AudioControl Concert XR-6S (8K 9.1.6 Immersive AV Receiver with Zone 2 and Class AB Amplification).

[apoorvasheth]

Hello All,

I am going to buy this Audio/Video receiver - AudioControl Concert XR-6S (8K 9.1.6 Immersive AV Receiver with Zone 2 and Class AB Amplification).

https://www.audiocontrolpro.com/products/concert-xr-6s-8k?srsltid=AfmBOoqXHyp5eKZ6Qe7_gDdACsC3i6YJDZ3QmldWLqMo-0ozW9R1pH5H

It comes with 5 years warranty. Can anyone kindly confirm whether it's a highly reliable & top-quality premium product to purchase & go perfectly well with my present setup?

Can it output super best sound effects. I love listening to music, songs & enjoy movies, want to feel every single depth of the sound output during a scene, feel scared in a horror movie & so on...I love listening to sweet music & sound quality, not harsh ones like the one from Klipsch which I had auditioned couple of years back.

I'll be watching contents on the OTT platform via apps such as - Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar & Sony Bravia Core. So, want to feel the best Dolby Atmos effect & DTS & Dolby Surround effects & superb music quality on 2ch stereo.

I have also came to know of that the contents available on these OTT apps such as Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar are recorded on max 7 channels (which includes 2 Dolby Atmos speakers) so it will be then pointless to buy an A/V receiver that supports 9 channels or more and, it will also be pointless to add more than two Dolby Atmos speakers, isn't it?

But I still want to understand that in order to receive a proper Dolby Atmos effect, do I need just 2 Front Heights speakers, or I also need 2 Ceiling + 2 Rear Height speakers as well?

My present setup is:

SONY A80L OLED TV.
Yamaha RX-V685 Audio/Video receiver.
JBL Studio 630 Bookshelf Speakers: Front Left + Right.
JBL Studio 625C Center Channel Speaker.
JBL Subwoofer 660P
Harman Kardon HKTS 9 (on-wall satellite speaker) for Surrounds.

Was also thinking of Anthem MRX 740 8k which comes with just 1 year warranty. Is it better than Concert XR-6S b'coz it doesn't come with Dirac Live complete suite including Bass Module which Concert XR-6S comes with.

And can anyone kindly suggest best UPS & Power Stabilizer in the price of under 12k to keep my electronic devices safe?


Regards,
Apoorva.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The AudioControl AVR looks like a great AVR that will sound great like many AVR/AVP, but most of us won't spend that much money on an AVR. Most people will just buy a Yamaha (like RX-A4-A8) or Denon (like X3800-X6800) and get as great sound quality.

Big jump going from a low-end Yamaha to a $6K AVR, but the sound upgrade won't sound $6K better - diminishing returns and all that.

If you must have room correction, then Audyssey XT32 or DIRAC (or both in one AVR) will be great.

 

[apoorvasheth]

The AudioControl AVR looks like a great AVR that will sound great like many AVR/AVP, but most of us won't spend that much money on an AVR. Most people will just buy a Yamaha (like RX-A4-A8) or Denon (like X3800-X6800) and get as great sound quality.

Big jump going from a low-end Yamaha to a $6K AVR, but the sound upgrade won't sound $6K better - diminishing returns and all that.

If you must have room correction, then Audyssey XT32 or DIRAC (or both in one AVR) will be great.

Hello, thanks for your response & it's quite convincing enough.

But don't you feel is A/V receivers such as Marantz Cinema 40 or 50 or Denon X3800H or X4800H or NAD Electronics T 758 V3i or Yamaha Audio's RX-A6A or RX-A8A or RX-A4A could perform as equal as or better than the AudioControl's Concert XR-6S than, they would have equally increased their price?

Yes, diminishing returns is definitely a very important point which you highlighted as maybe in next 3 to 4 years, far superior technologies will show up & at that time, I will regret on my purchase decision. And DIRAC can be bought online by purchasing a license when AVRs below 3 lakhs INR is selected inclusive of GST tax, so you are right on that as well however, there is one very important point to consider. While brands like Denon, Yamaha Audio, Marantz, NAD, Anthem, etc... offer just 1 year of warranty on their A/V receivers post which, a customer is left by themselves to pay up the cost of repairs but, AudioControl offers 5 years of warranty. So, atleast it's a complete peace of mind for me to not worry about the cost of repairs.

