JBL SDR-35 AVR Review

[andrewskaterrr]

It is true that not all Atmos use them, but many (most?) of the new stuff released seems to. Plus any 5.1/7.1 movie content can use Neural X to upmix and is very good (If you have 11 channels or less without DTS X Pro or over 11 channels with DTS X Pro).

Yes it’s true that not all mixes use Front Wides. I actually believe most of my movies don’t. John Wick 3 and The Matrix trilogy do. Mulan does a little with sound effects. It helps widen the sound stage for sure, and you can tell when they’re on.

 

[Krobar]

I'm building a house, and I have a designated room for a cinema room. 4 meters wide, 6 meters long and 3 meters high. System 7.4.4 will be probably perfect. System with 9 speakers would be too much?

My room is almost the same dimensions. I would probably stick with 7.4.4 to be honest. You don't really have enough width to use wides properly but some people use them as a second set of side surrounds (Fancy Trinnov and Storm gear can properly support that position too). The only config I wish I had considered further in my room was 7.x.6 with front heights, mid tops and rear heights; this setup can work well if your seating position is not too near the back wall.

CH/VOG does not have wide enough support in current products IMHO. If you are wiring for future definitely wire CH/VOG as Dolby are rumoured to be adding support in the next version of DSU which would mean future products could support CH/VOG across all 3 upmixers/formats.

 

[Dj7675]

You don't really have enough width to use wides properly

It is more about the angle of separation/distance between the R/L speaker and the surrounds. If it is a large gap/hole there it will be an issue because your R/L won’t be able to image with the surround to create a image between them. Same concept as if your stereo speakers are too far apart they won’t provide a stereo image. If that is the case a speaker there can make a huge difference in maintaining the 3d sound bubble IMO.

 

[Vacceo]

I'm building a house, and I have a designated room for a cinema room. 4 meters wide, 6 meters long and 3 meters high. System 7.4.4 will be probably perfect. System with 9 speakers would be too much?

There is a question in this regard that I´d like to ask: if you have a rectangular room for a multichannel system like you do, what is a better idea? Using the longest or the shortest side for the front section? In your case, the 4 meter or the 6 meter side for the LCR (and TV/projector)?

 

[Adi777]

There is a question in this regard that I´d like to ask: if you have a rectangular room for a multichannel system like you do, what is a better idea? Using the longest or the shortest side for the front section? In your case, the 4 meter or the 6 meter side for the LCR (and TV/projector)?

Hmm, there will probably be a better shorter wall, that is the 4 meter long wall for the LCR.
Placing the LCR on a wall that is 6 meters? Somehow I don't see it.

 

[Vacceo]

Hmm, there will probably be a better shorter wall, that is the 4 meter long wall for the LCR.
Placing the LCR on a wall that is 6 meters? Somehow I don't see it.

It's pure curiosity about sound quality. I have no idea what is better in principle.

 

[dlaloum]

Hmm, there will probably be a better shorter wall, that is the 4 meter long wall for the LCR.
Placing the LCR on a wall that is 6 meters? Somehow I don't see it.

Not so bad, especially if you move things in, so they are further from the side walls - delays the reflections a bit, and improves imaging/soundstage

 

[SynthesisCinema]

Just buy a Denon X3700H.

WAY cheaper, WAY better measurements.

No Dirac, but Audyssey 32 with the app works wonders.

Naah rather Denon X3800H with 11.4 processing, Auro 3D and Dirac Live (extra cost) end of the year / early 2023 or if Onkyo finally comes out with RZ-70 and DLBC. Denon X6700H has the DTS:X Pro with 13.2 processing for 3k$ and you can buy Dirac Live for the upcoming X6800H.

Anthem MRX1140 looks solid too with 15.2 processing and price is 50% lower than the JBL. Gene Della Sala measured it and was very impressed:

Anthem MRX 740 & 1140 AV Receivers Comparison Bench Test Results!

In this bench test report of the Anthem MRX 740 & 1140 AV receivers, preamp & amplifier performance is evaluated and compared. We cover Bass management and amplifier matrixing performance recommendations.

www.audioholics.com

New for ARC Genesis Beta Ver 1.6.5 (as of 5/16/22):

• Anthem Auto Phase, Distance, and Time Alignment for up to four independent subwoofers on the MRX x40 and AVM 70/90 (model dependent).
• With the addition of phase, distance, and time alignment, ARC:G will now precisely integrate subwoofers into your system using an All Pass Filter.

 

[Joachim Herbert]

Why, oh why? It cannot be so hard to turn out a proper design.

 

[mv038856]

Why, oh why? It cannot be so hard to turn out a proper design.

It apparently is! ;-)

 

[Descartes]

For that much money one would expect better performance!

 

[sealman]

Why don't you have a headless panther in the pic?

 

[christo9]

And at the same time, it is considered as the best AVR by What hi-fi!!

JBL Synthesis SDR-35 review

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2022 winner. JBL’s classy SDR-35 is a clear cut above the AVR norm

www.whathifi.com

“A clear cut above the AVR norm”
I don't understand how there can be such a gap.

 

[GXAlan]

And at the same time, it is considered as the best AVR by What hi-fi!!

JBL Synthesis SDR-35 review

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2022 winner. JBL’s classy SDR-35 is a clear cut above the AVR norm

www.whathifi.com

“A clear cut above the AVR norm”
I don't understand how there can be such a gap.

Let’s assume that this JBL is free, so there’s no cost factor. It had DIRAC with bass management too. That’s good.

