Cabunag

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Has anyone got this Stereo Amplifier is it worth the high cost, I have seen a deal for it online with speakers.

Marantz PM7000N Integrated Stereo Amplifier with Bowers & Wilkins 607 S2 Standmount Loudspeakers​

Cost £1249

I will only be using it for Streaming and the Radio, thanks for reading.
 
I have it and it is an excellent amp for me. It uses the Heos system for streaming and I find that flawless with streaming via DLNA, Spotify and Airplay. I haven’t tried Bluetooth or Tidal. It sort of does Amazon Music HD by which I mean it sounds really good but you can’t access your Amazon library. You simply have to search for an album when you want to play one.

Radio seems to be limited to internet radio via Tune-In.

I also connect a CD player and Turntable to it. As your usage is more focussed than mine, there may be other options open to you but I couldn’t suggest what they are.

I hope that helps.

Kind regards
 
I have it and it is an excellent amp for me. It uses the Heos system for streaming and I find that flawless with streaming via DLNA, Spotify and Airplay. I haven’t tried Bluetooth or Tidal. It sort of does Amazon Music HD by which I mean it sounds really good but you can’t access your Amazon library. You simply have to search for an album when you want to play one.

Radio seems to be limited to internet radio via Tune-In.

I also connect a CD player and Turntable to it. As your usage is more focussed than mine, there may be other options open to you but I couldn’t suggest what they are.

I hope that helps.

Kind regards
Many thanks for the reply it just so expensive just now to get mabye try and get it on a sale.

Why cant you acess your Amazon Music files on it?
 
It‘s simply down to the way Heos integrates (or doesn’t) with Amazon Music HD.

Whilst it cost more than (say) the PM6007, I do think it is a step up in quality.
 
I have one and it's very nice.

It's a really good mid-range "just add speakers" setup. Looks good, works well.

There is no FM/AM/DAB receiver on board, but you can play internet radio via TuneIn. A lot of stations are easy to stream this way, BBC of course, but most of the commercial UK stations are easy enough too, e.g. ClassicFM, Heart, Capital, etc. and other some other stations from around the world.

If you want FM/AM/DAB you could plug in a radio into the PM7000N using RCA cables.

For streaming you use the Heos app or an app from your phone that supports UPnP/DLNA - BubbleUPnP works best for me, but mconnect is also fine. Or if you are using Spotify for streaming then it supports Spotify connect, so you just control direct from the Spotify app - very easy to recommend this amp for Spotify users.

Bluetooth and Airplay streaming both work well from your phone.

It has a lot of connections so you can plug in a record player or other sources later if you want to, and it's easy to feed your TV sound signal in via an optical cable to upgrade your TV sound experience, though it's not a surround processor or anything.

After having had it for a year now it revitalised my interest in hifi so that I have ended up wanting to upgrade a lot.

There are only 2 other things I have found that I would caution about:
1. The amount of power available is moderate - 60W per channel for 8 Ohm speakers. The B&W 607s2 speakers are fairly hard to drive, so it will depend on your space as to whether they will play cleanly at high volumes. They will certainly play loud enough, but with a more powerful amp might be a bit less troubled.
2. Not upgradable. There is no pre-out, so you cannot feed the signal directly into a power amp if you decide you later want to get more power without adding extra kit. Really this is meant to be the heart of your system, not one one piece of amp/pre-amp/streamer, etc. It doesn't give you an easy upgrade path, but it's enough system that you might be perfectly happy and never want to upgrade it.

A comment on the combination you have seen advertised - it's not really a very special deal. The Marantz is normally available for around £900 and the speakers £450, so a £100 saving, but you could likely negotiate that much discount on any amp/speaker combo in that price range.

Those speakers have moderate amount of bass, so for instrumental, vocal and unplugged music you will be astonished how good the system sounds. However if you want to play rock/heavy metal or orchestral you may be better off with a different set of speakers. The Marantz has a subwoofer output too, so you can easily add a subwoofer later.

However I would not particularly recommend that system as advertised.

Often a decent rule of thumb is that the speakers should be 50-75% of the overall cost of your system. Following that line the advertised deal is not a very well balanced system. The Speakers are only 1/3 instead of 2/3. If you are going to spend 1200 you would probably do better to spend 800 on speakers and 400 on amp/streamer.

For example I would rather have :
1. Yamaha RN602 (£450) + Q Acoustics Concept 40 (final few available) (£700) (floorstanding)
2. Yamaha RN602 (£450) + Focal Aria 906 (£800) (bookshelf)
3. Yamaha WXA50 (£380) + Klipsch RP5000-F (£850) (floorstanding)
4. Yamaha WXA50 (£380) + Klipsch RP-600M (£625) (bookshelf)
You would likely be able to negotiate a discount on these ^^ too.

