Deciding between Yamaha or Marantz

I compared many amps in my life. They have a very important influence on the stage as well. When you compare Onkyo, Pass Labs, Primare, Denon, Marantz and Arcam on the same speakers the difference is huge. The Pass Labs has by far the widest and deepest stage, Followed by Primare. Then Onkyo comes. Arcam, Denon and Marantz have only a little of depth. I have done these tests over and over again. For me it is like 1 and 1 is 2. Even When I used speakers who could give a deep stage and the amps as well. After we connected a Arcam cd or dvd player the depth was gone. For depth all parts need to be good at giving a deep and wide stage. In 15 yera sof time I have done thousends of tests in audio. Because this is the most fun thing to do. I was addicted to this for many years. In the beginning when I started in this business I did 80 hours every week in audio.

+1 to Phasecorrect's comments as he is correct! Speaker design and especially its placement in a room, is critical to achieving a deep soundstage and thus obtaining the 3 dimensionality that Bo so often talks about. Not the brand of amp.

The amp is important Bo, as long as it has the power and reserve to properly drive the speakers and effortlessly supply whatever power the speakers demands without distortion.

Your only proof of dimensionality is that you listened in tests for 15 years. Many of us have double that amount of time listening too, yet we don't rattle off a list of brands proclaiming one is superior in dimensionality and the other isn't. And the ones that you claim are superior just happen to be the ones you sell. But its based on your opinion and nothing more.

Bo, if there was a way of proving that some amps are more dimensional than others by actual objective testing and printing those results on a spec sheet, the manufacturers would do it. And not need Bo proclaiming which ones are.

FWIW...I have listened to Onkyo over the years...and their products have improved immensely...and they do have the recent reviews to prove it...if they have an advantage..at all...over Denon/Marantz...it would be a the entry level price point...which is more featured focus than music first focus...as one moves up the chain...say 800-1k and higher...the playing field becomes more level...and the overall musicality of Denon/Marantz more prenounced...in terms of audio performance/construction....and value...I thought the Marantz line that was still made in Japan about a decade ago was extremely competitive...

Marantz changed the level in parts they use for there amps and sources. This changed the sound and quality a lot. In the past I sold a lot Marantz. But these days I am not such a fan anymore. Onkyo made the same misstake as Marantz. But there is one difference. They went back to better and more expensive parts. I am not focussed on a brand. But Always focus on that brand what gives the best quality at the moment. When I compare a Denon or Marantz with Onkyo on Monitor Audio speakers I loose depth and wide. And I loose individual focus. When you owned a lot of highend this is the way you want music to sound. I was looking for brands what could give me the depth and wide as some good highend brands can do. I wanted to create a stunning level in sound for a much lower price. So it is affordable for many people. Audyssey Pro how I use it changes the overwhole sound dramaticly. It becomes so much more realistic like the more expensive amps. The difference in sound between Audyssey XT32 and Pro is stunning. Arcam has a very involving sound, but lacks the deep and wide stage brands like Primare gives. When you compare the sound of Arcam to Pass Labs ( what I did a lot) the difference is huge and you know how much better Pass labs is. Okay it is a different price ,but it is still a big difference. The same about stage. In the last months I sold a lot Onkyo to people who own Marantz. It is easy to let them hear the difference in speed, drive and also focus. This is after my measurement. When you can measure more dynamics compared to the Audyssey way the sound also becomes more involving. The lost of dynamics is a reason why Audyssey can work negative.

Interesting....even with the best amplification...MA is not known for their spatial presentation or excessive depth...being a Brit design....they are forward voiced...not knocking them...just an observation...if one seeks depth of stage...try Maggie's or Vandersteen...they really excel in that area...much better than a conventional box design