Upgrading A/V Recevier

[ArcaneArchitect]

@lovinthehd Not intially as space is currently an issue. Been looking to buy a house too, we all know how thats been going lol. But currently the home theater is setup in a smallish 10x10 room.

My plan in regards to the audio equipment, was to upgrade the receiver, to allow me to get to enjoy some of the equipment I currently have now while keeping the total upgrade cost low. Ideally, I'd love to build in some head room in there (on the receiver), so that when I move to larger place I can upgrade the rest of the speakers/woofer.

 

[lovinthehd]

@lovinthehd Not intially as space is currently an issue. Been looking to buy a house too, we all know how thats been going lol. But currently the home theater is setup in a smallish 10x10 room.

My plan in regards to the audio equipment, was to upgrade the receiver, to allow me to get to enjoy some of the equipment I currently have now while keeping the total upgrade cost low. Ideally, I'd love to build in some head room in there (on the receiver), so that when I move to larger place I can upgrade the rest of the speakers/woofer.

Then I might even look on the used market for those disposing of their very adequte avrs for your use at a discount, altho some risk of course. Sort of the same for refurbs, as they come with different/limited warranties. I still wonder what you might gain particularly from a new avr with your speaker setup...for example some players have dual output so you can take advantage of better video with tv but still providing avr with a good signal for audio....

 

[ArcaneArchitect]

@lovinthehd Good points. Can you clarify what you mean by some players have dual output? Do you mean Blu-Ray players?

I actually just realized the C2 TV actually has S/PDIF out so I could potentially just solve the situation temporarily using that once I get it. Wont have fancy audio codecs but should work.

On a related tangent here. What would you say would be a "good" audio setup that gets you great quality sound, but falling short of that diminishing return where where you start paying 10x the price for the next perceptible difference? What would that look like, and cost like? (Or better yet, what are you running yourself?)

 

[lovinthehd]

@lovinthehd Good points. Can you clarify what you mean by some players have dual output? Do you mean Blu-Ray players?

I actually just realized the C2 TV actually has S/PDIF out so I could potentially just solve the situation temporarily using that once I get it. Wont have fancy audio codecs but should work.

On a related tangent here. What would you say would be a "good" audio setup that gets you great quality sound, but falling short of that diminishing return where where you start paying 10x the price for the next perceptible difference? What would that look like, and cost like? (Or better yet, what are you running yourself?)

Some disc players (maybe some streamers, don't know) have dual hdmi outputs that would enable one direct to tv for video, one to avr for audio.

Spdif as optical or coax can transmit 5.1 lossy audio just fine and that can often suffice, and isn't going to be a night and day experience with lossless 5.1....

 

[Trebdp83]

@Trebdp83 You rock dude. That is great advice.
Apologies for asking a super noob question, but tomake use of the my current set of speakers while leaving some room for improvement (to the speakers) down the line, how much Watts Per channel should I be aiming at on a receiver? I'm not really certain I'm asking the right question, but hopefully the message comes across.

Honestly, unless you are going to set speakers at Large and play everything at stupidly high levels, a 100wpc receiver will be sufficient. Though, 83dB 6ohm speakers will require a bit more of a turn of the dial compared to really efficient 8ohm speakers.

You might consider a C1 if you can find one. Got one myself and am very pleased with the picture. Just couldn’t justify the C2 cost vs feature improvements. The C2 lost black frame insertion at 120hz if that matters to you. But, it supports 48Gbps, DSC and has an ATSC3.0 tuner for some future proofing features.

I use a Costco specced Onkyo TX-NR6050 with Dayton Audio speakers in a 5.1(two subs) setup using height virtualization for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. I use an XBOX Series S to game on a 77” C1 and am as happy as a pig in s#%t. Gears 5 multiplayer at 120Hz looks amazing.

LG’s Simplink(HDMI-CEC) can be finicky. HDMI-CEC has never lived up to the hype and there is currently no perfect implementation of it from any manufacturer on any device. If you have a low tolerance for glitches, a direct connection of the PS5 to the receiver with HDMI-CEC off may be preferable.

Sounds like you are enjoying what you have now. Get the TV and use an optical connection while researching speakers and receivers. Enjoy the incredible picture produced by the PS5 on the LG OLED while saving some coin for the rest and have fun!

 

[ArcaneArchitect]

@Trebdp83 Thank you! Gotta look into that black frame insertion you mentioned. But yes I'm super looking forward to setting up a great but humble gaming / movie experience. I appreciate all your help.

 

[Trebdp83]

Black frame insertion won’t work with VRR anyway and may be why LG dropped it for 120Hz as most will want VRR active while gaming at high frame rates. Putting the TV in PC mode will disable Trumotion and other settings as well even when using the Game Optimizer.

 

[Wardog555]

Denon s960h is a popular suggestion. Keep in mind denon is about to announce new models so wait for that before you decide. It has one hdmi 2.1 40gb port if that is relevant to you.

If you're on a limited budget you will only get a 7 channel receiver. 9 channels and more jump up in price.

 

[BMXTRIX]

In order of how I would upgrade things...
Depending on your current TV, I would either upgrade the TV or the speakers first.
Not sure your current TV, but if it is pretty bad, then a C2 would be a great choice and would immediately show a drastic improvement to the video.

But, then it is speakers.

