Small AV pre-processor for movies

[Superparati]

Hello community,

After a lot of thinking I’m considering using a topping DM7 with a second power-amp to drive my front and back speakers instead of buying another dedicated AVR.

Let me expose my thinking and I’m curious to hear your advice or similar experiences.

Today I own a wonderfull Arcam C49/P49 running my kef r7.
My network device is a RPi 4 with Volumio OS and a dedicated DAC Matrix X-Saber MOQ.
Current system works very very well and I’d like to avoid buying another AVR.
This is where the topping DM7 start to be interesting. With LibreElec and Kodi I can manage and create the 5 channels I want.

What do you think?
What would be your advice?

Thanks.

 

[Tom C]

It’ll be fine as long as you aren’t looking for Atmos

 

[Miker 1102]

Will the Pi decode the codecs in Kodi like DTS snd Atmos? I just bought a mini pc ans have been floored by its capabsility. This does look like an elegant multi channel solution for one room.
I love my avrs dont get me wrong but the size of them gets a bit tiring now that I am downsized to my my " retirement" house I am very space conscious.

I wish Wiim would do an avr instead of lifestyle speakers and sound bars. They made a mistake going into that market.

 

[Ruediger]

Aren't we all wating for WiiM AVP/AVR? Or a nice small Denon AVP for a good price..

The problem is decoding audio, mostly. Kodi and the *Elec variants will send anything via passthrough to the amp or decode what they are free to decode.

It is possible to live with AC3, EAC3 and multichannel pcm though. DTS-HD, DTS-X, Atmos can be encoded to transparent aac and left for Kodi to handle. That is if you don't need the object based formats for further processing. That need starts with real Atmos setups.

 

[Superparati]

Hi,

I'm sure there will be a market for small and smart AVP / AVR.

You are correct: no passthrough for Dolby/DTS, only PCM. Kodi handles it fine:

• Dolby Digital → PCM 5.1
• DTS → PCM 5.1
• Dolby TrueHD → PCM 5.1/7.1
• DTS-HD MA → PCM 5.1/7.1

Formats like Atmos or DTS:X won't be preserved over PCM, but that’s fine for me since I don't plan on going beyond a 5.1 setup.

My current setup already takes up quite a bit of space, and like you mentioned, I'm trying to keep things compact. That's why I'd prefer to avoid buying another AVR. Convenience would dictate simply swapping my C49 for an AVR, but my usage is 80% music and only 20% movies. I'd rather prioritize a solid 2-channel system and find an elegant solution using a multichannel DAC for the occasional movie.

I don't have a center channel yet, but I'm keeping an eye out for a good deal on a KEF R2c.

Current setup with Volumio OS

The setup I'm thinking with LibreElec and Kodi using a dedicated Micro SD card running the OS.

 

[danstahl]

How did you get libreelec to output 5.1 to a usb dac? I ended up switching to full Debian after many failed attempts.

 

[Ruediger]

You are correct: no passthrough for Dolby/DTS, only PCM. Kodi handles it fine:

• Dolby Digital → PCM 5.1
• DTS → PCM 5.1
• Dolby TrueHD → PCM 5.1/7.1
• DTS-HD MA → PCM 5.1/7.1

Formats like Atmos or DTS:X won't be preserved over PCM, but that’s fine for me since I don't plan on going beyond a 5.1 setup.

Yes , these can be encoded as needed and decoded to PCM.

I don't see other options than HDMI to get 7.1 PCM across to an amp though. That or the passthrough of audio usually calls for an AVR.

The Amlogic players I use can do additional optical, but there are limits.

Do you send audio via USB in a form that a multichannel DAC can receive? Or are you doing a free container, like EAC7.1 and eARC?