Amplifier
| Marantz SR7009 |
Onkyo TX-NR709 |
9 channel Amplifier: Marantz SR7009 features 9 channel power amplifier. It is rated at 125 W (8 Ω, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 2 channel driven) and is able to drive 4 ohm speakers. |
7 channel Amplifier: Onkyo TX-NR709 features 7 channel power amplifier. It is rated at 110 W (8 Ω, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 2 channel driven) and is able to drive 4 ohm speakers. |
- Current Feedback Topology: Marantz SR7009 features Current Feedback Topology which is a well known, Marantz’ original circuit technology. The Current Feedback amplifier technology fits perfectly with the high requirements set for Super Audio software providing wide-bandwidth, high-speed reproduction. The impedance at the Current Feedback point is limited resulting in a very low phase shift. Marantz receivers and amplifiers equipped with Current Feedback can keep the phase compensation via Negative FeedBack (NFB) to a minimum, resulting in high through-rate, excellent transient response and superb sonic transparency for the full bandwidth. Unlike conventional Voltage Feedback amplification, the Current Feedback amplification makes the power amplifier in-sensitive to difficult loudspeaker loads.
- HDAM (Hyper Dynamic Amplifier Module): Marantz SR7009 features exclusive Marantz HDAM (Hyper Dynamic Amplifier Module) technology found on their Reference Series components. Marantz developed its own discrete circuit boards to replace standard IC's. These HDAM's consist of discrete surface mount components with short mirror image L/R signal paths. Those devices are doing exactly the same thing as the Op-Amps, but outperform the regular IC Op-amps dramatically in terms of the Slew Rate and reduced noise level, resulting in a much more dynamic, accurate and detailed sound. Over the years Marantz developed different types of the HDAM to improve quality and to fit to the special requirements of a product category like CD or amplifier.
- WRAT (Wide Range Amp Technology): Onkyo TX-NR709 features Onkyo’s Wide Range Amp Technology (WRAT) circuit layout that prevents phase shifting by pushing the roll-off point higher than the listening-level frequency. Amplifying sound without phase shift creates an uncommonly well-focused and realistic audio image. If phase shift occurs and signal timing is not accurate, then neither is the resulting audio image.
- 3-Stage Inverted Darlington Circuitry: Onkyo TX-NR709 features 3-Stage Inverted Darlington Circuitry. Standard amplifiers employ a negative feedback (NFB) design that counters distortion by feeding back the opposite phase of the output signal into the input stage. Unfortunately, NFB is easily affected by inverse electromotive forces from the speakers, leading to an increase in circuit noise. Three-Stage Inverted Darlington Circuitry is a core Onkyo technology incorporating a low-NFB design that makes the sound more natural. Sensitive to oscillations, this circuitry requires very advanced control technology in order to be incorporated into the amplifier.
THX™ Select™2 Plus certification
Onkyo TX-NR709 is thxtradecertification Select™2 Plus certified. This means that it is ideally suited for a room where the screen-to-seat viewing distance is approximately 3 to 4 meters, and the room size is approximately 56 cubic meters.
- THX™ Certification: THX™ Certification offers optimal performance, superior quality and seamless integration. THX works with partners from the ground up, so that certified products deliver professional quality audio-visual experiences right out of the box. They only certify the very best products with uncompromised quality, performance and consistency. They ensure that THX certified devices play well with lower performing devices and components. THX listening modes make the receiver to have one speaker set up for movies, music and games. They are tested for power output, bass management, signal-to-noise ratio and feature THX Loudness Plus, Boundary Gain Compensation, Timbre Matching and RE-EQ.
- Power Output: Power output is tested to ensure the receiver accurately plays source material at THX Reference Level in every input and mode and at every sampling rate for all possible playback combinations selected by the listener.
- Frequency Response: THX has strict requirements for frequency response to ensure that you hear all the details in high-resolution tracks, ensures dialog in movies, and vocals in music are clear while maintaining deep, impactful bass output that doesn’t overpower the listening experience.
