Marantz Cinema 30

[CCCC]

You were biased on proving that Denon is as warm as Marantz, so you heard what you wanted ;-)

 

[Shimrra Jamaane]

That, in my opinion (just my opinion) is a myth, created by their marketing info, no scientific base if you look at their own published specs and bench test results, but I do appreciate that Marantz fans are firmly entrenched in their belief because they trust what they perceived and probably don't believe human bias/Placebo has much effect on them. Even if they read studies, such as Harman's that showed such bias are very effective/impactful. Not trying spoil your fun, and I highlighted "opinion", I would have love to own a Cinema 30, to me, it is the most impressive AVR even made as it has the best mix of features, quality parts, aesthetic, circuit board layout, physical dimensions and weight, as well as specs and measurements (based on Marantz's own, that I trust, based on their reputation and past history).

By the way, I just AB compared my new Denon vs my Marantz preamp/power amp in two channel, I actually thought the Denon had the "warm" sound, tried it in both Dirac and pure direct, same results. Not tightly controlled, totally sighted, though in this case, the sighted part should bias me to hear the warmer sound from the Marantz pair, very weird, lol... The human mind is really interesting, can be imaginative, and perception could be highly variable depending on many factor.

Were you testing it against the 6800? Would make sense since the DAC is the same

 

[peng]

You were biased on proving that Denon is as warm as Marantz, so you heard what you wanted ;-)

Fully agreed, as I believe in known science, but I don't know why I would have such bias!! a) I did not feel that way with any of my previous Denon AVRs, b) the forum, magazine reviews talks etc., have over the years, jammed my head with the warm Marantz sound possibility/reality already. So, I guess may be my bias is due to low expectation, that such a below 20 lb soak and wet AVR should sound "thin"? All my other Denon avrs that I actuallly used for more than 1 year are the midrange to upper midrange models. I have never owned any Modern Marantz AVRs, only AVPs, preamp, and power amp, except I did install a system based on the SR7009. Yeah, the human bias thing is incredible, you can hear and see all kings of things are not what they are when you have the bias removed, one way or another.

I haven't hooked up my Denon to the buckeye amp yet, but it is powering my Philharmonic BMR (DIY) that has low sensitivity and impedance is probable around 6 ohms nominal (just my estimate) very well, especially with DLBC on. With DLBC tweaked and the NC502MP hooked up, I would be able to listen louder if I want to. Really happy with this CAD800 or USD575 taxed it AVR.

 

[peng]

Were you testing it against the 6800? Would make sense since the DAC is the same

Oh no, if it was then I wouldn't be surprised at all, I guess... I have been comparing my other gear with the little 19 lbs AVR-X1800H, used strictly for 2 channel stereo with just one small subwoofer. It has the dreaded PCM51020A DAC IC that has only 93 dB SINAD spec., though AVRs using that IC did manage up to mid 90's SINAD on Amir's test bench, indicating that Denon/Marantz has done excellent work in their implementation scheme of such an entry level TI DAC chip.

 

[Whoareyou]

Now I am tempted to try DIRAC but if I spend 799$ and afterwards I realize that I like Audyssey more... I will feel really stupid. I had an arcam some years ago and I liked Dirac, with some reserves: the soundstage was narrowed and in Music it was too punchy and defined for my taste (I like some dispersion in music)

Contact Dirac and ask about their money back policy

 

[CCCC]

Contact Dirac and ask about their money back policy

Are you serious? can I try 14 days and get a refund if I am not satisfied?

 

[peng]

Are you serious? can I try 14 days and get a refund if I am not satisfied?

I am sure @Flak can give you the official answer. My guess is, probably not possible but I hope I am wrong and if their marketing is smart they should offer such free trial. It is definitely possible if you don't mind trying the PC standalone version, that does have the trial option. You would to use your PC and will therefore be limited to stereo, and whatever multichannel configuration that version can do.

