AV receiver advice needed

[wxiao]

I currently own an Onkyo TXNR 809. I am thinking about getting a new receiver, for 3 reasons:

• No 4k
• No Atmos
• It never sounds that great to me.

I am looking at the Denon AVR X1500H. Is this a worthwhile purchase? I know it is only 7.1 and is somewhat a downgrade on paper, but I heard Denon has better quality in recent years.

My 7.1 speakers:

• Infinity Primus P362
• Infinity Primus PC350
• Infinity Primus P162
• JBL arena 120 (back)
• Outlaw LFM-1 plus woofer

 

[PENG]

I currently own an Onkyo TXNR 809. I am thinking about getting a new receiver, for 3 reasons:

• No 4k
• No Atmos
• It never sounds that great to me.

I am looking at the Denon AVR X1500H. Is this a worthwhile purchase? I know it is only 7.1 and is somewhat a downgrade on paper, but I heard Denon has better quality in recent years.

My 7.1 speakers:

• Infinity Primus P362
• Infinity Primus PC350
• Infinity Primus P162
• JBL arena 120 (back)
• Outlaw LFM-1 plus woofer

That's too much of a downgrade, the X3500H is a little more comparable. There may still be good deals for the X3400H if you act quickly.

 

[lovinthehd]

Aren't those speakers notorious for being low impedance loads? Could be part of the issue? Am with Peng, the X1500 may gain 4k/Atmos/Heos but missing some other things you get in the 3500 (XT32, pre-outs in case you want to try external amps), and the amp section in the X1500 is not quite as good as what you've got now.

 

[PENG]

Aren't those speakers notorious for being low impedance loads? Could be part of the issue? Am with Peng, the X1500 may gain 4k/Atmos/Heos but missing some other things you get in the 3500 (XT32, pre-outs in case you want to try external amps),and the amp section in the X1500 is not quite as good as what you've got now.

They do have some impedance dips, but I think people exaggerated that to the nth degree at the time, perhaps just grasping for excuses. I had the P362 for a while before I gave them away, never found them hard to drive. In a larger room, they likely do need a 4 ohm rated amp, say 200 WPC.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/infinity-primus-360-loudspeaker-measurements

 

[lovinthehd]

They do have some impedance dips, but I think people exaggerated that to the nth degree at the time, perhaps just grasping for excuses. I had the P362 for a while before I gave them away, never found them hard to drive. In a larger room, they likely do need a 4 ohm rated amp, say 200 WPC.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/infinity-primus-360-loudspeaker-measurements

Thanks, thought I had read that series of speakers dipped really low...

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I had the P362 for a while before I gave them away, never found them hard to drive.

Same here. The P362 were in my 18x20x10 room and powered by an entry level Denon AVR. Easy enough to power.

 

[speakerman39]

I had the almost exact same setup as the OP. Even had dual Outlaw LFM1 Pluses. IIRC, I powered mine with a Denon 2500 equivalent w/o any issues whatsoever. The MLP was about 11' from my front-stage. Still, had plenty of volume for my needs. However, if the OP can still snag a Denon AVR-X3400 for $599 that is the direction I would go. I agree w/Peng on that recommendation. Here is a link:

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_033AVX3400/Denon-AVR-X3400H-IN-Command.html

Right now it is still showing as being in stock.


Cheers,

Phil

 

[wxiao]

Thanks to all for your help. My understanding is that if I get the 3400h instead of the 1500h, I gain: 1. A better amplifier, 2. pre-outs, and 3. XT32.

I know I probably won’t try an external amp, so 2 is not necessary. How much better is the amp in the 3000 series? Is XT32 worth the upgrade?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Thanks to all for your help. My understanding is that if I get the 3400h instead of the 1500h, I gain: 1. A better amplifier, 2. pre-outs, and 3. XT32.

I know I probably won’t try an external amp, so 2 is not necessary. How much better is the amp in the 3000 series? Is XT32 worth the upgrade?

You'll get different answers.

The amp of the X3000s is a little more powerful than the X2000s and X1000s. My gut instinct tells me that the X1000s will suffice for the P362 speaker system. I've used a cheap $200 Denon AVR to power my P362 back then, so I don't see any problems. If you buy it from a local store, you can easily try and see.

