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nugget

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Send it to Amir to be measured! :)
I think that the MRX520 was reviewed here with not so good results.

I will if there's ever a time when I can reasonably live without it for the duration of the shipping and testing. I'm familiar with the MRX520 review and I wouldn't expect the MRX1120 to measure any better. The MRX1120 and AVM60 both have a large toroidal transformer that the 520/720 lack so there's the potential for some differences, but I wouldn't count on it.
 

gags11

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If money or cost were not an issue, one can get a Storm Audio ISP 3D.32 ELITE | Digital AES Edition preamp/processor and combine it with Okto Research 8 DAC Pro (1 for 8 channels, 2 for 16 channels, and 4 for 32 channels).

Since the Storm Audio processor has AES digital outputs for each pair of channels, the final SINAD should be that of the Okto, which is around 118db.

https://www.stormaudio.com/en/produ.../7815-isp-3d32-elite-digital-aes-edition.html
 

jhaider

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Anthem stuff should be good but is 5 years old, correct me if I'm wrong but the MRX line of receivers were launched in 2015 as well as the AVM 60 pre-processor. Maybe is time to bring to the market something new?

While true, keep in mind they have updated the most important part of it signficantly. Last year they released an all new version of their excellent room correction (now "ARC Genesis") that seems to be a complete overhaul. Genesis also finally adds macOS compatibility.

The major limitation of Anthem MRX/AVM compared to the newest processors is no Auro. AnthemLogic is a very minimalist upmixer. I don't think it even uses the center channel.
 

laidick

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I truly hope someone can ship amir the AVM60 for testing... That I have been using for two years without complain. Although I really want to try Dirac that has time domain correction too...
 

dlinsley

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The major limitation of Anthem MRX/AVM compared to the newest processors is no Auro. AnthemLogic is a very minimalist upmixer. I don't think it even uses the center channel.

AnthemLogic has two variations - Music which doesn't use the center, and Cinema that does.
 

Nick Laslett

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I now wonder if avoiding HDMI altogether is a better route. The Oppo 203 has a pretty good DAC stage according to Audioholics detailed review. https://www.audioholics.com/blu-ray-and-dvd-player-reviews/oppo-udp-203-udp-205

The Oppo 205 had a glowing review here. Just route the analogue audio out to something for Dirac and Bass Management, although the Oppo’s have Bass Management, then onto a nCore power amp.

MiniDSP DDRC88A is the cheapest option. I seem to remember it had some noise issues.

*EDIT: Re-reading I lot of old threads, I’m torn between building a HTPC for JRiver, Dirac and MadVR, or just dumping Dirac and going direct from Oppo203 to nCore Power amp. I can test both options with existing hardware, using the Software trials on the PC side. Be a long time till I get round to it.

N.B. I’m not interested in Atmos.
 
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Archaea

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N.B. I’m not interested in Atmos.

IMO, Atmos on a mid tier AVR will do more for your cinema enjoyment than a top quality AVR or PC setup without. Proof of this to me stems from a 2014 blind test when a $500 Onkyo, the only AVR in our test lineup with Atmos at the time took the top subjective score of our blind voters — out of 8 receivers, a few of which were flagship models. Everybody knew when Atmos engaged and it was celebrated with cheering at the time.

post 207 and post 197.
https://www.avsforum.com/forum/90-r...14-kansas-city-7.html#/topics/1717346?page=20


1593070536382.jpeg
 
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Deeluik

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I now wonder if avoiding HDMI altogether is a better route. The Oppo 203 has a pretty good DAC stage according to Audioholics detailed review. https://www.audioholics.com/blu-ray-and-dvd-player-reviews/oppo-udp-203-udp-205

The Oppo 205 had a glowing review here. Just route the analogue audio out to something for Dirac and Bass Management, although the Oppo’s have Bass Management, then onto a nCore power amp.

MiniDSP DDRC88A is the cheapest option. I seem to remember it had some noise issues.

*EDIT: Re-reading I lot of old threads, I’m torn between building a HTPC for JRiver, Dirac and MadVR, or just dumping Dirac and going direct from Oppo203 to nCore Power amp. I can test both options with existing hardware, using the Software trials on the PC side. Be a long time till I get round to it.

N.B. I’m not interested in Atmos.

Using Jriver as DSP with WDM driver on Win 10 HTPC and Oppo 203 at the moment with Genelec active speakers. With a high end roll off as these speakers are quite revealing. This works great. Sounds better than my previous DENON Avr-x4000 and Avr-x7200wa setups. Alternative could be Genelec SAM speakers for DSP. Than the oppo alone with a media player would suffice. Not sure if I’m going that route. Also I like the basic speaker management options in the Oppo.
 