 

[CCCC]

I am sure @Flak can give you the official answer. My guess is, probably not possible but I hope I am wrong and if their marketing is smart they should offer such free trial. It is definitely possible if you don't mind trying the PC standalone version, that does have the trial option. You would to use your PC and will therefore be limited to stereo, and whatever multichannel configuration that version can do.

Well, I would need to try it on my receiver with my speakers

 

[Whoareyou]

Are you serious? can I try 14 days and get a refund if I am not satisfied?

In my case, I already owned desktop version, so there's always chance they extended offer to me because I am existing desktop customer.
You pay them upfront and if you decide to terminate license, simply request a refund (I ended up keeping it).

Just send e-mail to their helpdesk and see what they say. They'll respond in a day or two or by early next week since weekend is approaching.
But as @peng mentioned, it would be smart of them to offer this to anyone who requests it.

 

[peng]

Well, I would need to try it on my receiver with my speakers

I know, but if you have a laptop, it should be easy to do, especially if the laptop has HDMI output.
If audible improvement is your top priority, you won't be disappointed with DLBC. How many subs are you using?

Audyssey could do very well too, but it could be very time consuming to tweak with the $20 app, even if you use the free 3rd party user interfaces.

 

[CCCC]

OK so with a laptop I could use the Desktop version and send it to my receiver... in Pure Direct mode I guess? Otherwise the AVR would be doing its own things on sound

 

[peng]

OK so with a laptop I could use the Desktop version and send it to my receiver... in Pure Direct mode I guess? Otherwise the AVR would be doing its own things on sound

Yes use HDMI for 5.1, 7.1 etc. You don't have to use pure direct mode, just turn Audyssey off will do.

 

[EWL5]

Are you serious? can I try 14 days and get a refund if I am not satisfied?

According to the official EULA, refund is only if you haven't used the license (unless they've changed this recently)!
You are dependent on a forum member who works for Dirac to get you that money back.

https://www.dirac.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/EULA-DiracLive-2022.pdf

 

[CCCC]

According to the official EULA, refund is only if you haven't used the license (unless they've changed this recently)!
You are dependent on a forum member who works for Dirac to get you that money back.

That's what I had in mind (no refund after trying), hence my surprise

 

[Whoareyou]

That's what I had in mind (no refund after trying), hence my surprise

They denied your request?

According to the official EULA, refund is only if you haven't used the license (unless they've changed this recently)!
You are dependent on a forum member who works for Dirac to get you that money back.

https://www.dirac.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/EULA-DiracLive-2022.pdf

You don't ask in this forum or any other forum
.
You send that e-mail to their official helpdesk, from where you'll get official response (most likely from that same forum member).
It's an official correspondence, and Dirac is a reputable company and great to deal with, so if they agree to something they will honor it.

Maybe they won't agree to this for you, but it costs nothing to ask.

 

[CCCC]

I wrote some hours ago, no reply yet

 

[peng]

I wrote some hours ago, no reply yet

It depends on how busy he is, sometimesyou get same day response, other times it could take 1 to a few days.

 

[Descartes]

Contact Dirac and ask about their money back policy

They have none and have the worst customer service ever!

 

[CCCC]

If you think about it, paying $799 for a software is crazy. It is a just a software and moreover, it is a software that you will use ONE day (or few days until you get what you want). There are softwares that you use everyday and are much more economic

 

[Shimrra Jamaane]

If you think about it, paying $799 for a software is crazy. It is a just a software and moreover, it is a software that you will use ONE day (or few days until you get what you want). There are softwares that you use everyday and are much more economic

You've got the value proposition wrong. For most consumers a Dirac auto calibration will be 90% as good as a professional calibration which costs just as much if not more. And that is a true one and done, unlike Dirac which can be used as many times as the consumer wants. And if its not for a dedicated theater room, which again is most consumers, factors such as furniture being moved/added or even more drastic shuffles will require using it more than once during the lifetime of the AVR.