Marantz AV7005 - Page 283

Anybody been having any problems with their 7005?? I haven't been been keeping up with this thread...but I now have a couple of issues. A few months ago my HDMI 1 output died. I had to move over to the HDMI 2 output. Now it seems my HDMI 2 input is dead. I had my cable box hooked up to it. I had to move it over to the HDMI 3 input.

What sucks is that I bought 7005 for $1200 from an unauthorized seller. Which means no warranty....

I would think it is still cheaper to repair it than to replace it. If not, it will be a good excuse to upgrade and this time buy from an authorized dealer. Apparently you can get a 4311 for 1299 authorized.

If the issues result from only the DTV box and from only certain channels, then it's more likely either the box itself or how those channels are broadcasting the signal.

Try resetting the microprocessor as listed in your Owner's manual to see if that resolves the issue. If not,, replacing the HDMI board will likely cost about $500 not including labor of about another $75.

Can't say I'm surprised...

Boy do I miss reading Julian Hirsch....

I think an even greater loss is that of David Ranada, who seemed to vanish into thin air, without explanation, after being their top technical editor and writer for over 26 years. Now that magazine has simply been absorbed by the evil empire.
Edited by m. zillch - 8/7/12 at 9:23am

^^^
I hope David hasn't turned to the dark side.

I don't think so. He still works at Ovation Multimedia, the company that makes video calibration software like Avia II, as best as I can tell.

Just wanted to include a bit of info in this thread as I scoured the Internet for it and didn't find it anywhere.

As per Marantz tech support here are the output impedance specs for the AV7005::

• RCA output:  1,040 ohms (1.04k ohms)
• XLR output: 200 ohms

This info is useful if you want to build DIY attenuators i.e. for the XLR connectors for use with Emotiva amps.

Have had my AV7005 for just over a year and love it. Now looking to upgrade a couple other areas of my HT setup. Here are my questions:
1) Is anyone using the AV7005 with a Parasound 5250 New Classic? Need a new amp and the Parasound sounds like a good choice.
2) Several custom shops have told me I should use rear surrounds in a 5.1 system, but I was under the impression side surrounds are preferred? What do you all think the best placement is?

Thanks!

The exact placement of the two surrounds is the least critical of the 5, so don't sweat it and feel free to experiment. If they are dipolar or bipolar you might want them to your immediate sides, other than that, they generally should be a tad behind that, IMO.

"Surround Left & Right Speakers (SL & SR): Place the SL & SR speakers between 90° to 110° to each side and 2 feet or higher above the listener. "

THX 5.1 guidelines [see: 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker Set Up]
Edited by m. zillch - 8/9/12 at 3:54pm

Re question 2, there are many conflicting views on that one.

Having had pretty much every possible configuration over the years, here's what I've found unbeatable:

* Run 7.1 rather than 5.1.

* Use ProLogic iix on all material to matrix the extra 2 surround channels.
You will swear that the 5.1 films were mixed that way... Much better spread of sound, wider sweet spot, better 360-degree pans, better depth.
(Remember that cinemas & mixing theatres use multiple arrays of speakers down the sides and rear - not a single pair !)

* Having direct radiating speakers at the rear is ok, but better still - go for bipoles, quadpoles or omnipoles.

* For the sides, use bipoles, dipoles, quadpoles or omnipoles - but not direct-radiators.

* There's a good thread here...
SURROUND SPEAKERS - Bipole, Dipole, Quadpole, Omnipole... WHICH ONE?

http://www.dolby.com/us/en/consumer/setup/connection-guide/home-theater-speaker-guide/index.html
---
Yeah, but that's because they don't have one seating distance to address, as we usually do in a home, they have dozens and have to distribute the sound evenly for all the theater goers. If they only had one pair, say in the center, the sound would be too loud for those seated close to them, in the center row, and too quiet for those in the front rows and back rows since the closer one sits to a speaker(s) the louder the sound. They need the surround channel to be roughly the same level for all viewers, regardless of their seated distance from the screen.
Edited by m. zillch - 8/9/12 at 6:31pm

If you have only one pair, connect them to the side surround terminals.   With 5.1 sources, nothing comes from the rear surround outputs unless processed.