- Signal-to-Noise Ratio: THX tests the signal-to-noise ratio to ensure the unit is designed to have low noise performance with very little to no audible hiss from the speakers.
- Bass Management: THX requires an 80Hz crossover point in the setup menu to ensure proper bass management in every THX Certified AVR. This setting confirms that the subwoofer handles low frequencies, freeing up the loudspeakers to handle mids and highs.
- THX Loudness Plus™: THX Loudness Plus™ is a volume control technology featured in THX Certified Dominus, THX Certified Ultra and THX Certified Select AV Receivers, and preamplifiers that automatically adjusts the front-to-back speaker level relationship as you turn the volume down. With THX Loudness Plus, home theater audiences can now experience the rich details of surround sound at any volume level.
- Boundary Gain Compensation: Sitting near a wall may result in increased acoustic levels at the lower frequencies. BGC corrects the way low frequency sound is perceived when seated near a wall. This results in a more accurate bass response.
- Timbre Matching: Your ears hear different tonal qualities in sounds coming from different directions. Timbre Matching restores the frequency balance between your front and surround speakers ensuring seamless and smooth panning between the front to back of the room.
- RE-EQ: Many movie soundtracks are mixed in studios for playback in large cinema auditoriums with an array of speakers. When played on home systems, they may appear abrasive and edgy. Re-EQ establishes a more accurate tonal balance when enjoying movies in your home.
Speaker Configurations
Marantz SR7009's and Onkyo TX-NR709's amplifiers can be assigned for different speaker configurations.
- Dolby Atmos Configurations: The following speaker configurations are supported for Dolby Atmos:
- Marantz SR7009: 5.2.2, 5.2.4, 7.2.2 with internal amplifier and 7.2.4, 9.2.2 with addition of external 2 channel amplifier.
- Onkyo TX-NR709: Not supported.
- Configurations without height channels: There are also other speaker configurations available which do not include height channels:
- Marantz SR7009: 5.2, 7.2, 9.2 with internal amplifier.
- Onkyo TX-NR709: 5.2, 7.2 with internal amplifier.
- Front Wide Channel support: With the presence of two front wide speakers you can enhance the front surround stage. The following speaker configurations are available for front wide channels:
- Marantz SR7009: 9.2, 9.2.2.
- Onkyo TX-NR709: 7.2.
- 2-ch Bi-Amp: Both models are able to bi-amp up to 2 main channels simultaneously. During bi-amplification two amplifiers are used for one speaker. One amplifier powers the midrange and tweeter section of the speaker and another amplifier powers the low frequency woofers. Each amplifier is less loaded and performs better. In order to use this feature speakers must have 2 pairs of connectors.
Dolby Atmos
Marantz SR7009 supports Dolby Atmos. It is a cinematic audio format in which sounds exist as individual entities, called audio objects. In Dolby Atmos, any sound can exist as an independent audio object, free of channel restrictions. They can be precisely placed and moved anywhere in your room, including overhead, to flow above and around you in three-dimensional space. Through the use of audio objects, overhead sound, and all the richness, clarity, and power of Dolby sound, Dolby Atmos turns your room into an amazing place for entertainment. The format supports up to 128 simultaneous independent audio objects in a mix for rich, realistic, and breathtaking sound. It recreates the director's original concept through descriptive metadata to provide customized playback for home theater and delivers sounds above you through overhead speakers, special upward-firing Dolby Atmos speakers, or a Dolby Atmos enabled sound bar.
Auro-3D
Marantz SR7009 supports Auro-3D. It is an immersive 3D audio format developed by the Belgium-based company Auro Technologies. It consists of three layers of sound - surround, height and overhead ceiling. The base horizontal layer uses 5.1 or 7.1 format, the height layer is on top of the base layer and its information is extracted from the standard 5.1 surround PCM carrier. The a/v receiver decoder then extracts this information during playback. In home cinema Auro-3D comes with different listening formats - Auro 9.1, Auro 10.1 with added Top Ceiling channel ("Voice of God"), Auro 11.1 with added Front Height Center channel, and Auro 13.1 with added Left Rear Surround & Right Rear Surround channel.
