Sherwood Newcastle R-972 v Marantz SR7005 - Page 3

Yep, you sure do miss the point.

Nothing to do with listeners who can "hear good," and everything to do with the fact that such results are likely to occur by chance.

This is getting silly....

Just to give a solid ground to the "identifying" amp sound challenge:

Famous Richard Clark will award anyone $10.000 (since year 1990), if he can positively identify beyond doubt (by statistical measures) in a double blind testing environment any two amps of the owners choice in comparison. No one, i repeat "No one" of thousands of contestants, who tried the test here by the stated rules has been able to win the "prey".

Those "golden ears" who speak up here may try by themselves if they are any better than those several thousands who already tried without success.

PS.: I think, he will not go through the effort of doing this without charging some amount of money for it anymore, because he spent so much time and effort for the test setups (groups and individuals) in the past (for free) without any "positive" results (winner).

Was this just the power amp sections?

Also, I wonder if this is of the same ilk as the Pioneer receiver Geddes uses to demo is flagship speakers.

They actually measure very well; as Geddes points out, the well designed chip amps they use have advantages over discrete designs as regards component value matching and stability.

Been covered numerous times and since it's about amps it's off topic. Straw man.

So what ?
If you seriously think about it, not really.
Truth or reality never "expires" or wears down, even if repeated endlessly...
... and denying it does not invalidate the results either.

I realize this thread is somewhat dated. However, both receivers are still available as clearance models. I am looking to upgrade my Marantz SR6004 and came across this discussion. I recently bought the Sherwood R-972.

Simply comparing 2 channel music using the "Pure Direct" mode (Marantz) against the Sherwood's "Pure Audio" (essentially the same mode), they sound nothing alike... at all. All other components and music were the same, and I matched the sound pressure level. Again, they sound completely different. Whether it's the digital to analog processing or something else, anyone with decent hearing could easily discern the differences.

In summary, my impression are as follows:

The Sherwood has a tighter soundstage and more focused imaging. It is also quicker and more detailed through all octaves. Bass is more controlled, mid-range is clearer, and the high frequencies have more air. Other descriptive words are clinical, lean, dry, and even a tad bright.

The Marantz has a larger soundstage and imaging is less precise. The sound is much fuller and laid back. Bass and mid-range are thicker and the highs slightly less present.

It may sound as if I found the Marantz to be inferior. In fact, I thought it was more musical....although, I did like the speed and articulation of the Sherwood. The choice would depend upon listener preferences and the associated speakers (i.e. faster speakers such as electrostatics should mate better with the Marantz, conventional speakers with smoother treble may pair better with the Sherwood). Again, this is my opinion of these two receivers. I have never spent significant time comparing different model class AB amplifiers while using the same preamp.

Being not completely satisfied with either receiver, I've ordered the SR7005 in the hope that it will sound like SR6004 but with more precision.

I intend to post an update within the next couple weeks.

jcm2128,
Did you try them out with multichannel surround sound from a movie? I have a 972 and it sounds very similar to my H/K AVR2600(warm,full, but with the Trinnov 3D mapping on the difference is huge. Never listened to Marantz but I tried a Yamaha RX-A820 and a H/K AVR7550HD both before buying the 972. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles but for movie watching is what I primarily do I feel it sounded the best out of those I tried.

No - not yet. I want to compare to the Marantz SR7005 before I make a decision. I listen to a good amount of two channel music and need an amp that works for both home theater and pure-direct music.

Thanks for the input. Plus

I am also upgrading my speakers, so I will be trying each receiver when the new speakers arrive.

I received the SR7005. It's very similar to the SR6004 but with more refinement and detail.

The Sherwood is still more articulate overall, but i just prefer the Marantz sound. I posted the Sherwood for sale in the Audio classifieds.