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Marantz Cinema 50 AVR Review

dogmamann

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Well my whole learning and the path towards objectivism in audio is based on those explanations and subsequent comments of the experienced Members. Always leaned that way by a gut feeling, but had no solid knowledge to discuss stuff. And now I'm at the point where an audio dealer recently suspected me of graduating from a tech university when I brought up a headphone's FR curve and the Tone Generator LOL. And believe me, the guy was clearly uncomfy, being used to feeding ppl subjectivist gibberish. So even a very basic level of knowledge can change the balance of power in such situations. The salespeople must see that there are more and more customers that don't see audio reproduction as an esoteric domain.

So I guess the community has to decide between serving the customer and maybe bringing a change to the whole hobby one day (at the cost of flame wars and fending off trolls) and being a somewhat niche expert platform.
The dealers in our place immediately dismiss any kind of objective conversation saying "we hear with our ears, objective data doesnt mean good sound, otherwise people would just buy cheap monitors from some music store!!"
 

mglobe

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It's the Way to go! Everyone can judge themselves!
Everyone who possesses the secret decoder ring. The mortals who have to put in a fair amount of effort to understand will likely not get much out of the great work you’ve done. If one of the objectives of this site is to promote the value of measurements, we should cast a wide net that helps less technically knowledgeable folks to understand the measurements.

Most importantly thank you for the time and effort you have invested.
 

peng

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The dealers in our place immediately dismiss any kind of objective conversation saying "we hear with our ears, objective data doesnt mean good sound, otherwise people would just buy cheap monitors from some music store!!"

Most, if not all of them will say that, it is to be expected.:D It goes like this:

- manufacturers list a few features of their products that could explain why theirs will sound better than others, and why their more expensive models will sound much better.
- people who are keen on sound quality read them.
- sales people went to manufacturers events to get demos and educated.
- sales people tell their potential customers the same stories they heard, elaborate, exaggerate..
- potential buys got oriented, tuned in, and by then biased enough to enable them to hear the claimed difference, benefits, i.e. better sound quality.

It doesn't how many times objectivists that include technically inclined reviewers such as Gene, Amir, or experts such as Dr. Olive, Toole, Geddes and other Ph.Ds who have done lots of studies explained the need to do control tests for unbiased results, people will believe things as long as they are given enough reasons. Such reasons typically include certain unique features such as RC software that have great interface, calibrated good looking mics, design topology and/or hardware such as class A, feed forward, current dumping, high end opamps, HDAMs, toroidal PS transformers, expensive storage caps, MOSFETs, etc.. In the end the process are dominated by expectation bias, Placebo effects, and groupthink (evidence in owners threads on popular forums such as AVF, AVSF, Audioholics and even our beloved ASR!!

That's just my own opinion, but I know it does reflect reality.;)
 

Doodski

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an audio dealer recently suspected me of graduating from a tech university when I brought up a headphone's FR curve and the Tone Generator LOL. And believe me, the guy was clearly uncomfy, being used to feeding ppl subjectivist gibberish.
That does not sound good at all. Was he rude about it?
 

Doodski

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The dealers in our place immediately dismiss any kind of objective conversation saying "we hear with our ears, objective data doesnt mean good sound, otherwise people would just buy cheap monitors from some music store!!"
Looks like some dealer is afraid of a objective method. Walk out the door or try to make friends. Your choice but if they where rude or weird about it deny them the sale.
 

Doodski

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Most, if not all of them will say that, it is to be expected.:D It goes like this:

- manufacturers list a few features of their products that could explain why theirs will sound better than others, and why their more expensive models will sound much better.
- people who are keen on sound quality read them.
- sales people went to manufacturers events to get demos and educated.
- sales people tell their potential customers the same stories they heard, elaborate, exaggerate..
- potential buys got oriented, tuned in, and by then biased enough to enable them to hear the claimed difference, benefits, i.e. better sound quality.

It doesn't how many times objectivists that include technically inclined reviewers such as Gene, Amir, or experts such as Dr. Olive, Toole, Geddes and other Ph.Ds who have done lots of studies explained the need to do control tests for unbiased results, people will believe things as long as they are given enough reasons. Such reasons typically include certain unique features such as RC software that have great interface, calibrated good looking mics, design topology and/or hardware such as class A, feed forward, current dumping, high end opamps, HDAMs, toroidal PS transformers, expensive storage caps, MOSFETs, etc.. In the end the process are dominated by expectation bias, Placebo effects, and groupthink (evidence in owners threads on popular forums such as AVF, AVSF, Audioholics and even our beloved ASR!!