- Auro-Matic upmixer: Auro-Matic upmixer takes non Auro-3D sound and upmixes to the current speaker configuration.
Audyssey DSX
Marantz SR7009 and Onkyo TX-NR709 support Audyssey DSX which allows you to augment a standard five-channel home theater with either two Front Wide or two Front High speakers. The Wide channels create an expansive soundstage and bring out convincing directional effects. Alternatively, Height channels can add a vertical dimension to movie and game soundtracks.
Sound Processing
- Audyssey: Marantz SR7009 comes with Audyssey Dynamic EQ, Dynamic Volume, LFC and Sub EQ HT. Onkyo TX-NR709 comes with Audyssey Dynamic EQ and Dynamic Volume.
- Dynamic EQ: selects the best possible frequency response and surround volume levels moment-by-moment. This ensures that the bass response, tonal balance and surround impression remain constant despite changes in volume. This is the first technology that carefully combines information from incoming source levels with actual output sound levels in the room, a pre-requisite for delivering a dynamic volume solution.
- Dynamic Volume: Your Listening experience can be greatly diminished when there are significant shifts in volume between television programs, commercials and within the program material itself. When this happens you must constantly adjust the volume to maintain your desired listening level. Audyssey Dynamic Volume monitors the volume of program material moment-by-moment and automatically adjusts it, maintaining the desired listening level for all content while optimizing the dynamic range to preserve impact.
- LFC (Low Frequency Containment): While high frequencies are easily stopped by walls low frequencies pass right through. After identifying the frequency range that most readily passes through walls Audyssey developed a technique, called Audyssey LFC (Low Frequency Containment) that reduses the volume at those frequencies and applies psychoacoustic processing to restore the perception of low bass for listeners in the room. The result is no more angry neighbors and no loss of enjoyment for listeners.
- Sub EQ HT: Placing two subwoofers in the room can cause problems, they can create standing waves or even cancel each other out resulting in even less bass than a single sub can produce. Audyssey Sub EQ HT allows two subwoofers to be properly used in a home theater system. The process is automated and takes only a few minutes. The result is rich, full bass for everyone in the room.
- Compressed Music Enhancer: Marantz SR7009 and Onkyo TX-NR709 feature Compressed Music Enhancer which enhances the quality of the music files with lossy compression.
- MDAX2: Compressed music enhancement in Marantz SR7009 is done by Marantz’ MDAX2 technology. The use of compressed audio files like MP3, Windows Media™ Audio or AAC is getting more and more popular. The audio quality of these compressed files however is less than the original lossless files that are on a CD, especially lacking the higher frequencies and affecting the lower frequencies which make the audio image less wide and deep. The Marantz Digital Audio Expander 2, also called M-DAX2, recalculates the outputted frequency range. This enables you to get a more detailed and clearer sound.
- Advanced Music Optimizer: Compressed music enhancement in Onkyo TX-NR709 is done by Onkyo’s Advanced Music Optimizer. While MP3 or AAC files may sound fine through the headphones of your portable digital player, the limitations of these files can be exposed when played back through a quality home entertainment system. This is because a significant amount of high-frequency bit information is lost during the file-compression process. To counter this, Onkyo has designed the Advanced Music Optimizer to compensate for lost bit information and improve the quality of compressed audio signals. This results in a clearer and more expansive sound. Also included in this technology is a loudness correction feature that further improves the audio character of compressed files.
Room Calibration
Marantz SR7009 comes with Audyssey MultEQ XT32 + PRO and Onkyo TX-NR709 comes with Audyssey MultEQ XT room correction system.
- Audyssey Room Calibration: Audyssey is an acoustic measurement technology which automatically restores the acoustic distortion caused by the acoustic behaviour of a room with only a push on a button. Audyssey equalization provides an clear, accurate, natural sound with voices and dialog that become focused and intelligible, restoring the musical balance. Musical instruments and sound effects become precisely localized and the surround soundstage is made seamless and enveloping.
