How to correct wrong purchase or bear with it?

[sWORDs]

I've done something incredibly dumb and am now wondering if I should undo my mistake at a loss or just stick with it.

Here's the backstory:
Ever since Denon introduced the 5803, it has always been my goto brand, it was an amazing receiver, but when I moved I had no more space and no more audio gear. When I moved again I tried an Onkyo Receiver but it didn't got me excited in anyway. Returned it, got a 3805, but had some troubles with the power supply and difficult speakers, traded that in for a 4306 (Japan, just like 5803) and I absolutely loved it. The 4306 is still going strong at a friends house and with LPCM support it can still manage nearly everything (besides 3D audio). We moved and got a 3D TV, so I wanted something that could handle it directly and got one of the bigger Onkyo receivers, which again didn't excite me in any way beyond raw power. After a while I sold the Onkyo and bough a Denon 4520, which was replaced by a X7200WA a couple years later. Both where ok, and I still have the 7200 in a box, but they never got me as excited as the 4306 did, nor did they have the power of the Onkyo. Every time I went for something other than Denon, I've not been entirely happy.

Here is what I did:
I bought an Arcam AVR31, and while the sound excites me and the power is insane, it has more bugs than Windows Millennium Edition. HDMI especially, the handshake with an LG OLED always leads to wrong audio formats and by default there is no way of fixing it. I got an EARC extractor and it still doesn't work well, however with that I can disable and enable EARC on the TV and after that things work. DSD over HDMI isn't working when the TV is turned on (and the Sony Bluray player goes straight into the Arcam). Airplay has a weird hickup somewhere in the first minute of every song. HARMAN Luxury Audio is aware and could replicate the DSD issue, but after 6 months there still is no firmware update.

Current other devices:

• Sonus Faber Domus series (Grand Piano as front, Concertino as rear and the Center). High WAF with teak wood and leather and pretty good speakers with just an easy to correct issue around the crossover frequency. Might get a lowered ceiling one day and add .4.
• SVS SB-1000 Pro
• LG OLED 65 WX
• Sony X800m2
• NVIDIA Shield TV

My dilemma:
Where do I go from here? I see five options:

1. Try some other EARC extractor and get an Apple TV and work around the issues.
2. Sell the AVR31, buy a Marantz AV 10 and a 5 channel Purifi based power amp.
3. Sell the AVR31, buy a Denon A1H.
4. Wait for AVR31 firmware updates (if ever).
5. Sell the AVR31 and move back to the X7200WA.

 

[Trebdp83]

Have you checked the eARC setting in the TV’s Sound Advanced Settings and made sure it is ON? It is OFF by default and only ARC bandwidth is available when it is OFF.

LG OLED TVs have amazing displays but troublesome audio output characteristics. For far less headaches, external streaming devices should be used with a direct connection to a receiver. Even the cheapest of streaming devices perform better than the apps in Smart TVs.

If any devices are connected directly to the TV, precise output settings are required for optimal audio output and fewer headaches. But, connecting to the receiver is less troublesome with the added benefit of AVR GUI overlay while using a device on those receivers equipped with such.

I had a similar issue regarding DSD from an X800M2 with an LG C1 in the mix. It would output PCM and would not output DSD at all. This was not an issue with X800. Turning certain settings OFF and back ON again in the player fixed the issue for me.

Now, with any device supporting HDMI 2.1 in the system, best to replace all cables with Ultra Certified cables. If a Premium Certified cable that DOES NOT support ethernet is used to connect the receiver and TV, eARC will not work and ARC limitations will apply.

Oh, and if you are using Apple Music for streaming over Airplay, you are not alone in noticing the hiccup. Not sure what is up there but have my own theories based on how I set up Apple Music on my own system. It is just barely noticeable on my setup but results will vary in different systems I’m sure.

 

[sWORDs]

Have you checked the eARC setting in the TV’s Sound Advanced Settings and made sure it is ON? It is OFF by default and only ARC bandwidth is available when it is OFF.

The problems mainly occur with eARC enabled, so yes it is on.

LG OLED TVs have amazing displays but troublesome audio output characteristics. For far less headaches, external streaming devices should be used with a direct connection to a receiver. Even the cheapest of streaming devices perform better than the apps in Smart TVs.

If any devices are connected directly to the TV, precise output settings are required for optimal audio output and fewer headaches. But, connecting to the receiver is less troublesome with the added benefit of AVR GUI overlay while using a device on those receivers equipped with such.

All devices are connected to the AVR. The NVIDIA Shield has color issues with Dolby Vision, but NetFlix from the X800M2 might be an option. Edit: Every preview blacks the whole screen for 5 seconds, not a great experience. Also no ATMOS and permanently doing Dolby Vision (even HDR or plain HD).

I had a similar issue regarding DSD from an X800M2 with an LG C1 in the mix. It would output PCM and would not output DSD at all. This was not an issue with X800. Turning certain settings OFF and back ON again in the player fixed the issue for me.

The problem only occurs with the TV turned on. Harman replicated the issue (they had a X800M2 and had the issue even with a completely different brand of TV).

Now, with any device supporting HDMI 2.1 in the system, best to replace all cables with Ultra Certified cables. If a Premium Certified cable that DOES NOT support ethernet is used to connect the receiver and TV, eARC will not work and ARC limitations will apply.

All cables have been replaced with short high quality individually tested HDMI 2.1 cables (https://www.ruconnected.nl/hdmi-kabel/2-1/), all problems remain.

Oh, and if you are using Apple Music for streaming over Airplay, you are not alone in noticing the hiccup. Not sure what is up there but have my own theories based on how I set up Apple Music on my own system. It is just barely noticeable on my setup but results will vary in different systems I’m sure.