And from my experience, I can say that there are only 2 super major things that will "Definitely" fail in 2 to 3 years of its purchase - 1) Audio/Video receiver 2) Subwoofer.

I had Harman Kardon AVR 174, it lasted for almost 5.7 years (Bought in February 2013, Failed in August 2018).

Replaced it with Yamaha RX-V685 in September 2018, failed in July 2021 due to HDMI Current leakage issue. Repaired it for ₹12,000.00 & now is going on fine.

Harman Kardon Subwoofer failed in 2017, I guess. Repaired it not from Harman/Kardon service center but, some local vendor. It finally failed in 2022. Replaced it with JBL 660P Sub (12-inch driver).

Though I never heard about AudioControl brand but need inputs from people here who have used & experienced it.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

And from my experience, I can say that there are only 2 super major things that will "Definitely" fail in 2 to 3 years of its purchase - 1) Audio/Video receiver 2) Subwoofer.

I always buy Passive subs - externally powered by ANY amp I want. This way, I will NEVER have to worry about the sub amp dying. EVER!!!!

I've seen $10K powered subs that have failed amps after just a few months. So I only trust passive/externally powered subs.

In the USA, Yamaha Avantage and Marantz Cinema have 5YR warranty. Denon is 3YR warranty.

In terms of sound quality, a $6K AVR isn't going to sound better than something like a Denon X6800H (140W x 11Ch) or Yamaha RX-A8A (150W x 11Ch) to me.

I think the $6K 100W x 7Ch AudioControl AVR seems pretty great. But I also think I don't need to spend as much to get equal sound.

 

[apoorvasheth]

Thanks for your response. Yes, buying a passive Sub is always safe, will keep this in mind. I think SVS Sound offers it.

Not sure of whether Denon X6800H or Yamaha RX-A8 offer pure 140 Watts per speaker or 150 Watts per speaker respectively, whereas Concert XR-6s Offers dedicated 100 watts to each speaker as specified on its website.

And Concert XR-6 is Class AB amplification which these others lack + it comes with Dirac Live® & Dirac Live® Bass Control which others don’t.

So why do you feel Concert XR-6S won’t sound great or fantastic considering it being much expensive than these others?

 

[lovinthehd]

Sound quality is primarily in your speakers, not the avr. You should be concentrating on better speakers/subs first. Higher priced avrs don't automatically mean better sound quality at all....much more about the feature set and connectivity they offer. I haven't seen much about Audio Control avrs at all, so will go check those out. Last Audio Control device I had was many years ago, a graphic equalizer. Decent quality but top tier perhaps not.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Thanks for your response. Yes, buying a passive Sub is always safe, will keep this in mind. I think SVS Sound offers it.

Not sure of whether Denon X6800H or Yamaha RX-A8 offer pure 140 Watts per speaker or 150 Watts per speaker respectively, whereas Concert XR-6s Offers dedicated 100 watts to each speaker as specified on its website.

And Concert XR-6 is Class AB amplification which these others lack + it comes with Dirac Live® & Dirac Live® Bass Control which others don’t.

So why do you feel Concert XR-6S won’t sound great or fantastic considering it being much expensive than these others?

I think the $6K AudioControl will sound great.

But as I’ve already mentioned it - diminishing returns. Just because something costs a lot more doesn’t mean it’s much better. This is true for AVR as it is for speakers and subs.

Regarding Dirac Live (DL), you can get both DL Full Bandwidth 20-20kHz Room Correction + Bass Control (BC) for 4 Independent Subs EQ for a bundled total price of $600.

For example, even if you paid $3500 full price for the X6800 + $600 for DL + BC, it would be $4100, not $6K.

According to Gene, the Denon X6800H is 140W x 2CH, but around 100W x 7CH all channels driven. However, we RARELY ever see All 7 CH Driven Simultaneously in real life (ACD) anyway.

But if you are getting 5YR warranty for the AudioControl and only 1YR for the Denon (Instead of the USA 3YR warranty), that might be a factor for you.

 

[apoorvasheth]

Sound quality is primarily in your speakers, not the avr. You should be concentrating on better speakers/subs first. Higher priced avrs don't automatically mean better sound quality at all....much more about the feature set and connectivity they offer. I haven't seen much about Audio Control avrs at all, so will go check those out. Last Audio Control device I had was many years ago, a graphic equalizer. Decent quality but top tier perhaps not.

