Headphone Amp necessary with Marantz Receiver?
Jan 7, 2011 at 1:32 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 18

Lechango

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Hello. I own a little Marantz 2015 receiver which I hook all my components on my desk up to, I have my Millet Hybrid tube amp hooked up through the tape out, but recently after switching between the amp and the headphone jack on the receiver I have began to question the boost in sound quality (if any) from using the amp. 
 
My real question is: should the Millet Hybrid tube amp technically sound better than the headphone out on the Marantz 2015 receiver? I don't exactly have audiophile ears and am thinking the amp is really unnecessary. I know I'll probably get responses, "use whatever sounds better to you". Well I can't decide, but I will keep the amp if it is technically better.
 
Jan 7, 2011 at 1:36 AM Post #2 of 18
Marantz puts good headphone amps into their gear. I'm happy with the one in my SA8001.

If you like your receiver, you could sell the Millet and roll that into another pair of headphones or other audio goodies.
 
Jan 7, 2011 at 1:44 AM Post #3 of 18
yeah they sound really similar to me honestly. the one in the marantz seems to be a tad cleaner sounding though. I think it would be in my best interest to sell my amp and upgrade my dac or something.
 
Jan 7, 2011 at 1:56 AM Post #4 of 18
probably uses a pretty high impedance resistor between the speaker amp and headphone out. only way to find out what type of resistor used for both the left and right channels is look at the receiver schmatics. all older stereo receivers use resistors between the speaker amp and headphone out to prevent frying your headphones with large voltage swings and massive current from the power amp section. like my sansui 5000x for example uses a 680ohm@1/2w resistor for both the left and right channel between the speaker's power amp section and headphone out.

i suggest keep the marantz especially when it comes to speakers but it's up to you.

 
 
Jan 7, 2011 at 2:03 AM Post #5 of 18
I use the headphone jack in my Marantz 2245 my dad gave me from his college days (70's). Beats the hell out of any entry level headphone amp I've tried. As far as other receivers, I liked it better than Denon's mid-level receivers, costing $2k+, albiet a more colored sound.
 
Jan 7, 2011 at 11:47 AM Post #7 of 18
that all depends on the popularity and power rating of the receiver or amp cause lot of monster sansui g-series and marantz sell for crazy prices. even pioneer sells for some high prices even for their low-end amps. just depends on the popularity. dose it exactly mean they're better than others like kenwood,yamaha,onkyo,rotel,ect.? no,not really, but overall yea you can get an amazing bargin when it comes to older gear especially when it comes receivers and amps. most i ever spent on an amp was my sansui 5000x which i paid 65 bucks for. has lots of muscle behind the power amp section and sounds absolutely wonderful.
Quote:
Vintage electronics sure are a gift from god. You can spend a fraction of the cost of new stuff and get sound just as good.



 
Jan 7, 2011 at 11:54 AM Post #8 of 18

i'm not sure about cd players but vintage receivers and amps use a simple resistor between the speaker's power amp section and the headphone out. there is no seperate op-amp circuit what lot of people tend to think when it comes to receivers. now for modern receivers especially ht receivers,yea they tend to use cheap op-amp circuits for headphone out section instead of just allowing a simple resistor between the speaker amp and headphone out section. just  letting you know 
wink.gif

Quote:
Marantz puts good headphone amps into their gear. I'm happy with the one in my SA8001.

If you like your receiver, you could sell the Millet and roll that into another pair of headphones or other audio goodies.