Some people (myself included) don't think much of any kind of EQ, including Audyssey and others because we have not seen any benefits over the years. So to people like me, it's not worth any money. But for PENG and some others, XT32 is worth every dime because they have heard benefits.

 

[speakerman39]

The XT32 w/Sub EQ HT made a world of difference for me in my room. So, if the OP has or is planning to have duals, then it is worth it inmho. It is also nice to have the pre-outs just in case outboard amplification is warranted. The X3400 is a true bargain at $599 that I linked up above.


Cheers,

Phil

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

You'll get different answers.

The amp of the X3000s is a little more powerful than the X2000s and X1000s. My gut instinct tells me that the X1000s will suffice for the P362 speaker system. I've used a cheap $200 Denon AVR to power my P362 back then, so I don't see any problems. If you buy it from a local store, you can easily try and see.

Some people (myself included) don't think much of any kind of EQ, including Audyssey and others because we have not seen any benefits over the years. So to people like me, it's not worth any money. But for PENG and some others, XT32 is worth every dime because they have heard benefits.

I'm curious ADTG, don't you have Yamaha YPAO setup in your listening environment to smooth out the valleys and peaks in your listening room?

 

[Andrein]

Hi

I'm curious ADTG, don't you have Yamaha YPAO setup in your listening environment to smooth out the valleys and peaks in your listening room?

The best eq mode in Yamaha is Pass through if your room is good enough. This was the case for me. I tried to play with ypao but because my room is goid by itself I found that Through sounds better to me. Not sure what would be xt32 result but I guess if room itself is good then the difference would be minimal.

 

[Drunkpenguin]

Audyssey xt32 (and even the old audyssey) works extremely well. My room is acoustically ideal. Rectangular, no windows, and a massive amount of sound treatment. The room sounds great with it on or off, but sounds phenomenal with it on.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I'm curious ADTG, don't you have Yamaha YPAO setup in your listening environment to smooth out the valleys and peaks in your listening room?

I've never heard a Room-EQ software (Audyssey, YPAO, ARC, Dirac, Lyngdorf) that sounded better than bypass mode.

Therefore, I always use Bypass Mode (Through mode on the Yamaha).

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

I've never heard a Room-EQ software (Audyssey, YPAO, ARC, Dirac, Lyngdorf) that sounded better than bypass mode.

Therefore, I always use Bypass Mode (Through mode on the Yamaha).

Interesting, thank you.

I'm still using Audyssey on my Denon AVR. The differences are subtle, but it seems to be an improvement.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

It is time consuming, but easy enough to experiment to see if Audyssey XT32 does anything for you.

Just buy the Denon from Best Buy. Try out XT32. Compare it to Audyssey Bypass L/R or Audyssey OFF.

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

It is time consuming, but easy enough to experiment to see if Audyssey XT32 does anything for you.

Just buy the Denon from Best Buy. Try out XT32. Compare it to Audyssey Bypass L/R or Audyssey OFF.

Will do, thanks.

 

[lovinthehd]

Funny from ADTG who used to say how much he enjoyed using Audyssey DynamicEQ LOL!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Interesting, thank you.

I'm still using Audyssey on my Denon AVR. The differences are subtle, but it seems to be an improvement.

I think "subtle" is the key word in this audio hobby.

For many people, "subtle" improvement is enough.

I'm more of a black-and-white kind of person.

I will use something if I think there is significant improvement.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Funny from ADTG who used to say how much he enjoyed using Audyssey DynamicEQ LOL!

Yep, I used to preach "Audyssey Bypass L/R + Dynamic EQ" all the time.

For some reason, if I didn't use DEQ on my Denon's, I couldn't get the same bass sound.

I even said that I would never buy anything without DEQ.

But on my Yamaha CX-A5100, I was so pleasantly surprised that I could achieve at least the same sound without any kind of EQ (like DEQ).

Like I said, when I bought the Yamaha, I was so sure that I would be returning it because it didn't have DEQ!

I went full circle - went from "pure analog NO-EQ" to "Audyssey Bypass DEQ" to "NO-EQ" again.

So, yeah, now I preach "No EQ".