You could hide a subwoofer in the corner as an addition to #2 or #4 later if you want more bass as the Yamaha has sub output. Klipsch has a £400 subwoofer for example, but they are available at many price points.

Obviously there are many combinations of systems that can be put together for £1000-£1250, the market is very competitive at that price level, and other people I'm sure might make recommendations.
 
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I have one and it's very nice.

It's a really good mid-range "just add speakers" setup. Looks good, works well.

There is no FM/AM/DAB receiver on board, but you can play internet radio via TuneIn. A lot of stations are easy to stream this way, BBC of course, but most of the commercial UK stations are easy enough too, e.g. ClassicFM, Heart, Capital, etc. and other some other stations from around the world.

If you want FM/AM/DAB you could plug in a radio into the PM7000N using RCA cables.

For streaming you use the Heos app or an app from your phone that supports UPnP/DLNA - BubbleUPnP works best for me, but mconnect is also fine. Or if you are using Spotify for streaming then it supports Spotify connect, so you just control direct from the Spotify app - very easy to recommend this amp for Spotify users.

Bluetooth and Airplay streaming both work well from your phone.

It has a lot of connections so you can plug in a record player or other sources later if you want to, and it's easy to feed your TV sound signal in via an optical cable to upgrade your TV sound experience, though it's not a surround processor or anything.

After having had it for a year now it revitalised my interest in hifi so that I have ended up wanting to upgrade a lot.

There are only 2 other things I have found that I would caution about:
1. The amount of power available is moderate - 60W per channel for 8 Ohm speakers. The B&W 607s2 speakers are fairly hard to drive, so it will depend on your space as to whether they will play cleanly at high volumes. They will certainly play loud enough, but with a more powerful amp might be a bit less troubled.
2. Not upgradable. There is no pre-out, so you cannot feed the signal directly into a power amp if you decide you later want to get more power without adding extra kit. Really this is meant to be the heart of your system, not one one piece of amp/pre-amp/streamer, etc. It doesn't give you an easy upgrade path, but it's enough system that you might be perfectly happy and never want to upgrade it.

A comment on the combination you have seen advertised - it's not really a very special deal. The Marantz is normally available for around £900 and the speakers £450, so a £100 saving, but you could likely negotiate that much discount on any amp/speaker combo in that price range.

Those speakers have moderate amount of bass, so for instrumental, vocal and unplugged music you will be astonished how good the system sounds. However if you want to play rock/heavy metal or orchestral you may be better off with a different set of speakers. The Marantz has a subwoofer output too, so you can easily add a subwoofer later.

However I would not particularly recommend that system as advertised.

Often a decent rule of thumb is that the speakers should be 50-75% of the overall cost of your system. Following that line the advertised deal is not a very well balanced system. The Speakers are only 1/3 instead of 2/3. If you are going to spend 1200 you would probably do better to spend 800 on speakers and 400 on amp/streamer.

For example I would rather have :
1. Yamaha RN602 (£450) + Q Acoustics Concept 40 (final few available) (£700) (floorstanding)
2. Yamaha RN602 (£450) + Focal Aria 906 (£800) (bookshelf)
3. Yamaha WXA50 (£380) + Klipsch RP5000-F (£850) (floorstanding)
4. Yamaha WXA50 (£380) + Klipsch RP-600M (£625) (bookshelf)
You would likely be able to negotiate a discount on these ^^ too.

You could hide a subwoofer in the corner as an addition to #2 or #4 later if you want more bass as the Yamaha has sub output. Klipsch has a £400 subwoofer for example, but they are available at many price points.

Obviously there are many combinations of systems that can be put together for £1000-£1250, the market is very competitive at that price level, and other people I'm sure might make recommendations.
Many thanks for the comprehensive reply my initial system was
Denon PMA-600NE Integrated Amplifier with Bowers & Wilkins 603 Floorstanding Speakers



Over a 1000 pound
s


I went off the Denon as it only had Bluetooth and not the one for Hi Fi version 4.2 i think i have had 2 Denons before the Mini Hi Fi and the Denon 2500 Receiver.



If i got an Amplifier with good version of Bluetooth that would be ok i was only going to be using Amazon Music anyway, most dont have a USB drive, i have many MP3 files some say not good enough for Hi Fi, but i have to say they sound great to me especially when played through a great set of Headphones i have.



I have not heard enough or owned many systems to be an expert like yourselve. The best system i ever heard was in Southampton waiting for a Ship in the 70s when Quadraphonics was on the go i heard a 4 Channel version of Bridge over Troubled Waters on 4 Kef Monitor speakers.



If you have the time mabye you could suggest a System i do have a few LPs as well and a Turntable that i may use, but i could wire that up to the Denon Receiver.



I have just seen your list there all Yamaha i see would it not be better to have a dedicated Stereo Amplifier for Hi Fi i would go up to £1500 for an Amp and Speakers.



