Marantz NR1501 Slim Line Home Theater Receiver Review
March 6th, 2010
Marantz NR1501 Slim Line Home Theater Receiver Review from Andrew Philip. Best receiver for those with size constraints, This receiver is a Marantz slim line model and it is about 4-Inch tall. I bought this to replace a Sony STRG810.It was a toss up between a Denon, Yamaha or Marantz. The Sony STRG810 was a great receiver for movies but it was lacking sound quality in the music department (too much reverb). When comparing similar models, Yamaha was brighter then Denon, and Marantz was warmer then Denon, so I went with Marantz. I compared the Marantz NR1501 model to a Marantz SR6004 ($1300) side by side, and the audio quality was almost the same except the SR6004 was a bit more full at 110 watts per channel. I also compared the Marantz NR1501 to a Harmon Kardon AVR254 and the Marantz NR1501 sounded much better. The Harmon Kardon sounded too digital and tinny where the Marantz sounded true to its source. I am very pleased with how warm and clear the sound quality is while listening to music or watching movies.
The 50 watt NR1501 is more then enough wattage to power my reference series Klipsch speakers in a 13′ x 17′ living room. You may think that 50 watts is too low, but Marantz rates their receivers lower then what they are capable of. For example, Sony rates their receivers by putting a meter in the center of a testing room and increasing the volume as loud as it can go – distortion and all; they mark down what the wattage output is. Marantz does the same procedure except once they get to distortion, they back the knob off a little and mark down the wattage rating. That is why you will notice a lot of Marantz receivers are rated at 50,70, or 90 watts which is a lot lower then some of the 100,110 watt competition.
I usually set all the parameters (crossover frequency, speaker distance, db level etc.) by ear as I have with every receiver I have purchased. I wanted to see how well this receiver does with auto calibration, so I ran it. The receiver comes with a microphone so I put it on a camera tripod, put it up to the listening position, and ran the auto cal procedure. It lasted about 3 minutes and played a series of test tones. When it was done, all of the levels were adjusted to the listening position. I manually went through these levels to see how well it did.
The only one I had to adjust was the crossover frequency. It set my center channel frequency to 170hz and my surround speaker channel to 90hz. Therefore, any frequency below these settings will be sent to my subwoofer. With the center channel frequency set so high, this will add some bass from the subwoofer when people are talking (since the main job of a center channel speaker is to do the vocals in a soundtrack). I would rather the bass from the vocals come from the center channel speaker itself. Therefore, the number would have to be much lower then 170hz. I read in various Dolby Digital and THX forums that they use a standard of 80hz for 3″-5″ drivers which I have always been happy with. You get a more full sound from your speakers with just enough bass from the subwoofer.
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Tags: Andrew Philip, Audio Quality, Auto Calibration, Crossover Frequency, Harmon Kardon, Home Theater Receiver, Line Model, Listening To Music, Living Room, Marantz Receivers, Models, Music Department, Parameters, Size Constraints, Slim Line, Sony, Sound Quality, Speakers, Wattage Output, Watts, Yamaha
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