Marantz AV8003 & UPA/XPA 5

[jjohnston12385]

Hey all! Newbie to the forums here. Been on the fence for quite some time now about adding an amplifier to my HT setup. I currently have Polk Audio RTi A7 fronts, CSi A6 center, and RTi A5 rears. I was using a Marantz SR7002 AVR to power them and while that sounded great, the 7002 died over the weekend. I am planning on getting it repaired and putting it in my bedroom and using it for a small system in there for my 32" TV and my gaming PC. Anyway, I've just ordered a Marantz AV8003 Pre/Pro. Now my question is.... for my speakers, would the UPA-5 be more than enough power (I'm not looking for reference during movies/music), or should I step it up to the XPA-5? Only thing that's making me lean more towards the UPA-5 is the fact that it's on sale for a very very very attractive price. Thanks in advance for any input.

[Deleted]

The UPA-5 will be more than up to the task. It is a fine amplifier, and at this price, a no brainer.

[tchaik]

i agree with neekos about the amp and the sale being a no-brainer....

but......

if you are going to spend that much money on a pre-pro of that quality,
i would consider going with the xpa-5 instead. this gives you more than enough power that you will never wonder if you shoulda-coulda etc........

later on down the road if you move into 7.1 you might consider adding the xpa-2 and putting center/surrounds on the xpa-5.

just a thought..............

tchaik.......................

[jjohnston12385]

Thanks for the quick replies. I was sorta kinda leaning towards the XPA-5, but I'm worried about my electrical in my equipment closet. Seeing as I have all my A/V and video gaming consoles, plus a 24/7 File/Print server and a moderately used HTPC, I dunno if that particular circuit can take the brunt of the XPA-5 without tripping. Unfortunetaly I have no way of adding a circuit into that closet... just yet, but of course that would have to come well after I have already gotten the amp and such.

[roadrunner]

Oct 12, 2010 18:14:09 GMT -5 jjohnston12385 said:

Hey all! Newbie to the forums here. Been on the fence for quite some time now about adding an amplifier to my HT setup. I currently have Polk Audio RTi A7 fronts, CSi A6 center, and RTi A5 rears. I was using a Marantz SR7002 AVR to power them and while that sounded great, the 7002 died over the weekend. I am planning on getting it repaired and putting it in my bedroom and using it for a small system in there for my 32" TV and my gaming PC. Anyway, I've just ordered a Marantz AV8003 Pre/Pro. Now my question is.... for my speakers, would the UPA-5 be more than enough power (I'm not looking for reference during movies/music), or should I step it up to the XPA-5? Only thing that's making me lean more towards the UPA-5 is the fact that it's on sale for a very very very attractive price. Thanks in advance for any input.

Your Polk monitors are 8 Ohm speakers with an efficiency rating of 89 db. In order to know if the UPA-5 power amp has the muscle to handle your system a couple of other things need to be considered. First, how large is your listening area? Number of door/windows? ...their size and location? ...type of curtains? ...floor, walls and ceiling material? ...rungs, tile, wood, etc? ...furnishings -- type, location, distance from speakers? ...listening habits? ...genre of music you like? ...ratio of video to music? Do you see yourself getting different speakers in the future?

If you have a small to mediium sized room the UPA amps are likely to be all you need. If you have a large area or an open floor plan you may find you need a more powerful amp. When you watch movies do you like to "feel" the special effects hit you in the chest? Do you like to listen at "reference levels"? If the answer is yes to either of these questions, you may want to take a closer look at which amp you will need. The more information you can provide us the more accurately we will be able to advise you.

Both the UPA and the XPA series amps are of exceptional quality and both will have the same sonic signature. You just want to make sure you buy an amp you will be happy with for many years.

[jjohnston12385]

Its a spare bedroom of the house. 2 small windows, maybe 4' x 4' (prolly smaller) and 1 standard sized doorway. I really don't forsee myself upgrading my speakers anytime soon as these are less than a year old. I really like the sound of them. As far as reference levels go, I don't plan on running that high in that small of a room. But yea, the more and more I think about it myself, I think the UPA is going to cut it for my needs. The only concern I have over the XPA is the circuit.

[eljaycanuck]

FWIW, my UPA-5 has no trouble getting my speakers to fill my ~14' x 30' x 7.5' basement HT area with clean, loud audio.

