Denon/Marantz vs Yamaha vs Anthem Thread

[Hobbit]

I have an ancient, circa late 80's early 90's, Sony receiver which I use in my garage. It still performs flawless. Even with all the dust and sawdust, and anything else I sprayed over the years on it.

My B&K Ref 20 is still in a closet somewhere. I believe it still works, but has some issues. Some inputs don't work and the display is flaky. The matching 5 channel amp (been too long to remember the model#) I had fixed myself a couple of times. Finally gave up on it.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

DSU/Neural X oh yes

We talk about using DSU/DTSNX on the Atmos/DTSX/AURO3D Thread all the time.

For non-Atmos/DTS-X movies, now I use DSU 100% of the time for all Dolby movies and 2CH-PCM or AAC TV sources and DTSNX 100% of the time for all DTS movies.

I think DSU/DTSNX are true technological breakthroughs, especially for 2Ch TV sources.

 

[Hobbit]

For non-Atmos/DTS-X movies, now I use DSU 100% of the time for all Dolby movies and 2CH-PCM or AAC TV sources and DTSNX 100% of the time for all DTS movies.
.

I was just going to ask that. On the old AVR I just left it on DSU. I'll have to give DTSNX a shot

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

On the old AVR I just left it on DSU. I'll have to give DTSNX a shot

"Old" AVR? You mean from 3 whole years ago?

It can't be that "old" if it has DSU, right?

As mentioned on the Atmos/DTSX Thread, I think both DSU and DTSNX are awesome, especially for 2Ch sources. I couldn't tell a significant difference between DSU vs DTSNX as both sounded great.

 

[Hobbit]

"Old" AVR? You mean from 3 whole years ago?

It can't be that "old" if it has DSU, right?

As mentioned on the Atmos/DTSX Thread, I think both DSU and DTSNX are awesome, especially for 2Ch sources. I couldn't tell a significant difference between DSU vs DTSNX as both sounded great.

LOL! Yeah, tired of mentioning the other brand. Had to find another adjective.

I recall not being able to really tell the difference between DSU and DTSNX. That's why I left it on DSU. I kept wanting to like the DTSNX because I seemed to like DTS better than Dolby 20ish years ago.

 

[Zildjianmeister]

I have an old Yamaha RXV-992 that I purchased in 1998. It's still going strong. Currently using it to drive a center channel and the pre-outs connected to an integrated amp for home theater bypass. 3.1.

Never had any issues with it.

 

[rnatalli]

7. Sony
Pros- Best 5 YR warranty on their ES AVR (Bryston is only other brand that offers a 5 YR warranty on their AVP),works great with other Sony products (TV).
Cons - Lack features, don't make any Pre-pros (only make AVR),not highly regarded in the AVR world.

Dismissing the Sony IMO is a mistake. I replaced my aging Anthem MRX310 with a Sony STR-DN1080 and it sounds fantastic if you take the time to tweak the settings.

 

[PENG]

Dismissing the Sony IMO is a mistake. I replaced my aging Anthem MRX310 with a Sony STR-DN1080 and it sounds fantastic if you take the time to tweak the settings.

So features over Anthem ARC? You must have a acoustically nice room then!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

So features over Anthem ARC? You must have a acoustically nice room then!

Or as Siegfried Linkwitz (RIP) would say, many people's room acoustics aren't so bad with carpets, rugs, drapes, curtains, sofas, pillows, and other soft materials.

Unless the room is just weird shape with hard floors and a lot of glasses around, just having plenty of natural furnishings is pretty good.

 

[Paul DS]

Don't forget Sony.

Only big problem I have with Sony is that they use 35 watts of electricity when their HDMI passthru is turned on. That is totally absurd. Other receivers use only several watts.

 

[PENG]

Or as Siegfried Linkwitz (RIP) would say, many people's room acoustics aren't so bad with carpets, rugs, drapes, curtains, sofas, pillows, and other soft materials.

Unless the room is just weird shape with hard floors and a lot of glasses around, just having plenty of natural furnishings is pretty good.

True, but with REQ I can get FR 20-130 Hz +/-2 to 3 dB, not that it necessarily sounds better better than +/- 6 dB, but I like good looking curves.

 

[rnatalli]

So features over Anthem ARC? You must have a acoustically nice room then!

