_YAMAHA RX-V630RDS or MARANTZ SR5300

[planbeta]

Any one demeod these two together? Opinions, I am interested in both music and films listening about 50/50.

Cheers

 

[planbeta]

You can throw the Harman-Kardon avr 2550 into the equation too as this is around the £350 mark aswell

 

[GoldFish]

Hi

I have recently. To me the Marantz was found to be slightly better on stereo music replay and the Yamaha was much better at HT/HC quality. Only you can decide which is the right one for you.... go and book a demo.

T

 

[SimonG]

I have a 630. Seemed to sound better than anything else I auditioned (up to nearly a grand!).

Maybe I have cloth ears but as a HC amp (99%) it is near-perfect for me.

 

[cribeiro]

Hello! I am also facing that choice, but here in Germany the Marantz in the range price of Yamaha rx-v630 is 4300, not 5300. What about it?
And, in adition, I also say that it is worth to listen to the Harman-Kardon 2550.
I want to demo all together, but I didn't have a chance yet, so I am delaying my decision... I think they will become old if I don't hurry up!
I must say that Harman-Kardon has a very well defined sound, easy to place each intrument in space, not just coming from the speakers. Very balanced, fair sound. I found maybe too much bass on it, could be the speakers. I tested rock and classical guitar music. No chance with movies, stupid guys in the shop. One intriguing thing: it seemed that I had to push up the volume level to get some sound filling the room (small, say 5x3 meters). Could it be that I am not used to count in dB? The range goes from -80 to +10dB, as far as I remember (strange? Don't they usually go up to 0 dB?), and I was playing at -25. I know, the scale is not linear, but... Is this normal? I mean, for example the usual rule with "normal" devices (I mean, analogic), the rule is stop at 1/2 of the whole turn for good not distorted sound. I have now a SONY str-de 135, which gives 2x60 watt rms, and I even do not reach that level before my room becomes too small (it is 4x4 meters). But with this, if I take -35 dB as the middle point, I do not reach that sound level (and it is supposed to have more power than mine!). Is it just that the scale is different, or what? I also thought that they may have some device to "quench" the signal, in order to protect everything from stupid customers...

 

[GoldFish]

Originally posted by SimonG
I have a 630. Seemed to sound better than anything else I auditioned (up to nearly a grand!).

Maybe I have cloth ears but as a HC amp (99%) it is near-perfect for me.

Agreed with you on this one SimonG, few weeks ago I was hunting for an AV amp with a budget of £600. Have many demos on Yamaha, Marantz, Sony and even including the highly respected Denon 3082, which, just fall within my budget. But at the end I went for a Yamaha as I felt it has an adge on HT quality over others. BTW I got the Yamy 730 as I needed the facility to play back old vinyls as well as the morden DVDs .

T

 

[SimonG]

Yep, quite extraordinary for £315.

The 730 also has on-screen display and an ldc learning remote doesn't it?

 

[GoldFish]

Sonically there is no difference between the 630 and 730. The only differences that the 730 has in addition to the 630 are:
On screen display
Phono input for old records
Ability to adjust sound field parameters such as room size, liveness...
Better remote with LCD, which i have programmed it to control my Akai VCR, Sony TV, DVD and CD player.
Aluminium front as opposed to plastic (I had not noticed this until it was pointed out to me after I had placed my order for the 730)

And it only cost me £399... BIG bargain... as i was planing to spend around £600.

T

 

[Joe Pineapples]

any idea if Yamaha do a none-receiver version of the 730? - i feel like i'd be paying for something i def. wouldnt use.

dean

 

[SimonG]

They do a non receiver 630, no RDS on the end and something other tham RXV at the beginning. See their website for more details and spec sheets.

 

[konghh]

I have the 630 for sometimes now. Yes, the music reproduction is VERY warm and totally different from the older Yamaha RXV596 that it replace and I am very impressed. Then I added a NAD C370 and could NEVER go back to 630 for music. It's literally a night & day sort of enjoyment using C370 for music. If you really liked music, do what I did and you will not regret. Get both

 

[planbeta]

Originally posted by konghh
I have the 630 for sometimes now. Yes, the music reproduction is VERY warm and totally different from the older Yamaha RXV596 that it replace and I am very impressed. Then I added a NAD C370 and could NEVER go back to 630 for music. It's literally a night & day sort of enjoyment using C370 for music. If you really liked music, do what I did and you will not regret. Get both

How do you hook the two togethor?

 

[GoldFish]

konghh
what speakers do you use ? as I have just a similar idea for my next upgrade....!

T

 

[konghh]

Rare Cabasse Farella 400. I have also tried B&W CDM7. Very nice but different.

Not because I own a C370. But the C370 is amazing for the money. Although your setup will differs but I find the C370 not very particular about speaker/source etc. unlike others that I tried. The most difficult matching I tried is the YBA Integra.

 

[GoldFish]

Thanks

Will start hunting for upgrades again soon.

T