Many thanks for the reply when i do choose i will take your advice and Haggle.
 
If you are willing to spend a bit more then the Marantz with slightly upmarket speakers would be a good deal.

You could either add a subwoofer to the existing deal, for example the REL T5i, and try to get the whole lot for £1500, or alternatively ask them to give you a good deal on a set of floorstanders to go with the Marantz.

The Q Acoustics Concept 40 are very nice and on a good deal at the moment, normal RRP 1000, but you can get them for 700 (from Sevenoaks). Also the Focal Chora 816, normal RRP 1100 but you can get them for 900. (from RicherSounds)

Of course there are a lot of dealers who might be looking to make some sales at the moment - just say you want the Marantz and the best set of floorstanders they can do for £1,500. Different dealers might be able to do some special deals for you.

The Marantz is actually one of the better choices for Amazon Music and Amazon Music HD. The Amazon API is not fantastic, so there are not a huge range of features it supports, but at least you can play music. Of course there are other streaming services too.

Don't let the dealer persuade you that you need expensive speaker cables, tell them you already have a good set, and if you don't just use Amazon Basics.
 
The Yamaha WXA50 looks like what i need it even has a USB for MP3 files been on U Tube for reviews mostly good one did mention that it ran hot.

I like it came out at 2016 i think so a good price now i wont get sucked into upgrading your gear every few years.

I would still be using my Quad 303 Garrard 401 Turntable and Kef Monitor Speakers if it wasnt for a house fire that destroyed everthing.

I dont know what kind of Bluetooth the
The Yamaha WXA50 looks like what i need it even has a USB for MP3 files, been on U Tube for reviews mostly good one did mention that it ran hot. There are a few deals on E Bay for the Yamaha.

I have been looking for some weeks now the Yamaha WXA50 i missed, so thanks for that dont feel that you have to keep replying you have been very helpfull.

My other Hobby is RC Models and like Hi Fi many are looking for advice and it can be overwhelming if you try to help too many people.
If you are willing to spend a bit more then the Marantz with slightly upmarket speakers would be a good deal.

You could either add a subwoofer to the existing deal, for example the REL T5i, and try to get the whole lot for £1500, or alternatively ask them to give you a good deal on a set of floorstanders to go with the Marantz.

The Q Acoustics Concept 40 are very nice and on a good deal at the moment, normal RRP 1000, but you can get them for 700 (from Sevenoaks). Also the Focal Chora 816, normal RRP 1100 but you can get them for 900. (from RicherSounds)

Of course there are a lot of dealers who might be looking to make some sales at the moment - just say you want the Marantz and the best set of floorstanders they can do for £1,500. Different dealers might be able to do some special deals for you.

The Marantz is actually one of the better choices for Amazon Music and Amazon Music HD. The Amazon API is not fantastic, so there are not a huge range of features it supports, but at least you can play music. Of course there are other streaming services too.

Don't let the dealer persuade you that you need expensive speaker cables, tell them you already have a good set, and if you don't just use Amazon Basics.

I will keep looking but i have to say i like the WXA50 a lot, i could get it from Amazon and return it if i dont like it. For £318 used
 
The Yamaha WXA50 arrives tommorow will see if its and good some of the reviews of the App is not so good, heres hoping.
 
i was thinking of pairing my elac dbr62 speakers with marantz pm7000n, what do you think? is it a valid match? will my speakers sound good, does the amp have enough power to drive them? I also listen to streaming music from my iPod touch, does the marantz have a good music performance for streaming?

Thanks to all.
Pasquale
 
How will you stream - using airplay or bluetooth?
 
It will probably be fine. How big is your room, and how far do you sit from the speakers, and how loud do you like to play?
 
It will probably be fine. How big is your room, and how far do you sit from the speakers, and how loud do you like to play?
Room is about 300 sq.ft, and i am seated at 6/7 feet from hifi. I like to listen at medium / low volume.

Thanks
P.
 
It will definitely be fine then.
 
How does this do compared to Bluesound Powernode?
Is it a fair comparison?
 
How does this do compared to Bluesound Powernode?
Is it a fair comparison?
The Marantz is better in my opinion. More body to the sound whereas the Powernode is more flat. Still you can’t go wrong with any of them.
 
It's certainly a similar price. £850 v £900 and a slightly higher power rating for the NAD/Bluesound of 80W/8O v 60W/8O for the Marantz.

Arguably the Marantz is a traditional mid-range class A/B integrated amplifier from their line with streaming bolted on. With the Bluesound it's the other way round, they started with the streamer and added a class D amp. Similar power ratings but...

Back of Marantz
1627912147331.png


Back of Powernode - no phono stage, CD, aux inputs, fewer optical inputs, no rec out, etc.

