Audio Receivers w/ Small Footprints

[Seth=L]

I don't know that I can be of anymore help. That stuff is not my wheelhouse.

All I can tell you is the little T-amps don't have remote control capability so you'd have to turn each one off manually every time you're done using them. If it's just a matter of making things fit in a certain space I'm sure there's a way of making it "work" but as far as convenience, sound quality, and reliability, I'm left only to speculate.

 

[crossedover]

By the time you add a power supply for the car amp, you have exponentially increased you small foot print theory/ needs. Trying to configure the crossovers after getting the amp "working" would be a blast. The dimensions for the amp are 11- 15/16" x 2 -1/16 x 9.5 after the power supply addition those increase. This Yamaha avr measures 17-1/8” x 4-3/8” x 12-7/8”. Just give up on the car stereo ideas, way to complicated vs yield to justify.The NEOhd that Seth=L linked is hard to come by and doesnt seem to show up on the main Yamaha US website under products or that would seem to be the smallest in overall size albeit taller.

 

[rojo]

I was thinking https://www.minidsp.com/ht-series/nanoavr-dl for room correction, some sort of HDMI -> RCA DAC, and either a series of T amps or maybe http://www.ebay.com/itm/331721233224 . Then use a smart strip or some other sort of current sensing power strip to supply power to your gadgets whenever your TV is turned on -- something like http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000P1QJXQ . The add-ons keep piling up, though, and that's going to get expensive.

There's also https://www.minidsp.com/products/ht-series/nanoavr-hda which is less expensive and includes the DAC, but you'd need Room EQ Wizard to dial in the filters. There's a useful thread here.

What about getting a full-sized AVR and hiding it out of sight in a closet, then getting an RF -> IR remote control extender to control it?

 

[slipperybidness]

This forum thread is almost 3 years old. It seems that there are HDMI-CEC libraries that can work on raspbian. They should be more mature by now. This leaves the potential to be able to control the master volume via the TV.

https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15749

Likewise, here is a current Raspberry Pi + HDMI-CEC guide:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Raspberry-Pi-Remote-For-Free/

Yup CEC to Pi works very easily and very well. My brother in law has set up about 10 people with RPi and Kodi to use a streamers. All of those people use the remote for the TV to control the Pi via CEC/HDMI.

I have not done this personally. But if you decide to go that route and have problems, then I can talk to him about it and/or link you to some online resources.

I'm using my Pi to run Emulation Station, and working on a bartop arcade cab!

 

[tenshi]

I'm using my Pi to run Emulation Station, and working on a bartop arcade cab!

This is a little off-topic, but I was thinking about putting together a retro-looking box using RetroPie and something like this: http://shop.xgaming.com/collections/arcade-joysticks/products/x-arcade-tankstick-trackball-usb-included . Out of curiosity, how are your emulation speeds? Can it play most of the games in sufficient realtime?

 

[tenshi]

I was thinking https://www.minidsp.com/ht-series/nanoavr-dl for room correction, some sort of HDMI -> RCA DAC, and either a series of T amps or maybe http://www.ebay.com/itm/331721233224 . Then use a smart strip or some other sort of current sensing power strip to supply power to your gadgets whenever your TV is turned on -- something like http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000P1QJXQ . The add-ons keep piling up, though, and that's going to get expensive.

Thanks for your input. You've listed some devices here that I have never seen before. The big problem here is price. So far we've been looking at $200 - $300 solutions. Once I put this all together, I might be able to spend the same amount of money on an electrician and general contractor to run wires through the walls, floorboards, and molding to the nearby linen closet (which may be an option in the more distant future).

I'm also looking into doing one of the TV picture frames, similar to some of the setups in the link that @Seth=L provided. I don't think that it could easily house a full-sized amp, but might work to hid the Yamaha Neo HD amp.

 

[tenshi]

If it's acceptable to place the subwoofer under the TV, something like this could be used to drive the speakers: http://www.amazon.com/Outlaw-Audio-M8-Subwoofer/dp/B005SRS7XC. Unfortunately, I don't see a center channel.

 

[its phillip]

If it's acceptable to place the subwoofer under the TV, something like this could be used to drive the speakers: http://www.amazon.com/Outlaw-Audio-M8-Subwoofer/dp/B005SRS7XC. Unfortunately, I don't see a center channel.

How are you planning on driving speakers with a subwoofer?

 

[slipperybidness]

This is a little off-topic, but I was thinking about putting together a retro-looking box using RetroPie and something like this: http://shop.xgaming.com/collections/arcade-joysticks/products/x-arcade-tankstick-trackball-usb-included . Out of curiosity, how are your emulation speeds? Can it play most of the games in sufficient realtime?

I actually used the X-Arcade joysticks, buttons, and USB encoder. I *think* that all the drivers that I used are the same as the drivers for the tank stick.

Emulation is top notch, no glitches or problems. But, I am running the latest Pi model 2, and I have it over-clocked (be sure to add heat sinking to processors if you overclock).

The Pi should be fine for all games up to about mid-1990s. It will do PS1 and N64, but you have to go do some configs to get those to work properly.

NES/SNES/Sega.....all work perfectly so far.

 

[Seth=L]

If it's acceptable to place the subwoofer under the TV, something like this could be used to drive the speakers: http://www.amazon.com/Outlaw-Audio-M8-Subwoofer/dp/B005SRS7XC. Unfortunately, I don't see a center channel.

That is a subwoofer. It does not provide power for left and right speakers. Those are high level inputs and outputs to connect to an older receiver that does not have a dedicated subwoofer output.

 

[Seth=L]

I am now marveling at this thread because it seems to be going in the direction of either trying to achieve the impossible or the irrationally complicated.

OP absolutely will not accept having a visible receiver and for some reason wants it behind the TV mounted to the wall and isn't really seriously considering alternative options for hiding a receiver. However, apparently has no problem with putting a subwoofer under the TV that they believed had power for other speakers built into it. I'm sorry, but I don't understand the point anymore.

 

[tenshi]

How are you planning on driving speakers with a subwoofer?

Why with the 4 speaker hookups on the back of course (plus the aforementioned processor)

 

[slipperybidness]

Why with the 4 speaker hookups on the back of course (plus the aforementioned processor)

Right......good luck with that.....those are pass-thru connections, not powered by the sub amp.....

 

[markw]

I am now marveling at this thread because it seems to be going in the direction of either trying to achieve the impossible or the irrationally complicated.

OP absolutely will not accept having a visible receiver and for some reason wants it behind the TV mounted to the wall and isn't really seriously considering alternative options for hiding a receiver. However, apparently has no problem with putting a subwoofer under the TV that they believed had power for other speakers built into it. I'm sorry, but I don't understand the point anymore.

Anything is possible in the mind of those that have no clue as to what they are talking about. After all, if someone wants something it MUST exist, in spite of the hundreds of years of collective knowledge of the people here telling him it ain't happenin'.

Actually, it's not too much different from dealing with my four year-old grandson: He thinks that by rewording the question and asking over and over again, the basic answer will change.