2.1 system advice needed

[Tugmonet]

Hello,
Here is my current equipment:
Mcintosh c2700
Mcintosh c252
KLH model 5 speakers
SVS sb-3000 R
Valerion visionmaster pro projector
HDMI sources:
Apple TV 4k
Panasonic ub820
PS5 pro

My issue:
Currently running HDMI arc from projector to c2700, leaving me only 2 HDMI inputs on projector, so when switching between apple tv and Blu-ray I am having to swap HDMI cable. I briefly tried an OREI 8K HDMI matrix but wasn't satisfied with the experience.
I then tried a marantz cinema 40, I admit overkill for 2.1 but figured maybe I'll get a center or surrounds eventually. However, after A/B testing with the movie Dune, I found the cinema 40 to sound worse than the c2700, as in a little thin and less impactful. I had c40 set up in preamplifier mode, using passthough on c2700, setup audyssey correctly with 2.1 channels, tried different sound settings of movie atmos, movie stereo, direct, pure direct. Tried going directly to power amp without c2700. It all sounded worse than the c2700 on its own.
So my questions are:
Is this down to the DAC being worse on the cinema 40?
Is it because I don't have a center channel speaker?
Should I try the hdfury vroom 8k?
If I want room for future channels and room correction should I get a processor like the tide16, even though it is overkill now?

Thanks for reading and for any advice offered.

 

[john61ct]

An HDMI switch should either work or not, without one being "better" than another.

It is very likely any perception of difference was due to psychological biases and would not survive a proper double blind level-matched test.

Or just spend a lot of money to get "better" sound

 

[livinon2wheels]

Hello,
Here is my current equipment:
Mcintosh c2700
Mcintosh c252
KLH model 5 speakers
SVS sb-3000 R
Valerion visionmaster pro projector
HDMI sources:
Apple TV 4k
Panasonic ub820
PS5 pro

My issue:
Currently running HDMI arc from projector to c2700, leaving me only 2 HDMI inputs on projector, so when switching between apple tv and Blu-ray I am having to swap HDMI cable. I briefly tried an OREI 8K HDMI matrix but wasn't satisfied with the experience.
I then tried a marantz cinema 40, I admit overkill for 2.1 but figured maybe I'll get a center or surrounds eventually. However, after A/B testing with the movie Dune, I found the cinema 40 to sound worse than the c2700, as in a little thin and less impactful. I had c40 set up in preamplifier mode, using passthough on c2700, setup audyssey correctly with 2.1 channels, tried different sound settings of movie atmos, movie stereo, direct, pure direct. Tried going directly to power amp without c2700. It all sounded worse than the c2700 on its own.
So my questions are:
Is this down to the DAC being worse on the cinema 40?
Is it because I don't have a center channel speaker?
Should I try the hdfury vroom 8k?
If I want room for future channels and room correction should I get a processor like the tide16, even though it is overkill now?

Thanks for reading and for any advice offered.

I have the cinema 40 and have had no issues with its sound quality at all. I too used audessey rather that paying the premium dirac live. On another forum I saw where someone had posted the C40 gives a bit leaner sound using Audessey than using Dirac. I fattened up the sub output by 3 db for movies and found that was sufficient for me. OF course your mileage may vary.

 

[Redacted]

All your sources go into the projector (albeit only 2 plugged at the same time), and I assume the projector is doing the conversion to stereo PCM out of the ARC port. Withe the Marantz, I assume you sources go directly to the Marantz and only video passed to the projector. If so you have at least three situations: where the conversion from 7.1 (et al) to stereo PCM is being done, which DAC is producing analogue stereo, and which amps you could be using to power speakers. I'm guessing the MacIntosh uses a standard stereo DAC while the the Marantz needs maybe as many as 9 DAC channels (or at least more than 2 channels), and I'm surprised that you hear the sound so differently (although you don't mention blind A-B, level matching etc), so perhaps there are some setup issues in the Marantz that mean you are not getting the full stereo sound ? Plus, you have valves, which add their own distortion - which you make like, compared with a possibly cleaner marantz sound?