This graph provides the best insight. As a processor, the more voltage you have the better since most amplifiers do better with low gain. So instead of having low voltage out of the preamp and a lot of gain later, you can have a medium about of gain in both.

The SDR-35 is a receiver with preouts for fun. It’s horrible to use it as a processor unless you have an ultra high sensitivity speaker and high gain amplifier. Here, we can see that in low power, it is nicely in the 95 to 100 dB SINAD. The amplifiers are engaged.

Compared to the Denon X8500H

We see that in the lower power range, the JBL beats the Denon (amp on vs amp on).

Then if you look at the amplifier section with digital sources

You can see that the JBL is ahead of the Denon X8500H.

So, you have Dirac which is more configurable than Audyssey XT32, and at low power, higher SINAD as well.

You can plug in your estimated SPL at 5 watts using this calculator:

Peak SPL Calculator

To get 5W, your pre amp level is below 0.2V. So you have to look at the lowest number on the curve.

So if it was free, the JBL probably would in fact sound great and be a good option as an AVR. Since it’s not free, it’s not a great option. If you were using the JBL as a processor, it’s a really bad choice.

 

[sWORDs]

The SDR-35 is based on the Arcam AVR30, both are available with a newer HDMI board as SDR-38/AVR31. I've got the AVR31 (roughly 9-10 months now) and the sound and power are amazing (as a receiver, not as a pre amp), however, the issues with HDMI (handshake/HDCP on really common devices like Sony BD and LG OLED) and Airplay (weird jump somewhere between 30 and 50 seconds in a song) are killing the device. Some of my issues where replicated by their support, but a firmware update 7 months later didn't fix them. Also, the first broke within the first month (but got a new one really quickly). Don't go near it, go for a Denon instead, I've put my Denon X7200WA back temporarily and trying to get rid of the AVR31 and then go for a Denon AVC-A1H (which has it's own issue with Dirac and still no Dirac Bass Control, but I'm confident those will be fixed).

 

[dlaloum]

The SDR-35 is based on the Arcam AVR30, both are available with a newer HDMI board as SDR-38/AVR31. I've got the AVR31 (roughly 9-10 months now) and the sound and power are amazing (as a receiver, not as a pre amp), however, the issues with HDMI (handshake/HDCP on really common devices like Sony BD and LG OLED) and Airplay (weird jump somewhere between 30 and 50 seconds in a song) are killing the device. Some of my issues where replicated by their support, but a firmware update 7 months later didn't fix them. Also, the first broke within the first month (but got a new one really quickly). Don't go near it, go for a Denon instead, I've put my Denon X7200WA back temporarily and trying to get rid of the AVR31 and then go for a Denon AVC-A1H (which has it's own issue with Dirac and still no Dirac Bass Control, but I'm confident those will be fixed).

There are similar handshanking issues reports on threads for all the other manufacturers - I have been keeping an eye on the Denon/Marantz and Onkyo/Integra/Pioneer threads - reports are much the same.

And all it takes is a firmware update on your TV, and a stable setup suddenly becomes unstable (or a similar update on the AVR)

 

[sWORDs]

There are similar handshanking issues reports on threads for all the other manufacturers - I have been keeping an eye on the Denon/Marantz and Onkyo/Integra/Pioneer threads - reports are much the same.

And all it takes is a firmware update on your TV, and a stable setup suddenly becomes unstable (or a similar update on the AVR)

O absolutely, you could have any other device in your chain causing an issue. But that's not the case here, the faults are in the Arcam. They've confirmed at least one of them (which happens with any display attached), and I can't solve any of the issues even with a EDID device in between. And Denon/Marantz is nearly never the the problem in the chain and when they are they fix it within a couple months.

Besides the early firmwares (and even those worked with Denon), LG X series OLED isn't known for having HDMI issues and nor is the Sony UBP-X800 M2, both work flawlessly on the Denon, with or without an EDID device (with any setting) in between. Both are also really common devices, you see them everywhere.

 

[Fransost]

Hello, I own the jbl sdr35 for almost two years now. I am on the third one more than a year and that one is bug free.

In my search for the perfect sounding stereo and HT setup I owned other AVRs, dacs , streamers, pre amps, integrated amps before, like:

AVR: Marantz sr8015, nad t778, arcam avr20,
AVP: jbl sdp 55
Multichannel power amplifiers: jbl sda7120, nad m28
Integrated stereo amps: lyngdorf tdai3400, Accuphase e5000
Stereo pre amplifiers: moon 740 p, moon 390
Stereo power amplifiers: nad m22.2, moon 760a, moon pass labs xa25
Dacs: primaluna tube dac, dacs from merason dac 1 and frerot,
Streamer: moon 390, Auralic aries g1
Speakers: Revel f226be fronts, c426be center, b&w M1 surrounds, rel s812 subwoofer

It took me about 4 years to achieve my goal and I got it with the jbl sdr35 and the stereo power amplifier moon 760.

The jbl measures poorly but what a fantastic sounding machine! It sounds even out of the box way better than all the other avrs I owned. And with DLBC it gets even better. For the first time my living room transformed into a real cinema.

And for music in combination with the moon power amp I liked it much more than the Lyngdorf tdai3400 and Accuphase e5000 on their own. Roomperfect I liked really much as well but the sound of the Lyngdorf was not airy enough.

Also the different dacs and streamers I tried were not better than the dac and streamer within the jbl.

My next try will be the Lyngdorf mp40 and Apollon purifi amps.