Thanks for your response. But to drive a speaker at its best, a great Audio/Video receiver is also needed. Expensive A/V receiver uses much better high-end materials & it's finally the A/V receiver that drives the speakers, isn't it?

But still if I have to consider about spending on a high-quality speaker then I shall consider going for Marantz Cinema 50 or one of the Yamaha Audio's Aventage series, pairing it up with Sonus Faber Sonetto II G2 or Lumina II or Focal Audio's Theva No.1 - All bookshelves.

The dealer still maintains that the AudioControl Concert XR-6 uses very high-quality audiophile DACs (124 dB of dynamic range) so he says buying this will be more beneficial as I will begin to feel immense difference in sound quality with my existing JBL 630s. What's your opinion.

Also, could you kindly suggest me a very good U.P.S. & Power Stabilizer?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The dealer still maintains that the AudioControl Concert XR-6 uses very high-quality audiophile DACs (124 dB of dynamic range) so he says buying this will be more beneficial as I will begin to feel immense difference in sound quality with my existing JBL 630s. What's your opinion.

First, it’s not just the DAC, but the IMPLEMENTATION of the DAC and all the internal parts. For example, an AVR with higher-end DAC could measure worse than a AVR with a lower-DAC if the implementation of the lower-end DAC is better! AVR/AVP that cost a lot more could have worse measurements. Some AVP’s that cost $25,000 don’t even measure as well as some AVR’s that cost 5 times LESS.

So it’s not just about the Cost or the DAC. Just because an AVR/AVP costs more doesn’t mean it will measure or perform better.

2nd, Superman couldn’t hear the difference between a DAC with 124dB DR vs a DAC with 110dB DR! Point is, we cannot hear the difference among these DAC because the DR and SNR and THD+N all SO AWESOME with these DAC’s - even the lower-end DAC will have awesome DN/THD+N.

Now, again, there is NOTHING wrong with spending $6K, $8K, or $25K on an AVR if you have the budget. If I were a billionaire, I’d get a $25K AVR even if it measured worse than a $3K AVR.

Again, the AudioControl AVR should sound fantastic.

 

[lovinthehd]

Thanks for your response. But to drive a speaker at its best, a great Audio/Video receiver is also needed. Expensive A/V receiver uses much better high-end materials & it's finally the A/V receiver that drives the speakers, isn't it?

But still if I have to consider about spending on a high-quality speaker then I shall consider going for Marantz Cinema 50 or one of the Yamaha Audio's Aventage series, pairing it up with Sonus Faber Sonetto II G2 or Lumina II or Focal Audio's Theva No.1 - All bookshelves.

The dealer still maintains that the AudioControl Concert XR-6 uses very high-quality audiophile DACs (124 dB of dynamic range) so he says buying this will be more beneficial as I will begin to feel immense difference in sound quality with my existing JBL 630s. What's your opinion.

Also, could you kindly suggest me a very good U.P.S. & Power Stabilizer?

Using high end materials isn't very meaningful. As long as they work to specification. The amp section of an avr drives the speakers, yes. Usually better amplifiers are available outside of avrs in the form of power amps (if you really need one). Pre-outs on an avr give you external amp flexibility.

I'd just go speakers first, your current avr is fine for now.

The dealer is trying to sell you something and his logic isn't very good.

I don't use UPS myself, no need where I live. Power conditioners are generally not worth purchasing.

 

[lovinthehd]

I did go take a look at their (AudioControl's) site for specs on this. I didn't see any particular retailer ads but several e-bay ones (a new one that the link didn't work for and some used ones). Makes me wonder about their setup for US distribution. The amp section spec isn't very impressive let alone informative. It only has 7 channels of amp built in, it is to process 9.6.1 but you'll need external amps for the balance. It specs 100 wpc into either 8 ohm or 4 ohm, but no distortion or frequency range spec nor if that is a two channel spec or all channels driven spec.

 

[Verdinut]

I would be really hesitant purchasing a product for which the manufacturer doesn't specify the full specs on its equipment. Moreover, what guarantee of their after sales service and warranty do you have? At the prices they sell their electronics, that's not reassuring.