Then check the service manual before buying a 4K (or more) expensive AVR. With many, the SE signals are only converted to balanced directly before the XLR outputs.I really doubt that buying a receiver with RCA pre-outs and something to convert the single to XLR could compare on price/performance. You probably lose quality in the conversion, and you certain lose money. Lots of < $500 receivers have pre-outs if you don't care about XLR and HDMI. I don't know what to use to covert, but I'd bet is at least $500.
SINAD is only meaningful for the entire device.Are there measurements of its SINAD? That was part of my question.
I have yet to see service manuals for the current generation of Onkyo/Integra/Pioneer or Denon/Marantz.Then check the service manual before buying a 4K (or more) expensive AVR. With many, the SE signals are only converted to balanced directly before the XLR outputs.
If they had spent 5 seconds they would have found this link:Like you say, I would rather see SINAD for the entire devices (AVR pre-out and balanced converter/gain module) than comparing the chips used as per your suggestion.
I have access to the schematics through friends of mine, but you can buy most current service manuals online for around $10-$30.I have yet to see service manuals for the current generation of Onkyo/Integra/Pioneer or Denon/Marantz.
Often these do not become readily accessible until the components have been in the market a number of years.
If you know where to get service manuals for any of these, pray tell!!!
I have access to the schematics through friends of mine, but you can buy most current service manuals online for around $10-$30.
With most devices, the volume control takes place on the analog side (after the digital area) and only then the signal is balanced (directly before the output).
But it's been 2 years since I bought an AVR and I can't tell if newer units are consistently balanced or if the volume control is on the digital side.
But it is perfectly normal that the balanced signals are unbalanced after the input and are rebalanced after the volume control, before the amplifier stage. This is the case even with many devices costing several thousand dollars.
There are only a few devices that are completely and consistently balanced, which is both complex and more expensive, and that for every channel.
Unfortunately, I can't give you any other advice than using Google or searching within the relevant portals.If you can buy service manuals for the 2019 through 2022 or just 2021 please share a link. I searched hard and the latest ones I could find for the D+M's are no newer than, for example, AVR-X3600H and SR6014 (bought it, those were 2019 models iirc). Couldn't find any for Anthem's.
There are always some that are downloadable for free but again, anything newer than 2018/19 would be tough to find so I tend to agree with dlaloum on this in general.
Thanks for this post. I've been struggling with replacing my 2010 preamp/processor happily providing 5.1 via external amps and great speakers, but stuck in 1080p land. I've worked around this feeding all my video into a 4k TV and doing ARC from TV to preamp, but have reliability issues. I'm more budget constrained than I was in the past, so the idea of a receiver really opens up things.You should also consider whether you really need balanced connections.
Although they can be theoretically better... their primary gain is for lengthy runs through interference infested environments...
In the home, with typicaly runs of .5m to 3m - there is very little need for running balanced.
Which opens up the mass market world of AVR's with RCA Pre-Out's - rather than being liminted to Pre-pro's with XLR's
Optimal results still require proper gain & voltage matching... but in most situations, you will get identical results with unbalanced RCA and XLR connections.
When comparing quite a few manufacturers prepro's and their TOTL AVR's - often 99% of the circuits are the same, and they tack on an XLR output board on the end, while removing the amps from the PrePro version (which occasionally has some advantages for the Prepro, but not always).
I moved from a prepro to an AVR around 2008... I run my AVR with external amps to run L/C/R, and use the internal AVR amps for surrounds/heights.
I believe that at the moment, this is still the configuration that provides the best "bang for the buck" value - a hybrid setup, which leverages the AVR amps for the relatively easy work of surround/height ambience and effects, while handing off the heavy lifting of the L/C/R to external "powerhouse" amps.
Everything is connected via single ended RCA...
In the price no object world (wherein I do not live) - a prepro with a stack of amps, and everything connected via balanced XLR's might well be a reasonable option (space might also be an issue... but if price is no object, one assumes that space won't be an issue either!)