I'm hoping an Apple TV would solve it.

Thanks for thinking along!

 

[Trebdp83]

Well, there you go. Honestly, an AVR at that price point should be without issue. I’d return it, snag one of the last Denon X4700H receivers on clearance as it is currently a crazy value and get a new and bigger LG G3 TV as well and call it good. But, to each their own.

 

[sWORDs]

Well, there you go. Honestly, an AVR at that price point should be without issue. I’d return it, snag one of the last Denon X4700H receivers on clearance as it is currently a crazy value and get a new and bigger LG G3 TV as well and call it good. But, to each their own.

I’d love a bigger TV, but this one is already pushing the wife her limits, plus nothing is as thin as the W series. On the receiver, I don’t want to put this into a power supply debate, but anything from Denon that ain’t from Japan isn’t going to be hooked up to my speakers. Just seen too many issues with them on speakers that dip below 4.0 Ohm and seen none on Japan made ones. To not divert from the subject too much let’s call it a personal preference, as I know this one is strongly debated.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I've done something incredibly dumb and am now wondering if I should undo my mistake at a loss or just stick with it.

Here's the backstory:
Ever since Denon introduced the 5803, it has always been my goto brand, it was an amazing receiver, but when I moved I had no more space and no more audio gear. When I moved again I tried an Onkyo Receiver but it didn't got me excited in anyway. Returned it, got a 3805, but had some troubles with the power supply and difficult speakers, traded that in for a 4306 (Japan, just like 5803) and I absolutely loved it. The 4306 is still going strong at a friends house and with LPCM support it can still manage nearly everything (besides 3D audio). We moved and got a 3D TV, so I wanted something that could handle it directly and got one of the bigger Onkyo receivers, which again didn't excite me in any way beyond raw power. After a while I sold the Onkyo and bough a Denon 4520, which was replaced by a X7200WA a couple years later. Both where ok, and I still have the 7200 in a box, but they never got me as excited as the 4306 did, nor did they have the power of the Onkyo. Every time I went for something other than Denon, I've not been entirely happy.

Here is what I did:
I bought an Arcam AVR31, and while the sound excites me and the power is insane, it has more bugs than Windows Millennium Edition. HDMI especially, the handshake with an LG OLED always leads to wrong audio formats and by default there is no way of fixing it. I got an EARC extractor and it still doesn't work well, however with that I can disable and enable EARC on the TV and after that things work. DSD over HDMI isn't working when the TV is turned on (and the Sony Bluray player goes straight into the Arcam). Airplay has a weird hickup somewhere in the first minute of every song. HARMAN Luxury Audio is aware and could replicate the DSD issue, but after 6 months there still is no firmware update.

Current other devices:

• Sonus Faber Domus series (Grand Piano as front, Concertino as rear and the Center). High WAF with teak wood and leather and pretty good speakers with just an easy to correct issue around the crossover frequency. Might get a lowered ceiling one day and add .4.
• SVS SB-1000 Pro
• LG OLED 65 WX
• Sony X800m2
• NVIDIA Shield TV

My dilemma:
Where do I go from here? I see five options:

1. Try some other EARC extractor and get an Apple TV and work around the issues.
2. Sell the AVR31, buy a Marantz AV 10 and a 5 channel Purifi based power amp.
3. Sell the AVR31, buy a Denon A1H.
4. Wait for AVR31 firmware updates (if ever).
5. Sell the AVR31 and move back to the X7200WA.

#5 would be the most economically SOUND choice.

The salient advantage of sticking with giant companies like Yamaha and Masimo/Sound United (Denon/Marantz) is much better SUPPORT - whether it is software support or customer support.

And I can't even recall Windows Millennium - must have just bypassed that one.

 

[Trebdp83]

I’d love a bigger TV, but this one is already pushing the wife her limits, plus nothing is as thin as the W series. On the receiver, I don’t want to put this into a power supply debate, but anything from Denon that ain’t from Japan isn’t going to be hooked up to my speakers. Just seen too many issues with them on speakers that dip below 4.0 Ohm and seen none on Japan made ones. To not divert from the subject too much let’s call it a personal preference, as I know this one is strongly debated.

Don’t have to convince me, totally get it. Take that 7200WA back out of the box.

If you can elaborate, I’m curious about the Dolby Vision issue with the Nvidia Shield. If you use Plex for ripped media, be aware that the Apple TV 4K does not support Dolby TrueHD or any flavor of DTS.

 

[sWORDs]

Don’t have to convince me, totally get it. Take that 7200WA back out of the box.

If you can elaborate, I’m curious about the Dolby Vision issue with the Nvidia Shield. If you use Plex for ripped media, be aware that the Apple TV 4K does not support Dolby TrueHD or any flavor of DTS.

See Dolby Vision Color Problems: https://androidtvnews.com/nvidia-shield-dolby-vision/

 

[Trebdp83]

Lots of good stuff there and I’ve screamed about some of it in these forums. Are you using Plex? If not, only a connection to an obsolete HDMI port or a port set at Standard rather than Enhanced should be causing an issue. The TV must have the connected HDMI port set at 4K as well.

 

[sWORDs]

I just remembered this post and wanted to update that a couple months ago my AVR31 got replaced for the 3rd time (besides the firmware issues they seem to break a lot) and I got a great opportunity at another store to swap my new replacement for an A1H at a $0 rate.
Sound with Dirac at Harman Kardon target curve is identical (wouldn’t be able to identify a difference if you’d do a blind test) and zero firmware issues.