[Carlman]

I've got an Onkyo TX-NR905.

I use it as such:
7.1 surround sound with the front 2 channels preamp'ed to my main 2-channel rig.
The center, Rears, and surrounds are powered directly by the receiver.
The .1 preamp to powered sub.

I have a cheap DVD player and a PS3.  I plan on upgraded the DVD player to a Panasonic UB9000.

I want everything to be compatible and not fumble through what does what surround type.  The PS3 does more than my cheap DVD player... so that's what I use a lot.. but sometimes the HDMI out on the PS3 goes out.  It's old, I've fixed it for now but it'll break again.  Also, going direct to the projector, the PS3 looks better than going through the receiver.

I figure if I get a new DVD player and a new HT receiver, I could solve 2 problems: retain video quality and make it simpler to use. 

Inputs to the receiver would be the DVD player, game console, and a Roku2.  I want to push the input selector on the remote to change sources and have it remember the best setting for each of those.  I will spend time getting it dialed-in when I first set it up but after that, I want it to 'stick'.  Or, if 'direct' worked to optimize the actual throughput, and provide the best surround sound, that'd work.  I don't have time to create and read an SOP w/ process flow diagram every time I want to watch a movie.

Has anything come out that's easy, has lots of power and a great video processor in HT receivers?  I don't need anymore functionality than I have.. no zones or anything like that.   High current clean power would be one area I'd like.  My current receiver sounds a little thin to me... especially when loud... but that could be its internal processing too..

Thanks for any helpful advice.

One more question... If I connect a DVD player via HDMI to the receiver, do I lose the benefit of using a great DVD player?  Or, would I use alternative connections to maintain the quality?

[I.Greyhound Fan]

Whats your budget and do you need 8K processing?

[Carlman]

Budget could be anywhere from 500-1500 for the receiver... roughly.
I'm using a JVC DLA-RS10 projector.. not even 4,k... so no need for 8,k.

[Big Red Machine]

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=178611.0

[WGH]

  - After reading mixed reviews on every brand I bought an Anthem. The new JBL Synthesis lineup is getting good reviews.

Since your Onkyo is thin sounding then skip that brand.

Your choice will depend when you plan to buy. The Anthem AVRs have been on back order forever.

The Anthem MRX 740 AV receiver employs a 7 channel amplifier that features a Class AB design for the Front, Center, and Surround channels; and a Class D design for the Surround Back/Height channels. The MRX 740 is rated at 140 watts for the Front, Center, and Surround channels; and 60 watts for the Surround Back/Height channels.

Other AVR's use one big amp for all the channels. I suppose that works too.

Since you run the L&R speakers on a separate stereo amp then power will not be a problem. The center and surrounds are rolled off at 80Hz so the AVR will be coasting most of the time.

[John Casler]

I've got an Onkyo TX-NR905.


One more question... If I connect a DVD player via HDMI to the receiver, do I lose the benefit of using a great DVD player?  Or, would I use alternative connections to maintain the quality?

If your "main 2 channel rig" has a DAC, just concurrently run the Optical or Coax Digital out from your DVD player to your  2 channel rig for simple straight 2 channel listening.

If it doesn't have a quality DAC, then you are limited to the HDMI through the AVR.

[rklein]

I would look at the Denon x3700h.  It has all the functionality that you are looking for.  The piece has also tested out pretty well.  I own the x6700h and it certainly meets my HT needs.

Regards,
Randy

[nature boy]

+1 on Anthem HT receivers. I have an older model MRX730 AV. Easy to set up, great sound quality, and plenty of horsepower to drive almost any set of speakers.

NB

[Doublej]

I think there are a few AC threads on this very topic. In  your price range it's the usual suspects of Denon, Yamaha, Anthem (maybe Pioneer which has joined forces with Onkyo). Some might add NAD or Marantz.

I have an old Yamaha AVR and while I have not performed a critical audio or video assessment of it, the remote and the control app are excellent. The IR remote has four buttons which you can assign to specific inputs so you have direct access to them. I think there are a number of parameters that can be set separately for each input. There is also a setup app to configure it when you take it out of the box.

