has only 70 pages.

Just a side note: If you are in North America, unless you hate the Denon's look, you may want to consider the AVR-X4800H that is more comparable to the Cinema 40, measured very well on the ASR test bench and have additional features that are found on the Cinema 40 but not the 50. For some reason, in Europe the Cineman 50 cost a little more than the AVC-X3800H but in North America, the Cinema 40 50 sells at the same list price as the much better build/equipped AVR-X4800H, making the Denon's a much better value.

The Marantz sound thing is mostly hearsay, originated from their marketing information. Many who have owned both, including me, found that is largely untrue, comparable models sound very much the same as they should due to the use of the same, or virtually the same parts and circuitry (except the HDAMs, only found in Marantz), regardless what Marantz marketing said in their marketing videos.

If you are set on Marantz, and again, especially if you are in Europe, forget what I said about this part. As I said, just a side note.

Thank you very much for your reply, yes, I'm in Europe, I will find the user manual in the meantime, not sure if there's a owner's thread here, I would think that would be a good start, thank you again, very helpful

 

[peng]

Thank you very much for your reply, yes, I'm in Europe, I will find the user manual in the meantime, not sure if there's a owner's thread here, I would think that would be a good start, thank you again, very helpful

Marantz:

https://www.avsforum.com/threads/the-official-marantz-cinema-series-2022-2023-av-owner-thread.3253659/

Audyssey:

https://audyssey.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/sections/202387323-Audyssey-101

https://www.avsforum.com/threads/official-audyssey-thread-part-ii.2376770/

Audyssey Laboratories - A leader in research-based audio technologies

Audyssey’s science-based approach to improving audio performance helps manufacturers overcome acoustical challenges to deliver a superior listening experience in a growing number of market segments, including home theater, television, movie theater, automotive, and mobile audio.

audyssey.com

Configuring Audyssey – The Right Way

Find out how to get the best out of you Audyssey receiver in this article by configuring Audyssey the Right Way!

simplehomecinema.com

The Audyssey MultEQ Editor app users thread (with facts and tips)

There are a few such threads already, but no users/or owners thread that I am aware of, so I thought it may be better to have one for the users. This thread is for MultEQ users in general, so it is not limited to Denon and Marantz product owners in case users of other brands may be interested...

forums.audioholics.com

 

[ryaneagon]

Can the front flap be removed? I'm going to have it stored in a cabinet and would like to be able to close the cabinet door without having to closer the flap every time. Also, I think the display is something I'd like to see all the time.

 

[iaria]

Marantz:

https://www.avsforum.com/threads/the-official-marantz-cinema-series-2022-2023-av-owner-thread.3253659/

Audyssey:

https://audyssey.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/sections/202387323-Audyssey-101

https://www.avsforum.com/threads/official-audyssey-thread-part-ii.2376770/

Audyssey Laboratories - A leader in research-based audio technologies

Audyssey’s science-based approach to improving audio performance helps manufacturers overcome acoustical challenges to deliver a superior listening experience in a growing number of market segments, including home theater, television, movie theater, automotive, and mobile audio.

audyssey.com

Configuring Audyssey – The Right Way

Find out how to get the best out of you Audyssey receiver in this article by configuring Audyssey the Right Way!

simplehomecinema.com

The Audyssey MultEQ Editor app users thread (with facts and tips)

There are a few such threads already, but no users/or owners thread that I am aware of, so I thought it may be better to have one for the users. This thread is for MultEQ users in general, so it is not limited to Denon and Marantz product owners in case users of other brands may be interested...

forums.audioholics.com

Thank you for this, this will keep me busy for a few days

 

[RS200]

Seriously considering the Cinema 50 for a 3.1 setup but it might be overkill for my use case? The AVR would be connected to a 2x KEF LS20 Wireless 2, a passive center (probably Piega Ace) and a KF92 sub.

Looking for ages now for an all in one box with good stereo capabilities, LFE processing, Dirac and Roon connectivity. Has to be 1 box for easy connectivity as the whole family will use it. I would then sell my MiniDSP SHD. Only thing the Marantz doesn't have is Roon endpoint. I have been eying the new MiniDSP Flex HT as well, but doubting the eARC integration as it will only accept multichannel PCM, hence I foresee a lot of issues with my LG C9. The Cinema 70s unfortunately doesn't have Dirac. Decisions, decisions....

 

[ban25]

Seriously considering the Cinema 50 for a 3.1 setup but it might be overkill for my use case? The AVR would be connected to a 2x KEF LS20 Wireless 2, a passive center (probably Piega Ace) and a KF92 sub.

Looking for ages now for an all in one box with good stereo capabilities, LFE processing, Dirac and Roon connectivity. Has to be 1 box for easy connectivity as the whole family will use it. I would then sell my MiniDSP SHD. Only thing the Marantz doesn't have is Roon endpoint. I have been eying the new MiniDSP Flex HT as well, but doubting the eARC integration as it will only accept multichannel PCM, hence I foresee a lot of issues with my LG C9. The Cinema 70s unfortunately doesn't have Dirac. Decisions, decisions....

NAD M10 V2. You might have to drop the center.