Thanks for the input on the speakers. What are the conflicting views on that Parasound? What other amp would you recommend?

Thanks! Those links are very helpful. I have to do either in-wall or in-ceiling, which does everyone recommend?

Glad you mentioned that as I surely would of done it wrong!

Well, it partly depends how skeptical one is about the merits of "high-end" amps...

Richard Clark $10,000 Amplifier Challenge

I've had Rotels and been very happy (with the old A/B deisgns - not sure about the new ones).

Emotiva seem like great value.


But having recently changed my speakers over to (active) pro studio monitors (KRK Rokit 10-3), I'm wondering if I could ever go back to a lot of overpriced consumer hi-fi gear!

So, you should also consider professional (but very cost-effective) brands like Behringer, Samson, etc.
Edited by Electric_Haggis - 8/9/12 at 7:20pm

As you know, most speakers are drivers (tweeters, woofers) in a sealed box (for example, acoustic suspension), or sometimes with holes (ports) or passive radiators called bass reflex. The tweeters don't care about being in a box, but the woofer needs to be and the size of the enclosed volume of air is very specifically picked for that woofer. The problem with speakers in a wall or ceiling is that the volume of air is not so well defined and varies, so it will impact the sound differently from wall to wall. One reviewer may praise an inwall speaker as sounding "top notch", yet when you put it in your wall/ceiling the different volume of air makes it a totally different speaker! They may also claim to be "infinite baffle", which assumes the air in the wall is effectively "huge", and this may or may not work out OK, but if at all possible, I recommend you consider a small speaker instead, so the designers know exactly what the volume of air is behind the speaker, because they supplied it!

If due to SAF, etc, you have to compromise and get one of these in wall/ceiling designs, I'd buy a Polk or Boston Acoustic in-wall and keep your fingers crossed they work well with you particular wall. [A few very high end versions actually HAVE enclosures you fit in the wall between two studs, but they are very pricey, complex to install (compared to just cutting a hole) and I'm assuming you don't want to go to those lengths]

What's wrong with your current amp you have been using? Why do you need to consider another?

P.S. Another little secret dealers don't like to tell customers is that the sound leakage to the adjacent room with those inwalls/in-ceiling is annoyingly loud since the woofers excite the air IN THE WALL, just as much as they do the air in your room! [And with only one layer of sheet rock to muffle it, not two plus a layer of insulation]
Edited by m. zillch - 8/9/12 at 9:38pm

In addition to what Zilch just said... Are attractive wall-mount speakers really out of the question?

There are plenty of nice looking options out there - only very slightly more intrusive looking than in-walls.

Thanks for the insights. I should of been more clear.... For the front/center I am looking at traditional floorstanding speakers (currently auditioning Dynaudio, B&W, Paradigm and few others). It's the surround speakers that have to be either in-wall or in-ceiling. I understand the limitations of those, but just don't have the space to do it differently. My space is not a designed HT and unfortunately my main listening area (sofa) is right against the back wall. So my question was more about is in-ceiling or in-wall going to provide better directionality/sound?

I'm looking for a new amp as the one I'm using is very old (it doesn't even have any brand identification on it) and over the last couple months has been giving me problems. I have no need to have a "high-end" amp and honestly don't truly grasp all the differences in amps. My first inclination was Emotiva, but after reading this thread I got the impression it might have gain issues. It also appears from reading other posts that it doesn't have the best capacitance and other aspects that might be important. So, I figured I would go middle-of-the-road, which I thought the 5250 was? I am completely open to suggestions as I am pretty clueless when it comes to amps (and many other things). The one thing I don't want to do is save a little money now and regret my choice later.

Another giant problem with in-wall speakers, I forgot to mention, is it is impossible to reposition them or play around with their exact height, toe -in, angle of attack, etc. after the fact [although a few have pivoting tweeters]. Short of massive reconstruction costs of plastering over the first hole that was made for them, cutting a new one, and repainting the wall, you have to take a wild guess where they will sound best [and you can't test your theory], commit to it, and cut the wall hole. [And any professional installer who claims,"Don't worry; We'll know!" is simply telling you what you want to hear.]

