Marantz NR1403 and NR1603 Slim Line Receiver Thread - Page 9

My hero! Thanks! Reconfigured as you suggested, with PS3 straight to 1403. Had to play with the PS3 settings some, to get it to put the right sound out to the 1403, but once I got past that, sounds great! And no problem with picture through the 1403 to the TV. Looks and sounds great. Phew.

It is too bad that that cable box cannot perform similarly well, but I won't be losing much sleep over that.

Ok, so one last question (for today), I set up the speakers using Audyssey, and like I said Blu-Ray sounds great. Now, if I want to punch up the bass just a little bit, to got a little more rumble in the room, what's the best way to do it without disturbing everything else? Can I just up the volume on the sub itself a bit, or should I do it somehow through the 1403's settings?

Thanks again!

Noobio

It's better to adjust in the AVR (as you'll do so with a digital number so you can more easily return to another setting if you choose, rather than adjust a "smidge" on the sub itself and then trying to estimate how much the "smidge" was) by using the "Subwoofer Level" setting (p. 60 OM, although this was available from the remote on earlier year models, D&M removed it from the 2012 model remotes) which you can get to via the GUI menu.

thanks for reply jd, my room has 21 x 11 ft, and what is movie level? sorry noob here:D

Btw, how do set your avr for speaker set up? using setup wizard or manually?

I'm trying to set it manually, but the sound output got worse, so i go for setup wizard. But i'm still curious what improvement i can get if i set it manually.

So then that would be a larger room and therefore you'd probably want a more robustful AVR. Movie level would be "louder than normal TV level" as you tend to find in the movie theaters. You'll want to use the Setup Wizard to configure the speakers/sub as unless you have specialized EQ equipment, you're unlikely to get anywhere near the quality that can be achieved by using the Setup Wizard.
Edited by jdsmoothie - 2/5/13 at 12:28am

Deleted: replied to wrong post

Thanks jd, well i think, just go with the setup wizard:)

Hi there,

I recently bought the NR1603 and am very happy with it! I do have two queries which I can't seem to answer for referring to the manual.

1. For some reason the NR1603 won't play Spotify through the speakers if the TV is not turned on. I can navigate through all the menus and select a song, but no sound comes out until I have turned on the TV. Once the TV is on and sound is coming out I can turn off the TV and it still works fine. Is there a way around this?

2. I have the Tivo box hooked up to the N1603. This works perfectly. However when I try to watch Lovefilm directly through my TV internet app (Sony Bravia KDL46 HX753) no sound comes out of the AV receiver. The TV is connected to the Receiver via a HDMI cable (both ARC).

Any help greatly appreciated!

Best regards

Nick

1. You might want to try cyclling the HDMI Control setting on the AVR OFF/ON and then cycle the AVR itself OFF/ON as well. Also try powering off and unplugging the AVR for about 10 minutes. And lastly, try uplugging the HDMI cable from the AVR to the TV whiile both are ON, power both OFF for 10 minutes, plug the HDMI cable back in and then power on the TV then the AVR.

2. HDMI-CEC (BraviaSync) must be set to ON, with audio set to "external speakers". On the AVR, HDMI Control must be ON.

Hi all

Having a frustrating time with my NR1603.

I have it connected to a Panasonic VT50 Plasma via the HDMI2 (ARC) port on the TV and the HDMI out on the NR1603.

I have a media PC connected to HDMI5 (Media Player) on the NR1603.

I have the NR1603 set to Media Player in.

When watching the TV (DVB freeview) the sound correctly passes via ARC to the NR1603 (which of course auto-switches to TV Audio in). When I select AV in on the TV the HDMI Control correctly auto-switches the NR1603 back to the previous input (Media Player in this case). This is all fine and dandy so that I can control everything via the TV remote, switching between TV and the Media PC without touching the NR1603 remote.

EXCEPT THAT - ARRGH! - if the NR1603 goes into standby whilst TV Audio in is selected due to the TV being on and in DVB mode it will come back up from standby with TV Audio selected as the input irrespective of ARC/HDMI Control - so that anytime after the NR1603 has been in standby the auto-switching back to Media Player no longer works without re-selecting it on the NR1603. A real pain as the kit is in a closed cabinet :-(

I've tried very hard to get Marantz to take this seriously but so far they just fob me off with a standard "ARC doesn't work properly in all situations" type of response. I don't think that's good enough because what I think is happening is that when going into standby the NR1603 forgets some important state info. I could be wrong but a more detailed answer that suggests they've even considered it would help!!

