Marantz NR1403 and NR1603 Slim Line Receiver Thread - Page 13

No. The Energy speakers will likely get set higher to say 120Hz. Any setting > 80Hz should be left at that setting, otherwise if you lower it below what the AVR set it to, the speaker will not be EQ'd below that frequency.


For the "HDMI Standby" feature to work correctly, the "HDMI Control" setting must be set to ON as well as setting the "Standby Source" to CBL/SAT. You also may need to cycle the AVR OFF/ON for it to take effect.

Currently got a NR1603 at home. Got one Question: when streaming over Airplay, the display only shows track title but not the artist. I could press Status on the front of the device, but this doesn't seem to be a permanent setting. Is there any way to always show artist and trackinfo?

I have had a 1603 for almost a year now and am pretty happy with it, but there are a few things I'd like to mention.

For all of the bells and whistles, there is one major flaw, and it's my fault for not reading the fine print. I bought this receiver for my small living room to upgrade to HDMI and optical for a mostly digital setup, eventually add surround sound, and because it seemed capable of supporting my existing "zone 2" speakers in the kitchen.

The shocking limitation with the 1603 is that when set up in a 5.1 + 2 configuration, Zone 2 can only be sent analog content. That doesn't mean an analog version of the digital content. It means ONLY analog sources. In my current setup, that means Radio only. No pandora, no optical audio from my Mac Mini, no Airplay, and no HDMI audio from my TV.

My workaround for this--purists may throw up a little bit--was to loop the front pre-out signal back into the receiver via the CD analog input. I now leave the zone 2 source set as CD and my kitchen speakers always get whatever source zone 1 is playing. This works great for me as I'm not really interested in listening to two things at once, I just want to be able to turn the kitchen speakers or and off.

I'd like to know what others think about this or if there's something I'm missing. I also have a question about whether the front pre-out signal being sent to my kitchen is lacking bass and indeed getting only the front channel. If so, is there a way around this? I may have seen an answer in a comment and series of questions by jdsmoothie who mentioned using direct mode.

I should explain that I'm coming from an analog, 2.0 world with A/B speakers, RCA patch cables and tape outputs. It seems like I'm trying to achieve the impossible by combining whole/partial house audio with home theater. (Without spending a fortune)

I'm looking at a refurbed 1602 or a new 1403 as comparably priced items. Can someone either detail their differences or let me know what website has accurate comparison information? I went to >receivers.findthebest.com> and I'm not sure they are right on some items, like "built in blue ray player" for example. Any best price locations are welcome as well.

Thanks

Check Marantz's website as they should both be detailed there. Biggest difference is 1602 is networking while 1403 is not.

Already try this, and its work:) now looking some better amp

Thanks jdsmoothie. Found the older models under "customer support".

I just picked up a Marantz 1402 and have a question (posting here because I did not see an active 1402 owners thread). I want to be able to see the volume level and volume changes on my TV - I cannot see the small characters on the front display of the 1402. This model's manual and specs says is has onscreen display and overlay via HDMI, but when I change the volume, I don't see anything on my TV (2007 model LG 720p Plasma). AVR is hooked to TV via HDMI. In the marantz settings, I have have GUI set to Text = ON, Volume = Bottom (have tried Top as well). Any advice on how to get the volume to display? Thanks.

Along with my previous question I got another one: Let's say I set crossover for the main speakers to 60Hz. What happens when I choose "Subwoofer off" in the Audio menu when listening in Stereo, will low frequencies still be cut at 60Hz ormwill that change to put out the full range to the mains?

It should display without issue for 2D video. If the TV has an HDMI-CEC setting (SimpLink) then disable it, otherwise you may want to test using another display as it could be an issue with that particular model.

AFAIK they'll still be cut (actually rolled off).

Another question - I have an HTPC hooked up to the 1402 via hdmi, which acts as my video source and source for listening to music, same input on the AVR, different tasks. I want to be able to listen to music through the AVR with the TV off, but when I power off the TV, the sound shuts down as well. How do I configure it to continue to output sound when the video display is turned off? Thank you.

@ danriv, Post #363
I have exactly the same problem and must say you explained it beautifully!

I'm running mac mini for pretty much all my media content. Otherwise I use Spotify through the amp, but would prefer to run it through the mac. Better interface.

!. How did you do this? "My workaround for this--purists may throw up a little bit--was to loop the front pre-out signal back into the receiver via the CD analog input."

2. The guys at my local hi-fi shop suggested getting an Arcam rDAC and connecting the mac to the rDAC via USB and then out as an analog signal for Zone 2. But at $600 Australian dollars I'm hoping for a better option.


I'd be so stoked to feed the same tunes to both Zone 1 and Zone 2 via the mac. So stoked.

Fingers crossed for some help out there!!

Cheers
Nate
Brisbane - Australia

Check to see what the computer shows the HDMI audio playback device to be when the TV is turned off. I can't say for certain for the 1402 (I have a 1501), but often a receiver's HDMI device name and characteristics are different depending on whether the TV is on or off. If that's the case, you need to configure both of the HDMI devices.

