New amp time

Lensman5d

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It looks like my recent problems are caused by my amp. Kit turning off during use, projector/ shield/sat box all failing randomly. Tonight I saw an actual error of “faulty hdmi cable/signal lost”. This about seals it for the amp.
I have a Yamaha 3050 and a Rotel 1552 adding 2ch.
I have found a 3080 with a 2 year warranty, but they seem to be discontinued everywhere! Why? We’re they not very good Or is it simply out of date?
I need an amp to drive a 7.1.4 layout, with or without the rotel.
the Marantz 8015 seems to be highly rated and is up for £2800. The 3080 is £1400....
I run B&W all around, cm8S2 for mains and a HTM2D3 centre and so on. I also have two Rel s510 paired to the cm8’s and an S5 on the centre and another on the rears.
movies are the main thing for me but also I love a bit of vinyl, provided by a Rega RP8.

is the 3080 a duffer?
is it better than my 3050 or is it just a new badge? The supposed 3D ai sounds interesting...
is the marantz the way to go and sell the Rotel?

I have been chasing this problem for months now and just want to move on. But they ain’t free, so your learned thoughts very much appreciated
 
Bad timing for your Yahama to give up the ghost. Usually at this time of year prices have fallen considerably, not so this year they really are remaining stubbornly high with just a few exceptions. The Yamaha 3080 is a good AV amp and was a £2200 unit on release. There's a good review on the Forum.


To compete with it you are looking at a minimum the Denon AVC X6700. It's main advantage over the 3080 is a better EQ system in Audyssey XT32 and an App to tinker with. It also has HDR10+ pass through if that is of any importance. I would not sell the Rotel with this amp as I'm not convinced with it's stereo music credentials, I own a Denon AVC X6500.

The Marantz may be better for stereo music but still not as good as the Rotel. You are also in the territory of AV amps from NAD, Anthem and Arcam which have superior room EQ and are all regarded as being far better for stereo music. I suggest you read the Arcam or the others owners' threads as they are complicated machines and perhaps not for everyone and not without their problems.

Depends on your budget really.
 
Have you tried replacing the HDMI cables first? It would be a low cost double check to see if your current AVR can be saved.

Try some premium certified ones, such as these:

Amazon product ASIN B01GCGKI3O
My issues have been accumulating over the last couple of months. First my projector started to fail at random time periods. Up to the point where it switches off around 4 times in each movie. I swapped cables, cleaned filters, replaced the lamp etc all to no improvemen. Then I used the second hdmi out on the amp and it hasn’t failed since.
however, what I do get now is the source getting turned off. This happens on whatever I am using, shield, freesat etc. Last nights error came up with an onscreen prompt of hdmi cable error. The first time I have seen this. I restarted the amp and it played without issue.
I have no idea what is going on! The only common factor is the amp. I am guessing that the handshaking is failing and a shut down command is given. I am now concerned I could be damaging my components.

as noted, I have found a 3080 for £1400 with a 2 year warranty. But as ever, I want to upgrade if I am to change something. Why not ? 🤣
so the Marantz at £2800 is possible for me but it needs to be worth it.
I can still use my Rotel 1552 to get my 11 ch, so really looking for the best step forward.
 
The source is turning off?? Bizarre. Sounds like CEC is switched on and sending random off signals to the source. If it were me, and you like how that amp sounds, I'd try switching off all HDMI CEC related options on sources, AVR and projector / TV, and for good measure, replace all the HDMI cables with premium certified ones.

I agree that it does sound like the HDMI boards in the AVR have developed a fault. But if they don't get any worse you might be able to live with it?

There aren't many bargains around at the moment in AVRs. Peter Tyson do have the Arcam AVR390 at a discounted price of £1299.90. That is practically half price of the model AV10 that is replacing it. Possibly the best, or one of the best sounding AVRs for 2 channel music.

It only has 7 onboard power amps though, so you would need four channels of external amplification for a 7.1.4 system.
 
My issues have been accumulating over the last couple of months. First my projector started to fail at random time periods. Up to the point where it switches off around 4 times in each movie. I swapped cables, cleaned filters, replaced the lamp etc all to no improvemen. Then I used the second hdmi out on the amp and it hasn’t failed since.
however, what I do get now is the source getting turned off. This happens on whatever I am using, shield, freesat etc. Last nights error came up with an onscreen prompt of hdmi cable error. The first time I have seen this. I restarted the amp and it played without issue.
I have no idea what is going on! The only common factor is the amp. I am guessing that the handshaking is failing and a shut down command is given. I am now concerned I could be damaging my components.

as noted, I have found a 3080 for £1400 with a 2 year warranty. But as ever, I want to upgrade if I am to change something. Why not ? 🤣
so the Marantz at £2800 is possible for me but it needs to be worth it.
I can still use my Rotel 1552 to get my 11 ch, so really looking for the best step forward.
The Yamaha. 3080 would be good and they pretty solid too, but the Arcam 390 would be better for 2 channel music and has Dirac Live by far a better room correction solution.
I can't think I would want to be pay £2800 for the Marantz when the Nad T778 can be had for £2500 which also has Dirac and is also good for 2 channel also.
 
I'm only going to generally echo what has already been said. I got rid of my AVR-X3600 recently, fortunately I have 4 other AV amps in the house (only one in use in a bedroom) so I have (yes, older) units to use in what can only be described as a national AV amp shortage!
This is proven by the fact that I listed a Denon on ebay yesterday for auction sale, within 15 minutes of listing started I was offered an unbelievable amount for what is a 9 year old amp!
I will be listing another one of them very soon - of course.
Anyway, I am rambling again, if at all possible I would suggest you make do as long as you can so that the market goes more back to normal and you can get better value for money.
I have switched all HDMI control things off. I couldn't get my head around the random things that they seemed to do and which remote control was doing what... yes, I'm getting old now, but to me it is a needless gimmick... my chair arm can fit enough controls on it!
I also had 4k issues with HDMI cables, out of interest, and the good old Amazon certified did the trick for me, no problems since.
If you can't fix it, rather than spending 2 grand now, maybe get something to make do with for example an AVR-X2400 that can passthrough 4k second hand? I'm basically suggesting that your two grand may buy you a lot more near the end of this year!
 
Very good points indeed. I am very tempted to go for the Yamaha 3080, ex demo for £1400. Even has a two year warranty 👍
The reviews are good and I like the Yamaha ‘sound’
Thanks everyone for your time 😎👍🔊🔊🔊🔊
 
Very good points indeed. I am very tempted to go for the Yamaha 3080, ex demo for £1400. Even has a two year warranty 👍
The reviews are good and I like the Yamaha ‘sound’
Thanks everyone for your time 😎👍🔊🔊🔊🔊
There's a refurbished 2080 (very similar) for £999 at Peter Tyson right now if you're quick!
 

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