AV Receiver Options

[Yamaha 150]

My first on-line speaker purchase was Axiom M-22 with sub and Yamaha receiver. Finished off basement and have a 7.1 system with Sierra 1 across front, 170s and 200s finishing off surround. Rythmik sub. Rotel THX amp with Pioneer Elite handling video switching. I had it fired up last night and once again it brought a smile to my face.

i ended up giving my oldest son my Axion set up. I replace it with Sierra 1's and Yamaha RXA-820. No sub. Mainly TV and music. Sounds very, very good. To be fair, I'm looking to give this set up to my younger son. This does a couple of things. Both sons are very much into music. Now they have some good gear to start their hobby. It also allows me to get a new receiver and Seirra 2's. I just can't pass up the opportunity to upgrade. This will be the last one for a while.

I'm looking to get a bit more power on the receiver side of things. Also prefer something relatively current so it will support 4K TV, etc. I really do like the Yamaha Aventage receivers. I have had Denon and Marantz but prefer Yamaha. Well actually the Rotel amp kicks it up a notch but I can't swing it with the wife.

My struggle is with the Yamaha RXA-1040 vs NAD T-748 or 758. Will the NAD sound much better to offset the feature set? What about reliability; my Yamaha's have been flawless. NAD might not be the same based on Internet reviews.

I was looking at refurbish with Spirit Sound and NAD vs Accessories4less for Yamaha. After reading reviews, not sure sure of A4L. Crutch field has Yamaha RXA-1040 on sale.

These decisions drive me crazy. Any comments or recommendations would be appreciated. I can't wait to hear the Sierra 2's!

[natetg57]

I've had only good experiences with Accessories 4 Less. How much power you need depends more on how loud you listen and how far you sit from the speakers, IMO.

[Yamaha 150]

Main floor of our house. It is about 1200 sq/ft on main level. I don't listen overly loud when watching TV, etc but I do like to crank it up a bit when listening to music but I'm typically doing other things, e.g. Grilling, cooking, etc.

[FirstReflect]

If you favor Yamaha, there's no real reason to try and sway you away from that preference. Yamaha is putting out some excellent models right now

The big question is whether you would like to have the option to take advantage of the new object-based audio formats: Dolby Atmos and DTS:X along with their respective upmixers: Dolby Surround Upmixer and DTS Neural:X Upmixer.

Keep in mind that object-based audio is not only about the ability to put speakers overhead for immersive audio. Object-based audio is an entirely new way of mixing together soundtracks, and it's going to be a key component of ATSC 3.0 broadcasts as well as Ultra HD Blu-ray and future streaming formats. Being able to separate every sound as its own "object" and give it metadata means that even if you never put any speakers overhead, the user can have more control over things like dialogue level, and the placement of sounds in a regular 7.1 setup can be more pin-point precise and discrete, even if your speakers are not perfectly placed.

So in case you can't tell, I believe that having the ability to decode the new object-based audio formats is a worthwhile thing - especially if you do not plan to upgrade again for several years to come. While Atmos and DTS:X content is still limited in quantity right now, there's zero question that object-based audio is the future.

So the models I'd be looking at in particular from Yamaha would be their Aventage RX-A2050 and RX-A3050 along with their CX-A5100 Pre-pro if you want XLR outputs and separates.

Now, the RX-A1050 can also decode both Atmos and DTS:X, but it maxes out at using 7 speakers. Even if you're not going to use overhead speakers right away, in my opinion, no fewer than 9 speakers is really what you want if you would like to experience immersive audio to its fullest potential.

The folks and THX have done a lot of real world testing, and I've done my own experimentation and come to very similar conclusions as the guys at THX. For the best immersive audio, you want at least one pair of speakers somewhere behind you. Whether they're Surround Back, Rear Height, or Top Rear speakers doesn't really make a whole lot of difference in a real world setup. All of those positions are close enough to one another (and our hearing behind us is poor enough) that they all sort of sound redundant. But having at least one pair of speakers behind you really is necessary for filling in the complete "dome" of sound all around you, and since audio objects can be "steered" by their metadata, those speakers behind you are necessary in order to hear the full experience.

So 7.1 remains our starting point, and then you really do want at least one pair of speakers overhead. The Top Middle speakers directly above you are definitely the most noticeable. So a 7.1.2 setup with Front Left/Right, Center, Surround Left/Right, Surround Back Left/Right, and Top Middle Left/Right ends up being a really enjoyable setup in my opinion. The RX-A2050 can give you that.

That said, having four speakers overhead does allow for even better steering of audio objects above and around you. So ultimately, Dolby's own recommendation of traditional 7.1 plus Top Front and Top Rear speakers does end up being the most immersive and complete. You'll need the RX-A3050 or CX-A5100 Pre-Pro for this 7.1.4 (11 speaker) setup.

The RX-A3050 is a beast of an AV Receiver. If you're concerned about built in amplifier output capabilities, ponying up for the flagship Receiver is not a bad move at all. Plus, you'll be ready for 7.1.4 Atmos and DTS:X. Do keep in mind that the RX-A3050 "only" has 9 amps, though, so if you do ever end up running 11 speakers, you'll need at least a 2-channel external amp. The RX-A3050 has a full set of pre-outs, so you have the option of powering as many of those 11 speakers as you like with external amplification if you're so inclined

The RX-A2050 is a real sweet spot of a model, though. I WILL mention, there's a third immersive audio format out there called Auro-3D, and only Denon and Marantz currently give you the option to pay $200 extra to add that format. There's a grand total of ONE Blu-ray movie with an Auro-3D soundtrack right now, though, and it's the UK-only version of Pixels, so, y'know, not exactly a big loss...haha. But that IS one potential reason to give Denon or Marantz another look.

Anyways, I hope that's of some help

- Rob H. - AV Rant Podcast Co-host

[Yamaha 150]

Rob, thank you for the detailed response. I'm still struggling with the electronics side of things. There are some very nice 2-channel amps out there; e.g Parasound, Rotel, ATI, etc. Outlaw Audio and Emotiva are going through a major update to their amp offerings. Seems to me this is the better approach and then when new technology is released, I'm only upgrading the Pre/Pro side of things, rather than the entire receiver. Plus, a separate amp should provide some additional power advantages above and beyond an AV receiver. Sierra 2's arrive tomorrow. I plan to let them run with my current Yamaha RX-A820 and see how they perform with a relatively basic AV receiver.