Marantz Stereo 70s AV Receiver

[RosalieTheDog]

I saw Marantz released a stereo version of their cinema 70s, an AV receiver with 6 Hdmi in, with stereo speaker out and possibility for power amp for L/R and two active subs. Seems pretty interesting and unique?

STEREO 70s - Slimline Stereo Receiver with 75W, 8K and 6 HDMI Inputs | Marantz - US

Slimline Stereo Receiver with 75W, 8K and 6 HDMI Inputs

www.marantz.com

 

[Nichth]

I use the Cinema 70 exclusively as a preamp/processor with separate power amps for the front and surrounds. I purchased it to replace a Pioneer ScLX87, a massive, 150W per channel amp whose HDMI connectivity had become outdated. Compared to the bigger brothers in the Cinema range, the 70 has "only" two sub outputs, but this isnt an issue for me. This new setup easily replaces the Pioneer for sound output, and the pre/power combination is an improvement on the Pioneer's single box sound quality. A real find that has no competition at the moment - I can recommend it unreservedly.

 

[techsamurai]

I use the Cinema 70 exclusively as a preamp/processor with separate power amps for the front and surrounds. I purchased it to replace a Pioneer ScLX87, a massive, 150W per channel amp whose HDMI connectivity had become outdated. Compared to the bigger brothers in the Cinema range, the 70 has "only" two sub outputs, but this isnt an issue for me. This new setup easily replaces the Pioneer for sound output, and the pre/power combination is an improvement on the Pioneer's single box sound quality. A real find that has no competition at the moment - I can recommend it unreservedly.

How does the Cinema 70 sound in 2 channel music? What are you powering it with?

I bought and returned a RZ50 and I was considering the Cinema 70 for the same purpose with my old AVR as an amplifier. A lot of people who used the Cinema 70 with an external amp were very impressed with it.

Were you able to get a silver one?

 

[Nichth]

Mine is black, but its in a cupboard so I never see it. I first tried it out with my old AVR, the Pioneer Sc-Lx87, using the multi-channel inputs. If you use an old AV solely as a power amp, you cant byepass the preamp section, but the sound is still pretty good if you set the volume to whatever you want (I chose 0 so I can remember it easily), and then select pure direct, which byepasses all the AV processing codecs. After some further experimentation, I have kept the Pioneer for the surrounds but replaced it with a dedicated power amp for the fronts to keep the two channel sound as clean as possible. I experimented with an old Nap140, Meridian 205 Monoblocks and finally a Chord SPM1200C. They were all really good for two channel, and even the little Naim seems to have enough power for all but the biggest blockbuster films. However the Chord was an obvious winner, so I have stuck with that.

 

[techsamurai]

Mine is black, but its in a cupboard so I never see it. I first tried it out with my old AVR, the Pioneer Sc-Lx87, using the multi-channel inputs. If you use an old AV solely as a power amp, you cant byepass the preamp section, but the sound is still pretty good if you set the volume to whatever you want (I chose 0 so I can remember it easily), and then select pure direct, which byepasses all the AV processing codecs. After some further experimentation, I have kept the Pioneer for the surrounds but replaced it with a dedicated power amp for the fronts to keep the two channel sound as clean as possible. I experimented with an old Nap140, Meridian 205 Monoblocks and finally a Chord SPM1200C. They were all really good for two channel, and even the little Naim seems to have enough power for all but the biggest blockbuster films. However the Chord was an obvious winner, so I have stuck with that.

Yeah, I plan to use my old AVR and use 0. It's funny but when I set it to 7.1, I couldn't select Pure Direct. I'm guessing it automatically does that.

Sounds like the amp made a difference as you used 4 of them and one was a clear winner. Is it better in music than the Pioneer?

 

[techsamurai]

I saw Marantz released a stereo version of their cinema 70s, an AV receiver with 6 Hdmi in, with stereo speaker out and possibility for power amp for L/R and two active subs. Seems pretty interesting and unique?

View attachment 316599

STEREO 70s - Slimline Stereo Receiver with 75W, 8K and 6 HDMI Inputs | Marantz - US

Slimline Stereo Receiver with 75W, 8K and 6 HDMI Inputs

www.marantz.com

Wouldn't it make more sense to pick the Cinema 70 which allows for the possibility of a 3.x or 5.x down the road and with an external amp appears to be a compelling choice ?

I know the Cinema 70 says 50 watts for 2 channels but I'd be surprised if it benches that low - it states that Power Consumption of 250 watts so it can probably easily hit the 75 watts of the Stereo 70.

Plus the Cinema 70 has Audyssey Room Correction, Dynamic EQ, and Volume which you won't find on even the Yamaha S3200.

I'm sure the Stereo 70 may have some other improvements.

But I think it is meant to compete with the likes of the Yamaha RN1000A, 2000A, Naim Unity Atom, Audiolab etc and with its full array of HDMI ports, silver looks, Arc and its low price, it's going to present them with tough competition.

In fact, I would highly urge Marantz to offer an affordable matching amp because if you can pair it with a $800-$1,000 2 channel 150 watt amp. That could be a very popular and source-friendly stereo setup.

 

[Nichth]

Yeah, I plan to use my old AVR and use 0. It's funny but when I set it to 7.1, I couldn't select Pure Direct. I'm guessing it automatically does that.

Sounds like the amp made a difference as you used 4 of them and one was a clear winner. Is it better in music than the Pioneer?

Re getting Pure Direct out of the old AVR, have you tried setting it to output to just the front and surrounds? That might free up the Pure Direct mode. Then you can let the Marantz handle the sub on the pre out. Re two channel music, the Pioneer is really good, as one box AVRs go, but in my tests, against the Marantz and any of the power amps I tried, it sounds more compressed and less refined.

 

[rana_kirti]

the presentation tier video shows the Stereo 70 in between the 7000N/PM6007

as far a stereo 2 channel music performance is concerned ....

will the Stereo 70 comfortably beat the AVR Cinema 40 ?

 

[Galliardist]

This looks just like the NR1200 in a new box, nothing to get excited about.

They might have improved the DAC, but this IS Marantz...

 

[Nichth]

the presentation tier video shows the Stereo 70 in between the 7000N/PM6007

as far a stereo 2 channel music performance is concerned ....

will the Stereo 70 comfortably beat the AVR Cinema 40 ?

I havent heard the Cinema 40 so I cant speak for its stereo performance, but it has great reviews in its own right, so I dont think you could go far wrong with one. I was in fact about to buy one to replace my Pioneer ScLx87, when I saw that the Cinema 70 has this capacity, which is unique for the price, to be used in pure processor mode, and bought that instead. What I have now offers, subjectively, much better stereo performance than I had before, plus I am £1k in pocket over the price of a new Cinema 40, which seems like a win-win.