My room isn't great and not really using any features, the Sony simply sounds better in some ways. Anthem did sound better down low, but the Sony edges it out when it comes to dynamics and highs. Believe me, no one was more surprised than me. You do have to mess with settings though to get the best sound; just responding a certain way to one of the questions or a setting makes a dramatic difference in the sound. Not sure if it's the newer DCAC EX, but I have had Yamaha, Pioneer, Anthem, Harman/Kardon, Denon, and Onkyo units go through this room with the same speakers and subwoofer and the Sony beats them all. Could also just be lucky that it mixes perfectly with my room so may not work for others, but definitely worth a try.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

True, but with REQ I can get FR 20-130 Hz +/-2 to 3 dB, not that it necessarily sounds better better than +/- 6 dB, but I like good looking curves.

Having a nicer room response is good as long as the sound quality is not worsened.

If the response looks better on paper, but sounds worse in reality, then that's bad.

I think it's easy enough to figure out if any Room EQ improves the sound. Just apply the auto REQ and compare the same songs with REQ vs Bypass/Through mode. Then choose the one that sounds best. But it is subjective. Some people may think the sound is improved, and some people don't.

With Audyssey, ARC, DIRAC, I didn't think that REQ improved the sound, but they didn't screw up the sound either.

With YPAO (did it twice),I personally thought that REQ was actually worse than THROUGH mode.

But again, sound quality can be subjective. Some people may think YPAO improves the sound. I've even heard some people say they think YPAO sounds better than Audyssey.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

....You do have to mess with settings though to get the best sound...

And I think that is the salient point about any brand.

I think that's why a lot of people think their newest components sound better than everything else before - they have the settings just right (for their personal preference) on their newest components.

There is another thread about newer AVR and newer same-brand AVR sounding different or better.

The salient factor is in the setup.

Perhaps one possibility is that we've learned throughout the years what sounds best to us personally.

With our experiences, we can do a better job in our setup, which leads to better sound.

 

[Dmantis10]

I'm currently Running a Sony ES reciever STRZ5000ES model which is the top of the line. It's fully functional for everything today including Dolby Vision HDR etc. Feature wise it's clean as a AVR should be. Isn't loaded up with crap your not going to use or can get on other external devices.
Pioneer Elite is a fantastic line of AVR's and I'd choose them over all others listed here especially Denon and Marantz. Most like those AVR's but I find both companies to lack in Relialibity Dynamic range but sport tons of features especially Denon. I use to really Like Denon back before they started pre loading them with a bunch of stuff. There is a lot to be said of a Pure AVR.
NAD is on the simpler side and has great power and grace. I'd choose a NAD over most others. I had their separates.
Onkyo / Integra is a step up from the previous models. The new to Onkyo room correction is a version of MCACC PRO which works excellent and in my opinion sounds better then Audyssey. The new Digital amps are awesome. I installed the DRXR1.1 and I liked it so much I may get one for myself.

 

[lovinthehd]

Only big problem I have with Sony is that they use 35 watts of electricity when their HDMI passthru is turned on. That is totally absurd. Other receivers use only several watts.

Sounds like some of my avrs (a few years old) but I do notice the numbers have come down in new models (Denon & Onkyo). I briefly tried to find the spec on Sony but it was somewhat obscured. Then again I don't use network or hdmi standby.

 

[lovinthehd]

Come on gents... help give this audioramus an education

What does that even mean?

 

[Paul DS]

Sounds like some of my avrs (a few years old) but I do notice the numbers have come down in new models (Denon & Onkyo). I briefly tried to find the spec on Sony but it was somewhat obscured. Then again I don't use network or hdmi standby.

Do you leave your receiver on all the time, or always use it when you have the tv on? Just curious.

 

[lovinthehd]

Do you leave your receiver on all the time, or always use it when you have the tv on? Just curious.

Well outside of normal standby I use the receiver either listening to music or watching tv/movies. Never watch the tv without it, as tv speakers suck. If I'm away for a week or so I'll even take it off standby, tho.

 

[Paul DS]

Well outside of normal standby I use the receiver either listening to music or watching tv/movies. Never watch the tv without it, as tv speakers suck. If I'm away for a week or so I'll even take it off standby, tho.

Standby in most receivers/amps takes very little wattage. The only receiver that I know of that takes 35 watts with HDMI passthru turned on and receiver off is Sony. Sadly, most tv speakers (not all) are lousy.