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Some additional comments on the Marantz 8801

Posted by Dave_K on November 20, 2014 at 15:44:32

In Reply to: Well, that's kind of sad Dave... posted by Jim Pearce on November 17, 2014 at 09:43:16:

Used as an analog preamp in Pure Direct mode, I am satisfied with the sound. It's slightly on the warm side of neutral, full sounding, with solid bass. The presentation is smooth and a little laid back. It has zero background noise, hum, or buzz in my system. It's not as transparent as a good high end stereo preamp, but it's better than I expected for a $3600 box with every feature under the sun. Used in this mode with a good source in front of it, it's not holding the rest of my system back, or at least not much.

I am also satisfied with the sound quality for Blu-Ray playback, which was important because my wife watches a lot of movies.

However, I am disappointed in the performance when playing SACDs via HDMI from the Oppo. Same for DVD-As, but to a lesser extent. The soundstage lacks depth, dynamic contrasts are a little weak, the top end sounds a bit dull, it lacks some sparkle, air, richness, presence. It basically sounds like a low end universal player, on the same level as the Oppo BDP-103 via analog. This is true with the bass management and Audyssey processing engaged or in direct mode with the processing bypassed. I'm similarly disappointed in the sound quality when using it to render network audio streams, which is important to me and is why I added the Linn DS.

I don't know why the digital section seems satisfactory for Blu-Ray playback but not for other hi-res audio sources. It may just be that I don't have a better reference for Blu-Ray playback.

I do have some positive things to say about the unit. It has been pretty much bug free, which is uncommon for full-featured pre/pros. Aside from occasional slow response times when trying to change internet radio stations, I really haven't had any operational issues with it. The menus are sensible and setup was straightforward. Firmware updates over the network have gone fine, but take a while when everyone is trying to update at the same time as you are. In addition to the front panel and the IR remote, you can control it via a GUI accessible via a web browser or the Marantz remote app. I can't say I've tried every feature it offers, but everything I have tried has worked as expected.

I also appreciate having the Bypass L/R setting for Audyssey which is a somewhat unique feature. I am fortunate that my front L&R speakers already come close to the ideal response curve when measured from the listening position in my living room, so they don't really need any equalization. Audyssey makes their response audibly and measurably worse by creating a dip in the upper midrange and adding peak in the lower treble. I've tried several different sets of sampling points when running the Audyssey calibration with similar results so I think the issue is with the microphone calibration. One of these days I'm going to try an Audyssey Pro calibration, but until then I appreciate the ability to exclude the front L&R from Audyssey calibration. I really do require the Audyssey calibration for other speakers because I don't have timre matched surround & rear speakers and they have varying degrees of boundary reinforcement.

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