Marantz 2238b or Onkyo TX-7000
- Thread starter schmikka
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
dspear99ca
Super Member
Both are great pieces. You don't really give ANY info, though, so it's impossible to make a recommendation.
1. What speakers are you driving?
2. How big is your room?
3. What type of music do you listen to?
4. How loud do you like it?
If it were me, I'd snap up that Onkyo in a heartbeat. It's the TOTL Onkyo in that line, the build quality is equal to the Marantz, and it's a great price. I've owned the TX-4500 and to this day wish I had held onto it as I found it to be one of the best-sounding receivers I've heard yet. I am not partial to the Marantz "warm sound", but that's purely personal preference.
1. What speakers are you driving?
2. How big is your room?
3. What type of music do you listen to?
4. How loud do you like it?
If it were me, I'd snap up that Onkyo in a heartbeat. It's the TOTL Onkyo in that line, the build quality is equal to the Marantz, and it's a great price. I've owned the TX-4500 and to this day wish I had held onto it as I found it to be one of the best-sounding receivers I've heard yet. I am not partial to the Marantz "warm sound", but that's purely personal preference.
For now it would be in a pretty small room (15x15) with some bookshelf speakers, but soon we are hoping to move to a bigger place. Right now I have a Marantz 1530 along with some Zenith Allegro 1000 speakers, both of which I got for a song. These sound very nice compared to the boom box we used to listen to, but I listen to broad range of music and particularly with some newer R&B and pop music the bass sounds pretty garbled. I realize it could mostly be the speakers so I've thought about just upgrading there first, but both of these receivers are available and the 1530 has a couple of minor issues (ferrite bar is missing in back so tuner is limited to FM and there are some lights out) I don't have time to try to repair myself.
dspear99ca
Super Member
Assuming both are in similar condition (either fully re-capped or bone stock) you will hear NO DIFFERENCE between the 1530 and the 2238... it's only 8wpc difference which is virtually inaudible to the human ear. And in such a small room you're not going to be taxing the ability of any of the amps you mention.
The Allegro's are real sleepers in my opinion... I've heard them, ooh dating myself here, about 20 years ago (or 30?), and I seem to recall fostex horn tweeters in them. They are very musical paired with the right amp. Have you had a look at the woofers and determined that the foam/surrounds are in good shape? If not you'll hear the type of distortion you mention with bass tones. Re-foaming is generally a couple of hours spread over a couple of evenings and the cost is about $20. These speakers are worth doing it.
You should also realize that most pop music is mixed REAALLLYYYY heavy on the bass, the whole genre is driven by folks who listen on iPods and shitty computer speakers with poor bass response so the bass is over-emphasized by design. Bass frequencies also eat lots of power. Loud and accurate bass requires an amp with a high damping factor to control the woofers and a good amount of dynamic headroom, but I don't think lack of power is your problem. If you want that kick-in-the-solar-plexus feeling of the bass line slamming into you like at a nightclub, you ain't gonna' get it from either the speakers or the amp... you'll only cook one or the other or both by trying for that sound level.
Dave
The Allegro's are real sleepers in my opinion... I've heard them, ooh dating myself here, about 20 years ago (or 30?), and I seem to recall fostex horn tweeters in them. They are very musical paired with the right amp. Have you had a look at the woofers and determined that the foam/surrounds are in good shape? If not you'll hear the type of distortion you mention with bass tones. Re-foaming is generally a couple of hours spread over a couple of evenings and the cost is about $20. These speakers are worth doing it.
You should also realize that most pop music is mixed REAALLLYYYY heavy on the bass, the whole genre is driven by folks who listen on iPods and shitty computer speakers with poor bass response so the bass is over-emphasized by design. Bass frequencies also eat lots of power. Loud and accurate bass requires an amp with a high damping factor to control the woofers and a good amount of dynamic headroom, but I don't think lack of power is your problem. If you want that kick-in-the-solar-plexus feeling of the bass line slamming into you like at a nightclub, you ain't gonna' get it from either the speakers or the amp... you'll only cook one or the other or both by trying for that sound level.
Dave
Thanks a lot Dave - I like the Allegros and got them for only $2 so it is good to hear some affirmation. Other places I've read folks ripping their enclosures, etc. I'll take a look inside. I was thinking about some Infinity RS3000s as replacements, but maybe you just saved me some money. I just don't want my ears to hurt when my daughter listens to Beyonce. (That last comment, I realize, is putting it on a tee...)
Thanks for your thoughts Rob. I'll check that out.
Thanks for your thoughts Rob. I'll check that out.
dspear99ca
Super Member
A really easy way to narrow down where the problem is, just borrow a pair of speakers from somebody else and try them with your receiver with Beyonce turned up to "11"... if you hear the same type of distortion it could be that the amp has issues.
grillebilly
Empty Head
I vote Onkyo. Mentioned before, TOTL of the series and underrated at 90 WPC. I would take the word of someone who owns one.
$100 is a pretty good deal, about a buck a watt, for TOTL that's way cheap.
I have always been partial to Oinkers, listening to a 4500 MK II now.
Why? they do everything well. Some folks say the phono stage in that series isn't as good as the Marantz, but others say the MK II series is a s good as it gets.
Can't go wrong in my opinion, Marantz is also a bit overpriced. Onkyo cost twice as much new.
$100 is a pretty good deal, about a buck a watt, for TOTL that's way cheap.
I have always been partial to Oinkers, listening to a 4500 MK II now.
Why? they do everything well. Some folks say the phono stage in that series isn't as good as the Marantz, but others say the MK II series is a s good as it gets.
Can't go wrong in my opinion, Marantz is also a bit overpriced. Onkyo cost twice as much new.
Last edited:
I had a TX-4500 mkII and one from the other series. If it was between the 2238B (which I had) and the TX-4500 mkII, I would take the Onkyo all day long.
I am just not a fan of the dual function meter and touch sense of the other series. A gimmick that drove me crazy.
Just one mans opinion.
Rob