Opinions on Marantz 1402

wgscott

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I've never had a home theatre receiver before in my life, and would like to get something reasonably minimal (both in terms of footprint and non-basic features), but not a piece of junk.

Does anyone have an opinion of the Marantz 1402?

It goes for $400 and appears to get decent reviews. I plan to use it with smallish speakers (Orb) and use the LFE output to my Rel-218, which I currently use with my (separate) two-channel audio system.

Any advice or experience with this?

Many thanks in advance.

Bill
 
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wgscott

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Well, I bought it, and so far I am quite impressed. The only minor glitch is that the HDMI connection between it and my 2010 Mac mini created a few annoyances, so I put the HDMI directly into the TV and am using optical out to the receiver (does 5.1 despite what Audio MIDI Setup has you believe).
 

RBFC

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I'm not sure that the optical audio connection will carry the lossless codecs. Are you able to confirm this with your Marantz?

HDMI problems are often an issue with the order of powering on components. You might experiment with that.

Lee
 

wgscott

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Yeah, turning off the AVR (or even switching source) is the usual symptom -- it will crash iTunes. I leave the mini on all the time*, so there isn't a lot I can do.

For reasons that have more to do with family diplomacy than anything else, HDMI direct into the TV seems like a viable work-around. At least until I come up against a problem.

The only thing I plan to use the 5.1 for with my Mac mini is iTunes-downloaded movies, which have "Dolby Digital 5.1". I must confess I have no idea whether this is lossless, or whether it suffers any degradation from the optical. I don't have an easy way to verify (the receiver confirms it is "Dolby Digital 5.1", but says nothing more). I'm not using this for DVD-A, for example. Just iTunes-procured, and the occasionally ripped, movie. (My DVD player is connected conventionally via HDMI.)

* I use the mini primarily as a music server with a separate 2-channel system (USB/coax Halide Bridge out).
 
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RBFC

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Gotcha. Dolby Digital 5.1 is a lossy compression scheme. It's quite possible that the setup you're using will not reveal the differences between it and a lossless codec (i.e. Dolby TrueHD).

Lee
 

wgscott

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So is it that optical lacks the bandwidth to transmit a Dolby TrueHD signal, or is it that it has to be decoded by the player before being sent to the AVR?
 

wgscott

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No problem. It is only idle curiosity at the moment...

Also, I doubt I could hear a difference in the audio unless it is highly compressed. Even with my 2-channel system, I have to pay very close attention to hear differences between iTunes store compressed music and Redbook.
 
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wgscott

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Now I've got an even stupider question:

Is it possible to combine the left and right rear channels in a 5.1 system to have one central rear speaker?
 

RBFC

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Now I've got an even stupider question:

Is it possible to combine the left and right rear channels in a 5.1 system to have one central rear speaker?

You'll have to look in your Audio Setup menu. There "may" be a selection for 0, 1, or 2 surround speakers. This option would allow you to combine the surrounds into one. Good luck.

Lee
 

Phelonious Ponk

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I worked in a relatively high-end Home Theater store for a couple of years. For a variety of reasons we often had to recommend HDMI for video, optical for audio. I never once had anyone come back and tell me they had heard a loss of audio resolution when playing movies encoded with Dolby True HD. Not one. I'm just sayin...

Tim
 

wgscott

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Thanks for that observation. It makes me feel a bit more confident. (Having deliberately avoided anything more than 2-channel audio, this is new territory for me. Keeping my 2-channel system separate (apart from the Mac mini) is probably just an act of diffidence, or maybe snobbery, but it is reinforced by the geometry of the room.)

I played a few 24bit/96kHz 2-channel tracks through the optical connection, and, for what I paid ($100/speaker +$400 AVR), I was a bit shocked at how good it sounded (ok, the Rel sub helped a lot too). Moreover, the DAC in the AVR seemed to have an easier time locking onto the 96kHz signal via optical ($10 plastic amazon cable) than the DAC in my Peachtree Nova (which still has some trouble even with an expensive glass cable -- which is why I got the USB/coax SPDIF converter).
 

RBFC

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I worked in a relatively high-end Home Theater store for a couple of years. For a variety of reasons we often had to recommend HDMI for video, optical for audio. I never once had anyone come back and tell me they had heard a loss of audio resolution when playing movies encoded with Dolby True HD. Not one. I'm just sayin...

Tim

Amir has posted many times about how he and other "trained listeners" can recognize the artifacts caused by Dolby compression schemes. While I agree that listening to a lossy Dolby soundtrack can often be a pleasurable experience, many folks have reported audible differences between the lossy and lossless versions. Blu-ray players have the capability to instantly switch between soundtrack options, so quick comparisons can be made on the fly.

Now, if you have a setup like wgscott, where you have only one option, it's quite possible that you'll never miss having the lossless option. Dolby Digital 5.1 and standard DTS are not "bad" at all.

Lee
 

wgscott

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Just to clarify, the optical connection is only being used to transmit soundtracks from movies purchased or rented via the iTunes store. My DVD player connects via HDMI, and if I ever bother with a BD player, that would too.
 

Phelonious Ponk

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I don't doubt for a minute that trained listeners can hear compression artifacts. I would recommend that those who have not had such training avoid it, and seek, instead, training in how to appreciate great music. :)

We have the power to choose our own obsessions.

Tim
 

amirm

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I believe it's the bandwidth. I hope that one of our resident experts will chime in and explain the situation far more clearly than I.

Lee
Sadly that is not the case. A conscious decision was made to not enable lossless streams to go through S/PDIF and Toslink as to force an upgrade cycle of existing gear.
 

wgscott

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So I decided to get a crew of able-bodied individuals together to help me move the Apple TV2 from the bedroom to within HDMI-cable-striking-distance of the AVR. So now I have two ways of playing movies, etc. I also broke down and bought the surround speakers, and underwent the trauma of drilling through 8" walls to run the speaker wire. Now I have a 5.1 instead of a 3.1 system. (It was briefly 4.1 until I tracked down the offending staple.)

I must reluctantly admit that this thing now sucks quite a bit less than I spent much of my adult life believing. In fact, I'm letting it DSP the living shi'ite out of the sound tracks, compensating for room irregularities and speakers whose distance from the primary listening position varies from 10 ft to 17 ft. I continue to be shocked at what a good job this inexpensive (comparatively) little black box can do.

I just ordered a second ATV2 for the bedroom for music streaming. (No TV in the bedroom, thanks.)
 

wgscott

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Just as a follow-up, for an inexpensive entry-level system, this thing has exceeded my expectations. I gave it some Orb speakers and a nice (Rel -218) sub, and the sound quality is quite reasonable. I don't use it for standard music play-back, but I have tested it out of curiosity, and would give it a B+ for that.
 

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