Thinking of replacing my Krell Showcase processor

[Caemofan]

I currently have Krell Showcase as my processor and XPA-5 for my amp. My speakers are Emotiva XRM 6.2 and ERD-1 for 5.1 setup. I am thinking of going with all in one receiver. My budget between $500-800.

I am looking for a good audio quality receiver, has the latest audio decoding and probably if can upconvert video 1080p would be great. I like the physical appearance of the Marantz, maybe SR5004 or SR60004. What do guys think?
However, I heard quite a few people experienced the pop of death on these receivers. Can anyone recommend anything better than these two receivers I mentioned or are these good enough or maybe sound better than my Krell.

I know Onkyo and Yamaha are pretty good for the money but their design kind of put me off.....so is Denon. I have been reading in the forum that for sound quality among these brands I mentioned, Marantz is the best. Is this true, folks? I wonder how it will mate with the Emotiva speakers. Krell and Emotiva sounds a bit bright for my taste. I hope Marantz can tame the brightness a bit at least. The only drawback on the Marantz I heard is that the two models I mentioned do not last as it has problem with their capacitor and their video processor is so so only. Plus their audio decoder are not up to date as it does not have THX.

Any inputs or comments, please chime in.

Thanks.

[souless]

From my limited experience I would choose Marantz over Denon. While I like all the extra's that Onkyo offers for the price the aeshtetics are horrible. Marantz uses many of the same internal parts as Denon but I think Marantz is the only one using a copper chassis. Marantz would be better for sound but video would probably go toward Denon. This is a tuff decision, im sure both would perform excellent. but you have to look at it on your shelf as well.

[Caemofan]

What about between Yamaha and Marantz? Do u think Yamaha is comparable in terms of sound quality to the Marantz?

[Erwin.BE]

www.audioholics.com/reviews/receivers/marantz-sr6004-1

A link to the Audioholics SR-6004 review.
Your XPA-5 has more than 200W/ch.
The Marantz is "designed" for only 77 W/ch with 5 channels (even less with all 7).

If you don't like the sound of your set-up, it's probably due to the speakers. I never heard Emotiva speakers, but the speakers and the way they interact with the room are always 90% of the sound you get.
Can you describe your room? Which materials are the floor, the seats, are there bookcases etc? Adding (more) carpets could tame that brightness.

Also, Emotiva claims that their speakers are designed for HT and are best combined with a SW. Do you use a SW? It's not in your sig.

[LuisV]

I'm a little confused... if you don't mind, can you answer some additional questions?

Do you want to get rid of the XPA-5 and go back to a single box AVR? If so, why? I'm just curious to hear your thoughts.
If you're keeping the amp, why not go with the UMC-1?

I switched from a Marantz processor and Acurus amps to the UMC-1, XPA-2 and XPA-5. I don't see the UMC-1 as having any performance issues, in fact the sound quality it puts out is simply amazing and was far better than my older Marantz. Does the UMC-1 have a few bugs... yes, but they can be fixed with firmware. All I have experienced is a few audio drop outs and at times it does not lock on the audio signal properly with DirecTV. My fix has been simple... I either turn the DirecTV box off and back on or I change the channel up and down for the UMC-1 to correct itself.

From what I recall, I have not had a single issue with CD audio, Bluray nor DVD audio / video, CD nor iPod audio, nor any issues with Netflix nor my streaming media player. I'm still running the original firmware and I'm anxiously waiting for the final release code before I upgrade.

[twilkins]

I'm assuming you're keeping the XPA-5. I've been extremely happy with the Integra DHC 40.1 in my system. The SQ has been excellent with no bugs. It has more features than I can use. The only drawback I've heard about is that the phono section of the processor good be better. I've heard that the phono section of the UMC-1 is really quite good. This has not been an issue as I use the phono section of the USP-1 and assume most would at least use a phono preamp with most processors.

[Caemofan]

Well, I was just curious about the sound quality the Marantz receiver can produce compare to what my current setup is. I might still keep the XPA-5 if the Marantz receiver is that bad. And also I am thinking of trying a different brand of speaker. Maybe Salk Song Tower or Dali as I have hearing great reviews on those speakers. My room is pretty normal size around 2500 cubic feet. All carpet but no sound acoustic panel yet. Planning to make some myself in the near future. Just haven't thought about how the design should look like.

Another reason I am thinking of replacing is because the Krell Showcase is kind of out dated and so would like to go with the Marantz but I know it is not a truly processor like the UMC-1. Might go with UMC-1 but still thinking of other product out there. My guess for the sound being bright could be the Krell showcase itself as it does not have an easy button to just lower the treble, in fact it does use what is called parametric EQ which is not very user friendly. I am still learning how to play with that stuff.

So I guess my quest for bulding my dream audio signature is still continuing.....

[db0673]

Jul 24, 2010 0:50:18 GMT -5 Caemofan said:

Well, I was just curious about the sound quality the Marantz receiver can produce compare to what my current setup is. I might still keep the XPA-5 if the Marantz receiver is that bad. And also I am thinking of trying a different brand of speaker. Maybe Salk Song Tower or Dali as I have hearing great reviews on those speakers. My room is pretty normal size around 2500 cubic feet. All carpet but no sound acoustic panel yet. Planning to make some myself in the near future. Just haven't thought about how the design should look like.

Another reason I am thinking of replacing is because the Krell Showcase is kind of out dated and so would like to go with the Marantz but I know it is not a truly processor like the UMC-1. Might go with UMC-1 but still thinking of other product out there. My guess for the sound being bright could be the Krell showcase itself as it does not have an easy button to just lower the treble, in fact it does use what is called parametric EQ which is not very user friendly. I am still learning how to play with that stuff.

So I guess my quest for bulding my dream audio signature is still continuing.....

the marantz AV7005 is a pre-pro will be out in Oct