Marantz SR5006 / Marantz SR6006 Receiver Thread - Page 5

I'd like to hear a good review of this AVR as well. I can tell you that I bought the Onkyo 809 at a very good price last week, and it's generally getting good reviews. However, that receiver just wasn't for me so I'm returning it tomorrow. I can tell you that the Onkyo has some really good power behind it and good video processing, but I like to watch Music channels and concert dvd's and I just didn't think it was on par with the range of sounds. the high end to me was kind of weak, unlike the Yamaha rx-v667 I currently own. it could be the pairing of my Polk TSI500 towers that isn't a good fit I don't know. I'm looking to replace my Yamaha for a networking receiver so I wanted to check out this Marantz.

Just picked up an SR6006 this Friday.

Spent most of Saturday morning hooking it up and again Sunday morning troubleshooting the layout.

Components are:
Panasonic 50" Plasma
MK S150 front stage & B&W ASW1000
MK 125 rear in wall
OPPO DVD - HDMI
Apple TV v1 - HDMI
XBOX 360 - Component
Wii - old school stereo & video cable
Comcast HD Motorola Box - HDMI

I replaced Marantz SR870 - yes very old and severed me well all thru college and beyond...sounded great!

I purchased the new one at Magnolia HT inside of Best Buy - In the Mag room I watched the TRON cycle race on this receiver, Denon, Onkyo - all similiar priced/specs.

In the room the Marantz sounded best - much better imaging an staging, warmer/fuller sound, just crisper and it sounded like I was in that big amphitheater IMHO. The Denon sounded thin and the staging/imaging wasn't nearly as good. The Onkyo was better than the Denon but not as good as the Marantz. The Onkyo had a bit better mid/lower frequency but with my big front mains and boomy sub I am just fine with the lower frequency.

Video
Plugging it in we (my wife said it right away!) saw a drastic improvement in picture quality of flipping the Comcast box from Component to HDMI thru the Marantz - probably more to do with the wire upgrade?

SET UP
Basic Set Up
Overall the set up was quite easy the onscreen system is easy to use and navigate if you have a straight forward system and want to use the Marantz remote

Advanced Set up - what I guess is more normal?
I have a Harmony One and mixing and matching the input types I have has turned out to be quite a pain...

The key reason why I found is there is not a direct source input button for each input type on the remote - when I say this I mean there are only 8 input choices on the remote leaving 3 of the HDMI inputs not available unless you use the 'source arrow.' This means the Harmony choices when setting it up omits these 3 HDMI choices - GAME/VCR/AUX1 and if you have a Harmony you know this is not the ideal way to set up the remote. It often gets confused which setting you are on and toggling will lead you to a help menu yes/no fiasco.

Another reason this is an issues is because there is only 2 Component video inputs forcing you to use one of the other HDMI inputs (that are offered as a direct choice) as a choice - meaning I have my XBOX with a choice one of two choices and I put my DVD player on GAME a choice w/o a direct button or available via Logitech/Harmony...why Game doesn't have component?

Next step is to teach the Harmony manually the Source button and the Source Toggle button - again not ideal Logitech didn't include these buttons in their database. Make sure they are put in the right order!

So I am going to run it as is for now...if the Harmony is a pain (meaning I get calls at work from my wife) I may break back out the HDMI switch I thought I was going to eliminate. Marantz does provide the remote codes off their website so I will try and figure out how to input that into the Harmony

ALL THINGS A NORMAL CONSUMER WOULDN'T DO! I really don't have any more than a normal person on A/V sources...I see a high return rate do to a simple fix...make a better remote, do not use the same remote on your top machine as the entry machine...

ZONE 2
This was the second main point of purchase for me and has led to a huge disappointment - I run my outdoor speakers off of my Apple TV or my Comcast box (play list or have the game on) neither will run on Zone 2 because it does not run off of digital/HDMI signals! C'mon! So much for BBQing and not missing of the game or having the same music inside/outside...to make it worse Zone 2 is only visable via the little porthole not onscreen to navigate and again the Harmony database doesn't contain the info for multiple zones...


