Marantz NR1510 AVR Review

[peng]

Denon should have one.

Agreed, but it is understandable that they don't. That can change if and when someone acquires it (that is, without Marantz) from Masimo. There must be a good demand for a 2.1 to 5.1 small low profile AVRs that offers >=95 dB SINAD performance, preferrable with 2 independent subouts with or without RC because people can add DL/DLBC if they want.

I wonder why no one has come up with the 2.1, 3.1 and/or 5.1 versions yet, their marketing people are missing out on this imo. The only models that come close is the NR1200, but I am sure if its 2.1's sub-out can be pinged independently, for use with DLBC. I am still awaiting their users to confirm that.

 

[Thomas_A]

Agreed, but it is understandable that they don't. That can change if and when someone acquires it (that is, without Marantz) from Masimo. There must be a good demand for a 2.1 to 5.1 small low profile AVRs that offers >=95 dB SINAD performance, preferrable with 2 independent subouts with or without RC because people can add DL/DLBC if they want.

I wonder why no one has come up with the 2.1, 3.1 and/or 5.1 versions yet, their marketing people are missing out on this imo. The only models that come close is the NR1200, but I am sure if its 2.1's sub-out can be pinged independently, for use with DLBC. I am still awaiting their users to confirm that.

I am quite confident that there is a large market for slim AVRs. Marantz has shown that it is possible to get reasonable performance from such units. That they don’t maintain performance with model iterations is unfortunate. If I were them, (Marantz/Denon) models would just be differentiated by channels, power and size, while other technical features would be software- and upgradeable options.

Not sure how Marantz and Denon would go to make unique series models, but one way would be slim AVR units or even slim AVR-Pre units with more ”pro” and upgradable features. Small powerful amps to add are plentiful today.

 

[Dennis_FL]

The various models seem to give quite varied measurement results. While the 1710/1510 models sadly have jitter issues, it seems that THD is different between them. I can’t replicate the pre out THD of the 1710 model that Amir measured in the 1510 model. This is odd given their resemblance. Also, earlier NR models did not have the jitter problem. Marantz is sadly alone with these slim line models having all these features. Denon should have one.

Denon and Marantz are the same company.

 

[Thomas_A]

Denon and Marantz are the same company.

Yes. And that is why they can (and should IMO) develop different lines for Marantz and Denon. E.g. choose slim-line AVRs and slim AV pre-processors for Marantz, and the larger AVR units for Denon. After all, they use the same back-bone. But that is just me.

 

[Megaken]

Question. If I use this with an external amp that doesn't have noise/distortion issues - would that improve the measurements, or would an amp simply amplify the issues?

 

[Chrispy]

Question. If I use this with an external amp that doesn't have noise/distortion issues - would that improve the measurements, or would an amp simply amplify the issues?

Think of this way, each step in the chain has the chance to degrade, but not improve....

 

[Megaken]

Think of this way, each step in the chain has the chance to degrade, but not improve....

Well I had a marantz receiver before, and it was a tad too 'warm' for me, but paired with a crispy external DAC and amp, it really did take that warm edge off and made it sound more balanced. So in that sense it did improve it.

Also, I'm thinking if the noise/distortion and whatever other issues come from the amp stage of the receiver, and you use an external amp, shouldn't it circumvent the issue?

Although I don't know which stage the issues come from.

 

[Thomas_A]

Question. If I use this with an external amp that doesn't have noise/distortion issues - would that improve the measurements, or would an amp simply amplify the issues?

It will be better.
1. The power amp of the Marantz add distortion.
2. The pre-out of the NR1710, which I believe acts exactly as the NR1510 distortion-wise, have -93.5 dB THD+N in direct mode at a volume level set to 77, and -86.8 dB THD+N in auto mode.

A few measurements of the Marantz NR1710 slim line AV amp (update jan 2024, power amp section)

An update of measurements in post 16. I just made some simple measurements via pre out of my slim line Marantz NR1710. Not having much advanced equipment but my 18 year old M-Audio Transit DAC and ADC was used to test it in various ways. It only supports 44,1/16 bit when used both ways...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Chrispy]

Well I had a marantz receiver before, and it was a tad too 'warm' for me, but paired with a crispy external DAC and amp, it really did take that warm edge off and made it sound more balanced. So in that sense it did improve it.

Also, I'm thinking if the noise/distortion and whatever other issues come from the amp stage of the receiver, and you use an external amp, shouldn't it circumvent the issue?

Although I don't know which stage the issues come from.

I've never had a receiver that I would label as warm or cold or whatever. Altering the signal path could yield a preference I suppose, but so could some eq otoh. A more powerful amp section can be an advantage, but I haven't found that has yielded any particular improvement over the receiver/amp combos I've got/had either.

 

[Sal1950]

I am quite confident that there is a large market for slim AVRs.

