Marantz NR5106 or Yamaha RX-S601 (Slimline receivers)

ChrisAV

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Hi all

Looking to replace my Yamaha DSP-AX763 because it is (a) too big for most of the cabinets I'm looking to replace my old glass/chrome open shelved unit and (b) it only has 2 HDMI sockets.

Use currently is probably 70% TV/Movies (Virgin Media, LG Blu-Ray, Netflix and Youtube via Chromecast), 30% Music (Google Play/occasional spotify via Chromecast Audio) and occasional gaming (Nintendo Switch). I may set up a NAS at some point and probably use Plex to stream video/audio (from a an existing hard drive I have) to Chromecast/Chromecast audio (I have 3 currently).

Speakers are Wharfdale Diamonds (9.1 fronts with centre and surround but no sub yet)

So I been looking at the NR5106 and the RX-S601, I asked Peter Tyson for advice and they said the Marantz was more musical. They also recommend the Arcam Solo Movies 5.1 which I could stretch to but is a lot more than the others.

All look as though they would do the job, the Yamaha seems to have more features, not sure how useful they actually are? Most of my music is 320k MP3 so if it can enhance that it would be useful for example.

So, any thoughts? Suggestions? Threads I should have read before posting this??

Thanks in advance! Chris
 
Hi all

Looking to replace my Yamaha DSP-AX763 because it is (a) too big for most of the cabinets I'm looking to replace my old glass/chrome open shelved unit and (b) it only has 2 HDMI sockets.

Use currently is probably 70% TV/Movies (Virgin Media, LG Blu-Ray, Netflix and Youtube via Chromecast), 30% Music (Google Play/occasional spotify via Chromecast Audio) and occasional gaming (Nintendo Switch). I may set up a NAS at some point and probably use Plex to stream video/audio (from a an existing hard drive I have) to Chromecast/Chromecast audio (I have 3 currently).

Speakers are Wharfdale Diamonds (9.1 fronts with centre and surround but no sub yet)

So I been looking at the NR5106 and the RX-S601, I asked Peter Tyson for advice and they said the Marantz was more musical. They also recommend the Arcam Solo Movies 5.1 which I could stretch to but is a lot more than the others.

All look as though they would do the job, the Yamaha seems to have more features, not sure how useful they actually are? Most of my music is 320k MP3 so if it can enhance that it would be useful for example.

So, any thoughts? Suggestions? Threads I should have read before posting this??

Thanks in advance! Chris

I have the NR5104 which is basically the NR1506 without HDCP 2.2 support and I have to agree about it being great for music. I prefer it over my Denon X2100W for music, but the Denon is slightly better for movies.
Not heard the Yamaha, but the Marantz is popular and also keeps its value on the secondhand market. Based on the Yamaha's price right now it should be compared with the Marantz NR1607 not the NR1506.
If you're not planning to go further than 5.1 surround, the NR1506 is a great choice.
The Arcam is not worth three times the price the Marantz is selling for.
 
Last edited:
If you're not planning to go further than 5.1 surround, the NR1506 is a great choice.
The Arcam is not worth three times the price the Marantz is selling for.

Thanks for the for the reply!

I'm not looking for more than a 5.1 setup, that's more than enough speakers for my lounge as it is! As the for Arcam unless someone convinced me it would change my life I can't really justify the extra outlay anyway.

You're right, the two amps I selected aren't exactly a fair comparison but the older Yamaha RX-600 is thin on the ground and not much cheaper than 601.

Having read a few more reviews the Marantz seems better rated, and cheaper too so unless I find a deal breaker on it I've missed (or a killer feature on the 601) I'll probably be going with NR1506.
 
Thanks for the for the reply!
Having read a few more reviews the Marantz seems better rated, and cheaper too so unless I find a deal breaker on it I've missed (or a killer feature on the 601) I'll probably be going with NR1506.

BTW the NR1508 just came out, this may be a good reason to use for asking Peter Tyson for a discount on the NR1506!
 
If being slim is very important to you, you can check out the Pioneer VSX-S520D (or its clone: the Onkyo TX-L50) - 7 cm high compared with 10 cm for the Marantz, but you'll lose out on sound quality and features.

Review of the Onkyo here: Review: Onkyo TX-L50
 
Thanks again, I did look at the NR-1508 and to me it looks like the main difference is the addition of the HEOS multi room speaker support, which I don't really need as have chromecast audio in 3 rooms anyway, and the NR-1508 is the the best part of £200 more than the NR-1506.