So I'm posting here to see if anyone has experiemced this/has any ideas?

It's so frustrating because it is so nearly perfect.

This is a side effect of using the ARC feature and one of the reasons why bypassing ARC and using an optical cable from the TV to the AVR is the better configuration. The other reason is that with most TVs only PCM 2.0 can be output via HDMI(ARC) while with the optical connection a DD 5.1 signal can pass (eg. Netflix movies).

So if I disable ARC but leave HDMI Control on will the AVR still auto-switch to TV Audio as required? I'm concerned that if I do this I'll lose all the auto-switching and be forced to switch the AVR manually at all times - which would be worse than the current situation.

Correct. Without an HDMI source using TV, you would have to manually select that input when assigned to the optical input. A Harmony remote would easily resolve any missing auto selection issue.

Hmm. But the VT50 does pass all relevant sound formats via ARC - eg watching DVB HD channel the Marantz switches to Dolby when the programme is using it (Panasonic call it HDAVI Control 5 and I guess the Marantz supports it).
So the only problem is that annoying glitch on the AVR - a bit like going to sleep after getting side-tracked and waking up having completely forgotten what one was doing beforehand :-(
Not sure I want to bother with extra cables, IR blaster etc etc.

You may want to consider using a Harmony remote as that should resolve any issues you are having.

I'm looking to replace my old Yamaha RX-V793 with a "budget" receiver with HDMI connect ability. It will be matched up with my old, faithful NHT Superones (5 of them), and a Def. tech. Sub. I don't need a lot of bells and whistles; how it sounds (keeping in mind this is a budget system) is the most important thing for me. Thus I'm thinking that the 1403 may be the best solution. I'd have one concern, however, regarding hooking up a turntable. Can I just hook up to the analog inputs, or do I need some kind of pre-amp? My current receiver allows me to just hook up to a pair of RCA inputs. I used to be up on all this stuff, but it seems that new technology's are sadly pulling away from me. BTW, am I on the right track with the 1403 based on my desire for the best sounding "budget" receiver?

The 1403 is only a 50W AVR and as the NHT speakers are not very efficient as long as you're in a small/med room and don't plan on playing the audio very loudly all the time, you should be fine. If you are able to connect your TT to regular analog inputs (ie. not PHONO inputs) then it means the TT has a built-in pre-amp and in that case you should be able to do the same with the 1403.

Well I guess I'm O.K. with my turntable then, but now I'm not so sure about the WPC issue. My Yamaha is rated at 80 WPC, and I've never had an issue for power, but the room is large. It's 16'x25' with a 14' vaulted ceiling, so now I'm thinking maybe I need something more robust. I am trying to keep things reasonable price wise, as this is our secondary H/T setup. I spent three years building a dedicated H/T in our basement, with much great help from all of the good folks in this forum over on the "Dedicated Theater" thread, that we thoroughly enjoy. But it was finally time to deep six our 13 year old rear projection T.V. in the family room, and go with a flat screen and then, of course, I wanted to update the AVR and upgrade to Blu-Ray. Not to steal this thread, but if the 1403 may not be enough WPC, any other suggestions, keeping in mind cost and SQ?

Hi. I wonder if someone can help me. I recently bought the Marantz 1403 and am very happy with it but I have one frustration. I can't figure out how to get the pass through to work properly in standby. I have it set for my virgin box to be the source in standby and when I switch on my TV I get the picture and sound from my virgin box but after 15 seconds it always cuts out. I can't for the life of me work out why this is or what to do. Can anyone please help? This happens when both the TV and 1403 have been off. When I leave the tv on but put the 1403 in standby it seems to work okay.

^^
Try setting the HDMI-CEC feature on the TV to OFF.

As long as you don't play loud volume levels, you should still be fine with the 1403 as the speakers will generally only be drawing no more than 10W/CH on average; however, if you want a little more power, the first non-slim model would be the 5007 or you may want to consider the Denon 1613 (75W) which is also a networking model and is the same MSRP as the 1403.