Today, as things stand, the best quality, budget, prepro's, are all AVR's.
My previous flagship AVR, had the same pre circuit boards as the prepro (Integra DTR 70.4) - but without the Balanced outputs - I compared it to my current far far cheaper AVR (Integra DRX 3.4) - which is less than half the price of the earlier one - and in preamp terms, performance is identical... (based on my personal subjective tests)Thanks for this post. I've been struggling with replacing my 2010 preamp/processor happily providing 5.1 via external amps and great speakers, but stuck in 1080p land. I've worked around this feeding all my video into a 4k TV and doing ARC from TV to preamp, but have reliability issues. I'm more budget constrained than I was in the past, so the idea of a receiver really opens up things.
Maybe I misunderstood: are you implying the Arcam AV40 and the Anthem AVM70 are shared designs?If you Google the insides of the Arcam AV40 and Anthem AVM70, you'll see a "stunning similarity" in the circuit boards used.
On the Anthem AVM70, areas of the power supply are not populated with components.
Under certain circumstances, the additional effort in the Arcam AV40 in the power supply has a positive effect on the sound.
I use - and like - my $900 IOTAVX AVX1 7.1 4K "Home Theater AV Processor" with room correction (image #3 below), although I only use it for my 3.0 system (L-C-R, no subwoofer).
My preference for music is still 2.0 stereo, but for movies with multichannel audio, a proper center channel anchors the dialog, by doubling woofer area, it increases bass response, and adds a "fullness" of volume in my very tiny room. I have no intention of replacing the IOTAVX, but the company appears to be a very small marketing company in the U.K. that contracts the assembly out to Chinese manufacturing, and has no presence elsewhere. The design is an update to an older Nakamichi AV Pre/Pro, and I have no idea who designed it. Comments abound the internet suggest that support is o.k. at times, but not always there when you might need it. So with IOTAVX in the U.K., and me in Panama, my expectations for service and support are minimal.
I watch the market out of curiosity. Audio has been a life-long hobby for me, and video in the past 20 years or so. I have looked at possible replacements in case the IOTAVX dies some day. Although I haven't been a McIntosh fan-boi since the 1970's, their current MX100 is my dream A/V pre-pro, although it has more channels (11.2) than I would need. At $5,000USD, it is far too expensive for me, but I like that it skips the legacy video I/O and other connections for which I would have no use. (And of course, the $17,000 Trinnov Altitude 16 appears to be the best of the best, but it is far too expensive for most of us.)
Unfortunately, the mid-range brand-name market segment apparently has no "basic" A/V Pre/Pro products available - I can find no equivalent to the IOTAVX anywhere. The only true budget A/V processors I came up with are generic units. Amir and others recommend good-measuring A/V receivers like the Denon AVR-X3700H with all-channel pre-outs, but they are big monsters with many, many connections on the back, and start at about $1,200-1,500.
In line with my interest in a budget replacement should the need arise, I would like to hear comments from anyone who has tried the inexpensive generic A/V processors like the first two below.
1. Generic $63 unit from Amazon:
View attachment 168397
2. "Daok" unit from Amazon - $180
View attachment 168400
3. IOTAVX AVX1 from IOTAVX direct - $950 (The only one I could find with just the features I need, including balanced XLR outputs.)
View attachment 168402
4. Denon AVR-3700H from Amazon - $1,500
View attachment 168403
5. McIntosh MX100 - $5,000
View attachment 168404
6. Trinnov Altitude 16 - $17,000
View attachment 168405
As I said, the AVRs I can afford don't feature pre-outs. The ones that do typically cost many thousands of dollars.Why make it so hard on yourself with DI boxes? Just get an AVR with pre-outs and RCA to XLR cables. Works well.
Great suggestion about the complexities of DI boxes; but...Why make it so hard on yourself with DI boxes? Just get an AVR with pre-outs and RCA to XLR cables. Works well.