I say this from first hand, personal experience. I started off with some lesser expensive kit speakers and enjoyed them with my cheap Kenwood AV receiver. It was a big improvement on what my TV put out and was nice. But, I ended up ordering some new speakers and a new receiver. The receiver was about a month delayed in arriving so I got the new speakers early. So, I installed them with my cheap Kenwood.

Wow.

That is all I could say when they were installed was 'Wow!'. The jump in audio quality was enormous. I was not only getting more clarity and detail in the sound, but the jump in volume in the room, with my cheap receiver, was astounding. It was a massive jump in performance. I had added a much better subwoofer as well, and that did its duty, but has since been upgraded to a 18" subwoofer.

A month later and my new AV receiver arrived and was installed. I spent a fair bit on a well respected high end model. The Yamaha RX-Z1. In all seriousness, I didn't find a massive improvement in the audio at normal listening levels in the room. It could go louder, quite easily, but I didn't listen that loud almost ever. So, at normal volume levels it was a minor improvement to the system despite the cost and high end features it delivered.

So, I would lean towards getting a TV first, and speakers second. You may want to try upgrading that subwoofer depending on how much bass presence you want in the room, then do the receiver last as budget allows.

If you really are happy with your current speakers, then almost any modern AVR will do, and Accessories4Less is a great way to save some cash.
The factory refurb Yamaha V4A is only $350 from them and it works really well for a nice 5.1 setup...

YAMAHA RX-V4A 5.2-Ch x 80 Watts 8K A/V Receiver

Yamaha Factory Refurbished

www.accessories4less.com

The V6A at $500 offers more HDMI connectivity and 7 channels of built in amplification. I think it hits a really sweet spot for features/performance/quality for the money.

YAMAHA RX-V6A 7.2-Ch x 100 Watts 8K A/V Receiver

Yamaha Factory Refurbished

www.accessories4less.com

You listed a $500 target, and the V6A hits it.

But, I would get the TV first because you can use that with your existing setup and get quality audio all around. Upgrading to a system that supports newer audio formats can seem really nice, until you realize that your speakers may not be capable of delivering a huge improvement to the audio quality and your ears still may not be able to hear that difference in the first place.

 

[Trebdp83]

The V4A and V6A/TSR-700 Costco twin are 24Gbps limited and will not support 4K HDR @120Hz from the PS5's 32Gbps. Getting either of them means connecting the PS5 directly to the TV. This is why I suggested starting at the A4A. The A2A is also limited. A Denon S760H or Onkyo TX-NR6050 can both be had for $500 at Costco and support HDMI 2.1 at 40Gbps. Or, as was mentioned, a refurbished higher end model might be considered.

 

[BMXTRIX]

@Trebdp83 - Thanks for that clarification. In my opinion, if he upgrades the TV first and then spends about a year waiting, he would likely get an upgraded/updated version of AV receivers which support 40Gb/s+ HDMI in lower end receivers. It doesn't sound like he needs all the connectivity of the A4A, and at twice the price ($1,000) for a refurb unit vs. the V6A, it seems like it might be better to wait, and just use optical out from the new TV for a year or so, while saving money towards 'whatever' comes along. I'm sure both Denon and Yamaha will eventually give us full-on 48Gb/s HDMI connectivity, but we all have to wait for chips to catch up to the standards.

I would be hard pressed to spend $1,000 right now vs. using eARC connectivity as an option for the PS5.

The A4A on A4L...

YAMAHA RX-A4A 7.2-Ch x 110 Watts A/V Receiver

Yamaha Factory Refurbished

www.accessories4less.com

 

[Trebdp83]

Yeah, the new TV will be a big improvement for the PS5 right away. Optical could be used while researching new speakers and AVRs. Though, it will be interesting to see if any support 48Gbps a couple of years down the road. There are too many work arounds at the moment for various devices with varying bandwidth limitations. Many are using new consoles connected directly to their TVs and using eARC. But, doing so is not a glitch free experience when HDMI-CEC comes into play with different console, receiver and TV combinations.

 

[ArcaneArchitect]

Thanks @BMXTRIX and @Trebdp83 huge write ups. We currently have a 2010 TV model that is 45" 1080p display that is sorely lacking in modern features and resolution. So that was my biggest gripe with my current setup, but I ultimately want good sound too (hence my being here haha). $500 was a ballpark figure, I can ultimately save and increase that if anyone can give a good reason to. I'm interested on what you were mentioning about the speakers being the biggest difference. Which speakers did you get? Mine for sure are missing that low end, and without the subwoofer running.

 

[BMXTRIX]

...Which speakers did you get? Mine for sure are missing that low end, and without the subwoofer running.

I ended up with Definitive Technology BP30 speakers (about 18 years ago) which were just a phenomenal upgrade and one of the better reviewed speakers from Def Tech that don't have an integrated subwoofer. I paired them with a Def Tech subwoofer, which wasn't impressive. I upgraded to a Velodyne HGS-12 subwoofer, then (and now) which has been upgraded to a Velodyne HGS-18 subwoofer.

I'm a pretty firm believer that a great subwoofer is a major asset to any system. I'm also a huge fan of sealed enclosures.

 

[ArcaneArchitect]

Wow those are huge!

 

[BMXTRIX]

Wow those are huge!

They are full sized speakers for sure. I would say that they sound a fair bit better than my Paradigm Millenia 200 speakers, which look nice and are slim, but really just aren't nearly as full sounding.