Market, yes, the ladies and some men of the household want their gear to all but disappear if possible.
But todays multich AVR's have the need for an awful lot technology in them, a very competitive and demanding market.
Maybe trying to pack ten pounds of schiit in a 5 pound bad isn't the best idea for any number of reasons.
Besides, if your going to have 5 to 11 speakers and a sub or two in the room, what the hell do you need a 3" tall AVR for?
There's still no substituent for cubic inches.

Question. If I use this with an external amp that doesn't have noise/distortion issues - would that improve the measurements, or would an amp simply amplify the issues?

It will improve on amplifier performance but do nothing for the DAC performance issues.
If your still on the purchasing side, get a bigger AVR with at least 11+2 capabilities.
You WILL want to go Atmos at some point.

 

[Thomas_A]

Market, yes, the ladies and some men of the household want their gear to all but disappear if possible.
But todays multich AVR's have the need for an awful lot technology in them, a very competitive and demanding market.
Maybe trying to pack ten pounds of schiit in a 5 pound bad isn't the best idea for any number of reasons.
Besides, if your going to have 5 to 11 speakers and a sub or two in the room, what the hell do you need a 3" tall AVR for?
There's still no substituent for cubic inches.

Ha! But seriously, I already have enough speakers and gear and the NR1710 is perfect for my needs, channel-wise. And it is more than average households, but still a "slim" living room installation (IMO). So I think the market is large. And a larger AVR does not fit on the shelf. That is the reason.

 

[jbattman1016]

I wonder if anything changed with the Cinema versions? the 70s for example.

 

[Megaken]

I do not need Atmos, I don't own a TV and don't want to.

But I do need marantz because I have a weird room and in my experience audyssey does wonders. I tried dirac too and it doesn't work for me. So I'm thinking to get a simple marantz thing with audyssey, and I already have a great external DAC and Amp.

 

[jbattman1016]

The size of the marantz as a preamp with various inputs is nice.

 

[nick-v]

Market, yes, the ladies and some men of the household want their gear to all but disappear if possible.
But todays multich AVR's have the need for an awful lot technology in them, a very competitive and demanding market.
Maybe trying to pack ten pounds of schiit in a 5 pound bad isn't the best idea for any number of reasons.
Besides, if your going to have 5 to 11 speakers and a sub or two in the room, what the hell do you need a 3" tall AVR for?
There's still no substituent for cubic inches.


It will improve on amplifier performance but do nothing for the DAC performance issues.
If your still on the purchasing side, get a bigger AVR with at least 11+2 capabilities.
You WILL want to go Atmos at some point.

There are other ways to make the gear disappear. This is in a part of my "half" of the master bedroom walk-in closet.

This powers BG Radia / Wisdom Audio in-wall speakers and a pair of nearfield SVS in-wall 3000 subwoofers (5.2.2).

 

[Sal1950]

This is in my "half" of the master bedroom walk-in closet.

What's in hers, shoes? LOL

 

[lashto]

There are other ways to make the gear disappear. This is in my "half" of the master bedroom walk-in closet.

This powers BG Radia / Wisdom Audio in-wall speakers and a pair of nearfield SVS in-wall 3000 subwoofers (5.2.2).

that is a serious amount of electronics for a bedroom. More than most people have in their main listening room.
Whoever said that the HiFi industry is dying, did not see your profile. With that amount of gear you can easily convert your house into and audio shop
And btw, do you have a favorite system?

 

[SVO]

There are other ways to make the gear disappear. This is in a part of my "half" of the master bedroom walk-in closet.

This powers BG Radia / Wisdom Audio in-wall speakers and a pair of nearfield SVS in-wall 3000 subwoofers (5.2.2).

Yeah, well, not everyone has unlimited budget. Yawn.

Don't assume everyone is using it 5.1 or 7.1- the options for 2.1 or 3.1 with HDMI control SUCK. WiiM amp sections suck. SVS has no calibration means. BluOS devices overpriced and no calibration. For a living room TV Audio/ 2.1 stereo (assume the house is built and no massive closet adjacent to annex) the whole system needs to be compact. Marantz/Denon should dump the amps and work on improving the pre/pro at say $600 in same chassis and then the buyer can acquire the watts they need. Put a 5" screen in with album art and you could get $900 and sell many thousands of them in the U.S. alone.

 

[master_arthur]

It is also interesting how the 2-channel model, NR-1200, sells for the same $ 799: either the 1200 is overpriced or the three extra speaker channels (or all five) of the 1510 are truly inexpensively designed and built.

In the marketing material for DRA-900H, Denon states that it is designed from the ground up to be a 2 channel and has more premium components that you will not find in their 5/7 channel AVRs at the same price. They didn't just remove the extra channels from the AVR.

I imagine it is the same for Marantz. That's probably why NR1200 measured better than this unit.

It makes sense to me, for people not interested in surround sound, the stereo sound quality has to be higher than in an AVR.

 

[Sal1950]

It makes sense to me, for people not interested in surround sound, the stereo sound quality has to be higher than in an AVR.

Well, I don't know about that?
But it's good marketing and sure to stroke the egos of the 2ch forever crowd.