Upgrading A/V Recevier

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ArcaneArchitect

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Hi all, about 14 years ago I bought a low/mid end 5.1 Yamaha Home Theater system which has worked fairly well for a long time. I would like to upgrade the Receiver BUT keep the using the existing speakers and subwoofer if possible and I need a little help figuring out what Receiver would work well and why.

Current Speakers: Yahama NS-AP8805
Manual / Specs Link: https://www.manualslib.com/manual/340884/Yamaha-Ns-Ap8805.html#manual
Front / Center speakers:
40~120 Watts, 6 Ohms​
Rear:
30~100 Watts, 6 Ohms​
Subwoofer:
Separately A/C powered, appears to be using a RCA connection to the Receiver​

One thing I'm not understanding from a lot of A/V Receiver sales pages is that despite being 5.1 or 7.1 systems, they are only listing wattage per channel but only with 2 channels listed. for example "80 watts per channel into 8 ohms (20-20,000 Hz) at 0.06% THD, with 2 channels driven ". So I don't have a clear picture of how much wattage I'm getting for each speaker, if only 2 are listed. Another thing I'm unsure about is the Ohms listed, and how it relates to the speakers/amount of speakers I'd like to run. This stuff is greek to me, so I'd love a if someone could help me figure this all out.


I don't have an exact budget in mind but would like this to last another 10 years. Primary use would be 4k/120hz Console games and movie watching.

I appreciate any help on the matter.
Thanks.
 
Some of the HTIB sets from Yamaha (and Onkyo) used decent AVRs. What model is yours?

Usually for a sound upgrade you'd want better speakers and sub primarily (as that's where most of it is derived).

What do you want in the way of a new avr feature-wise that your current one/use lacks?

As far as a 2ch rating, that's just to make the numbers for the sales/marketing a bit bigger. OTOH an ACD (all channels driven) rating isn't particularly useful or relevant to usual surround content either (if you like an all-channel stereo mode that could be a bit different). In most cases each channel has the same capabilities at any one time. The speaker wattage ratings are more about a limit of continuous program, not something particularly useful beyond that. Your speakers are on the low side sensitivity-wise so need a bit more amp than some others might. Takes a doubling of power to gain 3dB....so a speaker with 82 dB sensitivity would need twice as much power to match a speaker with 85dB sensitivity (generally, it's not an exact thing, more puts you in the neighborhood as other factors such as impedance swings and phase angles of your speakers at particular frequencies....your speakers' 6 ohm rating is nominal, it likely spends time near 4 ohm as well as above 6 ohm....)

You can use an amp rated less or more than the speaker, it's the actual use of the volume control that determines how much power the speakers will require at a given time, a lower power amp may limit volume, tho.

Use this calculator to get an idea of the relationship of speaker sensitivity and distance from the speaker and spl.... http://myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html
 
The model of the AVR I have is Yamaha HTR-6130
www.manualslib.com

YAMAHA HTR-6130 OWNER'S MANUAL Pdf Download

View and Download Yamaha HTR-6130 owner's manual online. Owner's Manual. HTR-6130 receiver pdf manual download. Also for: 6130 - htr av receiver, Htr-6130bl - 500 watt home theater receiver, Rx-v363.
www.manualslib.com www.manualslib.com

In general this set has put out really decent sound as a whole. Individually, the speakers lack some midtones and bass which is more than made up with the huge subwoofer.

The things I'm mostly interested in, is having access to more modern decoding for audio. I've almost exclusively used S/PDIF for the last many years. But it seems like moving to an HDMI audio passthrough is more future proof with the eARC HDMI connection.

I appreciate your input.
 
Looks like a reasonable amp section in that unit, altho room for improvement certainly, but definitely biggest thing with an avr will be the features/connectivity aspect. What's your budget?

As far as sub, didn't see that in the speaker link....does it have it's own model number/link ? What you might consider a "huge" subwoofer likely isn't what I consider a "huge" subwoofer :)
 
Haha, that is fair. The Model for the Subwoofer is YST-W050
usa.yamaha.com

YST-FSW050 - Overview - Yamaha - United States

New shape subwoofer with Yamaha's latest technologies, including Advanced YST II, Linear Port and down-firing design plus best matching for front surround systems and micro component systems.
usa.yamaha.com usa.yamaha.com

Probably not huge now that I think about it. But it has been in rooms no larger than 15'x15' which has certainly been enough to fill the space.