IMHO Yamaha gets an A+ for the user interface.

[WGH]

I don't know how other AVR's adjust the sound. Anthem's ARC has all the tools you need to make the sound fit your room.

My previous HT processor, an Outlaw 975 had minimal adjustments, I think only distance and loudness set using a BYO sound level meter.

Anthem AVR's use ARC (Anthem Room Correction) setup using a calibrated microphone with a tripod (both included), test tones and a computer. I listened to my Anthem first without calibration and it sounded great, after calibration it sounded phenomenal. Tonally, all the speakers became a cohesive unit solidifying the surround effects. All four pairs of surround speakers are slightly different. The new Triad speakers sound different than the used ones I bought on eBay. The rear surround speakers are home made. ARC adjusts the frequency response so now all the speakers sound similar.

The ARC automatic adjustment gets the sound to about 90% of optimal. I fine tuned the last 10% by ear. Using Dune as a reference, the sound in my home theater is real close to the Cinemax XD theater where I saw Dune.

I set up 2 Profiles: the 1st is the original ARC profile, the 2nd is the tweaked profile I call "Dune tweak" to match what I heard in the theater. Each Anthem input can be configured to use one of 4 custom profiles or none at all. The Anthem website has easy to understand video instructions: https://www.anthemav.com/videos/index.php

In the charts below notice I run the L&R full range. REL subs have both high level and .1 inputs that are designed to be used at the same time. My L&R speakers are full range and I have 225w per channel so theater sound is no problem. The other speakers are rolled off at 80Hz, 100Hz and 120Hz based on their specs, bass on those channels is directed to the sub .1 intput.

The Curve Viewer shows what the corrected curve looks like after running ARC. The smooth curve is the reason dialog is clear and easy to understand in my home theater.




The graph below show some of the fine tuning adjustments available. ARC nails the target curve.



ARC transforms my old ghetto blaster home theater into a teleportation device.

[Carlman]

Thanks for the details on the Anthem.  The 740 is out of my budget (if I could find one) but the 540 is a strong contender... (if I could find one)    Doh, just realized 540 is only 5 channel.. oops.
Meanwhile, Big Red has a Yammy for sale right now... very enticing. I've never heard or owned any Yamaha equipment, though so that'd be quite a leap.
I was considering a NAD T 758; but have only read about the SQ being thick/rich and good overall... not sure if has any room or speaker correction.

But the Anthem sound is likely more what I want.. and room correction at that level is VERY appealing to me. I can wait for the 540; or a used 740.. maybe... we'll see.   I've been mainly reading to hear about the actual sound quality but that is usually not mentioned.. The people buying these check the features boxes but don't mention the quality of the presentation.  My feature needs are very low so most of what I read isn't helpful.  So, thanks again for your explanation, WGH.

-C

If your "main 2 channel rig" has a DAC, just concurrently run the Optical or Coax Digital out from your DVD player to your  2 channel rig for simple straight 2 channel listening.

If it doesn't have a quality DAC, then you are limited to the HDMI through the AVR.

For music... 2-channel has a good DAC.. and when spinning cd's, I'll send it over via the coax, no issue there.

What I was really getting at... more of a video/technical question...
For movies:
The DVD player will feed the receiver first.. with HDMI, am I bypassing all the good video processing going on when I hand it off to the receiver?  Or would I benefit from hooking up line outs from DVD to receiver?  I just have to wonder about people who post that the new Panasonic isn't as good as their Oppo because the way the signal is being handled/managed/translated.  The reviews are inconsistent and no one mentions how they hooked it up, what type of cables, etc.
I guess I'm looking for an 'ideal'... cheap dvd players give you no choice, it's hdmi and optical only.  This DVD has analog line outs.  Is that better?  Or, do we know if the video signal from the DVD player is getting to the receiver with all the information needed?  I'm just a little unclear about this part.
In the end, it's going to a 1080P projector... which looks fantastic, btw.  I don't want for better video quality... maybe better motion handling, and I wonder if that will be improved with newer DVD player and receiver... (given 15 years of processor improvements.)

