Pioneer Elite SC-25 vs. Marantz SR6004

[BluElite]

Well, The Elite is more coin but Marantz has a good rep for including flagship features in mid-range AVR's. I'm stuck between these two. Kind of leaning towards the Elite but still not totally sure. Im into HDMI upscaling & crisp sound just as much as any home theatre geek lol. I don't know if it makes a differnece, but I am going to be a Kuro owner and am looking for the nice AVR to accompany it. Would the matching Elite AVR be a better fit? What do you guys think?

[ryan4blu]

Originally Posted by BluElite

Well, The Elite is more coin but Marantz has a good rep for including flagship features in mid-range AVR's. I'm stuck between these two. Kind of leaning towards the Elite but still not totally sure. Im into HDMI upscaling & crisp sound just as much as any home theatre geek lol. I don't know if it makes a differnece, but I am going to be a Kuro owner and am looking for the nice AVR to accompany it. Would the matching Elite AVR be a better fit? What do you guys think?

Pioneer Elite SC-25 +1

[Irrob]

The Elite SC-25 would be my choice here.

[BluElite]

Cool cool. I was leaning on the SC-25 myself, glad you guys agree. There's such a minute difference between the SC-25 and the SC-27; almost none at all! I figured id save $400 and just go with the SC-25.

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by BluElite

Cool cool. I was leaning on the SC-25 myself, glad you guys agree. There's such a minute difference between the SC-25 and the SC-27; almost none at all! I figured id save $400 and just go with the SC-25.

If the price difference is $400, go with the SC-25, as the SC-27 is not worth an extra $400 IMO. But the SC-27 does have its "perks", so don't totally disregard it. You will be very happy with the SC-25, I am sure of it!

[BluElite]

Originally Posted by forsberg21

If the price difference is $400, go with the SC-25, as the SC-27 is not worth an extra $400 IMO. But the SC-27 does have its "perks", so don't totally disregard it. You will be very happy with the SC-25, I am sure of it!

Cool. Yeah I compared them on Pioneer's site side by side; very subtle differences. definitely not enough to justify an extra $400 for me. I mean I really had to go through each spec to actually find a difference.

[Steve]

I waffled between the SC-25 and Marantz myself and ended up going with the SC-25 and am not looking back.

IMO it would be a more even match if Marantz would update their SR7002 and SR8002. I don't know why they've put off updating their higher models.

[BluElite]

Originally Posted by fireman325

I waffled between the SC-25 and Marantz myself and ended up going with the SC-25 and am not looking back.

IMO it would be a more even match if Marantz would update their SR7002 and SR8002. I don't know why they've put off updating their higher models.

Cool. Thanks man, I think I'll go for the SC-25. I would love to get the Denon AVR-5308CI (A) but my current budget won't allow it

[callas01]

Originally Posted by BluElite

Cool. Thanks man, I think I'll go for the SC-25. I would love to get the Denon AVR-5308CI (A) but my current budget won't allow it

Hey what speakers do you have? I as because sometimes some recievers sound better paired with different speakers.

[BluElite]

Originally Posted by callas01

Hey what speakers do you have? I as because sometimes some recievers sound better paired with different speakers.

Actually, Im in the process of shopping for some.... Atlantic Technology is a contender. So is Martin Logan & Sunfire.... any suggestions?

[JJ]

Originally Posted by BluElite

Actually, Im in the process of shopping for some.... Atlantic Technology is a contender. So is Martin Logan & Sunfire.... any suggestions?

Oof - with Martin Logan's and Sunfires, I'd have to recommend Marantz or separate components. Especially for MLs, those electrostats are power-hungry.

[BluElite]

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

Oof - with Martin Logan's and Sunfires, I'd have to recommend Marantz or separate components. Especially for MLs, those electrostats are power-hungry.

Really? the Elite won't cut it huh....

[Steve]

Originally Posted by BluElite

Really? the Elite won't cut it huh....

I think the Elite receivers are just as good as any out there, but from what I know of Martin Logans I think I would have to recommend separates as well. They just seem to do better with A LOT of power. I don't think I would look at any stand alone receiver for speakers like these. If you go this route, you can get a less expensive receiver, but MAKE SURE IT HAS PRE-OUTS!!! In this case the Onkyo 607 everyone recommends won't work because it doesn't have pre-outs. Then you can add something like an Emotiva XPA-5 to give them plenty of nice, clean power.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by BluElite

Actually, Im in the process of shopping for some.... Atlantic Technology is a contender. So is Martin Logan & Sunfire.... any suggestions?

