Availability of basic HDMI home theater amplifiers?

[armstrom]

I was hoping the hive mind might be able to point me toward any available products suitable for my use case. Over the years I have owned several surround receivers and always found some level of limitation to getting them properly integrated into my home setup. Now, with the rise of streaming the majority of the content I consume comes from a single source device. In my case, a chromecast with google TV, but it could just as easily be a Roku or Apple TV.

Does anyone know of ANY products that satisfy the following requirements?

• Small number of HDMI inputs (1 with ARC is all I need)
• Standards compliant 5.1 or 7.1 decoding
• Basic set of audio adjustments (Bass, mid, treble, channel levels, maybe some basic DSP functionality....)
• Reasonably sized power amps of good quality (~50W or so per channel)
• As a bonus, some sort of provision to support wireless surround channels? Not a hard requirement but it would be slick.

The problem I'm encountering is that these features seem to exist in TONS of soundbar products... but I already have a set of decent speakers and a powered sub that I would like to reuse. I just don't need the massive feature set of a traditional home theater receiver. I don't need 10-20 inputs of every flavor, an FM tuner, built in spotify or other streaming capabilities... Just a decent decoder/preamp and power amp. Is there nothing in between? My searches thus far have come up dry.

Thanks in advance for any advice!
-Matt

 

[TLS Guy]

I was hoping the hive mind might be able to point me toward any available products suitable for my use case. Over the years I have owned several surround receivers and always found some level of limitation to getting them properly integrated into my home setup. Now, with the rise of streaming the majority of the content I consume comes from a single source device. In my case, a chromecast with google TV, but it could just as easily be a Roku or Apple TV.

Does anyone know of ANY products that satisfy the following requirements?

• Small number of HDMI inputs (1 with ARC is all I need)
• Standards compliant 5.1 or 7.1 decoding
• Basic set of audio adjustments (Bass, mid, treble, channel levels, maybe some basic DSP functionality....)
• Reasonably sized power amps of good quality (~50W or so per channel)
• As a bonus, some sort of provision to support wireless surround channels? Not a hard requirement but it would be slick.

The problem I'm encountering is that these features seem to exist in TONS of soundbar products... but I already have a set of decent speakers and a powered sub that I would like to reuse. I just don't need the massive feature set of a traditional home theater receiver. I don't need 10-20 inputs of every flavor, an FM tuner, built in spotify or other streaming capabilities... Just a decent decoder/preamp and power amp. Is there nothing in between? My searches thus far have come up dry.

Thanks in advance for any advice!
-Matt

Does not exist. You are on a fools errand.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Soundbars really don't have these features. They have speakers which are a bit better than what's built into the TV and they often use proprietary surround sound speakers which are, once again, barely better than what comes with the TV. But, they rarely actually offer any room correction, or features which every room really does need to get accurate audio in the space. You get no distance setup, or any tuning of the system at all, along with zero expandability.

If you want the system simple, then set it up that way. Receivers all tend to have ARC, or more often eARC built into them these days. They support multiple HDMI inputs and all sorts of other features, which you can choose to use, or not to use, as you would like.

This has been discussed recently, but there is ZERO incentive for a company like Denon to make a receiver that is dumbed down from all the technology they have developed over the decades. It doesn't offer THEM any savings, so it wouldn't offer YOU any savings. The vast majority of people in your situation just get a speaker bar and call it a day. They don't own decent speakers. They don't own jack. So, they buy a jenky setup of a speaker bar and think they have something special.

If you have good speakers, then you should run wires to them to maintain the best audio. Both Yamaha and Denon do sell some wireless solutions that are available, but unlike the speaker bar manufacturers who force you to use their weak wireless surround speakers. Denon and Yamaha allow you to use whatever you have. You will likely need their musiccast or whatever system amp to get this to work.

Just because you don't use something, don't think for a second it would cost less to purchase it. This is just not how economies of scale work. Yamaha and Denon make receivers that as many people as possible will purchase, then they sell them for pretty ridiculously low prices considering all the features that are included. They include the latest and greatest audio processing and video scaling along with quality amplification. The addition of extra inputs, or quality room correction is just a bonus. Use it, don't use it, whatever... it's a big freebie anyway.

 

[armstrom]

Thanks for the replies! Looks like my path leads to another big receiver. Oh well.

Regarding cost... I wasn't really hoping that such a device would be significantly cheaper, just simpler and more fit for purpose. Why should I be required to buy a large receiver with many features I will never use just to get the basic functions I do need. Same reason why I'm annoyed that I have to buy a "smart" tv just to get a decent tv. Oh well, it's academic at this point since it seems such a product doesn't exist.

Regarding wireless connection to the speakers, I also agree 100%. For enjoying music or even regular TV watching I would only use the system in 2.1 or 3.1 mode with wired connections between the speakers and the receiver. To me, the rear speakers of a 5.1 system are really just for "filler" and to make the explosions in whatever blockbuster movie the family might be watching sound more "real" so I doubt I would be able to tell the difference between wired and wireless. If I want any sort of immersive experience for music I'll just use proper headphones.

