Marantz NR1501 Slim Line Home Theater Receiver

by Marantz

Product Details

User's Guide [5.09mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 15.3 x 17.3 x 4.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 17 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B002DUCO54
• Item model number: NR1501
• Batteries: 2 AAA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,302 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The svelte, competent Marantz NR1501 Slim Line Home Theater Receiver offers the features and flexibility you need--but without the hulking size you don't. The NR1501 includes everything you need in a chassis that fits comfortably on a normal shelf or in a standard cabinet. It's just a bit more than 4 inches high and 13 inches deep, so there's plenty of room for the cables you'll need to connect it to your flat-screen TV, a Blu-ray player, cable box, your favorite game console, a surround speaker system, and more.

The slim Marantz NR1501 home theater receiver (see larger image).

 

See larger image.

Key Features

• 7-channel discrete analog amplifier (50 watts x 7) in slim design chassis
• Decoding of Dolby TrueHD, dts-HD Master Audio
• Video converter for all analog sources to HDMI
• Independent audio board for improved sound
• Simple set-up with MRAC auto calibration
• HDMI 1.3 ports (4 inputs, 1 output)
• Component video (3 inputs, 1 output)
• Audio inputs (5 analog; 3 digital)
• Marantz remote D-Bus in/out jacks
• Detachable power cord
• On-screen display for setup through HDMI out
• Glow Key, precode remote control
• Dimensions: 17-38 x 4-3/16 x 14-1/2 inches (WxHxD)

Behind the contoured front panel that combines aluminum and glass-reinforced resins for maximum shielding are the features you need to enjoy the best home entertainment sources today. The NR1501 includes decoding for advanced audio formats like Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio, to name just a few. And there's also a built-in video A/D converter so you can enjoy your favorite composite and component videos on your flat-screen TV through the HDMI input.

And as you would expect from Marantz, the audio circuitry matches the video side for sophistication. The carefully optimized audio signal path rests on a separate circuit board for maximum performance as well as isolation from the spurious interferences generated by high speed video processing. The very efficient seven channel in-line amplifier benefits from voltage feedback for enhanced linearity. The NR1501 makes it easy to get the best high definition sound to your ears with an automatic calibration process that:

• Identifies your system's speaker complement
• Measures the distances between your speakers and your favorite viewing/listening position for the most accurate delay settings
• Adjusts relative speaker levels for the most natural surround effects
• Determines the proper speaker crossover settings for the smoothest transition from your wide range speakers to your subwoofer
• Analyzes your room's acoustic properties and corrects for their often-negative impact on the sound you hear

Product Description

Slim Height AV Surround Receiver with Marantz M1 Chassis, Dolby TrueHD/dts-HD Master Audio Decoder, HDMI v1.3 Input x4, Output x1, Transcoding of all Analog sources to HDMI, 7 channels of discrete amplification (50 watts x 7), Independent Audio Board for Improved Sound, Simple Set-up with MRAC(Marantz Room Accoustic Auto Calibration), Source Direct Mode, 3 Component Video Inputs / 1 Component Output, 5 Analog Audio Inputs / 3 Digital Audio Inputs, Sub Woofer Pre Out, Mini-jack Front AUX input for portable audio player, Slim Design (Height: 90mm), Detachable Power Cord, Marantz Remote In/Out Jacks, On Screen Display, Glow Key Precoded Remote Control

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent receiver, September 8, 2009

By 

Andrew Philip (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Marantz NR1501 Slim Line Home Theater Receiver (Electronics)

The Marantz NR1501 slim line model is only about 4" tall and really an excellent overall receiver. 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 purchase. I wanted to see how well this receiver would do with auto calibration, so I ran it. The receiver comes with a microphone so I put it on a camera tripod, set it to the listening position, and ran the auto cal procedure. Auto cal 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 and I would not change a thing. This is an excellent receiver.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For the price, simply the best sounding receiver, December 13, 2009

By 

W. Schmidt (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Marantz NR1501 Slim Line Home Theater Receiver (Electronics)

I just upgraded my home theater system from a five year old HTIB. I picked up Orb Audio speakers (excellent little speakers, great price) and also the Marantz NR-1501.

I tried out three receivers before settling on the NR-1501. I first looked at the Denon 1910. It definitely sounded great, but was too tall for the space in my entertainment center.

I ended buying a Yamaha RX-V465 BL. I was disappointed with the clarity of the vocals during movies and TV, and even with adjustment the sound was very harsh and very directional. I took this back to best buy.

I listened to an Onkyo TX-SR507. This had decent sound quality, balanced, but not as smooth as the Denon. It also fit in my entertainment center, and the price was decent.

