Yamaha RX-V479 Receiver 140W??

[Telexx]

Hi all... sorry for the n00b question, but I am trying to replace my z-5500 with a better setup for 5.1. I'll be using 5.1 audio a lot.

I am looking for something to use with a (I know it's crappy, but it's all I have for now) Vantec external sound card from my Surface Book. I know optical SPDIF is a compromise, so I will probably try to use a mini-dp to HDMI adapter out from the Surface Dock for sound. (Will that work? I hear both responses that dp carries sound as well or not).

After looking at the reviews, I am leaning toward a Yamaha RX-V479 Receiver for the features/price, but I am alarmed to see it's only 140W, when the z-5500 was I think rated at 505W. Is there really that much of a difference with the loudness, or am I missing something? Thanks in advance for any explanation I can get!

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

a) optical SPDIF is not a compromise. it's perfectly fine if you understand what it could and couldn't do
b) typically and it's more fair way to just AVR by it's power delivered cleanly to 8ohm typical impedance speakers, which in Yamaha 479 is 80w per channel.

Rated Output Power (20Hz-20kHz, 2ch driven) 80 W (8 ohms, 0.09% THD)

which translates to 80x5= 400W of clean power. Dynamic power goes upto 160w so it's 160x5 = 800w.

Z5500 manual says this:

Total rms - 500w,
Sat Speakers (sum) 313W and sub - 187w

How this compares to Yamaha - Simple answer - it doesn't. It's apples and oranges. Loudness will be more likely limited by speakers efficiency/sensitivity rather than difference from 80 to 100w avrs..


btw: You do realize that you would need new speakers with new receiver?
You couldn't just use your logitech speakers to connect to yamaha

 

[Telexx]

Thanks for the quick reply BoredSysAdmin...

a. thanks for the clarification on optical. I thought it was compressed, which would compromise the quality of the audio, but it sounds like this is not the case.
b. ah ok, so if it's apples and oranges, I assume that I will be happy with the quality change from the z-5500 to the rx-v479.

I am glad you brought up the speaker issue. Hmmm, since the speakers that came with the 5500 were 8 ohms, I thought they would be compatible =/. I figured that if I got some banana plugs, I could make them work, but I guess not.

I hear the Energy Takes are nice for getting started, but do you have a different recommendation? I can't spend thousands on Klipsch like I want to though.

 

[Latent]

the speakers will in fact work fine in the AVR and you don't need banana plugs as the speaker wire can just be screwed into the binding posts. These speakers will come with some very thin wire and I don't think banana plugs would be much point. But the SUB is another story and you won't get that going like a normal SUB easily as it is really the amp for all the speakers built into it as well. And those speakers are not great without a well integrated sub.

Also with optical for 2 channel they work just fine with high quality. but it can't pass 5.1 etc as well as it has to used compressed Dolby digital (AC3) or DTS to get multiple channel sound though the limited SPDIF bandwidth. The sound quality of this compressed signal is good enough for most uses. if the source is a broadcast or DVD with 5.1 then the sound may already be in this format and it works perfectly. If the source is a blu-ray then it would use the lower quality compressed version instead of the 'HD' version. And if your source is computer generated from games etc then you either need a soundcard that has live AC3/DTS encoders to get 5.1 or use 5.1 analog cables (which rx-v479 does not support) or get HDMI output and use it as your sound card. Live encoders of AC3/DTS may not be as good as the ones used in DVD's etc where they have more time to get it right. I don't have any experience myself with displayport to HDMI adapters and how well the audio works but google should tell you this.

With HDMI computer generated audio you can either output 2 channel or 5.1/7.1 high resolution digital audio. If HDMI audio is working you will get an extra sound card show up in your audio settings when the HDMI cable is connected that you can configure the number of channels and bitrates etc.

 

[Telexx]

Roger Roger Latent.. I had a feeling that was the case on both fronts. I will look into the adapters more first.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

If you want better audio replacing Z5500 original (for lack of better word) "controller" for Yamaha AVR (even if speakers are compatible) - would gain you any tangible benefit.
Please keep in mind this simple fact: 95% of total sound quality is determined by SPEAKERS (including Sub(s))
The rest - like electronics, AMP, DAC, cable, audio protocol or even compression (to a degree - I know plenty of crappy mp3s) COMBINED could affect only 5% of whole thing. Think about it.

Energy made (before sold it's soul to Klipsch and then Audiovox bought Klipsch) some fine speakers, but take5 is not their best product by far.

Not sure what's your total budget for audio is , but we could help. But I got a feeling we should start from scratch. Spend as little as possible for minimal possible electronics and invest in best speakers budget allows.

Our current go to for best quality and value are these:
http://philharmonicaudio.com/aa.html

Yes, you might have to wait a bit for them, but it's worth it!

 

[Telexx]

I see what you are saying there, and a good point. It might actually pay off to save up for something like those. Thanks.

 

[Latent]

Also what is your source content that needs 5.1? For music it is mostly 2 channel and it is better to pass just 2 channel via spdif for example to your AVR so it can apply 2.0 to 5.1 processing as required. Upmixing in your computer will probably not be as good or as easy. For tv/movies sources they often have compressed ac3/dts if they do 5.1 which also go over spdif fine. This leaves bluray hd audio or gaming as the only need to worry about hdmi.

As mentioned above replacing your system from scratch is probably something to look into. If you keep your old z5500 as one unit and don't try to reuse part of it only to save money then you can sell or reuse it elsewhere.