i wanted to buy an Integra pre-pro model DHC-40.2 but after seeing this, i'm very tempted to get one, specially at about half the price:
http://ubb.outlawaudio.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=87617&#Post87617

the thing also comes with a 4 year warranty.

What do you think?

That doesn't sound entirely silly. At least you'd get the power savings out of it.

Hi,

I have a friend who uses one (non-modified) and it sounds terrific. It is a very tempting offer which makes a lot of sense.

thanks a lot Ken and Jc.

i just wrote Outlaw to ask if the warranty is good in Canada and, if service has to be done in the future, whether i will have to send it back to them or to a local Marantz service center.
their answer will determine what i will do.

P.S.:one thing that impresses me is their specs on the built-in amps; this kind of honesty is not seen very often for this kind of equipment.

their answer will determine what i will do.

Jacques, my thought is that if you'd want to get the SR5005 as a processor, do so, but don't be influenced by the described modification(especially if it's only available in the U.S.). Despite their claim, this wouldn't result in any audible benefit. The noise on these units is already in the 100dB down area, which is inaudibly low, and any small further reduction by disabling the amp section might be measurable but wouldn't have audible significance. The output transistors do "idle" even when not connected to a load, so some electricity is consumed and heat generated, but this shouldn't be a major consideration in my view.

I certainly wouldn't pay $75 to disable the amplifier and might not even choose that for no charge if bought with an Outlaw amplifier. I'd want to retain the capability of using it at least in part as an amplifier in the future(or being able to sell it as such)without having to send it in to reverse the "modification".

Incidentally, I'm curious about your comment re the specs, since they seemed routinely typical to me.

John, i think you're right, having the amps disconnected will not give any appreciable advantage.
the unmodified units, at $500. are an excellent price and so, if the warranty is valid in Canada, i will buy one.

re the specs, they don't seem so typical to me as they don't say something like: max instantaneous power with one ch. driven to 10% distortion:250 Watts; total power (7 ch.): 1750 Watts.
Something i've seen many times in specs.

just got on the phone with Outlaw; asked them if the Marantz warranty is good in canada, they said they are not authorized to sell in canada.
The end/fin/finito. :-(

i'll see if i can find a good deal in some canadian store.

best deal i could find in Canada (did not look THAT much though) is a special that ends tonight; down from $1000. to $750.

should have it delivered home by next tuesday.

i just hope that the surround decoding on the Marantz is better than my Yamaha SR-50 dating back from around 1985 that doesn't even have steering logic and filters out the high frequencies in the surround speakers. ;-)

Hi, Don't worry . . . the improvement will be nothing less than shocking ! ! !

Since a short time after i bought this Yamaha decoder in the mid 80s, i never liked it: noise in the back channels along with a bit of distortion and, most importantly, almost impossible to calibrate the surround levels accurately, so...
i do expect to be shocked.

this decoder was still much better than my previous setup, using a home made "Hafler Hookup" surround.

when i setup my new Marantz SR5005 in a few days (used as a pre-pro), i'm wondering what will be the best starting point at aiming my 2 surround speakers.
the surround system will be a Hafler DH500 amp and a pair of Energy 22 Ref speakers.

should they be looking at each other, or should they be facing the back wall (for a more diffused sound field)?

as they are large "bookshelf" speakers, i must put them on their stands on the floor (not up on the walls), and they'll be at about 110 degrees from my head position.

doesn't anyone have an idea whether the surround speakers should be aimed in a way that will give a diffuse sound field or a direct one? or maybe a mix of the two?

J.B.

It's not ideal using direct-radiating surround speakers in a domestic setup because the dimensions of the room are so relatively small, so you should experiment. The surround speakers should not be "heard" as point sources of sound if your goal is a diffuse sound field. The idea behind Axiom's QS8 multi-directional surrounds is to direct a mix of wide-dispersion reberant information at all angles into the room with some direct sound. The angle you're using for the surrounds is good.

Regards,
Alan

thanks a lot Alan for the info.

when my Energy's rot away for good (it's started), i will most probably buy the QS8, but for the moment the Energy's will do.

Jacques, I didn't see your surround placement question until now. Some years ago I experimented a fair amount with a similar placement. I wanted to have, as you suggest, a more diffuse surround sound field than aiming the direct radiating speakers at the listening position would provide. I got the best results by placing the speakers along the sidewalls and aimed toward the back wall. However, rather than the 110 degree position that you suggest, I found that having the front of the enclosure slightly farther forward than 90 degrees gave some direct(although well off-axis)sound that mixed well with the reflected sound.

This may vary with the amount of treble dispersion that the speaker provides, and of course calls for experimentation. Let us know what you find.

i installed the Marantz yesterday (using it as a pre-pro), then did the Audyssey calibration and had enough time to listen to a film for a short while and also some music on Galaxie.

the surround speakers (Energy's) were placed around 110 degrees from my head position, along the side walls and aimed at the back wall in such a way that from where i sit i can't see the drivers themselves, so i get only reflected sound. if i angle the back surrounds in such a way that i can see those drivers, even if only a little, some frequencies interact with those from the front speakers and the resulting sound is very annoying. it's a bit like slap echo, but worse because it happens at many different frequencies and when once i did have slap echo, it was only in one spot in the room and at only one frequency.
both phenomena seem to be a variation of one another.

by the way, i can't put the back speakers anywhere but at around 105-110 degrees, my room is not large enough to give me some leeway.

finally, listening for a while after installation was finished, i found that right from the start the sound was very good, and the big surprise for me was the fact that listening at 0dB was the exact same volume as i was using with the old equipment.
but then i did not know what "0dB" was...now i know. ;-)

now, my Energy's are getting old (rotting away glue and foam), and i'm thinking about eventually replacing them with other surround speakers.
my BIG question is: if i cannot aim my current surround speakers in order to get some direct sound, how could i get good sound with Asiom's QS8's, as they are direct/reflecting type speakers?

anyone can answer this?

Regarding the "Slap echo", have you set up the proper delay /distance settings in the receiver?

i had this problem a few years back; the delay was setup right.

i solved it by hanging something (to diffuse reflections) a few inches off one of the walls at the position where this was happening.

after that, i never got that problem anymore.

i know now how the QS8's work in a room and why they can give excellent surround sound.