Finally I ended up checking out the NR1501. I thought it wouldn't sound particularly great due to the lower power (50W per channel), but apparently Marantz greatly underrates their equipment and cuts off the rating before any distortion occurs.

Whatever the reason, in any event, this receiver had the smoothest, cleanest and clearest sounding tone of all of them. I tried it side by side, with the same speakers in the store VS. the Denon and the Onkyo (forget the Yamaha, it sounded like garbage compared to all three) and was continually amazed by how rich and clear everything sounded.

I went with the Marantz--at 599.00 (current Amazon price) you can't even come close to this quality of sound. The volume can be so low that my wife can sleep with the door open, and you can still clearly discern the voices of people on TV when using the amp. Everything balances great. Dark Side of the Moon and OK Computer sparkled with this setup (my two main reference CD's for sound).

To sum that up, get it. Unless you're dropping 1500 for a receiving I don't think you can beat the quality of this. As long as you have smaller speakers and reasonable sized room, this is the deal.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Sounding Receiver for the Price, February 20, 2010

By 

S. Crow (So. California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Marantz NR1501 Slim Line Home Theater Receiver (Electronics)

Purchased this receiver after spending a considerable amount of time putting together a home theatre system. Listened many receivers and actually purchased a Harman Kardon 255 from Amazon. For the price the Marantz NR 1501 blew all of these away - it has a great feature set and works very reliably. My main criteria for home theatre was to listen to music and then movies second. Musically it is awesome with a warm detailed sound - the HK 255 sounded like listening to music in a metal pipe - even my wife noticed how bad the HK 255 sounded. For other comparisons I would say it is just a notch below the sound quality of my previous amp a NAD 302 - which was built just for music and is truly awesome. For movies, which we watch a lot of, it doesn't disappoint with plenty of power to fill our family room/ kitchen area (14 x 28 ft). Volume goes from 1 - 100 and listening to movies in the 50 - 60 range is pretty loud and that is from the Playstation PS3 which is a little on the low side when it comes to volume output. I have it matched to B&W M1s up front and a pair of Orb Audios in the rear with a REL T2 sub.

Features wise it is excellent with enough HDMI inputs for my setup. HDMI video is passed through nicely with no loss of video quality from my PS3 as far as I can tell. The setup onscreen display (OSD) is fairly basic but has all you need without a lot of features you don't really need. OSD is basic text on the TV (no overlaying here like fancier models) but really that is not important as once you have everything set up you rarely need to go back into the OSD - remember this is an audio device to create great sound not a video device. On the whole the OSD is comparable to the HK 255 and it allows you to name each input however you are limited to only 8 characters. HD audio works great from the PS3 using 5.1 channel PCM streams over HDMI - I don't have a dedicated Blu-Ray player so I can't comment on bitstreamed versions DTS and Dolby True HD - but through the PS3 HD audio worked and sounded fantastic. I often like to just listen to streamed radio through the PS3 and unfortunately when the audio goes through HDMI the TV has to be on otherwise it does not work. The only other alternative is to send the sound from the PS3 via Digital Optical but this format does not support HD Audio. Not sure if this shortcoming is due to the HDMI specifications or just a particular quirk of the NR 1501.

Setup is fairly straight forward with the included microphone. I ended up tweaking all the values manually in the end to get the balance just where I wanted it. All the usual crossover frequencies, volumes and distances as you would expect. I think there is also a feature where you can have more than one setup and switch between the two (say for Movies and Music) however don't quote me on that. I am sure Marantz publishes the manual online somewhere so you can read up on it.

The remote is OK and I like the feel of it. A big plus is that there is just about a button for every feature you would likely change on a day to day basis. Such as lip-sync, fake surround mode when there is just a stereo signal (receiver supports the latest Dolby and NEO fake surround modes which actually work very well - say when listening to 2 channel TV). The receiver will default to playing in the best surround mode possible - if it only receives a 2 channel signal then it will the pick whatever mode you selected for that input in the setup (such as Neo Movie or simply 2 channel etc). The biggest shortfall of the remote was that the built in presets for controlling other equipment were somewhat lacking (or out of date) it could not control our 2008 Samsung LCD at all (which means 2 remotes - argh!). I solved this by buying a SR 5003/4 remote on eBay which has true learning capability - problem solved - it could learn any function of our other remotes and for the most part has the same buttons / layout as the 1501 remote.

The feature I would have liked in this receiver would be Dolby Volume or the equivalent Audyssey Dynamic Volume found on the SR-5004. So if you want a bit more power and have space in your wallet and house definitely consider the SR - 5004 as well. Finally I picked up my NR-1501 at a local store in So.California - Ken Cranes - for $500 including tax which was a great deal and what you should expect to pay for this unit.