Are you building a HT setup or a 2-channel music setup? Are you looking at Electrostats or the Preface? I know that Sunfire makes really great subs, but I don't know much about their speakers. There are tons of great speakers. Dali Ikon 7, Dynaudio, Totem Forests, Monitor Audio Gold, PSB Syncrony, Focal/JL could go on forever...

I think personally if you are looking into ML and so forth they would enjoy a more musical receiver which would have to be the Marantz. Its musicality will also work well in HT. Now if you want the power of the SC-25 and the musicality of the Marantz you could look on the refurb market at this Marantz 8002.

http://www.accessories4less.com/make...urround/1.html

However as long as you aren't using 4 ohm speaker the Pioneer should work just fine.

But like it was said, I think with the speakers you are considering, I would look into seperates.

[blarneyrubble]

I bought the Marantz sr 6003 about 5 months ago. I was pretty disappointed with the performance. It may have been me but while watching TV and movies there was a lot of sibilance. It sounded amazing during stereo playback but I watch more movies than listen to music. I returned it and bought the Pioneer Elite SC-05. I love it!

I would vote for the Pioneer.

[JJ]

I should note that, personally, I went from a Marantz 7002 to an Elite 03 and did note a difference (for the better), but that was just because the 7002 had such a plethora of well-documented issues that I really couldn't bother with it anymore - but I do know the 003 and 004 versions are much, much better.

[callas01]

Here are some seperates that you could look into.

http://emotiva.com/umc1.shtm Audio/Video Processor $699
and
http://emotiva.com/upa5.shtm 5-channel Amp $549

or for a larger power amp
http://emotiva.com/xpa5.shtm 5-channel amp $799

Would be about the same price your looking at spending anyways, and would be better for the speakers you want to look into.

Otherwise you could go with the Yamaha 863 and one of the 5-channel amps
http://www.amazon.com/s?url=search-a...refix=yamaha+8

[BluElite]

Originally Posted by callas01

Here are some seperates that you could look into.

http://emotiva.com/umc1.shtm Audio/Video Processor $699
and
http://emotiva.com/upa5.shtm 5-channel Amp $549

or for a larger power amp
http://emotiva.com/xpa5.shtm 5-channel amp $799

Would be about the same price your looking at spending anyways, and would be better for the speakers you want to look into.

Otherwise you could go with the Yamaha 863 and one of the 5-channel amps
http://www.amazon.com/s?url=search-a...refix=yamaha+8

Thanks SO much for the info... I've never done separates before actually but have been reading up on them and its definitely something I will have to do with Martin Logan or equivalent caliber speakers. That Denon pair for $14k looks insane but that might be a stretch LOL.

[BluElite]

Originally Posted by callas01

Are you building a HT setup or a 2-channel music setup? Are you looking at Electrostats or the Preface? I know that Sunfire makes really great subs, but I don't know much about their speakers. There are tons of great speakers. Dali Ikon 7, Dynaudio, Totem Forests, Monitor Audio Gold, PSB Syncrony, Focal/JL could go on forever...

I think personally if you are looking into ML and so forth they would enjoy a more musical receiver which would have to be the Marantz. Its musicality will also work well in HT. Now if you want the power of the SC-25 and the musicality of the Marantz you could look on the refurb market at this Marantz 8002.

http://www.accessories4less.com/make...urround/1.html

However as long as you aren't using 4 ohm speaker the Pioneer should work just fine.

But like it was said, I think with the speakers you are considering, I would look into seperates.

Thank you. I am looking to build a home theater setup. I was looking at Sunfire for the subs. I've read some reviews of the speakers and apparently they are sub-par with flat sound. I was considering B&O speakers because they're so space-effective but I haven't decided. I am definitely going to take your advice on looking into separates. Is this brand "Emotiva" a very good one?

[callas01]

Originally Posted by BluElite

Thank you. I am looking to build a home theater setup. I was looking at Sunfire for the subs. I've read some reviews of the speakers and apparently they are sub-par with flat sound. I was considering B&O speakers because they're so space-effective but I haven't decided. I am definitely going to take your advice on looking into separates. Is this brand "Emotiva" a very good one?

Do you mean B&W?

Emotiva may not be as well known as say Rotel or McIntosh, but they seem to have a pretty good reputation, esp. around here. You can even look them up on AVSforum.com. You could look up Parasound, but I don't know if they have one that can process DD True HD or dts HD Master Audio. For the Price and Features Emotiva would be a good buy.


What is your speaker budget?