That's just my own opinion, but I know it does reflect reality.;)
Hahaha... Your opinion is pretty close to the truth. gg*
 

Cote Dazur

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The mission of this site is to educate and reinforce the value of objectively testing audio equipment. Having the method and meaning spelled out is extremely important, even if it seems redundant and unnecessary to those in the know.
Well my whole learning and the path towards objectivism in audio is based on those explanations and subsequent comments of the experienced Members
ASR is so many things for so many people, to me those 2 comments fit my main reason to spend time here. I could do without some of the bullies resident, but I am in awe when reading reviews from Amir, as they show facts but also highlight why those facts are relevants to listening to music.
 

alont

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How does this compare to the Onkyo TX-RZ50? What are you getting for the extra 1 grand?
 

ban25

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Totally agree , but it plays loud enough with the 50 ish watts. But do we expect the same magic from watts as we do sinad….Oh the humanity…where is the balance LoL.
Wasn't the PA5 discontinued? I'd be surprised if one lasted more than 3 months in a HT application!
 

Chrise36

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My Friends C50 and I don't know the price of this item.


View attachment 254253
View attachment 254254View attachment 254255

You can see what I saw. This is what it looks like.






View attachment 254256
4ohm, optical in, front LR, 20k
View attachment 254257
4ohm, optical in, front LR, 22.4k
View attachment 254258
4ohm, optical in, front LR, 40k

View attachment 254259
4ohm, rca in, front LR, 20k

View attachment 254260
4ohm, rca in, front LR, 22.4k

View attachment 254261
4ohm, rca in, front LR, 40k



View attachment 254262
8ohm, rca in, front LR, 20k
View attachment 254263
8ohm, rca in, front LR, 22,4k
View attachment 254264
8ohm, rca in, front LR, 40k

Why I don't need 8ohm info with 4ohm's.


View attachment 254267
4ohm, about 5w, rca in, front LR, gain
View attachment 254268
4ohm, about 5w, rca in, front LR, Fr
View attachment 254269
4ohm, about 5w, rca in, front LR, multitone

View attachment 254275View attachment 254276
4ohm, various points with output trimming.

View attachment 254277View attachment 254278View attachment 254279View attachment 254280
4ohm various frequency.

View attachment 254281View attachment 254282
2ohm, various points
At 6ohm mode of AVR output had limited.
Edit : At 4ohm mode of AVR output had limited.


View attachment 254283View attachment 254284
8ohm various range and points.
Anyway, For me with 4ohm & 2ohm data, 8ohm seems no use.

You can check detailed settings and data with project file and viewer(Use Demo mode).

Data set
Viewer
Can you test with all channels driven?
 

alont

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You're not getting Dirac for that extra grand:cool:
Well, the cinema 50 is supposed to get Dirac some time around March this year. This and the RZ50 were the final contenders for an AVR recommendation I gave my friend who is building a home theater right now. They don't have the budget for a higher end processor, unfortunately.
 

ex audiophile

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I certainly appreciate the effort involved in this type of testing, but I'm sure i speak for many when I say my understanding of this tech is limited and I rely on Amir's comments to interpret the findings. At the very least I hope that the OP will include a Conclusion/Summary paragraph or two that puts the results in perspective in comparison to other AVRs. In any case the efforts are much appreciated.
 

ex audiophile

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So the Onkyo RZ50 includes DIRAC for no additional cost and it's working today. Or you can buy the Denon X3800H/Marantz C50 for $1,000 more then spend another $350 in March to get DIRAC. Ooh, and maybe another $500 in 2024 to get multisub support.

Martin
Indeed, or purchase an Anthem receiver and get the latest ARC Genesis included, along with a quality microphone, stand and usually responsive Anthem support. Just sayin..
 

pseudoid

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Thank you for including THD+N at various frequencies (a nano-nit about colors used).

How does this Marrantz measurements compare with its Denon doppelganger?
 

Hipster Doofus

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Wasn't the PA5 discontinued? I'd be surprised if one lasted more than 3 months in a HT application!
Had mine over a year with no issues…use almost every day….as opposed to my project predac 2 that had its power connector break off inside the unit , on inspection it was not even soldered in. Some kind of sling loaded connector….it only works with its usb power.
 

don'ttrustauthority

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Used to be prices at this height for amplifiers would be extremely nice high end furniture style devices, not mass market stuff. Good sound, not great looks, kinda cheap and generic.
 
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