If the receiver is turned off, do you ever have to try multiple times (2-3) to wake and begin playing music via Airplay? I'm sure my slimline Marantz is just misconfigured.
I haven't had that trouble, but I have found that mine (NR1606 model) is more fussy about things like that when it's on WiFi. It definitely "prefers" to be on hardwired ethernet.
FYI my ~9y/o marantz is also hardwired, but I cannot get airplay to work unless I explicitly go to Net/USB and even then it's the same 2-3 attempt (switching inputs) to get the device to appear on the airplay list. After that it's flawless, but the UX pretty much means I'm the only one airplaying to that device. I have since upgraded 3 years ago to a newer slimline model and that has no problem being found regardless of the input used and regardless of wifi/ethernet.
My friend with a ~5 year old denon also has no problem. So possible this is a discontinued firmware issue. YMMV
Yup. Happens a lot with my Denon. It also likes to disconnect a lot, while my TV (right above it) is streaming YouTube at the same time with no problem.
My issue is less that it drops connection (seems pretty solid once I have music playing), but that the initial connection can take several tries.
My guess is that when the receiver is awoken by Airplay, it is then attempting to connect to the “Last Used” input (or something) which disconnects Airplay.