Controversial .... Why Spend $1,500 ona Receiver???

[Pianist718]

Hi there,

I have been talking to people quite a lot and still don't have an answer to my question about receivers vs Amps, etc

At the moment I am a bit confused. I already spent $3,000 on upgrading my
home theater. Got the new Front and rear speakers as well as a Sub.

My system.
A/V Receiver - Yamaha rx-v465
L/R - Ascend Sierra-1 NrT
Center - Ascend Sierra-1 NrT
Surrounds - Ascend HTM-200
Sub - Rythmik F12
TV - Panasonic TH50PX60U (50' Plasma)
Blu-ray/DVD - Samsung BD 6000

Room is 13x18 with 8.5 ceiling. Do 70% movies, 30% music.

Now, people are saying that my receiver is killing the sound that my new
speakers and sub can actually produce.

One says .... get cheap receiver and buy Amp like Emotiva XPA-5. Total cost
around $1,400 spent.

My friend though tells me that separates is now too much hassle and if I
want to keep it simple and not become a pro at this but get best possible
sound from my current set up .. get a Yamaha RX-A2020 ($1,500) or Yamaha
RX-A2010 ($900). He says ... it's all about quality of components, amp and
features. He swears by the Avantage series of Yamaha and says Yamaha
RX-A2010 is all I need.

Now .... in order to find a solution, one has to first list a problem. My
problem with current receiver ....

1) Dialog is not as clear as I want it to be. I read that Yamaha RX-A2020
has a new feature called "Dialog Level Adjustment". The A2010 doesn't have
it. I read that this solves my problem.

2) Seems like a receiver has lower THD. .. 0.06.

3) I feel like better room correction technology may fix some issues I have
with my current room. (bare walls, sound bouncing off, etc, etc.)

4) "4K Pass-through & 4K Upscaling" is present on the RX-A2020 model. I am
always for better picture.

5) Sound quality .... they say Yamaha does great in that department.

I don't care about zones, and I run only a 5.1ch system now. Don't plan on
upgrading any time soon.

So .... a bit frustrated and confused. Go, cheaper 2-3 year old receiver +
Emotiva XPA-3 or -5 vs Yamaha RX-V2020 / 2010 or Marantz SR5007 ?

Any feedback is much appreciated.

thanks.

P.S. I am not trying to build an all pro system. I am OK with upgrading my
receiver every 6-7 years. Just want to get best sound possible for music
and movies from my new gear.

[curtis]

Can you show us a picture of your setup?

Dialog not as clear as you want it has me puzzled. To me, chances are it is a positioning problem.

Lower THD is probably not going to be audible.

4K pass-through and upscaling require that your display is a 4K display.

Room correction will only do so much, so it is good for us to a pic of it.

You may have posted a pic before, if so, I missed it.

[Pianist718]

The thing is .... some movies dialog sounds awesome ... clear, crisp, and some .... sound effects overpower making me add just a little more volume on dialog scenes and then go a bit lower in volume with shooting starts.

room is 13x18 with 8.5 ceiling. I sit about 8 feet away from TV.




From the side .... but I already change stands to be shorter

[curtis]

Is the back of the center channel right up against the TV? Are you using a Q-plug in it?

So it isn't that dialog is unclear, but drowned out?

Your room is about the same size as mine....well, maybe not...mine is 19x15.

[Pianist718]

Yea, while I moves my left and right speakers away from the wall ... my center is almost touching my TV. I am not using Q plug ins. Should I do that for my center???

[curtis]

Yea, while I moves my left and right speakers away from the wall ... my center is almost touching my TV. I am not using Q plug ins. Should I do that for my center???

For the center, Q-plug A for sure.

For the left and right, in that small of a room, I would try Q-plug B.

[davef]

The thing is.... some movies dialog sounds awesome ... clear, crisp, and some .... sound effects overpower making me add just a little more volume on dialog scenes and then go a bit lower in volume with shooting starts.

This is actually a common issue with home theater and it is not attibuted to the speakers (unless the speakers have poor dynamic range). Just like CD's -- some movies are mixed well and others are not -- effects are sometimes just too hot and overpower dialogue.

Many receivers and DVD players now have some form of dynamic range control (DRC, or also called nightmode). This reduces the dynamic range of those effects and thus often dramatically helps with dialogue intelligibility during those action scenes. I use this all the time for movies.

Based on your positioning of the center, Q-Plug A will definitely improve overall center channel clarity but your best option, based on what you have just decribed is to enable/disable dynamic range control for those movies where the special effects are just too overpowering...

[Pianist718]

This is actually a common issue with home theater and it is not attibuted to the speakers (unless the speakers have poor dynamic range). Just like CD's -- some movies are mixed well and others are not -- effects are sometimes just too hot and overpower dialogue.

Many receivers and DVD players now have some form of dynamic range control (DRC, or also called nightmode). This reduces the dynamic range of those effects and thus often dramatically helps with dialogue intelligibility during those action scenes. I use this all the time for movies.

Based on your positioning of the center, Q-Plug A will definitely improve overall center channel clarity but your best option, based on what you have just decribed is to enable/disable dynamic range control for those movies where the special effects are just too overpowering...

good point. I have that option on my Samsung BluRay player. Should have enabled it yesterday but wanted to get the full effect of my Rythmik F12 for that movie.

thanks guys

[davef]

good point. I have that option on my Samsung BluRay player. Should have enabled it yesterday but wanted to get the full effect of my Rythmik F12 for that movie.

thanks guys

I am not sure if DRC has any affect on the LFE channel Anyone?

[bkdc]

A receiver or preamp for home theater will eventually become dated by technology whereas a good speaker or good amplifier lasts forever. I think the receiver is the least important part of my setup. You do want one with decent ability. But I don't take advantage of 90% of what my Onkyo PRSC5509 preamp is capable of and I would probably have been just as happy paying far less. but the Audessy HT speaker calibration really works. I paid around 1600 for it. The thing I like most is the unlimited connectivity. I can run my digital music library through it or configure multiple sources any which way I want. If I didn't have such a complicated setup I would have gone with a simple Outlaw Audio preamplifier