Is AV Receiver good for Music ?

I like ....and liking more, to listen to songs in multichannel.

Currently I am happy with Apple music Dolby Atmos (apple labels then as spatial music). And even YouTube music (eg Coke Studio) with Dolby upmix sounds pleasing.

I feel the future is well mixed multichannel music. And obviously with the way Dolby Atmos is being marketed, it is very likely to become a universal standard.....if not in the audiophile community, .....in the pro-sumer and general consumer sector. (Oh the many avatars of soundbars....which are going to evolve into its wireless iterations)
 
Coming to the subject, I had the venerable Marantz PM 8006 for a good while. Compared it with my SR7010 in pure direct. Let me tell you this. No day and night difference. Same Marantz house sound. Maybe a bit more of the V curve on the integrated. The only plus I saw was the tone controls for bass, mids and highs.
Was the source same?
I can feel a good difference when l compare SR6011 with PM7005.
I enjoy music much more on PM7005. Somehow l also feel AVR just go loud with volume turned up. On IA, soundstage goes bigger without distortion . Since both has digital inputs ,l compare their internal DACs. AVR connected to HTPC via HDMI and IA with spdf input. Rest setup same. Even with analog input, IA has less distortion and drives speakers much easily and musically.
 
Living dangerously on an "audiophile" forum?

TBF, he balanced the inherent danger from making an observation such as he did by using the adjective "venerable" for the integrated while staying on first name basis for the blasted AVR. How his ears survived music playback from the AVR will remain one of life's great mysteries...
 
I had my friends PM8006 for sometime in past and my neighbour houses a SR6014. Not only me but my friend to said both are definitely apart. The lush Marantz house sound which just pulls you in music was definitely missing on the SR6014.
Marantz AVRs are definitely musical but not like some dedicated IAs. For some it is one equipment with jack of all trades is the best way, and nothing wrong in that. Matter of choice and convince.
Even I do enjoy music on my Denon x3700 in pure direct occasionally, has had variety of power amplifiers paired and now a Audiolab 6000a.

I had some relatives come over from a native, they were never introduced to Alexa echo dot. Guess what, uncles were having a blast over alexa speaker, talking with her and listening to music all night long.
Then I introduced them to concept of AVR and IA next morning and all hell broke loose :p

Enjoying music the way you like matters.
 
It depends on speakers too. Some just sound similar with different amps, where as some are more revealing.
 
Was the source same?
I can feel a good difference when l compare SR6011 with PM7005.
I enjoy music much more on PM7005. Somehow l also feel AVR just go loud with volume turned up. On IA, soundstage goes bigger without distortion . Since both has digital inputs ,l compare their internal DACs. AVR connected to HTPC via HDMI and IA with spdf input. Rest setup same. Even with analog input, IA has less distortion and drives speakers much easily and musically.
Same source.

Tidal via Roon - Zen Dac - Marantz SR 7010 - Quad S2
Tidal via Roon - Zen Dac - PM 8006 - Quad S2.

I don't listen at very loud volumes. I am just as happy listening to music on the AVR. To be honest, I was all excited when I got the integrated home. I was expecting to be blown away. Nope, did not happen.

Edit: I remembered something that @DB1989 told me a while back. The TrueBass feature on the Zen DAC. Tried it out with the SR 7010 (in pure direct) and it matched the bass quite well to the PM 8006 with it's bass knob at 3 PM.
 
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Sir, I'm sorry to say, but, on this forum the "audiophile" amp is always right!
Haha. The Marantz PM 8006 is a very nice and capable amp. Thoroughly enjoyed listening to it at my place. It will probably play louder cleanly than my 7010. But at the volumes that I listen to and for the kind of music that I listen to, I won't be replacing my SR 7010 with the PM 8006 or for that matter any other integrated amp anytime soon.
 
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I was all excited when I got the integrated home. I was expecting to be blown away. Nope, did not happen.
I have found that Marantz amps(even avr) take more time to burn in and sing musically.
To my surprise my avr and IA took almost a year to sound its best. l too was not happy with PM7005 initially ,but with time it started singing.
 
I have found that Marantz amps(even avr) take more time to burn in and sing musically.
To my surprise my avr and IA took almost a year to sound its best. l too was not happy with PM7005 initially ,but with time it started singing.
I am of the view that our ears are what breaks in and gets used to the sound of the new amp. But I do believe in keeping an open mind and although a year is a very long period for a break in, maybe if I am lucky enough, I might get to listen to this amp after a month of so. If I see a difference, I will update this thread.

Thanks for your inputs, Sir
 
I am of the view that our ears are what breaks in and gets used to the sound of the new amp. But I do believe in keeping an open mind and although a year is a very long period for a break in, maybe if I am lucky enough, I might get to listen to this amp after a month of so. If I see a difference, I will update this thread.

Thanks for your inputs, Sir
Its not in my case as l have multiples amps and so can comment. Both ,Marantz avr and IA took long time. Old avrs were different.
 
Sir, I'm sorry to say, but, on this forum the "audiophile" amp is always right!
Can you list non-audiophile amps? There is a purpose for each, and implementation differences between an AV component vs a stereo component. That has to be experienced first before we generalize.