1627912203895.png


As a pure streamer + speakers solution the new Powernode is probably better, but the Marantz has more features overall. I think consensus is that BlueOS is significantly better than Heos (though Heos is not the worst).

As far as sound is concerned you may have a preference for one over the other, but features are probably the reason to choose the Marantz if you need them. If not the Powernode is the way to go.
 
@Helix Hifi @gava
Much appreciate the feedback and comments.
In my country, Powernode 2021 edition is now selling at retail, while the Marantz can be found in relatively new used unit about 25% less than Powernode.
Based on this, does it mean it’s no brained to go with Marantz?
 
Not a no-brainer. Both are good items.

It's a no-brainer if you want to pair a CD player or phono. Otherwise the Marantz has a little less power, but depending on your speakers it may have more than sufficient, especially if you are using a sub.

What sort of speakers do you have or intend to have?
 
The ‘shorter’ backstory here is my Marantz NR (can’t remember model now) early version somehow decided to not power up anymore. It’s just a simple amp to get 3.1 for movie watching most times and I’ll use a separate tube amp for music listening. Speaker is Monitor Audio Bronze 2 with a Yammie sub.

Meantime, Spotify has been via Rpi with volumio, just to get by. With the NR dying out, it’s an opportunity now to update the tech.

Now I noticed that PM7000N doesn’t have HDMI input, but I could use the optical input for the sound from tv. I could not see if PM7000N would decode Dolby (downsample it to 2.1). While I’m sure Powernode could handle that. Any concern here?

To add the answer to the earlier question, I won’t have any other inputs like CD or turntable.
 
No I used optical output from my TV. Seemed to work just fine into 2.1, but I think it may depend somewhat on the TV too??

Spotify is perfect on the PM7000N, Qobuz and Tidal too. I think it will be fine with those speakers and sub too, should have plenty of power. For me therefore there would be no reason not to get the Marantz.
 
@Helix Hifi @gava
Much appreciate the feedback and comments.
In my country, Powernode 2021 edition is now selling at retail, while the Marantz can be found in relatively new used unit about 25% less than Powernode.
Based on this, does it mean it’s no brained to go with Marantz?
No contest, go for the Marantz. You’ll get a much fuller sound then Bluesound. But both are good, and it is your own ears which decides.
Marantz has more body to midrange, bass and the treble is soft but still has enough drive and attack.

The Powernode is sort of digital/analog amplifier. If you look on line you’ll find the specs about the Powernode 2i digital sound quality. It is just that it sounds a bit lifeless compared to the Marantz PM700N. But the Powernode 2i sound a tad more dynamic then the Marantz.
In the end it depends which sound, design, features you want.

Your MA speakers we’ll have no problems with either amplifier. Don’t get hung up on that The Powernode 2i has 80 watts vs 60 watts from the Marantz. It is the amplifier current, voltage that is important. Marantz is excellent in that regard.
 
Both amplifiers in question we’ll not decode Dolby Digital sound, just normal PCM sound (cd sound).

The Powernode 2i supports HIDM inputs, but you can just use your tv as you said by using digital cable (coaxial, optical), remember adjust the tv-settings to PCM or you well not hear any sound from the speakers.

The Marantz PM7000N is very good. Excellent build quality-excellent design.

The Powernode 2i has something rare as bass management/build in cross over settings. This makes easier to integrate the subwoofer in the listing room. That is a plus for the Bluesound amp.

The Marantz PM7000N does not, but has fixed subwoofer out.

My preference is Marantz because the midrange is absolutely stellar. Voices sound real. And the rest of the soundstage just floats in the air.

However you may be different and like the Powernode 2i more aggressive sound. Don’t get me wrong it still sound very good. Still as I said it is flat sounding. In short it is neutral. Whereas as Marantz PM7000N is more musical.

Ps, you said the Marantz PM7000N is sort of “new”. It could be risky buying used amplifiers, but if It is from your local hifi shop, it probably would be fine.

Still I like to buy brand new amplifiers.

Good luck.
 
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@lkming, if you like to eq the sound then maybe the PM8006 with Yamaha WXAD-10 streamer is better choice in the long run. By eq I mean the PM8006 has something as rare as midrange control, the PM7000N does not. However the Yamaha does not have any digital outputs. Still it can be solved by getting the FiiO D03K Taishan DAC. Then you just connect the FiiO to your tv, amplifier if you want sound from your television.

Still I can understand if you want to keep it simple. Other alternatives is the Yamaha N803D streamer/amplifier. Cost more or less the same as the Powernode 2i.

The midrange control on the PM8006 is excellent to use on bad recordings. The PM7000N only has treble, bass controls. Which the PM8006 also has.

The Powernode 2i has digital tone controls (only treble, bass),
but the sound drops -7db if you engage the tone controls settings. This is because BluOS don’t want to sacrifice any headroom.
 
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