So this leaves me to AirPlay - I had no intention of using this function - but will now set it up and try it out off our Mac because I can't use Apple TV outside...do that tomorrow going to watch the Cards game now...

So my new SR6006 has two strikes against it - if I had not invested so much time troubleshooting it so far I probably would return it - but I have a feeling I will see this issue with other receivers too and at a sacrifice of sound quality.

Sorry so long!

Hey, congrats on your new receiver!

The video card is not enabled out of the box, you have to select it. Is your cable box Component or HDMI? You should see no video upgrade unless you upgraded from Component to HDMI output.

Next, you can certainly play HDMI and Optical sources via Zone 2/3, i ran downstairs to check mine before posting this. Yes, you are correct the porthole is all that shows the status of Zone 2 or Zone 3. The porthole is certainly not user-friendly . You can however press the "status" button to check to see what each zone is doing on screen.

The Harmony remote I would expect nothing but problems until there is an update. I do not use one on my receiver currently, so best of luck to you getting everything synched. It is a great sounding receiver with an unfriendly front display for sure.

Can you tell me what 5 inputs actually show up on your Harmony?

spongeA,

Great review, please update us on the airplay when you can. How was the video processing and have you tried the networking? I have read other Marantz's with networking issues and some video problems so I want to be 100% certain this one won't have these issues, otherwise I'm going with the 809.

Sorry that the zone system doesn't work as expected, I would be ticked off also if that was something I wanted and couldn't setup properly. I don't need the multi zone so the video and networking is what I really am interested in.

The remote thing I gave up on. Had the Harmony 1000, which was a slow piece of crap. Cracked that against the wall after getting fed up with it repeating numbers when I Only pressed the number once, freezing up on me, etc. Not worth the $400 I paid for it. Got a refurb one as a replacement after calling Logitech because the battery could not hold a charge. The refurb had the same problems as the original. Them I got an 890 because someone sued and settled so I got that for free as part of the settlement. Loved that remote but it also died after maybe 6 months of use. This was the second one I cracked against the wall. Anyway, sorry for the long rant - I have the FIOS remote, which controls the TV and box and then use the receiver remote when I need to. You are always going to need the original remote anyway for a lot of the functions so I wouldn't go crazy with the Harmony - my wife can be "challenged" at times also, so this also makes it easier.

I hsve had my SR6006 for a week now and am learning how to set it up snd use it.

I have been using the Wizz app on my iPad and, while it works sort of, it is far from complete in it's capabilities. I understand that Marantz is working on an iPad version of this iPhone/iPod Touch App. No release date has been announced.

If you have an iPad or other tablet device with a browser, the browser interface is superior to the Wizz App. It has setup as well as control functions. Beats using the on screen select a letter when renaming Sources and Zones. I have discovered that it eliminates some problems by assigning an IP Address rather thst using DHCP when seyying up the Network Connection. I found that the IP address could chsge when using DHCP and disconnecting the LAN Cable.

I have set up Zone 2 to use the assignable Amps to drive my 35 year old STAX head pnones. I have only Front speakers, Ohm F with updated drivers, driven by an Adcom Amp with 300 plus watts per side into 4 Ohms. Both the STAX and Ohm Fs sound great.

I use the Phono Input for my Sumiko Blue Point Moving Coil Cartridge. This has high output for an MC, 2.5 mv. The ability to adjust level up or down for all inputs is a great feature and helps with the Phono Input in my setup. However, It wouk work better with my setup to be able to cange level by +-15 dB rather thzn the +-12 dB provided.
q
Internet radio works like a charm. Easy to find stations. Last week I listened to the live broadcasts ftom the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Germany.

The Airplay function works well with my iTunes Library on my Windows XP system and the Remote App on my iPad. This is giving me incentive to rip more of my CD Collection into iTines.

I have a Seagate Flex Home NAS drive. This is accessible from the SR6006. I am having some problems seeing some mp3 files that I have put on the drive, others show up on the SR6006 without a problem. If i point iTunes to these "unseen" mp3s they show up and play without a probkem. Go figure.

The HDMI Standby Passthrough works with a caveate. The User Manual is silent on this, but it appears that HDMI Control must be turned on in the SR6006 for this to work.