Budget wise I was hoping to stay in the 500$ range, but really there is no budget, I can just save up for whatever over time and buy it at somepoint as long as it makes sense to do so since this isnt a rush purchase. Specially so if it gives room for improving speaker quality down the line.
 
Yeah, I probably wouldn't even call that a sub to begin with, altho there's not much info, but looks awfully small....personally in rooms of such size I'd still want at least a pair of 10" or 12" subs if not larger (I prefer my 18"s :) ).

$500 is pretty low for an avr these days. Somewhat depends on the feature set. As you move up a brand's lineup, you tend to get the better room equalization options, pre-outs for amp flexibility, more channels of processing and better internal amplification. Most all of them (new avrs) should have updated hdmi/hdcp capabilities, as well as current codec capability (up to its speaker/processing limits).

Kind of depends what you want to prepare for down the line....or not.
 
Will the console be connected directly to the TV or the receiver. What is the model TV in use?
 
@lovinthehd
The system performs subjectively very well, given its use cases in small/mid sized rooms. Although I'm sure it cant compete with with something worth multiples of its price, it blows the socks off of any soundbar I've heard as well as built in TV speakers.

@Trebdp83
I'm planning on getting an LG C2 Oled TV (not currently purchased yet), which is a 2022 model. So this would work fine connecting Console device to TV and doing audio passthrough using ARC to the Receiver.
 
ArcaneArchitect said:
@lovinthehd
The system performs subjectively very well, given its use cases in small/mid sized rooms. Although I'm sure it cant compete with with something worth multiples of its price, it blows the socks off of any soundbar I've heard as well as built in TV speakers.

@Trebdp83
I'm planning on getting an LG C2 Oled TV (not currently purchased yet), which is a 2022 model. So this would work fine connecting Console device to TV and doing audio passthrough using ARC to the Receiver.
Click to expand...

I'd hope it's better than a soundbar, let alone tv speakers these days. Budget will be a limitation more of capabilities, getting good audio at a good price is pretty accessible these days. You might consider the refurbs available at accessories4less.com or maybe something the local Costco might have to see what feature set you can get for your $500 and consider upping the budget depending on features.... A good comparison tool is the avr comparison tool here https://www.zkelectronics.com/
 
C2 is great. But, keep in mind it does not support DTS and any DTS tracks played in the PS5 will be converted to PCM when it hits the TV and goes out to the receiver. Some care more about bitstreaming than others and some don’t care at all but it is something to consider. If looking at any used receivers, make sure they support eARC and not just ARC or audio passthrough will be bandwidth limited.
 
@Trebdp83
Hi Treb, thats a really good point. In that case is it better to pass video through the receiver, than audio through the TV?
 
You will need to make sure any receiver you might purchase and use to connect directly to the PS5 supports HDMI 2.1 features AND 40Gbps. Some only support 24Gbps. That would still be ok if every device in the chain supported DSC but I don’t believe the PS5 currently does so and is limited to 32Gbps.

If you look at Yamaha receivers, do not go lower down the line than the RX-A4A as the lower models are capped at 24Gbps. The A4A and up support 40Gbps and, like the PS5, recently received an update to activate VRR.
 
@Trebdp83 You rock dude. That is great advice.
Apologies for asking a super noob question, but tomake use of the my current set of speakers while leaving some room for improvement (to the speakers) down the line, how much Watts Per channel should I be aiming at on a receiver? I'm not really certain I'm asking the right question, but hopefully the message comes across.
 
@William Lemmerhirt , Can totally understand that. Though from my perspective, without first getting a more modern receiver, I get no sound out of my devices, as opposed to some sound if I go for a Receiver, albeit not as good as it could theoretically be if I had infinite money to spend upfront.

None the less, I'm here to learn. If you guys have suggestions for a solid game plan on getting great sound without potentially needing a down payment for a car I'd love to hear it.
 
Are you also expanding at least your speaker count or not?
 
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