The rear speakers don't need to be very large to offer spectacular (surround) performance. How about little speakers on pivoting brackets about the size of, say, a six-pack of beer? Heck I'd even rather have speakers the size of a single can of soda over in-walls that cost 10 times their price!

Many interior decorator friendly speakers come in white and are designed to tuck nicely in a corner or the intersection of the wall and ceiling, shooting downward. Here's a random example I've googled up, not that I know anything about this particular design:http://www.hideflifestyle.com/boston-acoustics-soundware-small-cube-indoor-outdoor-speaker-3396.html#!prettyPhoto/0/

I would take almost any name brand micro speaker like these little wedge designs over an in-wall or ceiling design, but if you are dead set on these problematic designs, here's an article that may offer some incites even if the specific designs tested may no longer be on the market:
http://www.keithyates.com/inwall1article.htm
http://www.keithyates.com/inwall2article.htm

The thing is, most current audio magazines consider these sorts of speakers as, well, maybe not exactly "jokes", but "not worthy of serious consideration", so they don't even test any and detailed reviews with frequency response measurements are very hard to come by.
Edited by m. zillch - 8/10/12 at 8:59am

As for the amp issue, I'd probably sell the AV7005 and buy an all-in-one Denon AVR4311CI, considering what they go for these days and the addition of XT32. [Considering my #1 objective is sound quality.]

LMAO!!!!! That's what you get for being cheap.....you get what you deserve. Support your local A/V retailer.

That was uncalled for.

I'd say all things being equal, SS electronics are a good category to consider buying gray market since statistically they are rather reliable. If one has no need for their added services, there's nothing immoral or "unfair" about bypassing the markup of a middleman, an A/V retail store, and buying such goods on the gray market as long as the seller admits upfront the true conditions of the sale.

There's only ONE source for determining if an on-line dealer is authorized or not, (and other sources, including other authorized dealers, should not be trusted) : Marantz
Edited by m. zillch - 8/10/12 at 2:14pm

Stapleton,

I can vouch for Emotiva since I use a pair of XPA-1 everyday to a pair of Jamo R909. I now got the new XPR-5 here sitting and waiting for me to finish my HT. I believe the gain issue is only if the speakers are very high efficiency designs. The XPA series does have a high gain of 32 dB to deal with AVR's with low output voltages. But the more recent amps such as the XPR-5 and the UPA-200 & UPA/500 are a normal 29 dB. I am certain the next XPA series will be 29 dB also. A XPA-7 is in the works, BTW. Don't ask for a date, I have no idea.

As for the speakers: I avoid inwall and inceiling at all cost. Even my outdoor speakers will be wall mount even I like clean unsmothered lines. I like good sound even better! I suggest onwall. These Jamo's get very good reviews:
http://www.jamo.com/speaker-lines/thx-speakers/D600/
And the D500 is good also.

The only room acceptable for inceiling or inwall is our master bedroom with ensuite bathroom, since they only are needed to hear the news when bathing or shaving...

Does any one here use the Integra/Onkyo PA-MC5500 9 channel amp with this AV7005.. Im looking for a 9 channel Amp for mine and would appreciate feedback comments on that Amp

One note on the Emotiva amps. I've heard too that the XPA series(and old UPA discontinued series) was designed to handle AVR's lower voltage output, but they did this with designing the amps to reach unity gain(or full power) at 1 volt, which is the max output of many AVRs. The gain of 32 db was not needed for this, and I believe an Audioholics reviewer suspected that they might simply be trying to get the amps to sound louder than other brands of amps, or something to that effect. A higher gain can cause issues with some of the more sensitve speakers, which might give off a hiss during silent passages. But the new UPA series and the XPR series seem to all have a gain of 29 thus far.

Also, it's pretty hard to predict when a new Emotiva product will be released. They have trouble themselves in making release dates. Currently the XMC-1 and the XSP-1 are both overdue.