 
Jan 7, 2011 at 11:56 AM Post #9 of 18
I would keep both if you can.  I don't have the discriminating ears that many on this forum have, but I can tell that with my headphones that some sound best with solid state, and others sound far better with tubes.  You might not tell the difference with your current headphones but if you are like many of us, you will pick more headphones in the future. Then it may make a significant difference and you will glad that you have both 
 
Jan 7, 2011 at 1:19 PM Post #10 of 18


Hi I have a Vintage Marantz 1072 passed on from my dad... i think they are are from a similar period. Marantz all have that full warmish rich sound from that era I think... but what i found after doing some A/B testing with a new CDP was that the marantz was capping performance of both at a level... a pretty average level
 
I tested my technics SL PG590 (an inexpensive CDP) vs Audiolab 8000CD ( new £400 CDP which uses a decent DAC inside)
 
After A/B testing on this i could not make out which CD player was better.
 
I then switched the amp over to my crappy TEAC AG 790A which is an awful bassblowing lousy harsh sounding amp, and then i noticed with the A/B test with CDP's it was clear that the marantz was somewhat capping the performance of my audiolab to the same level as the technics...
 
The moral of this story... I'm not sure, as I havent tested it with your tube amp... but I believe classic marantz from the 70s/80s - unless the very expensive ones, look very pretty, but don't sound very articulate compared to todays standards. I found a manual somewhere of my 1072 on a PDF - it was like finding goldust I was so happy!!!
gs1000.gif

But then I read the Specs and everything seem to make sense... i'm no expert but the figures of freq response and TDH etc did not match up close to budget amps you can find today for $150 like my TEAC. And then I was humbled...
 
My advice would be if you want to know whether your millet makes a difference take it down to a store and test it on other integrated amps that have pre-out... try not to try this on an expensive integrated amp,, maybe something that is at the same value as your marantz...

 
Jan 7, 2011 at 2:09 PM Post #11 of 18
i respect your opinion but i found most newer gear is no where near capable of accurate sound reproduction for speakers. i enjoy headphone listening as well but i don't really care for headphone amps at all really cause most'em are all about coloring the sound or changing the sound signature. i love the warm sound of tubes but i also like the accurate reproduction of vintage solid state. try a nice sansui or kenwood, you'll be surprise on what you hear 
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but i do agree that op should keep both but it seems he decided he enjoyed his marantz more so it's up to him. me personally i always keep every single audio gear i get my hands on and i never plain on trading or selling any of it.
 
Quote:
 unless the very expensive ones, look very pretty, but don't sound very articulate compared to todays standards.



 
Jan 7, 2011 at 3:40 PM Post #12 of 18
Yeah sorry that was a very generic sentence, i was trying to be specific to my experience.
 
But yeah I have an LD MKIII for 90% headphone use... i love the sound, and the signiture from the marantz isnt half as bad for loudspeaker AV... I do plan to keep hold of most my stuff, especially the marantz it looks so vintage and amazing with the brushed metal finish and the classic red LED... i wonder if i can get the insides upgraded?
 
sorry this thread is off track...
 
Yeah i agree with above anyway...
 
In the meanwhile I read about  using the tube amp inbetween source and vintage marantz... Guess what i'm going to be trying for tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???  A bit excited to say the least haha
 
praise head fi
 
Jan 7, 2011 at 3:41 PM Post #13 of 18
Lechango - i will let you know of my experience and how the marantz coped with having the LD MKIII tube amp in the tape loop..
 
Jan 7, 2011 at 5:18 PM Post #14 of 18


Quote:
Yeah sorry that was a very generic sentence, i was trying to be specific to my experience.
 
But yeah I have an LD MKIII for 90% headphone use... i love the sound, and the signiture from the marantz isnt half as bad for loudspeaker AV... I do plan to keep hold of most my stuff, especially the marantz it looks so vintage and amazing with the brushed metal finish and the classic red LED... i wonder if i can get the insides upgraded?
 
sorry this thread is off track...
 
Yeah i agree with above anyway...
 
In the meanwhile I read about  using the tube amp inbetween source and vintage marantz... Guess what i'm going to be trying for tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???  A bit excited to say the least haha
 
praise head fi


 
In between the source and receiver? So like: source > amp > receiver ? Do most tube amps even have an output (well headphone obviously)? Maybe I'm not understanding you here.
 

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