Hi there, I am planning to get the 1403 very shortly ! my questions is what kind of speaker should I get ? this setup goes along with Panasonic 220 BR player and the 55inches 6100 series from Samsung ! I am looking for a buget/quality setup to play movies/hockey games, no ps3 nor 360 console... also I dont want big speakers as I am still in an appartment !

thanks for your precious hints and sorry for my poor English, I'm French Canadian

Cheers people

Sim

I finally bought it refurb for 385 all include (taxes and Shipment) so I am very please. now I need speakers (500$) to go with it

need your advices guys

Cheers

S.
Are these ok ?: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Boston-Acoustics-SoundWare-XS-5-1-Home-Theater-Speaker-System-Black-/230923239818?pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item35c419018a

can I mount banana plug to it ?
Edited by SimDuch - 2/12/13 at 7:41am

Thanks jdsmoothie. That doesn't work either. I connected an optical cable to get audio out from the TV, but I still can't get sound or a picture from the virgin box when the av receiver is in standby.

Jdsmoothie - you were right, it did work turning off hdmi-cec. I miss being able to turn up the volume with any remote and it turning off when I turn off the tv. Strangely when hdmi-cec is on and I only switch the receiver off, I get sound and the picture from virgin through the TV and it doesn't cut out but if I turn the tv off then back on again it goes back to giving me around 15 seconds of sound and picture then disappears and my tv tells me no cable is connected. This is driving me mad.

I don't think you will have ANY issue with power. For a test I just tried my 1403 with 5 pioneer SP-BS21-LR book shelf speakers that I normally use 2 for my surrounds, and other ones elsewhere. These speakers are not very efficient at 84db sensitivity, 6 ohm. They are great sounding speakers that's why I bought 3 pair, but for the 50 WPC 1403 to drive them to any serious listening level does seem like a stretch. However, I can say, don't worry about having enough power from this receiver!! I paired them with an old 10" Dayton sub. My 1403 volume is set 0-100. I normally listen between 50-60 on the volume scale (with more efficient speakers) which I have set to max at 80 so I don't damage my hearing. I have never taken the volume beyond 65 which gives me 90+db SPL (measured). With the inefficient Pioneers (5 plus the sub) I can listen at my comfortable 80-85db SPL with the volume at no more than 65-70 without any distortion/clipping. This is in a 12 x 16 room.

I am completely blown away by the sound quality of this Marantz receiver. I originally just wanted a new HDMI capable HT receiver to replace my old H&K, and was planning to use a separate quality 2 channel Integrated amp for music. However, I am so happy with the sound quality of the 1403, I will probably cancel or postpone any further purists. You certainly can find lots of receivers with many, many more features and perceived "power" in this price range, but I don't think you will easily find a sweeter sounding receiver without spending a lot more. The 1403 lacks all the bells and whistles, but Marantz gave us the SAME SQ as the higher end stuff along with plenty of power for most applications.

In conclusion: If sound quality/cost is paramount, well, IMO don't look any further! As far as driving your Zeros, I don't think that should be an issue at all, especially with a sub taking the brunt of the power requirements . I know you have a big room, but are you listening at volumes north of 100db SPL?

Lacro

Forum sponsor Monoprice has gotten into the speaker game by offering a rebranded version of the Energy Take 5.1 Classic speakers for roughly 1/2 the price you can buy them on Amazon, although not sure how that translates to Canadian costs. Monoprice does ship to Canada.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=109&cp_id=10906&cs_id=1090601&p_id=9774&seq=1&format=2

Interesting ! can I use my banana plug along with a 16 gauge cable on it ?

thanks a lot

Don't see why you couldn't.

Do they come with all cables ? also Im new to audio/video world and I would like to know how to I will hook the sub to my 1403 Marantz ? Are banana plug universal fit ?

thanks a lot :-)

No, cables and banana plugs must be purchased separately. The sub would be connected via a coax digital cable with various length cables available from forum sponsor Monoprice to include the 10' cable noted below ...

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10236&cs_id=1023603&p_id=6305&seq=1&format=2