Hi all,

Long time forum member and1-time poster a long time ago. Usually find what I need by searching so never need to ask questions. This is a great forum. The AV7005 thread at almost 8,500 posts was a chore to read though. I wish there was a better way like making each processor it's own sub-forum with each topic being its own thread. a LOT of chaff I had to slog through.... Oh well.

I just replaced my decade old Sherwood Newcastle AVP-9080 with the AV7005. The two reasons to do so were HDMI support (including 1080p rather than the AVP-9080's component only HD) and modern cinema codecs the AVP-9080 did not have. The AVP-9080 never failed to provide spectacular sound (in my opinion) and I find the AV7005 to perform at least equal if a tad bit better. This is a testament to how good the Sherwood Newcastle was and still is. Other than the two items noted, there really was no other reason to retire the AVP-9080. It was truly an underrated performer.

As for the AV7005, I wanted it as soon as it came out. Right features at the right price. Well received and highly rated. Obviously waited a while to see how the public felt and it seems it is a great bargain so I ordered it from Amazon, hooked it up and got to it. I'm using an ADCOM GFA-7500 amp, ADCOM GCD-700 CD player, an older Sony BDP BX2 Blu-ray player through some Infinity SM speakers (the weakest link for sure). Gold plated Monster Cable RCA all around. Hooked up to a new Vizio 55" LED LCD flat panel. Another bargain that performs surprisingly well after calibration.

After 3 weeks with the AV7005 I'd have to say it performs as expected. I find the Audyssey calibration to be a bit odd in that it seems to do what it should with the exception of still needing to tweak some items such as each individual speaker's level (the surrounds were too loud and the center too low), the necessity of checking and modifying the crossover points, and getting different results on each run of the setup (given the same environment each time, the results *should* all be the same but were not particularly consistent). End result is that the sound is indeed better with Audyssey but I still had to work at it manually to get it to sound right. I even went so far as to do a factory reset and manual calibration with my SPL meter and checked that against the auto calibration. I thought my manual calibration sounded right. Audyssey obviously adds the tweaks to help modify the sounds for my room but, in the absence of that, the AV7005 does sound pretty good out of the box.

My AV7005 gets hot. A lot hotter than I thought it would given most posts here saying it stays cool. It's on the top of my stand away from the other components so it's got 12 feet above it and the amp is on the bottom shelf. So the heat is all AV7005. I don't yet know if that's going to be a problem or why mine should run so hot when others say theirs runs for hours and is cool to the touch.

Everything on the AV7005 seems to work as it should. The HD and internet radio work surprisingly well and sound darned good considering. The Harmony remote I have works fine. I am not able to discern much of a difference between the ADCOM GCD-700 Burr-Brown D/A converters and the AV7005's. In my opinion, the 11 year old ADCOM is still an excellent CD player. I have no known video issues that I can see. I'm running the Sony Blu-ray and a DirecTV through the AV7005 and no handshake issues so far. My sub seems to be active when it should and I check it all the time so I have not had any issues getting it to work. The remote is a bit busy but I'm used to it and use it if necessary (not everything is programmed into the Harmony I have.)

Only thing I have not hooked up to it is my 26 year old Technics SLBD22 turntable but that's currently archiving vinyl to my computer and won't be hooked up for a while.

Only major issue is figuring out the right settings so that we can hear and understand dialog from the center. I'm still not sure I have it right but it seems to be working at the moment. Clearly I need to select the right Audyssey settings which do seem to need to change depending on the movie being played. Sometimes Dynamic volume is the way to go, sometimes not. That's a bit annoying but workable.

One thing I really like about the AV7005 is the ability to leave the BD input set to "Auto" and have the processor play back the audio without me needing to push a button like on the AVP-9080. Many times the Sherwood Newcastle would output no sound and it took a few button pushes to get the right processor mode to work. The AV7005 seems to do that all on its own which is a time and headache saver especially for my wife.

While the GFA-7500 is not the best amp out there, it sounds fine to me and works well with the AV7500. I would like to replace the Infinity set up with some Paradigm Studio or Monitor series speakers so I would only expect the AV7005 to sound better as time goes on. For now, though, it really is an excellent performer. I'm glad I bought it.

Sorry for rambling. Just wanted to add my two cents.

Kevin