• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Any upcoming AV processors?

radio3

Active Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2020
Messages
125
Likes
58
If you ask me, the Rotel processors look pretty great for the money. Can’t imagine needing balanced cables in a normal home (they’re for recording studios jam packed with electronics gear). In fact I prefer the compactness of RCA. The Rotel is half the price of SDP55. The only thing it seems to be missing to me is DLBC. But can’t you address that by augmenting system with a little Minidsp device?
 

abdo123

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 15, 2020
Messages
7,425
Likes
7,941
Location
Brussels, Belgium
If you ask me, the Rotel processors look pretty great for the money. Can’t imagine needing balanced cables in a normal home (they’re for recording studios jam packed with electronics gear). In fact I prefer the compactness of RCA. The Rotel is half the price of SDP55. The only thing it seems to be missing to me is DLBC. But can’t you address that by augmenting system with a little Minidsp device?
Balanced connections are necessary for long distances, in these kind of situations the processor is usually not even in the same room.
 

radio3

Active Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2020
Messages
125
Likes
58
How long? My impression is that if it is for cables running to main stage of football stadium or in extremely hostile electronic environments then obviously that’s what xlr is for, but in a regular household seems totally unnecessary though I’m open to being convinced otherwise. I’ll be making a home theater out of active monitors but have been under the impression that balanced would be completely unnecessary.
 

RichB

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
May 24, 2019
Messages
1,946
Likes
2,611
Location
Massachusetts
If you ask me, the Rotel processors look pretty great for the money. Can’t imagine needing balanced cables in a normal home (they’re for recording studios jam packed with electronics gear). In fact I prefer the compactness of RCA. The Rotel is half the price of SDP55. The only thing it seems to be missing to me is DLBC. But can’t you address that by augmenting system with a little Minidsp device?
Balanced cables reject interference. They reduced buzz in my home system. I suppose having a credenza complicates cable management.
Even disconnected cables are antennas. So, yes balanced cables with the proper electronics on the processor and amp are usefual.

- Rich
 

Vacceo

Major Contributor
Joined
Mar 9, 2022
Messages
2,636
Likes
2,754
A very nice gentleman posted info about Primare coming up with a new series of receivers and processors for next year. Do you guys have any experience with Primare gear?
 

dlaloum

Major Contributor
Joined
Oct 4, 2021
Messages
3,092
Likes
2,353
A very nice gentleman posted info about Primare coming up with a new series of receivers and processors for next year. Do you guys have any experience with Primare gear?
No personal experience, but they seem reputable, and their products seem well liked... been around quite a while too.
 

Kal Rubinson

Master Contributor
Industry Insider
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 23, 2016
Messages
5,273
Likes
9,794
Location
NYC
Primare stereo amp review in Stereophile with measurements and a MCH amp review is on tap.
 

Beershaun

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Oct 3, 2019
Messages
1,864
Likes
1,910
How long? My impression is that if it is for cables running to main stage of football stadium or in extremely hostile electronic environments then obviously that’s what xlr is for, but in a regular household seems totally unnecessary though I’m open to being convinced otherwise. I’ll be making a home theater out of active monitors but have been under the impression that balanced would be completely unnecessary.
The main household issue I have seen and experienced is ground loops from plugging audio devices into different circuits in your house. I had that situation where I was getting a ground loop hum in my speakers because they had powered amps built into them that were plugged into wall outlets that were on a different circuit.
 

radio3

Active Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2020
Messages
125
Likes
58
Anyone know if it is possible to use Minidsp products to augment a processor that doesn’t have DLBC it in order to affect an equivalent result?
 

radio3

Active Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2020
Messages
125
Likes
58
Yes, that is what the 88a was used for.
Ok, but if you have Atmos and two subs then you need at least 11 channels, or in my case 13. No? I was actually thinking it might look more like a two channel unit splitting and managing the single sub output.
 

dlaloum

Major Contributor
Joined
Oct 4, 2021
Messages
3,092
Likes
2,353
Denon and Marantz have announced and provided some initial specs for their 2023 AVR's and Prepro's

Big news is the upper models have optional Dirac in addition to the built in Audyssey, and Auro3D

Still waiting (hoping) on an announcement from Onkyo/Integra/Pioneer on their flagship models...
 

