Where is the home theater market heading?

[Danzilla31]

Right now I'd save save save and save. And wait for things to calm down. Chip shortages supply issues pandemic disruptions and now war disruptions its going to be awhile before things calm down. So save up and get the best gesr you can thanks to the extra time and money you gained saving when some of this has blown over

 

[TLS Guy]

Right now I'd save save save and save. And wait for things to calm down. Chip shortages supply issues pandemic disruptions and now war disruptions its going to be awhile before things calm down. So save up and get the best gesr you can thanks to the extra time and money you gained saving when some of this has blown over

Waiting has risks as well. As I point out we are in difficult times. There could easily be precious little available for a decade, if China invades Taiwan.

China now has reporters embedded in the Russian army writing on their state news media that everything is going swimmingly for Russia. They are actively spreading a false narrative in China, and starting to clamp down on reliable news outlets. It is clear that they are softening up the Chinese public for a strike on Taiwan.
In Taiwan they know it.

If the Chinese do invade Taiwan, there will be very little electronics gear available in the west, until western nations can manufacture everything from the components (beans), to final product. That will be a ten year program at least.

I keep saying this. Now is the time to go for quality. Protect what you have to the utmost, and don't abuse it. Receivers are now a bigger risk than ever. That is because they have all their eggs in one basket, so to speak.

May advice to anyone building a system now is buy an AVP, and for amps use 19" pro-amps in a 19" rack. No more than two amps to a case. That is your best insurance against being totally dead in the water with your system. If you have good power amps, there is always a creative work around.

Things could go south, and very well might in almost the blink of an eye. Now is the time to plan for times we have not had to imagine in recent years.

 

[TLS Guy]

Well if main use is music and movies there's no 120/4k content. Don't overthink the pre-amp mode feature on an avr, altho depends on your amp's sensitivity level somewhat. I wouldn't rely on ARC/eARC myself, YMMV.

His speakers are active. He has to have preouts, and if his room is normal size or larger he needs an AVP as the runs to the active speakers will be too long for RCA cables, so this is a case where he almost certainly needs balanced XLRs.

 

[lovinthehd]

His speakers are active. He has to have preouts, and if his room is normal size or larger he needs an AVP as the runs to the active speakers will be too long for RCA cables, so this is a case where he almost certainly needs balanced XLRs.

Yeah, see now where he added that afterwards.

What are the active speakers and lengths of cable runs?

 

[Kosta]

Waiting has risks as well. As I point out we are in difficult times. There could easily be precious little available for a decade, if China invades Taiwan.

This is what scares me the most... Not knowing what will happen with the market. I mean until a couple years ago the market was standard, especially the AVR one. A new model comes out, the old model gets a discount and after 1 year the company will release something new again.

About the AVP I have two options, save up a little bit more money, risk a do a hasty purchase by getting the 7706 marantz at 600€ over its launch price, which is not readily available and the sellers have no idea how long it will take for the product to arrive after the purchase (and never check the market about price changes for the next years to avoid a possible heartbreak) or get the 7705 which still has the launch price which does not offer hdmi 2.1 (so I will have to connect the TV audio to the AVP If I want to game) and is not readily available either.

The only AVRs available to get right away is the 3700h and 4700H. After some research, another choice for balanced outputs would be using 2 Unbalanced RCA to balanced XLR connectors to the 4700H for the surround speakers but I have never used connectors like these and I have absolutely no idea If they work or If they are just a gimmick.

Whenever I tell someone that life would be must better if we knew the future they tell me it would be no fun and boring if you know the result. I am pretty sure I am not having fun now.... This is so frustrating...

Yeah, see now where he added that afterwards.

What are the active speakers and lengths of cable runs?

The speakers are custom made by a semi-retired but well known speaker maker in my country. The are active and balanced. As for the cable length, the longest cables will be 12 meters.

 

[SithZedi]

Kosta, don't disclose if you don't want to but are you in Greece or Bulgaria by chance?

 

[TLS Guy]

This is what scares me the most... Not knowing what will happen with the market. I mean until a couple years ago the market was standard, especially the AVR one. A new model comes out, the old model gets a discount and after 1 year the company will release something new again.

About the AVP I have two options, save up a little bit more money, risk a do a hasty purchase by getting the 7706 marantz at 600€ over its launch price, which is not readily available and the sellers have no idea how long it will take for the product to arrive after the purchase (and never check the market about price changes for the next years to avoid a possible heartbreak) or get the 7705 which still has the launch price which does not offer hdmi 2.1 (so I will have to connect the TV audio to the AVP If I want to game) and is not readily available either.

The only AVRs available to get right away is the 3700h and 4700H. After some research, another choice for balanced outputs would be using 2 Unbalanced RCA to balanced XLR connectors to the 4700H for the surround speakers but I have never used connectors like these and I have absolutely no idea If they work or If they are just a gimmick.

Whenever I tell someone that life would be must better if we knew the future they tell me it would be no fun and boring if you know the result. I am pretty sure I am not having fun now.... This is so frustrating...



The speakers are custom made by a semi-retired but well known speaker maker in my country. The are active and balanced. As for the cable length, the longest cables will be 12 meters.

If the runs are 12 meters, then you absolutely have to use fully balanced connections. I would snap up the 7705. I am using a 7705 I bought two and a half years ago. It is a superb AVP. If you don't snap that up you may well be out of luck. Using to RCA to XLR will not work. You will have to use an AVP with balanced XLR.

