Stereo 2.2 with room correction and HT 5.2

[zuli]

Hi,
I'm looking for advice on possible solutions to implement:
1. stereo 2.2 with room correction. Source Roon, NAS, Spotify;
2. HT 5.2 with room correction.

Currently I've a Denon AVC X6500H, with two PS Audio M700 for the front L and front R, which is a comprehensive, all-in-one, and easy to use solution. I've learned in these forums that the DAC quality of the Denon is not that good. Is this true?
What can I do to change / improve the quality of the stereo reproduction in a noticeable way?

Add an Anthem STR pre and a streamer for the stereo reproduction and benefit of the HT bypass for the Denon?
Change the Denon with something else? An Emotiva RMC-1?

Thank you for your help!
R

 

[Spocko]

Stereo 2.2 with room correction: MiniDSP SHD (streamer + DAC, 4 channel analog out) is a Roon Endpoint (see minidsp forums for status of Roon volume control). With the SHD you can connect the analog output (XLR and RCA) directly to 2 subwoofers and manage the bass via Dirac Live. You can connect the SHD directly to your Denon as an analog source and make sure you use "Pure Direct Mode" which disables the Denon's EQ/Crossover settings. However, there's still a question of whether you are lowering the sound quality by sending your signal through the Denon, because it has never been verified that "Pure Direct Mode" is a direct analog without first being converted to digital/DSP and back out to analog a second time. So I would recommend you directly connect the SHD to the M700. But compare the sound quality and let us know if there's any difference at all?

Anthem STR is great but I don't know if it's worth 4x more than the SHD if you don't need all the other features of the Anthem. The SHD is a great little streamer (Volumio) and audiosciencereview has rated it very highly!

 

[zuli]

I think that the "Pure Direct Mode" is still involving an ADC and then back to DAC. From another forum I've got this description of the Denon Direct mode
"Any analog signal presented to the Denon will be passed through a JRC NJM8080 opamp then to the AKM AK5358BET ADC, which is then steered by the TI PCM9211 DIX to the DSP which then presents the digital signal to the PCM1690 ΔΣ DAC. All of these components are tabletop radio quality at best. The ADC can only support up to 24/96kHz and the NJM8080’s performance leaves a lot to be desired.
If you pass signal via SPDIF or HDMI to the AVR, you will remove the ADC from the mix, that would be your first step at higher quality, however, it’s Achilles heel is it’s usage of the NJM8080 throughout."

Also in the XMC-1 review they are stating the same #113. The difference for the XMC-1 is that it has a "Reference mode", which is pure analog.

So the only way I can use the SHD is to connect the Denon L and R pre outs to the SHD analog in, and connect the L, R, SUB1 and SUB2 speakers to the SHD. But I've understood that this scenario has two issues. I would need another sub connected to the Denon for the LFE, and the SHD doesn't have a HT Bypass mode.

The Anthem STR pre would solve those issues, because it can accept the L,R, SUB1 and SUB2 from the analog preout of the Denon and hast the HT bypass. In this scenario I would need a streamer to feed the Anthem.

For your reference those are the specs of the Denon AVC-X6500H https://www.zkelectronics.com/receiver/denon-avr-x6500h(avc-x6500h)/usa/:
Digital Distortion: 0.008% (1 kHz, at 0 dB)
Analog Distortion: 0.005% (20 Hz-20 kHz, Direct mode)
S/N Ratio (digital): 102 dB
Dynamic Range (digital): 100 dB
Frequency Response (Analog In)+1/-3 dB (10 Hz to 100 kHz, Direct mode)

 

[xaudio]

I've been researching the same issue -- trying to combine a stereo 2.2 setup (with room correction) and a 5.2 setup (with room correction), without using an AVR for everything. The shared sub integration and bass management across the two are the main issues.

The MiniDSP SHD comes close, however, there is no HT bypass, and no method to share the subs. However, I wonder if a MiniDSP HD (or similar device) could be used as a "switch" between the two setups (where the routing configuration to the subs could be manually switched via remote between the two setups). Somewhat of an ugly solution however. Anyone know if feasible?

The Anthem STR preamp seems about the best option all things considered for such setup. (ARC vs Dirac)

Then again, I wonder if the additional expense/trouble is even worth the perceived sonic benefits vs just using a single decent AVR with ARC/Dirac...?

 

[astr0b0y]

Are you using the room correction that comes with the Denon? Audyssey is pretty good really, does dual sub intergration well (in my experience, it's automatic dual sub set up is excellent and much easier to do than Dirac).