Nate, why not just add an Airport Express, or Airport Express Base Station to your rig? $50US +/- delivers an elegant solution to get your Mac Mini tunes wherever you want. (of course, that assumes you've got amplification in your "other" room...)
Edited by grovertdog - 3/19/13 at 11:21am

Hey grovertdog:
Thanks for the idea. I have an old Airport Express laying around the house somewhere.....
But in terms of the amp, I'm just running the Marantz NR 1603 and with a 5.1 speaker setup on Zone 1 and a pair of bookshellfs for Zone 2. So all amplification comes from the Marantz. So I don't think the Airport Express will work for me.

My setup sounds nearly identical to what "danriv" posted above.

The crux of the problem seems to be how to feed an analog signal to Zone 2 from the mac mini.

On our old amp we had the simple A/B switch and that worked a treat! Though I will say I like the better control options with the dual Zone technology...... it's just BS that Zone 2 won't play a digital signal.

Any other ideas?
Tips on a digital to analog converter (DAC)??

Cheers
Nate

Sorry Nate, no words of wisdom on a DAC for your solution. Sounds a bit on the crazy side given what you're trying to do. Maybe the 1603's limited zone 2 is a deal killer for you?

Update.....
Found some poor reviews of the Arcam rDAC.
Talked to a stereo shop in Australia and got turned onto the HRT Streamer II and II+
Check out their site: http://highresolutiontechnologies.com/music-streamer-ii
Made in California. They get good reviews from all around.

But now it seems that this will provide better quality music to Zone 2!! These things only have one output so one of my questions will be how would the sound differ from Zone 1 to Zone 2??

I'm calling a shop in the US tomorrow that stocks both the HRT line and the Marantz NR 1603.

I'll get to the bottom of this and post back what I learn....

Cheers
Nate

Hi guys, since a while now, my 1403 always switch to TV Audio while turning it on ! how can I make it CBL/Sat default choice ? it runs like that for quite a while and now it switches to TV Audio but there is nothing connected there !

cheers

S.

Set the HDMI-CEC setting on the TV (eg. Anynet+, BraviaSync, VierraLink, etc.) to OFF.

yes ok, but doing so, I won't be able to Watch tv and have sound via the tv (sometime I don't use the AVR) am I right ?

thanks a lot

ps: I tought the the ARC function was ok, but its kinda lame !

No. Disabling the HDMI-CEC on the TV only disables ARC. If you leave HDMI-Control set to ON on the AVR, you can still use the HDMI Standby pass through feature. As noted below, you can connect an optical from the TV to the AVR and still pass audio from the TV back to the AVR.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1334369/the-official-denon-avr-xx12-model-owners-thread/0_100#user_E5

ok thanks ! so my only solution to get picture and audio without having the HDMI-CEC set to on is bypassing it with optical ! Having HDMI-CEC (ARC) set to "on" my AVR will always switches to TV Audio by default and not CBL/SAT like I wish ! ?

Correct. Although in many cases, using ARC can only pass PCM 2.0 while using optical you can also pass DD 5.1 (eg. Netflix movies).

Firmware changelog information for recent update to NR1603 .....

1) The product corresponded to Gapless Playback from Mobile App.
2) When Pandora is played, the display of the icon becomes the Internet radio by specific music.
3) The Picture View setting cannot be stored.
4) AirPlay cannot be executed while executing SlideShow.
5) AirPlay cannot be executed from Function other than Network.
6) When Main Zone is turned on GUI is not displayed, if Main Zone is off and Zone2 is on.

USB Firmware Updates – North American Marantz NR1603 units only

If you are having difficulty loading the latest firmware to your NR1603, please PM me with "NR1603" in the subject line after reading and agreeing with the disclaimer noted below and I will provide the update file.

Disclaimer:
This firmware is for use with North American Marantz NR1603 units only. Feel free to use it under the condition that it not be forwarded to other individuals and is for your personal use only. It is provided with the understanding that you will “use it at your own risk” and it comes without any implied warranty from D&M. You agree that D&M will not be held responsible for any damages to your unit resulting from the inappropriate use of this firmware or from updating the unit in an improper way. As this update being provided to you is not supported by D&M, should you have any installation issues, please do not call Marantz customer service for support as they will be unable to assist you.

After downloading and unzipping the provided .zip file, you will find a “firmwares” folder and a Word document which provides instructions on how to install the firmware update. The “firmwares” folder must be moved to an “empty” FAT16/FAT32 formatted 2GB (or larger) USB memory stick. Note that should you have any issues with the update, you may have to reset the unit’s microprocessor after doing the update so prior to installing the update, be sure to copy the unit’s on board configuration file to a PC using the Web Control SAVE feature.

Also review the following post on the SAVE/LOAD procedure ....

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1334369/the-official-denon-avr-xx12-model-owners-thread/0_100#user_E10

Hello, due to this firware update my NR1603 is now totally screwed :-( the download process stop at 14% and restart every time, even a hard reset dont solve the problem, any idea? can i try with a usb memory stick? My unit is europe version (italy)
any halp would be really appreciated
thanks
Dario Lucini
Italy

Disconnect the ethernet cable and do a reset again. Then give it a few days for the crowd to settle down and then try the update. If you want to go the USB route, Denon Europe offers USB updates so Marantz should as well. Check the Marantz website for your region.

Thanks for your answer, but even without the ethernet cable the update process start and try to download the new firmware, the hard reset still dont work. I will try the marantz europe website assistence :-(

Looking at either this Marantz nr1403 or the out law 975.
On the Marantz 1403 it has a 2.1 output. is this for the front two channels and the Sub? or the sub and the side channels for 7.1use?