The Onkyo is nice and discrete but I think intended for smaller speakers than my Wharfdale Diamonds. I've checked dimensions and my centre speaker is actually about 1.5cm taller than the 1506 so any cabinet which will take the centre speaker should take the 1506.

Thanks again for your input, my new Marantz NR-1506 arrives tomorrow :)
 
Thanks again, I did look at the NR-1508 and to me it looks like the main difference is the addition of the HEOS multi room speaker support, which I don't really need as have chromecast audio in 3 rooms anyway, and the NR-1508 is the the best part of £200 more than the NR-1506.

The Onkyo is nice and discrete but I think intended for smaller speakers than my Wharfdale Diamonds. I've checked dimensions and my centre speaker is actually about 1.5cm taller than the 1506 so any cabinet which will take the centre speaker should take the 1506.

Thanks again for your input, my new Marantz NR-1506 arrives tomorrow :)

Hi, I've just very recently, like last week, bought a brand new Marantz NR1506 from Peter Tyson. I was initially going to buy the Pioneer slimline receiver, but after explaining my set up and accepting advice, I opted for the NR1506.

I've only had it since Tuesday and I'm very impressed by it. I bought it to replace an ageing Panasonic SA-XR700, which was a good bit of kit in its day, but sadly just doesn't have wifi, bluetooth, internet radio and all of the greatness that comes from being networked.

My speaker set up are Bowers and Wilkins M1 series 1 speakers with a KEF PSW1000 sub. I use the whole setup primarily to watch movies, but also to stream music from our iphones and as from today, from my Amazon Echo Dot via bluetooth.

Concerning the Echo Dot, I initially had it connected via an audio cable into analogue output CD on the back of the NR1506 and then wondered why I had done that. Today, I removed the cable and set up Echo as a new device using the Alexa App, pairing the NR1506 using the on screen menu on the TV (Hisense H55M7000) and bingo! Echo now successfully paired via bluetooth through the receiver and crystal clear audio coming through the speakers. The NR1506 automatically pairs to the last bluetooth connected device, so there are no issues there. If I want to stream from my phone, I just connect to that via bluetooth settings on my phone again.

The slimline NR1506 fits nicely into my new media bench. It doesn't get anywhere near as hot as my old Panny did, especially as I use ECO mode on the 1506.

Overall, only a week into ownership, loving it! It has carried out two firmware updates already with no issues. Not sure what the firmware updates, but it's a feature my old AV wasn't able to do as it wasn't networked. Just to mention too, I'm using the Marantz AV App on my iphone without problems. Very handy!

Great purchase for me!
 
Dear Kimberlin,

I am reading your post and I am wondering what is the advantage to connect to the receiver via echo? Don’t you loose in sound quality due to Bluetooth??
 
Dear Kimberlin,

I am reading your post and I am wondering what is the advantage to connect to the receiver via echo? Don’t you loose in sound quality due to Bluetooth??

Hi,

I connect my Echo Dot which is effectively sat next to my NR1506 receiver via bluetooth purely to listen to music through the AV system. The sound going through my Bowers and Wilkins M1 speakers is obviously far more superior than just listening via the Dot onboard speaker. No, I don't lose any obvious quality when connected via bluetooth and it is very stable, i.e. no dropouts.

Overall, I'm still loving this NR1506. It has had at least three over the air firmware updates since I bought it last year. Not sure what the updates do, but it works well with all of my connected kit. For the price I paid, I'm not complaining!
 
Cool thanks for the reply!
Can you just play directly your music from the receiver? I mean like Spotify, airplay etc?

I have the NR1508 and I can play directly everything at my receiver, so I am searching a good reason to connect my receiver to the echo!
 
Cool thanks for the reply!
Can you just play directly your music from the receiver? I mean like Spotify, airplay etc?

I have the NR1508 and I can play directly everything at my receiver, so I am searching a good reason to connect my receiver to the echo!

No problem,

So, I don't have a Spotify account, however my wife does! She has never connected her ipod touch via bluetooth to the NR1506 until now. She is as I type streaming music from her Spotify account directly to the NR1506 from her ipod touch. As I understand it, you obviously need an Android or IOS device to achieve playback, unless of course you are streaming music directly from the onboard online radio. If I'm wrong about any of this, hopefully someone else may be able to clarify further.

As for the Echo Dot, I regularly listen to music via Amazon (I am a Prime customer). You obviously need to pair your Dot to the NR1506 via bluetooth but once done, hopefully you should in the future just be able to say 'Alexa, connect my speaker' and it should do so automatically.
 

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