Marantz NR1501 Slimline Receiver Thread

[jswanson]

Marantz NR1501

marantz NR1501-FRONT.jpg


My Onkyo 605 appears to be on it's way out... was working fine, but is humming like a humming bird now and it's not decoding correctly.

Instead replacing it with it's brother, the 606... I've been reading about the Marantz NR1501. Anyone have one...? Would this be decent choice over the Onkyo, being that it's basically in the same price range???

[ZIPPO]

Originally Posted by KASR

Features:

• 7 ch Discrete Analog Amplifier (50 watts x 7) in Slim Design Chassis
• HDMI 1.3 x4 Inputs / x1 Output
• Decoding of Dolby TrueHD, dts-HD Master Audio
• Video Converter for All Analog Sources to HDMI
• Independent Audio Board for Improved Sound
• Simple Set-up with MRAC Auto Calibration
• Component Video x3 Inputs / x1 Output
• Analog Audio Inputs x5, Digital Audio Inputs x3
• Marantz Remote D-Bus In/Out Jacks
• Detachable Power Cord
• On Screen Display for Setup through HDMI out
• Glow Key, Precode Remote Control

I just bought this alittle over a month ago and I am still learning the intricacy of getting it "just right" - I'll be able to give a better review once I've had time to real dig into it's nuances.

However, at first glance: I do like the look and full of the receiver - I was surprised by how short this receiver truly was. The Harman Kardon AVR154 that I previously owned was easily double the height.

The OSD is easy to configure - I did have to allow for alittle acclimation as it was slightly different than the H/K OSD - with that said, the Marantz OSD seemed dumbed down and remedial...perhaps it simply doesn't need as much configuring head-room...I'm not sure yet. I'll continue to tinker. With that said, it's easily configured on the surface - the crossover can be adjusted in increments of 5 and you have the ability to turn off the back surrounds and run 5.1 only or have all 7 channels powered.

The audio codecs shine here - full suite of Dolby and DTS, including the TrueHD and Master Audio lossless codecs. I have set up my two other surrounds for full 7.1 and perhaps that is why Dolby Digital ES sounded much more dramatic than when I switch to TrueHD (Bourne Ultimatum) ... again, some tinkering is in store. (EDIT: I ran the auto EQ that comes with the receiver and it straightened out all the sound problems - Lossless audio sounds great now! I usually don't use the Auto EQ for any receiver and choose to hand-tune, but for some reason while searching for a fix, I decided to run it on a whim...man, I'm glad I did!)

Let's talk about what I don't like: no pre-amp outs mean no headroom for expansion in the amplification area (which I may not need since the room I currently have setup doesn't need that much power pumped through the soundstage....unless I'm trying to peel paint off the walls!)
Secondly, no 5.1 analog inputs...however, since I am going full HDMI, this isn't really a huge issue.
Third: no zone two or zone three. Again, since I'm planning on doing 7.1, this isn't a show stopper - however, I was kinda looking forward to setting up a second area, perhaps the back patio, with some speakers.

I believe this receiver will pull bedroom duty - I will most likely get the Marantz SR5004 or 6004 and couple it with an Adcom GFA-7607 for the home theater room.

Buying the Marantz over the H/K AVR1600 or even the more feature-rich AVR254 was truly a leap of faith. I've heard of the brand name, I like what I've heard about them, yet there were some sacrifices when I picked it out. If worse comes to worse, I still have a highly desirable brand name that will serve me well in the 2nd-hand sell-off area. Let's hope it shines, so I don't have re-wire!

UPDATE: With four weeks in the books, the Marantz is really growing on me - I am surprised on the warmth of the sound - I've heard people comment on this before with Marantz and H/K's - but the Marantz has a different flavor to the sound altogether, which I prefer over the H/K (which had a more tinny sound...more mechanical/digital - still great though!) I've run games through the receiver on optical and the sound was astounding - the one gripe here, is that you can not preset volume for each input signal - so if your DVD's need to be bumped up to 40 for a good sound field and output strength, switching to the game audio will blow your eardrums up at that level. The H/K had this ability, whereas the Maratnz does not...it'll take some getting used to.

The remote is easy-peasy, although I'm still figuring out how to cycle through the surround sound presets with some easy - the receiver display is alittle wonky in that concern that you have to be right up on it to see what codec is being read and most of the time "AUTO" is what will show up for movies and very small logos for Dolby/DTS signals....that's great and all, but the techno-dork in me likes to see the signal logo all big and glaring! I mean, who doesn't?

I ran CD's through it, but what was even more impressive was when I ran NIN: Beside You In Time in DTS -WOW!

Overall, I'm happy with the purchase - but as my home theater continues to grow, I will inevitably outgrow this receiver...but not in heart - as it has won me over.

[SeanMF]

Originally Posted by jswanson

My Onkyo 605 appears to be on it's way out... was working fine, but is humming like a humming bird now and it's not decoding correctly.

Instead replacing it with it's brother, the 606... I've been reading about the Marantz NR1501. Anyone have one...? Would this be decent choice over the Onkyo, being that it's basically in the same price range???

I'd have one if it had pre-outs.

[callas01]

I would suggest that you get the SR5003 or SR5004 that you can find on accessories4less.com.

[Blu Titan]

This player is a good fit for those that are space/style conscious. For the price I could get a Pioneer or an Onkyo HDMI 1.4 receiver with more power than the slim's 50 watts per channel.

[DeadDog]

Picked one of these up today after my Sony was fried by lightning. The slim profile is really what pushed this over the edge for me. I have limited placement options so I either had to decide on a full height receiver under 12" in depth (which really limits me to Sony, Yamaha, and Pioneer lower end models) or something under ~5" which really only left this choice. The sound quality so far is fantastic. I can only describe it as smooth and natural, very pleasing to listen to.

I was a little worried about the 50W rating but so far it has PLENTY of power for my apartment. I am extremely happy to be able to have a Marantz as I've wanted one for quite some time now. The larger size of the receivers was preventing me (along with the wife ) from getting one, but this allowed me to pick one up and I couldn't be happier.

I see this thread is pretty slim (pun intended ), but I was curious what other owners still feel about this receiver after owning one for a while. For me it's a definite step up from my Sony STR-DG820.