Customer Reviews

Marantz NR1501 Slim Line Home Theater Receiver

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I mainly listen to 2ch stereo music, and wanted something small to easily fit into my smallish oak tv stand. I was trying to upgrade my 10 yr old Harman Kardon AV40, with something with a lower noise floor, warmer acoustics, and digital inputs (coax and optical) to interface to a Squeezebox Touch. I thought this modest Marantz might fit the bill.

I've had the NR1501 for a few days now, and have tried tweaking pretty much all of the sounds settings (including using the auto cal mode via MRAC) to make the unit sound better with Polk RTI-A1's speakers, in a 20'x15' living room. I can't do it! The sound is feeble, at best, with much less bass than I'm used to hearing from my Harman Kardon. To my ears all of the music I tested (mostly rock) sounded hollow and weak. However, the noise floor is very low on this unit (no static with volume up and no music playing), and the treble (voices especially) are extremely clear and seemingly well balanced, so I'm wondering how much better my experience would be with a subwoofer. Anyways, this receiver simply doesn't drive my A1's into their sweet zone, which I know they have with my experience with the HK. I think one of the higher powered Marantz's might be what I need. Sent this one back for a refund today. I now know that 50W/channel is indeed for smaller rooms, and/or very efficient speakers (A1's are 89 dB, so you'll need much better than that).

I'm replacing a Pioneer VSX-919ah that never really worked well for me. This marantz receiver has it beat in every respect. It's smaller, so it fits in my entertainment center. The auto setup identified specifically where each speaker cut off and set the crossover frequency individually. The result is that each speaker is used to it's fullest. On the Pioneer, you either picked "large" and got all bass, or you picked "small" and the sub-woofer did all the bass work. With this Marantz, the audio is so much richer and full sounding. It's very simple to setup yet sounds so much better. It's much easier to understand conversations in movies, where on the pioneer, I was always raising the volume to understand dialog. This has more componant connections, more hdmi connections, more of everything. Liking it so far.

This thing blows away my old Pioneer VSX-something at 100W per channel. It comes ready for a 7.1 setup. If you have a 5.1 which I do, it won't do an autocalibration without the mid side speakers (I hooked my rear to the actual rear channels). I tell you, don't let the wattage fool you. This thing is full and warm as can be! It really brought my bose speakers to life without a dedicated subwoofer. I looked for a slimline receiver/amp because of limitation of space. I found this one and am not sorry. I gave it a 4 of 5 on ease of use because i'm not used to a rotary knob changing the input. I'd love to have a usb port or an HDMI port on the front of the unit to plug in a camera, Ipod, or whatever for easier access. Do not hesitate to buy this if you are looking for a high quality warm sounding amp.
at $399 it's a no brainer!!

For years, I bought into the idea that non-THX certified receivers were inferior. I was proven wrong. This receiver is a testament to it. Being a buyer of Pioneer elite receivers for years, I haven't ventured out to other brands in the market. Then I did my research and got curious about the rave reviews for Marantz receivers. I took the risk and it has paid off handsomely. This receiver truly rocks! I paired this receiver to the Energy 5.1 Classic speakers and I was truly impressed! I was under the impression that some systems work better for music while others excel in movies; this however is an overachiever-- it excels in both! When I played my 24-bit recordings, the sound was warm, balanced and the individual instruments were clearly discernible-- music was so lifelike. It also takes movies to a whole new level; surround sound is all-encompassing and the bass from the sub is unobtrusive that it clearly blends to the orchestra and not overpower it like other systems. For the money, this is a steal! I don't understand all the negative reviews; this receiver is just awesome!

Hi folks- These Marantz units seem to be selling out real fast. I live in NJ and was able to pick up a new one directly by calling up one the listed vendors here for a small discount and minus shipping fee for around $350. I returned a 2 day old Yamaha R XV667 that I got for $380. It was a good receiver, more options, 3D support, more power per channel (100 vs 50 RMS) etc, but once I listened to Marantz, it was a keeper. Something about the sound quality is so good (Mind you the Yamaha was nice too, but missing something) that I prefered to keep the Marantz. 3 Yr warranty is a nice touch. Best part is I can keep the volume at 6 or 7 when I am working late nights and this still sounds so clear and crisp. Even the sub picks up the lows at this level of volume. Using with JBL Connect Now speakers (Excellent speakers with quarter donut design) and Velodyne Impact Mini sub (Cute but Awesome sub in its price range that out does many larger subs - Comes with 5 yr warranty). Would recommend the marantz NR1501 to anyone looking for a good set-up for a moderate size living room or bedroom.

The receiver is superb. I've been using it for a couple of days and I'm amazed at how clear it sounds with songs that were not so clear in my 10 year-old Sony. The auto adjustment function is astonishing: it recognizes the characteristics of the environment and the speakers to set the equalizer to the best settings, resulting in a beautifully balanced sound in a few seconds. The price tag is also surprising for this class of equipment. The factory container was sturdy enough for it to be delivered in USA and then transported as common baggage to Brazil, even after TSA opened it for security inspection.

First off I'm in my mid 20s and growing up we owned a Marantz stereo system from the 80s which was supposedly a low point in the companies legendary history, let me tell you its still going strong and producing amazing sound, and the components(tape deck, cd player, and turn table) are still living in the digital age. So when I decided to upgrade our theater system from an LG HTIB, marantz was already at the top of the list which included denon pioneer and harman kardon. I ended up purchasing the harman kardon avr254 and the marantz nr1501 they both sounded excellent, games, tv, movies blew my away. I even hooked up my speakers(Polk RM87) to the LG. Receiver just to hear the difference and it was night and day, the bass was tighter, mids cleaner, vocals crisper and was even louder (LG rated at 1000w). The HK had a better onscreen menu and a couple more connections but the marantz had the perfect amount for my needs. I decided to keep the marantz and send back the HK because of the proven reliability and was around a hundred bucks cheaper plus it matched my speakers pretty well.

So long story short go with marantz, my next blu ray player will be one.