Aard

Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2023
Messages
5
Likes
1
Denon and Marantz have announced and provided some initial specs for their 2023 AVR's and Prepro's

Big news is the upper models have optional Dirac in addition to the built in Audyssey, and Auro3D

Still waiting (hoping) on an announcement from Onkyo/Integra/Pioneer on their flagship models...
I own an Onkyo PR-SC5507 which is very old now but was top of their Processor range at the time. It has has 2 new HDMI boards and has recently died for the 3rd time (hence I am looking around myself). I don't know if they have fixed their quality issues but you may wish to do a search on Onkyo and dead HDMI boards.
 

dlaloum

Major Contributor
Joined
Oct 4, 2021
Messages
3,092
Likes
2,353
I own an Onkyo PR-SC5507 which is very old now but was top of their Processor range at the time. It has has 2 new HDMI boards and has recently died for the 3rd time (hence I am looking around myself). I don't know if they have fixed their quality issues but you may wish to do a search on Onkyo and dead HDMI boards.
My vintage Onkyo SR876 died of HDMI board failure (it continued working via SPDIF and all non HDMI inputs!
My subsequent Integra DTR 70.4 (roughly same vintage as your 5507) - died of DSP board failure, also a well documented manufacturing fault, not of Onkyo, but of TI the maker of the DSP chips.... no replacement boards are available anywhere within the Onkyo/Integra chain globally.... (they just got back to me a couple of days back)

Having said that.... Onkyo had a spate of issues from around 2008 to circa 2014 - first a batch of under-rated capacitors... which caused the HDMI board failures, then a bad batch of DSP chips.... in both cases, the issues were exposed by excess heat. Those AVR/AVP's all ran seriously hot on the processor chips (NOT the power amps!). - The heat caused the already marginal capacitors to fail, resulting in free HDMI board replacements.... unless your exemplar like mine, kept working until the replacement program expired (I gave my AVR lots of air space, and at one point experimented with fans) - the price I was quoted for a replacement HDMI board, led to my purchasing a refurb Integra instead....

That integra (and probably your SC5507) used later DSP chips, sourced from TI, a large production batch of these ended up with a documented manufacturing fault, where the DSP chip would warp/twist due to heat... which would disconnect some of the ball grid array connections on its underside.... killing the AVR. Again - if the heat was adequately managed, if there had been a better heatsink (or ANY heatsink?) on the chip, the fault might not have manifested. - Replacement boards were made available for some years.... my well cared for example, with loads of airspace, failed more than 2 years after the replacement program closed....

But yes, I went back to Onkyo/Integra again... Why? - well first of all, in terms of features and performance per $ - they are the best value on the market.
I was seriously considering Denon and Anthem as alternatives, but all my research showed that models from 2016 onwards no longer had the heat issues of the previous generations, reports on post 2016 models were consistently positive in reliability terms over the long haul.
I dipped my toe in with an Integra DRX3.4 - sufficient channels for my purpose, and its onboard power amps were of no major relevance as I am using my external amps anyway... (I am hoping that they will release the flagship models soon.... as I would seriously consider those, to simplify my setup... might not need the external amps! - and also for Dirac ART)

With how cool the current generation runs, I have hope that its reliable lifetime will be far greater than its predecessors (you can barely feel a slight warmth at the rear above the HDMI board). The Onkyo/Pioneer/Integra's run substantially cooler than their DenonMarantz competitors (apparently... My example certainly runs remarkably cool... others have had both and compared).... and with any sort of complex circuitry of this type, how cool it runs is a long term indicator of how long it is likely to last!

So yep - I'm giving them another go.
 

Aard

Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2023
Messages
5
Likes
1
@dlaloum

You are braver than me. For me, even if they have sorted their issues out, it still means that Onkyo have done bad by me and so I am not prepared to reward them with my custom. I would consider it if they gave us say 50% off of a new one to make up for the past. If Onkyo is reading this, please give it some thought. I am not even sure if Onkyo does a Pre/Pro anymore though.
 

dlaloum

Major Contributor
Joined
Oct 4, 2021
Messages
3,092
Likes
2,353
@dlaloum

You are braver than me. For me, even if they have sorted their issues out, it still means that Onkyo have done bad by me and so I am not prepared to reward them with my custom. I would consider it if they gave us say 50% off of a new one to make up for the past. If Onkyo is reading this, please give it some thought. I am not even sure if Onkyo does a Pre/Pro anymore though.
To be fair... the replacement programs for HDMI, Network, DSP boards went well beyond the warranty periods, by quite a few years....

But yes - I agree... fundamentally the generations of Onkyo AVR/AVP's from 2008 to 2014 were flawed, had they done a bit more work around heat management, those would have been reliable components - crying shame, cos they were/are great sounding units.
 
Top Bottom