Sal1950

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IMO, Atmos on a mid tier AVR will do more for your cinema enjoyment than a top quality AVR or PC setup without.
That may be a bit extreme statement but I agree that ignoring Atmos is a mistake. I love what it does for movies when the soundtrack is done well. I don't have any native Atmos music and upsampling of 5.1 sources can be a mixed bag depending on the mix. JMHO
 

Newman

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IMO, Atmos on a mid tier AVR will do more for your cinema enjoyment than a top quality AVR or PC setup without. Proof of this to me stems from a 2014 blind test when a $500 Onkyo, the only AVR in our test lineup with Atmos at the time took the top subjective score of our blind voters — out of 8 receivers, a few of which were flagship models. Everybody knew when Atmos engaged and it was celebrated with cheering at the time....
If "everybody knew when it was engaged", it wasn't a blind test! ;)
 

Sal1950

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If "everybody knew when it was engaged", it wasn't a blind test! ;)
I don't think that was what he said, he said blind they could tell it was engaged and liked it.
 

Newman

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Even by that interpretation, it's still not blind and still therefore invalid. ;)
 

Newman

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It might be. It all depends on whether the test can be designed to prevent identification (as opposed to detection) of Atmos.

Another example is LP. The classic idea of a CD vs LP blind test is hindered by the distinctive non-musical noises that come off LP (some being random e.g. static), that most participants would recognize and thence identify LP. Experimenters might be able to remove this factor, but it would take some careful thought about the test method.

Similarly, they might be able to design an Atmos vs (whatever) test to remove the possibility of signature identifiability.

cheers
 

3dbinCanada

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Does anyone know of any quality AVRs for sound reproduction?

Now that I have read the reviews on some common AVRs (most much nicer than my own) I feel that I cannot logically upgrade or form any opinions about my home theatre sound until I get a Receiver that is capable of even simply reproducing sound to a degree that warrants it. For reference I own a RX-A780, which sits below the reviewed unit RX-A1080 by two steps from Yamaha.

If these units are testing badly, and highly regarded brands like McIntosh are still putting tubes in their top end Receivers, what hope is there to find a transparent AVR?

Why do you want to upgrade? Are you dissatisfied with the sound that you are getting or just disatisfied with the reviews? If its the former, the upgrade to even the esoteric AVRs suck. If its the latter reason, I'd suggest you ignore the reviews. Theory is good and all but at some point, the noise and distortion measurements become inaudible even for the lower SINAD AVRs. The big issue with this site is that no one has correlated poor specs to audibility and that is a huge hole.

On the other hand, Yamaha has the best reputation in terms of QC having the lowest returns and repairs over ALL AVR manufacturers including the esoteric brands. I have bought 3 out of 4 Yamaha AVRs used and they ALL work flawlessly. I even purchased 4 Yamaha cassette decks used and all still work without glitches. I had to replace a few belts which is normal.
 
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abbazaba

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My NAD T175HD is on the way out and I find myself here, depressed by the lack of quality electronics out there for home theater. Is there any kind of consensus on what 5.1ch+ unit tested best for SQ when used as a pre/pro? I don't mind the idea of using something integrated, but I already have a good clean amp so the analog/digital conversion is really my focus. I love the T175HD sound, but the reliability and issues were many.
FWIW I ended up with a Yamaha CX-A5200 a couple years ago. It doesn't quite have the NAD sound, but it doesn't have any of the issues either :) Flawless so far and a pleasure to use.
 

Sal1950

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FWIW I ended up with a Yamaha CX-A5200 a couple years ago.
That should give you great service for a long time.
I shame Yamaha doesn't currently offer a AV Pre/Pro like it any more.
That niche market is shrinking with only the expensive top end still in production. :(
 

abbazaba

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That should give you great service for a long time.
I shame Yamaha doesn't currently offer a AV Pre/Pro like it any more.
That niche market is shrinking with only the expensive top end still in production. :(
It's true, replacing the NAD was harder than I thought. I was actually hoping to go back to an all in one receiver. BUT, to my ears the most expensive Yamaha and Marantz receiver didn't sound as good as the A5200, even when hooked up to the same Carver 5ch amp via preouts.
 

Sal1950

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It's true, replacing the NAD was harder than I thought. I was actually hoping to go back to an all in one receiver. BUT, to my ears the most expensive Yamaha and Marantz receiver didn't sound as good as the A5200, even when hooked up to the same Carver 5ch amp via preouts.
It's very hard to reliably judge the sound of different AV front ends with all the different codecs, software, DRC, etc going on.
I've had so much multich stuff over the years. In the last decade or so it's been a Pioneer AVR, 2 Marantz Pre/Pros, and now a Denon X4700H AVR being used in full Pre/Pro mode with 5 Adcom power amps They've all supplied SQ close enough to full transparent as I believe possible while still decoding Dolby, DTS, and Auro streams and using their individual DRC systems.
The modern HiFi world offers some incredible sounding products at very reasonable costs.
 
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