My biggest gripe is the lack of a printed user manual. Forcing the Customer who just laid out more than a Grand to go to his PC, if he has one, in order to figure out how to set up and use the product does not contribute to a Superior Customer Experience.

The biggest problem I have had tp date is figuring out how to create HD Radio Presets. The manual's explaination is rather turgid as is the OSD.

I am more than satisfied with my purchase at this point. Before the announcement of the SR6006, I was looking at purcahsing either the SR7005 or AV7005. I am planning to purchase either the OPPO BD93 or 95 and will need the 7.1 inputs to take advsntage of the OPPO's superior SACD decoding and DAC's.

Weighing the options for my next receiver purchase and would appreciate your opinions.

The upgrade is coming from a Denon 3808, mostly due to not having HDMI 1.4 and ARC on the older receiver. I have a Samsung pn64d8000 with a Samsung 3d capable blu ray player. We'd like to use the 3d capability and the extra features on the tv (netflix, network media player, web browser, etc) and ARC is the best way to get the sound to work through the speakers on the receiver. Using the blu ray for netflix was a bad experience, and useless to me compared to having a Roku. I want to move the Roku to another TV and use the new TV for Netflix, hopefully with better results. If not then I'll get another Roku.

The price and options of the Denon AVR-3312ci and the Marantz SR6006 seem to be about the same to me with a little less listed power for the Marantz. The older 3808 is listed as a few more wpc, but I believe the difference should be negligible.

So what am I missing? They are made by the same company more or less. Same warranty, same support, about the same features. Anyone compared these two receivers?

Cable box is HDMI - was using Component w/old receiver and went to HDMI


I can't get it to work via HDMI off my Apple TV...manual says I can't too.


Haven't had a chance to try it yet, when I do I will post it. Sounds like its pretty slick. I have set up the network, downloaded the firmware upgrade right away, and set up the HD Radio. ALL very easy and worked great...the radio stations are overwhelming! May not need my play list but I just aquired a former DJ's back up hard drive w/a Terabyte of music so I am set w/a lot of crap dance songs and versions of the chicken dance


Read my post above on my comparison, for me the Marantz sound a lot better.

In addition to me listening I had the General Manager of the Best Buy store with me and the Magnolia store sales associate. Both of them it was the first time they had a chance to A/B/C Marantz vs. the Denon and the Onkyo and they couldn't agree more. We all 3 were objectively listening to all machines and it was very clear to all of us. We listened to the Denon first (what I thought I would buy), then the Marantz, then the Onkyo, then the Denon again.

We were listening to a set of B&W floor standing 600 series, CC6 Center, and DiPole rears w/the sub turned off. These were the closest sounding in the room to my speakers...a stretch but the best they could offer. I knew mine would sound better...

The TRON cycle race chapter offers some great stadium acoustics w/voice, cheering, and fireworks. Awesome voices w/the MC and a crackly voice. Then of course the motorcycle racing with some great crashes. I felt was a good overall listening sample

Good luck with your purchase you can't go wrong w/either.

With my 5006, I ran into the same problem (though not to the same extent, as there are fewer inputs). I solved it for the meantime by lying to the Harmony software and telling it I had an SR-6005 instead. That actually worked really well, and I suspect the same trick will work with the 6006 as well.

After experimenting with the Zones, my idea of using a Zone for my STAX phones is not going to work on my 6006. Unfortunately, the limitations of NO HDMI Audio to a Zone and PCM only from other digital inputs means that it won't work for what I had intended.

There also appears to be another undocumented limitation. I have a Sony DVD/SACD player with the 5.1 outputs connected to the 6006 7.1 inputs. This works like a charm in the Main Zone. No sound in Zone 2. This is analog input. Why not output the L&R to the Zones?

Also it is a bit of a puzzlement why the decoded L&R can't be sent to the Zones when the audio is input via HDMI. This, of course would mean that the Main Zone and other Zones would have to be set to the same Source, but that is a limitation I could live with. If the HDMI audio were multi-Channel there would be considerable loss of information in the Zone, But I primarily listen to stereo only on the phones.