I would snap that 7705 up right away. I note that AVPs hold their value very well. I have in storage my first Marantz AVP the 8003. Those are still fetching over $800 on eBay, which is over half what I paid for it about 15 years ago.

If you can get the 7706 do so, otherwise get the 7705 and sell it when you can get your hands on a 7706. I have no plans to change to a 7706. I am getting superb results from my 7705.

Getting a receiver and using RCA cables in your situation will be a massive mistake. Long runs is what balanced cabling was primarily designed for and is the only absolute indication for using balanced over unbalanced.

 

[Wardog555]

Plwase Keep Russia comments to a minimum unless it's directly related to a subject.

 

[TLS Guy]

Plwase Keep Russia comments to a minimum unless it's directly related to a subject.

In case you had not realized, the Russian aggression and Chinese tacit support, with with their evil eyes on Taiwan, is of overriding importance to AV planning and AV system purchases now, and more likely than not for many years to come. For members this has changed everything.

 

[jinjuku]

Will it get better? Hopefully. This year? Maybe(?).

Nope, Nope, Nope. To answer all three of your questions.

Higher prices are here to stay. Manufacturers across the board can justify it and none will be induced to bring them back down to pre-covid levels.

 

[highfigh]

I am willing to get even a used receiver at this point but the problem with older models is that they don't support 4K 120Hz which will make them a bottleneck in my system.

For now I posted listings on local websites that deal with used equipment asking for a used receiver or even a processor. If I am lucky something will come up, but that's only if someone really needs the money. I doubt anyone would sell a relatively new future-proof receiver such as the 4700H for any other reason.

Let the TV upconvert when needed.

There is no such thing as truly 'future-proof'- you commented on it in the first sentence.

 

[highfigh]

Nope, Nope, Nope. To answer all three of your questions.

Higher prices are here to stay. Manufacturers across the board can justify it and none will be induced to bring them back down to pre-covid levels.

So, you're blaming the manufacturers? Get a grip.

 

[jinjuku]

So, you're blaming the manufacturers? Get a grip.

Nope. I'm saying when the constraints ease I doubt pricing will ease.

 

[lovinthehd]

Nope. I'm saying when the constraints ease I doubt pricing will ease.

Tend to agree with you. Somewhat like how gas prices rise instantly on "news" about the cost of crude rather than when the expense actually hits the price of the actual gas you're pumping.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Of course, prices will never GO DOWN.

But hopefully they won't be increasing every 1 - 2 years.

 

[Kosta]

Kosta, don't disclose if you don't want to but are you in Greece or Bulgaria by chance?

I am in Greece

Using to RCA to XLR will not work. You will have to use an AVP with balanced XLR.

I was not talking about a simple rca to xlr adapter but an unbalanced to balanced transformer. More specifically, the Neutrik NA2F-D2B-TX or something similar which in theory takes an unbalanced RCA input and transforms it to a balanced xlr output. I have no idea if it works though since I can't find to much info about it online.

If you can get the 7706 do so, otherwise get the 7705 and sell it when you can get your hands on a 7706. I have no plans to change to a 7706. I am getting superb results from my 7705.

The problem is the 7705 is already above my budget. Ideally, I would wait and save some more money and get it since it's the best solution for me but I don't know if the price will stay the same until then.

 

[TLS Guy]

I am in Greece



I was not talking about a simple rca to xlr adapter but an unbalanced to balanced transformer. More specifically, the Neutrik NA2F-D2B-TX or something similar which in theory takes an unbalanced RCA input and transforms it to a balanced xlr output. I have no idea if it works though since I can't find to much info about it online.



The problem is the 7705 is already above my budget. Ideally, I would wait and save some more money and get it since it's the best solution for me but I don't know if the price will stay the same until then.

The 7705 was discontinued over a year ago. So it is old stock and probably won't be there for long.

Those transformers are for converting a balanced mic to line. Mics are low voltage devices. The spec. of the one you mentioned has a spec. of that Neutrik unit: - Max. Input level (@ 50 Hz, 1% THD): -3 dBu . Now a dBu is 0.776 volts in this situation, so you can see the transformer is saturated with the voltage a receiver would produce at the preouts.

So this is not a good solution for you.

Also I do not know the specification of the input of your active speakers. Usually unbalanced line is 1.2 Volts, and Balanced line 2.4 volts. But many manufacturers do not adhere closely to these specs.

In my view to optimize your rig you need an AVP with balanced output at the correct specification.

 

[sterling shoote]

Buy today. You may not have a tomorrow.

 

[SithZedi]

This is rough, back of the napkin, inflationary economics, but if you have 10,000 saved today earning 1% interest per year minus @8% inflation, you will have @9,300 in buying power next year. Chances are great that the item you are saving for has gone up in price in one years time. Therefore you have less buying power saved to purchase more.
Greece already has imposing import fees on electronic products at 24% of value. New imports coming into Greece will be taxed at their higher value so that will make them even more expensive.
Time works against you in inflationary times but it benefits people or governments with high debt and a fixed interest rate.
Buy now, even if you have to use some debt.

 

[Kosta]

Thank you all for your help. I will visit the well known hifi stores in my country and see what I can buy now with my budget and prioritize an AVP.

All this because I didn't buy it last year when the AVP 7706 dropped to 2200€ because it would just be sitting there waiting for the room to be ready and for the speakers to arrive while thinking to myself how much I will be saving when I buy it later... Damn you past self....In retrospect I didn't really know the end of the world as we know it would come....