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Should I upgrade my AVR?

UWinWithWin

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Apr 9, 2019
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Im new here. I posted over in the headphone area talking about my headphone journey. Now, I’m wondering if a new Receiver would improve my sound? I wanted some opinions on quality units that could drive a 5.1 on 6ohm speakers currently I have the sonus farber venere 2.5 with a venere center and venere wall as the surrounds. When I auditioned the speakers I compared them to definitive, golden ears, paradigm, kef, and monitor(what they had) I liked them the best. But regardless it’s what I currently have. I want something that has 4K UHD and enough power and the ability to expanded to Atmos. Ideally the budget would be 2-3k flexible.

I currently have a denon avr x3300w. I’m wondering if upgrading will get me cleaner power and a better DAC. Maybe there is potentially better room correction out there. I have an rsl speedwoofer 10s as my sub. Would separates be preferable? What is the advantage of separates? Are anthem receivers really worth the hype?

Also I typically use it for a mixture of games/tv(Netflix)/movies 30%/40%/30%. Thanks in advance. If I left out some important information let me know.
 

nightfishing

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Jan 17, 2019
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Just my experience,

I upgraded from an Onkyo 686 to a marantz 712/713 (which is pretty close in family to the 3300 I believe) and the two big differences were (1) upgraded Audyssey app was miles ahead and being able to edit the curves means hours of driving my wife crazy lol. It is easily the best compromise I have seen (heard) between results and reasonable knowledge/time/effort. Is it as good as something like REW? probably not, but the results from a basic plug-and-play execution are outstanding. Add to it the user editable curves and for most folks it certainly is "enough", and (2) much better 2 channel ( or 2.2) performance. The onkyo wasn't close to a solid 2 channel pre/amp IMHO.

That being said, running the Marantz pre outs to a dedicated amp (Emotiva 300 in my case) was another big step up.

In each case I always went back and compared to my last old school integrated amp (a ~15 yo Harman kardon). The Marantz got close but still didn't drive my KEFs quite like the old school power. My Elacs were a closer call (much easier to drive)

As far as DACs, I wonder how the internal DACs are implemented in both. On paper they are quite competent chips, but I found both unpleasant (only way to describe them lol) compared to my Khadas's (Khadaii?lol). That can certainly just be nonsense, but until we see some more clean start to finish testing on internal DACs on consumer AVRs, I'm happy with my nonsensical opinions :)

Since your denon has pre outs, beg, borrow or audition a good power amp and try it out on the fronts (I would think the denon can drive the rest just fine). If it is to your liking, then it is a fairly inexpensive option to move forward with. That also allows you to incrementally upgrade your AVR for whatever new goodness you want (last years models are usually discounted 60-75% as soon as the new ones hit), and still have the amp/speakers you enjoy. Amps don't become outdated nearly as quickly as avrs do.

Using an external also gives you two more channels for added atmos speakers etc.

I haven't auditioned the Anthems, they may be fantastic, but once you take the job of driving the main speakers away from the avr, I'm not sure what substantial differences you will find between $1k, $2k,$3k,....
 
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UWinWithWin

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Apr 9, 2019
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Since your denon has pre outs, beg, borrow or audition a good power amp and try it out on the fronts (I would think the denon can drive the rest just fine). If it is to your liking, then it is a fairly inexpensive option to move forward with. That also allows you to incrementally upgrade your AVR for whatever new goodness you want (last years models are usually discounted 60-75% as soon as the new ones hit), and still have the amp/speakers you enjoy. Amps don't become outdated nearly as quickly as avrs

Thanks for the advice. That’s a good idea. That way I can see if more power is what I need. Always need more power!
 
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