The headphone jack is not an option with the STAX Phones. They require a lot more amp power that the jack can supply.

I am going back to my original configuration of placing the STAX control box between my Adcom Amp and my speakers.

Still like the 6006 a lot. Airplay works very well and I am ripping more of my CD collection to iTunes. I also am putting more of my off air recordings on my Seagate Goflex Home 3 TB NAS and accessing via DLNA.

I went with the SR6006, picking it up this week. I'll compare with my old Denon 3808.

I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on these two receivers.

i a planning to buy sr5006(waiting for budget).There r 9 speaker slots at the back.they say front-A(2 slots)front -B(2 slots).is it for bi-amplification purpose?
can i use more speaker to look like a 9 speaker set up?

i looked at internet,didn't see the answer.many receivers have 9 or 11 slots at the back ,but they say 7 chanel receiver.

apologize if it is a bad question.

Thanks in advance.

You can assign the B speaker terminal as a secondary zone or as front height speakers for a 9.1 system.

Thanks Mr. kemetblk for reply,

i am glad to make it 9.1 system.

thanks
hifi999

I'm torn between a Marantz SR5006 and a Denon AVR 2312CI. I'm leaning towards the Marantz because I've always loved the way they sound. I realize they are part of the same company and both are great quality but am I giving up anything by going one way or the other? They both use the same processors. My specific needs are to have Airplay, the ability to play music or view photos from a network drive, listen to a totally different source in zone 2, have great sounding music, have an awesome movie experience, and have the ability to run 3D through the receiver...which both do at pretty much the same price! So...I guess the question is...which one is better at doing both? Are there any features one offers that the other does not? I've been an AVS reader for a long time and decided to sign up...any help for the new guy would be very welcomed!!

Digital input does not work for Zone 2

My Ipod works flawlessly in Zone 2 but my Apple TV via HDMI does not - I keep meaning to call Marantz at work but it has been too nuts.

I plan to buy SR5006, I just wonder if there's big difference in sound quality between 5006 and 6006. If needed I can buy 6006 too, price difference is not so big.

Also does 5006 have same kind of sound adjusting possibilities than 6006? I have problems with few bass frequences in my listening room, so I need to be able to adjust them a little(lower them a bit).

Nowadays with my present Yamaha RXV757 I usually have to put bass down few notch when listening music(Yamaha only have Bass and Treble, no eq).

One thing what annoys me in these newer AV-receivers is that they all have so few optical inputs, of course I can always buy splitters but would be better if receivers themself would have more opticals(my need is around 4-5).

They both have the same Audyssey MultEQ XT room correction. There's a good chance Audyssey will correct your bass problem without any further manual adjusting.

I did but another poster said his worked? So I was just updating...very frustrating feature. Very ready to return it...but which is more of a sacrifice sound quality for outdoor speakers or everything inside.

Obvious answer but it just bugs the hell out of me

+1

Sorry for the delay in posting and I have pm'd a few of you back already. It took over a week to get the SR6006 delivered, and then a couple of weeks getting things situated the way I wanted and configuring (playing with) the different options.

Noticable Differences
Moving the SR6006 (~30 lbs.) around is much easier, it's weight is noticably lighter than the Denon avr3808 (~40lbs.).
I appreciated the additional front display information that the Denon provided compared to the Marantz. I think the porthole display lettering is too small, it doesn't show the audio input or speaker configuration at a glance. Maybe just a change in my habits to use the remote for the on screen display of that same info.
The Denon was rated at 130wpc, the SR6006 is 110wpc. Real world (my set up) this means that the Denon volume is about 33% volume to the Marantz 50% for TV/movie levels.
The remotes - I wasn't so fond of the touch screen with the Denon, I like the Marantz a bit better. I'm still getting it programmed to control all the devices. I don't like how the Marantz shows two volume displays at the same time on-screen, I'm sure that is a setting I need to change somewhere.