Either way, thanks for the replies. Much appreciated.
-Matt

 

[Pogre]

What you're looking for doesn't exist. Based on your requirements an AV receiver is what you need. I mean, you practically describe one in your first post, lol.

 

[j_garcia]

Maybe a "slim" receiver might be what you are looking for, like the Marantz NR series. Fewer inputs and options but with what you are fundamentally after.

 

[armstrom]

Yeah, it looks like that may be the case. After BMXTRIX mentioned that Denon had options for wireless rear channels I did a bit more digging and came across a (sadly) discontinued product that looks pretty close to what I have in mind. The HEOS AVR... https://www.denon.com/en-us/product/av-receivers/heos-avr
Pretty limited inputs focused on HDMI. It had no AM/FM tuner, phono input, zoned speakers, etc... just decode the digital audio from HDMI and send it out to the speakers with some EQ. Nice simple remote that I can lose and never think of again... that's it. I'll take a look at this NR series you mention.
-Matt

 

[Swerd]

On the subject of wireless connections for speakers…

Most wireless connections for speakers (that I know of) require speakers with built-in amplification. There may not be a wire with the audio signal running from the receiver to the speaker, but each speaker must get AC power to run it's amplifier. That requires wires and some nearby wall outlets.

I don't spend any time looking for wireless speakers, so I might be wrong. Are there any "wireless speakers" that work with an already amplified signal?

 

[armstrom]

There are wireless amplifiers. In this case the amp is still plugged into mains power (or an adapter) and contains its own power amp for however many channels it supports. You can then connect your own speakers to the binding posts and just run short wires from the speakers to the amp. Here's an example: https://www.denon.com/en-us/product/amplifiers/heos-amp?gclid=CjwKCAjwqIiFBhAHEiwANg9szq_HyEe1RysG5ghqTicJ3RTv2JupAEuzEeOJ3JMtb1BYs92kLQ6HPxoCJYQQAvD_BwE
For me the only reason to want wireless is to get a signal across the room for the rear channels. I have no issues with the two rear channels being wired to a central amp since those wires will just go behind my couch. My room is built on a slab so I can't just run speaker wires through the basement/crawlspace.

 

[panteragstk]

There are wireless amplifiers. In this case the amp is still plugged into mains power (or an adapter) and contains its own power amp for however many channels it supports. You can then connect your own speakers to the binding posts and just run short wires from the speakers to the amp. Here's an example: https://www.denon.com/en-us/product/amplifiers/heos-amp?gclid=CjwKCAjwqIiFBhAHEiwANg9szq_HyEe1RysG5ghqTicJ3RTv2JupAEuzEeOJ3JMtb1BYs92kLQ6HPxoCJYQQAvD_BwE
For me the only reason to want wireless is to get a signal across the room for the rear channels. I have no issues with the two rear channels being wired to a central amp since those wires will just go behind my couch. My room is built on a slab so I can't just run speaker wires through the basement/crawlspace.

Those used to be VERY popular and didn't work very well. If you can't run wires, I'd avoid trying to do surround speakers since they won't really contribute much if they don't work or there is a delay or anything else.

 

[lovinthehd]

Economies of scale as was said just don't justify such a product. Just don't use the features you don't need. Maybe the smaller slimline avrs would be a good choice, if you don't mind the rather weak amps they have.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Is the Heos amp discontinued or just out of stock?

I think that both Yamaha and Denon support wireless rears using their Musiccast/Heos systems respectively.

But, yes, my original post is just the reality. What you consider a 'basic' receiver, may be three features off of what someone else considers a 'basic' receiver. The next guy also wants a 'basic' receiver, and his list is just slightly different than the other guy's lists.

When you dig into what an AV receiver really is, the added features take up very little room. The vast majority of the receiver is filled up by amplification. There is some stuff also needed for the digital to analog conversion. But, any HDMI switching, or audio connectivity really doesn't take up a ton of room or add cost, and their ability to sell tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of one design really saves them money over building a more niche product. Their goal is quantity with quality, and to it a target price.

At the end of the day, you might get a bit of ease of setup if there is only a single ARC connection, but then you may not have a feature or two that you actually do want in that product, which would be a shame. Especially if you already are dropping $500 or so to get that product in the first place.

 

[-Jim-]

Hi Armstrom,

I'm assuming you have the surround speakers. If so you may want to consider something like a Rocketfish wireless rear speaker kit that used to be available at Best Buy some years ago. I bought one for my Mother when she moved into a Condo after selling the family home about 9 years ago. She wanted the 5.1 system that was in the family home, but running cables to the rear speakers was a definite no go. Of course being in a Condo, she doesn't rock the world, but it works just fine for her.

This Kit is still available on Amazon.ca (I just googled it). Perhaps it is available where you are.