Initial thoughts on my first setup (Long)

T

Test005

Guest
I've never been a patient man and waiting for the Marantz X300 series failed totally when my brand new speakers were sitting at home waiting for a power source.
Yesterday I picked up a Marantz sr-4200 as my first receiver ever.

Here's a first impression review from me, a total newbie with no previous experience of HiFi stuff.
Some technical words are also substituted by easier, less describing ones since I'm not a native English speaker and lack some of the techie lingo.

Equip:
Marantz 4200
B&W 602 S3
B&W 601 S3
B&W LCR60 S3
crap DVD
30-40 DVD movies
Digital cable box, subscribing on movie channels sending in DD.

Setup:
The sr-4200 so far seems like a good choice for me. The setup is extremely easy and what I read about lacking of OSD is no problems. Perhaps it gets more crucial when you have a more advanced model with many settings.

Remote:
The remote is OK, Lot's of complaints on it around the board, but hey! I put a movie on, adjust volume and leave it alone for 2 hours. How good does it need to be? (I'm not turning my back on a model because of the remote)

Manual:
I've also heard about people flaming the manual. This is a simple receiver with very basic functions, the manual lists what you need to know to set it up and use all functions. IMHO the manual is good enough!
(I've never seen a receiver up close before, and I had it connected and working in 30 minutes.)

Power:
5*70w. Since this is my first receiver and I haven't been much around hifi equippment I really don't know what this is about.
Many says that you should get a powerfull receiver to get the speakers at top performance. I guess it has to do with sound quality, and not how loud you can play?
With my setup I can play loud enough, and what comes out from the loudspeakers sounds good to me.

Sound:
Again: This is nothing scientifical due to my unexperience, but I caught myself smiling when watching some movies in 3.0.
The voices are so crisp from the center and movie music plays with good punch and detail.
Base is good I think, but everybody seems to use a subwofer, so I'm also getting one just to be on the safe side.

Looks:
Wow, I have wooden floor in my appartment and the B&W sorrento color goes perfect with it. I have them on silver stands from some Danish company (expensive like ****, 170€)
The yellow "round playing thingie" (don't know the English word) also looks great. Clean and classy, looks expensive and high quality.
I'm really happy with the looks and hope I can share some pictures soon.


I have only tested with the front 602 S3:s and center so far, I will connect the surrounds tomorrow.
I have connected it all with Tara Labs cabling and have a good coax cable to my DVD.
DVD is utter crap and will be taken outside and shot as soon as budget allows a new one.

B&W subwofer is also on the purchase list for next month.
 
the yellow thingie is a driver!:D

It is great when you first set up your system and that smile spreads across your face when you hear it. I don't know how much running in the B&Ws need but my Gallos took over three weeks to get them sounding great, that means I'm smiling more now than when I first got them. Still using 3.0 which is a pain though.

As for the power output question. The higher power output from your amp... the less strain you have to put it under to listen at decent levels and the cleaner the signal sent to your speakers. Many users here have said that you can kill a speaker by sending a signal to it from an amp straining to produce a high output.
 
i have a 5200 and overall I love the thing, but the remote is really starting to bug me. If the thing would let me just change the volume (or even turn on) without me having to fiddle about with it, then i would be happy :(
 
I too am a recent SR4200 owner and I really think it's excellent. For the price I paid (£200) it's incredible. Even with stereo music it compares favourably with my old Arcam Alpha 6+ stereo integrated (£400 about 6 years ago).

The 4200 has the same remote as the 5200 and I really can't fault it. I use it as my main remote now - it's far better than a the OneForAll 5 I have. Does pretty much everything I need on every device (CD, DVDR, VCR and TV). deets - don't know what your issue is with volume, the "main volume" buttons always do the amp volume regardless of what 'mode' the remote is in.

Michael.
 
To Test005:

I've decided for exactly_the_same speaker setup. Hopefully, they will arrive tomorrow, so that I can pick them up in the morning.

I've been auditioning the B&W DM 601 at home for a few days and was quite impressed. For comparison, I also had a Monitor Audio Bronze 2 (new one), Silver 3i and for a short time, the new Silver S1 at home.

Of these 4 very different speakers, I chose the B&W 600 Series, being the best compromise concerning value (i.e. sound) for money. The best speaker of the 4 definitely is the new Silver S1. It has got everything: A stunning sound, really deep bass, smooth highs and detailed mids, as well as a stunning real wood finish.
But a set of 4xSilver S1 and the Silver LCR would have been too expensive, so I went for the 602, 601 and LCR60, as I got them at a very decent price.

I will connect them to a Marantz SR 7000 which i have been using for about half a year. This unit was a real bargain, I got it for 459 Euros.

As DVD Player, I would recommend the Sony DVP NS 900, which is available at really decent prices at the moment.

Hopefully, I can post my first impressions of the B&Ws after the weekend.
 
Glad you're happy with it.
The secret for continuing to enjoy your fine setup is not to be seduced by promises of even greater pleausueres by upgrading i.e. spending more money.
So my advice is to be happy with what you've got (after getting a 5.1 setup):) and don't even think about speaker cables, interconnects, mains conditioners and the like.

Enjoy:D
 
Originally posted by deets
If the thing would let me just change the volume (or even turn on) without me having to fiddle about with it, then i would be happy :(
If you are using the batteries that came with it, change them for some new ones. I had all sorts of agro with my remote. Just before sending it back I swapped the batteries, low and behold the thing worked fine.

Let us know how you get on.:)
 

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