[jjohnston12385]

Well, my UPA-5 arrived at my home about 2 hours ago, got it unboxed, wired into my speakers and ran some RCA's to where my Pre/Pro will go when it gets here early next week. Powered the amp up and it went through it's cycle and all lights are blue so i'm happy. Can't wait to test it out when the AV7003 gets here.

By the way, would people recommend a Multi-Channel cable from www.bluejeanscable.com? Right now I'm just using some basic RCA cables that are kinda on the thin side (basically the ones that come with CD players/DVD players, etc...).

Here is a link to the BJC I was talking about..... www.bluejeanscable.com/store/6channel/index.htm

I was looking at the third option, 8', with the TechFlex so it bundles them up nicely and then getting them in Green (favorite color lol).. in a 5.0 config since it's only going from processor to amp.

Thanks!

[eljaycanuck]

I have five of these Monoprice cables connecting my Marantz SR6003 to my UPA-5. They work very well, and the price is very right. Why pay more if you don't have to?

[jjohnston12385]

Oct 15, 2010 21:29:08 GMT -5 @eljaycanuck said:

I have five of these Monoprice cables connecting my Marantz SR6003 to my UPA-5. They work very well, and the price is very right. Why pay more if you don't have to?

Thanks for that tip! The only reason I was seriously considering the BJC, was I could get it bundled, but I guess I can buy some of that wire-loom stuff and bundle 5 of these for much much cheaper.

[roadrunner]

JJ

I would still go with the Blue Jeans or the Emotiva cables if I were you. They are far better quality cables than what is available from Monoprice. There is no need to waste money on cables but it does pay off to use good quality cables and the ones that Blue Jeans and Emotiva offer are exceptional quality at very reasonable prices. Audioholics and Secrets of Home Theater HiFi both have highly recommended Blue Jeans and Emotiva's cables as "must buy" after testing them.

Many Lounge members have posted having problems of one sort another when using Monoprice; and when replaced with Blue Jeans or Emo cables the problems disappeared. Good quality cables offer problem free installations, but there is no need to go after the uber expensive esoteric cables.

If you need to save money on cabling, try the Tartan brand from Blue Jeans or the Emotiva Ultra series of cables. Good luck which ever cables you decide on.

[Deleted]

I absolutely agree with roadrunner.

I've had Monoprice, Blue Jeans and Emo cables. Several Monoprice cables went bad with my XPA-5.

[jjohnston12385]

Well I received my AV8003 earlier this afternoon. Been spending the better part of the past 4 hours setting it up, hooking it up, and calibrating it. So far, I am pleased with the overall sound of the combo that I am using. I definitely notice a much clearer sound stage when playing games and watching movies. I am hearing things that I didn't hear before by using the SR7002 and it's built-in amps.

BUT... there is one thing on the UPA-5.... I noticed that one of the blue lights is not lighting on Channel 4. It shows no Red light.... the channel is working in movies/games/test tone from AV8003. I really don't want to go through an RMA process just to have a light fixed, but at the same time.... I don't want something that is brand new to not work at intended. Is there anything I could do about that problem?

[paintedklown]

Oct 19, 2010 16:19:31 GMT -5 jjohnston12385 said:

BUT... there is one thing on the UPA-5.... I noticed that one of the blue lights is not lighting on Channel 4. It shows no Red light.... the channel is working in movies/games/test tone from AV8003. I really don't want to go through an RMA process just to have a light fixed, but at the same time.... I don't want something that is brand new to not work at intended. Is there anything I could do about that problem?

I had this same "problem" with one of my UPA-1 amps. Turns out there was nothing wrong at all. On the back of the amp there is a switch that allows you to turn the LED on/off. I had accidentally bumped mine to the "off" position.

Hope that is your case as well. Good luck.

[jjohnston12385]

Yea. That's what I thought to check, the switch. But I have lights on all the other channels (1,2,3,5). And like I said, I have sound coming out of the speaker that is hooked up to that channel. So I dunno. I guess if its not truely broke, I shouldn't worrry about it too much.

*UPDATE* I went off for a few hours earlier and upon returning home I fired up my system for some PS3 gaming. I noticed that the missing light on the amp, was lit. When I finished my gaming, I walked back over to the equipment and noticed that the light was flickering, like it's making bad contact. Like I said, the Channel itself works great, as intended. It's just that light that's bothering me and when I finally get my stuff racked in a MA rack, I don't want that little bugger messing up a clean look. =)