[rklein]

I strongly considered the Anthem MRX receivers for the longest time.  I ended up with a 2021 model of the Denon x6700h.  Both the upper end x8500h(HA) and the x6700h receivers are made in Japan.  I believe the lower end Denons are made in Vietnam.  One of the main reasons I went with Denon was the Auro-3D upmixer.  I actually prefer it over DTS and Dolby.

In addition, I have a dedicated HT room and am currently running 7.2.4 with plans to install two height speakers so my choice of the x6700h was predicated on needing support for 11, possibly 13 amplified channels. For your purposes if you decide to keep looking at Denon, I would look at the x3700h or the x4700h. 

IMHO HDMI switching is the best in the business with the Denon.  Also, when it comes to copious features the Denon will win every time.

If you are making your choice based on room correction, Anthem's ARC gets damn high marks.  However, I would not make my decision solely based on that.  Denon has come out with an App for their Audyssey xt32 room correction which will allow you to properly incorporate a target curve with more bass and removal of BBC dip.  This puts Denon very close to ARC and Dirac.

Good Luck,

Randy

[WGH]

For movies:
The DVD player will feed the receiver first.. with HDMI, am I bypassing all the good video processing going on when I hand it off to the receiver?  Or would I benefit from hooking up line outs from DVD to receiver?  I just have to wonder about people who post that the new Panasonic isn't as good as their Oppo because the way the signal is being handled/managed/translated.  The reviews are inconsistent and no one mentions how they hooked it up, what type of cables, etc.
I guess I'm looking for an 'ideal'... cheap dvd players give you no choice, it's hdmi and optical only.  This DVD has analog line outs.  Is that better?  Or, do we know if the video signal from the DVD player is getting to the receiver with all the information needed?  I'm just a little unclear about this part.

I really doubt the analog outs of a DVD or Blu-ray player is better than a well designed AVR. First, you will not get the digital speaker/room correction or fine tuning capabilities of the AVR, you will have to read the manuals before buying to see what is included. I have never seen an AVR with 7 pairs of analog inputs for 1 audio channel and HDMI for video is the gold standard - keeping everything digital (HDMI) is always the best option.

If you find a used high end AVR without HDMI then you will not get high resolution audio. My Oppo BDP-103 manual says:

Due to bandwidth limitations, high resolution audio formats such as Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby
TrueHD, DTS-HD High Resolution and DTS-HD Master Audio cannot be sent through the
coaxial or optical digital audio output. A reduced resolution version of the same audio track
will be output instead. To listen to high resolution audio formats in their best quality, please
use the HDMI connection...

[Doublej]

What am I missing? The  MRX540 manual shows 7 channels on the main pre-out and the Anthem website says:

7.2 Pre-Amplifier / 5 Amplifier Channel A/V receiver so it seems to be a 7.2 receiver but you need to power 2 channels. Which two I don't know.

[WGH]

Unfortunately the Anthem MRX 540's internal amps can not be re-assigned. The L&R amps would be unused if using an external amp.

Review: https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/anthem-mrx-540

The higher two Anthem receivers do, however, have the benefit of what the company calls ‘Amp Matrixing’, which adds the further versatility of allocating the amp channels to different purposes. In those models you could use an external amplifier for the L, R channels (via the preout sockets) and allocate the unused amplifiers for height or back surrounds.

The MRX 540 is less flexible. It offers preouts for all channels, including a bonus pair which can be allocated to height or back surround. But if you want to use those, for 7.1 or 5.1.2, you’ll need to bring your own amp; you can’t reallocate the other channels to them. Which is a pity, but you could still use preferred external amps for L/R and just leave the Anthem L/R ones unused.

