Well i found out just like many folks,a ht receiver does movie dvd surround just great,subs get firing bombs when called on,all the effects are truly amazing!
Trouble for most avr owners comes playing a cd in the dvd player,it plays nice at low volume and even eq set, but upon cutting the volume up some it sounds a little irratating and adding a little more volume its worse,jez whats wrong it just doesnt sound as good as it should?
Ive heard the term digital bite and that relates too what ive experenced with my thx certified 7.1 whiz box!
I have boxed up my $499.99 thx unit and now play movies through a avr 7.2 unit built too play music first philosophy,it does play awesome with out that awful irratating bite on cd playback and the bass resolution is beyond anything anywhere ive ever heard and im over 50yrs old !
I didnt know that my subs could sound like they do now!
I just couldnt imagine it because ive never heard notes that clearly defined and warm but so musically refined!
I was used too a ht avr that like most just works well on dolby or dts refined surround formats!
Yes they do surround formats nicely.
But if your a music lover be warned,a high percentage of ht avr out there really fall flat on there face playing a cd even with a surround format cut on during playback,except at real low volume!
Ive found this out the hard way,and its my opinion the digital music that should sound great,doesnt and i wish i knew why,its ok but too some people but ive heard it as it should sound now and I felt compelled to warn music lovers there are ht avr units that do music very well! imo y.t. JAMS
I don't think things should be as bad as you say.
1). Make sure you do not have any effects turned on, such as Cinema, or Concert Hall etc.
2) Do not use calibration programs like YPAO and Audessy.
3). Your receiver should have some type of straight mode, or pass through mode, whereby only the volume works and there is no signal processing including bass management. Your speakers will be running full range.
If you set it up like this the system should play like any other simple audio system.
There is one caveat. Speaker loads are complex, and I'm highly suspicious that at the price points of these receivers, with a lot of speakers, receiver amp modules are driven into trouble.
If you have preouts, experiment with a good external two channel amplifier.
In the set up I have suggested, it should not sound as you describe, unless your speakers are wanting.
If things are OK as I suggested, then you can add bass management for music listening.
If you engage the sub for music listening, I strongly recommend running your left and right mains full range, and shelving in the sub at a frequency X2 the F3 of the main speakers.
After that if you are happy with what you hear, then you can experiment with modes like Dolby PL 2x.
Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