There are so many experienced folks here on both sides, either talk to them or listen to their AV and stereo systems and conclude.
The real difference will be felt obvious only in a dedicated AV setup and stereo setup.

Remember, if your statement on this forum the "audiophile" amp is always right! is funny, you wouldn't see a hell lot of stereo companies out there in the world.
 
Can you list non-audiophile amps? There is a purpose for each, and implementation differences between an AV component vs a stereo component. That has to be experienced first before we generalize.

There are so many experienced folks here on both sides, either talk to them or listen to their AV and stereo systems and conclude.
The real difference will be felt obvious only in a dedicated AV setup and stereo setup.

Remember, if your statement on this forum the "audiophile" amp is always right! is funny, you wouldn't see a hell lot of stereo companies out there in the world.
Well, one of us woke up on the wrong side of the bed today.
 
My BIL asked me the same question several years back when he got his HT (AVR, Spkrs, DVDP) at the same price as my Yamaha stereo amp, CDP and Jamo spkrs.

I could only give one answer - a Toyota Hilux will take a few sofas and family from Abu Dhabi (where I live) to Dubai (where he lived) in about 2 hours jostling them BUT his GMC Acadia takes only his family without sofas the same distance in much more quiet and comfort in the same time.

You'd need a hot water bath after the ride in the Hilux while he could hit the bed straight if he went in his Acadia.
 
I think this is part of a daisy chain of debates on the differences expected or experienced with different components or component combinations. It does not really matter what the approach is, as long as you like what you hear. On a personal note, my music listening experiences with AVRs have all been rather poor in comparison to 2-channel stereo on a decent rig. On the contrary, whenever I have attempted to use 2-channel equipment for movie watching, the experience was not great either.
 
Same source.

Tidal via Roon - Zen Dac - Marantz SR 7010 - Quad S2
Tidal via Roon - Zen Dac - PM 8006 - Quad S2.

I don't listen at very loud volumes. I am just as happy listening to music on the AVR. To be honest, I was all excited when I got the integrated home. I was expecting to be blown away. Nope, did not happen.
Haha. The Marantz PM 8006 is a very nice and capable amp. Thoroughly enjoyed listening to it at my place. It will probably play louder cleanly than my 7010. But at the volumes that I listen to and for the kind of music that I listen to, I won't be replacing my SR 7010 with the PM 8006 or for that matter any other integrated amp anytime soon.
The devil is very much in the details when you go up the spectrum. With a more capable pre/power/integrated, its not loudness per se but their ability to bring the subtleties and nuances of the music to the fore. And for that, one really needs to listen intently and hear for the differences. Most of us aren't bothered to listen to music that way and therefore, the differences don't jump out and bowl one over on a casual listen.

This was very apparent with my recent stint with the SMSL DA-9 while it was plugged into my main system (it has now been moved inside where its nestled inconspicuously on the perfume drawer - the tiny footprint is a boon as well as the built in bluetooth which negates cable clutter, albeit at the loss of some fidelity that i can very much live with at the moment) as opposed to my Cambridge Audio CXA81 which is my daily driver now.

I would also emphasize that while trying to maximise mileage from any particular component in the chain, having a good quality component in every part of the chain matters. To elucidate, when playing audio from my computer, the prowess of the CXA81 was curtailed to a good degree, even when I had a capable DAC in the Chord Mojo and the RME ADI-2 DAC FS, not to mention the venerable Ifi Zen DAC. In fact, the Ifi Zen sounds near identical to the Chord when fed from the computer. It was only when I switched sources to check out what the entire hoopla about "bits are not just bits" by introducing the Allo Digione Signature that the CXA81 came alive and the Chord distinguished itself from its still very capable counterpart in the Ifi.

While the SMSL DA-9 is quite the capable amp and not a big downgrade on the CXA-81 as the price differential should suggest to a rational man, closer introspection reveals that the DA-9 simply does not possess the refinement of the former in the treble, the body in the mids or the grip in the bass. And the lack of grip in the bass is what surprised me, something which was not apparent till i connected the RELs using the high level input at the speaker terminals (not that it would have mattered had I connected them straight to the amp terminals). Bass notes sounded like they were smoothened out with the details that I was otherwise accustomed to with the CXA81 missing, particularly the reverb and microsecond pauses in bass notes mostly if not entirely MIA with the DA-9.

Curiosity aroused, moving to the Marantz SR6013 painted a similar picture but what was immediately apparent in this comparison was its relatively subdued dynamic range when compared to the CXA81. Though the SR6013 did not sound like a lesser amp per se, a more intent listen again reveals the areas in which CXA81 tries to justify its heftier asking price and they are well worth it if one bothers to listen that close. I do find myself in that camp on certain occasions and therefore, grateful to the Cambridge for accomplishing its brief when called upon. :)
 
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I think this is part of a daisy chain of debates on the differences expected or experienced with different components or component combinations. It does not really matter what the approach is, as long as you like what you hear. On a personal note, my music listening experiences with AVRs have all been rather poor in comparison to 2-channel stereo on a decent rig. On the contrary, whenever I have attempted to use 2-channel equipment for movie watching, the experience was not great either.
I can relate to the former. However, I am very much curious about your latter statement. Could you elaborate on the reasons thereof?
 
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