I raided my electronics closet for an Adcom GFA-5400 (125w/channel) for the rear channels - price: free
And picked up an Adcom GFA-7300 5-channel amp (60w/channel) for the 4 Atmos channels on eBay for $304
The old Adcom amps are built like tanks, will run forever and are perfect for surround and Atmos. They have plenty of power, especially when the speakers are rolled off at the recommended 80Hz - 120Hz. Adcom amps are mellow too, no sharp or piercing highs. The high frequency digital calibration in the surround and Atmos speakers start rolling off at 2kHz, just like the X-curve calibration in theaters.

The 2 Adcom amps are stacked with 2 Van Alstine amps for 126 lbs. of fun.

There is a sweet sounding Adcom GFA-535 (60w/channel) on eBay and a GFA-7300 at Reverb.com for $339.

[Carlman]

Wife bought me a Yamaha rx-a4a for Christmas. Woot!
I'm pretty excited. I think for the money, it's a solid choice. For the availability, the only one... Ha.
I also got a new (refurbished) Yamaha bd-s681 blu-ray player. My hope is to get as much compatibility as possible. (we'll see)
This means I'd like to upgrade my center channel for sure.. need to see what I have in my parts bin first.. and possibly add a 2nd sub.
I'll be able to compare it to the old Onkyo I have.. which is still well regarded, later this week..

[JLM]

Picked up a Yamaha RX-V4A from accessories4less.com to mate to a new TV I needed (going from the RCA to HDMI generation).  Also modernized by going from DVD to Blu-Ray and a larger center channel loudspeaker.  Waiting for the TV, Blu-Ray, and center channel to arrive.  AV is a low priority for me, but couldn't stand having the rest of the 5.1 system collecting dust. 

Yeah!  Blu-Ray and center channel are here.  Center channel is a monster compared to the old one.  Now need the TV and to buy some Blu-Ray discs.

[Carlman]

I'm not sure the difference between the A4A and the V4A but A4a is a nice improvement in the areas I expected over my old receiver. Video quality is outstanding. Audio is more detailed, and the surround sound is overall more accurate.  It's a pretty significant improvement in my sound room.

Now I really want ta new center channel.  I have an entry level PSB but I hope to get something nicer that blends a bit better with the Piegas while being an easier load... That way I don't have to buy an amp. But if I do, it'll be ok.

I also learned a rear speaker has a non-working tweeter. So I have that to fix also.

This receiver doesn't seem to have a lot of fine tuning available.  But it is very easy to use so I'll live.

Still learning what I can do but with the basics it's sounding very nice.

Hope your install goes well, JLM.

Carl

[WGH]

I have an entry level PSB but I hope to get something nicer that blends a bit better with the Piegas while being an easier load... That way I don't have to buy an amp. But if I do, it'll be ok.

I discovered the center speaker should be as close a match to the L & R as possible. After trying two different brands of center speakers my home theater, the sound only gelled when I got a center speaker that matched the L & R speakers. Now the sound becomes part of the video without it bouncing from the left to center to right speakers. The soundtrack and dialog blend seamlessly for a cinematic experience.

The Piega center speakers are priced fairly and with an efficiency of 90 db/W/m are an easy load. Center and surround speakers are usually rolled off at 80 Hz so the receiver's internal amp isn't working that hard either. Another benefit of the low frequency roll off is male voices sound more natural without the chestiness that plagues some full range speakers.

Before an old friend and I watched "Dune", I told him the center channel speaker is the most important speaker in a home theater. You have to be able to understand the dialog from a soft whisper to when the sound is pinning you back in the sofa, all without noticeable distortion.

[JLM]

WGH:  Yep, ended up buying a center channel from the same manufacturer/model line up that my front left/right monitors are.  Hesitated due to it being a MTM design which I don't like, but matching loudspeakers was deemed more important. 

Carl:  V4A has a "YPAO" system to system balance the loudspeakers, don't know the Yamaha model lineup.  Note that MTM designs are typically more efficient than TM.  I have a friend who is dying to experience my system and is fairly knowledgeable about AV.  Broke down and bought a 66 inch LG OLED.  Whole system upgrade was meant to be reasonably "future proof".  Really should buy blinds to complete the system but it's a basement so like some sort of outdoor view.