Similarities
They both sound great, the people who have listened to both at my place can't really tell the difference, even when A/B'ing them. We listened to movies and some music.
The video features are very similar, no noticeable difference.
The menus are about the same. If you are familiar with one, there isn't much of a learning curve.
Never had a problem with either receiver updating. (Can't say the same for the Samsung equipment, sometimes lose network)

New features
The HDMI switching with ARC takes some adjusting to and tweaking since it detects and switches automatically.
The 3d and ARC work flawlessly. SR6006 has more HDMI, less legacy connections than the 3808.

BTW, bought a Roku2 as well, don't like it as much as the older Roku, the initial video quality streaming problem, but that's another thread.

Overall impressions are that the Marantz will do the job for me and it is staying.

Hi Mr. furpigs,

Thanks a lot for the review.

Its great review when u compare 6006 with 3808.I know 3806/07/08 all are great receivers and excellent for music.I never expect 6006 could stand with 3808.its a great.
I am looking for its younger brother 5006(budget didn't allow for 6006 .my 5006 will drive my jamo c607/c60/c60 sur, probably the best combination for music..

thx again for review,if u have anything new please let's know

hifi999

Hi everyone,

I've just bought the 6006 last week. The sound is very good, but...

- The fact of not having a manual paper is a disgrace ! My iMac is far from my TV...

- In addition, I have a problem that occurs frequently : when I turn on all my devices (TV + PS3 + 6006 for exemple), I often have the sound only through my TV speakers !
I have to restart the 6006 to finally have the sound in the 7 speakers (from the 6006) !
Maybe I've missed a key or a function to switch the sound between the TV and the speakers ???

Thanks in advance for your help....

Hi All,

Anyone please compare sr5006 to denon AVR(which one), in terms of sound quality and performance for music only.
i am planning to buy one.

thx in advance
Hifi 999

Has anybody compared the 6006 ho the 7002 or the 6004??, I really wNt to know some opinions on how the 6006 compares to the 7002 , my friend told ms that the 6006 is not nearly as warm as the 7002 in fact it sounds " clinical" , I just don't believe that !.

Agreed the owners manual is a pain - I like to keep notes on my set up in the manual

For the sound my guess is you have the sound mode on 'auto' and it is defaulting to to the sound your TV is or whatever mode your in is on - try hitting the surround button to find the desired mode. If you want it to always be in that you can go into the menu and set that as the default vs. Auto.

I leave mine on auto and it will switch to Stereo for commercials then back over to surround for the TV show on some networks.

I'm looking to (possibly) get either the Marantz 5006 or last years' 6005. The only real difference I can see between the two is the Auto Calibration - MultiEQ XT for the 5006 and MultiEQ for the 6005 - and the Digital Signal Processing is different (SP21487 for the 5006, SHARC 32-bit for the 6005). Some connections and the pre-amp is a bit different, but what I've mentioned are the main ones for me, I think.

Question is: would it be worth it to save a couple bucks and go with the cheaper 6005 or go with the 5006? Is the MultiEQ XT that much better than just the EQ?

Have a set of KEF KHT3005SE, waiting for a new receiver. Would be using it mainly for movie and tv watching, gaming on PS3 and some music listening.

Thanks everyone.

Briefly, if you want to set up your Marantz SR-5006 with the Logitech Harmony remotes (I have the Logitech Harmony 900, but should be the same across the others), you will need to input your receiver as the SR-6005 instead.

While Logitech recognizes the SR5006, it does not have the complete codes, and does not facilitate/allow you to set up your Zone 2, nor does it allow remote control access to several source inputs that are on the back, such as AUX. The latter is impossible to get around, since the supplied Marantz remote has no Input Select AUX button--it can only be accessed by scrolling through the Source arrows, therefore making it impossible even to 'learn' the IR code.

Fortunately, by inputting your receiver as an SR6005 instead, all these issues are bypassed. Logitech will prompt you for Zone 2 setup, and all the inputs that are available in the rear, have corresponding buttons now available. Note that AUX on the SR5006 corresponds to AUX1 on the 6005 (AUX2 does nothing).

To set up Zone 2, Logitech will set up a second Device, a second Marantz receiver. This is because you need to set up Zone 2 controls as a separate Activity in order for it to work. You will also need to adjust the power settings for this Zone 2 device to always leave it on as you exit the Activity, otherwise it will shut it off after you leave to return to your main activity.