Stereo to surround setup

[Evenor]

Hi,

I've been experimenting a little with 4.0 surround lately by adding two surround channels to my usual stereo setup. I did so using the PC motherboard output for rear channels, while routing front channels to the DAC, and it has convinced me of the benefits of surround. The setup is in a small room and is:

Front channels, back channels
DAC: Topping D50s, PC aux
Amp: NCore 250w, Parasound V amp 3 (50w class A)
Speakers B&W 607, Dali Zensor 1

Surround sources: PC, PS4 (optical or HDMI), Nvidia shield tv pro for 4k video streaming (USB 5.1 or HDMI audio).

Does anyone have any ideas for how to get this setup to work with surround without sacrificing too much sound quality of front channels? My budget is a bit limited at the moment so I'm basically wondering if it's worth trying to get a cheaper system now or save for a while and get a great surround receiver. Is the room correction and setup in a decent receiver really important?

How would something like these perform compared to a surround receiver around 1k USD or less?:
https://us.creative.com/p/sound-blaster/sound-blaster-x7
https://us.creative.com/p/sound-blaster/sousound-blaster-x3

Any help is appreciated.

 

[JoachimStrobel]

You can try and get an Oppo 103 on EBay or else for 400 USD. It takes HDMI Mch of any type and has an 8ch DAC with delay and level setup and does a Phantom centre too (next to playing BD, DVDAudio, Sacd Mch) It will convert everything to HDMI PCM too, so you can add an external HDMI Mch DAC later (only that there is none available at the moment...). I do not know of anything else as versatile below 1k. The DAC is ok, but not great.

 

[gene_stl]

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/whats-new/posts/

 

[Evenor]

You can try and get an Oppo 103 on EBay or else for 400 USD. It takes HDMI Mch of any type and has an 8ch DAC with delay and level setup and does a Phantom centre too (next to playing BD, DVDAudio, Sacd Mch) It will convert everything to HDMI PCM too, so you can add an external HDMI Mch DAC later (only that there is none available at the moment...). I do not know of anything else as versatile below 1k. The DAC is ok, but not great.

Thank you for the reply! That seems to be a great option. There has been a few listings for it the past few months around 400$ where I live so it could be possible to get within a few months. The 105, 203, and 205 should also be possible options if they support the same features.

 

[JoachimStrobel]

The X05 have a better DAC, but are crazily expensive, the 2xx allow 4K video and are expensive too, but with smart cabling you can separate audio and video and save money.

 

[Evenor]

The X05 have a better DAC, but are crazily expensive, the 2xx allow 4K video and are expensive too, but with smart cabling you can separate audio and video and save money.

Yes, and probably way fewer out there.

When I started to glance at receivers the cheapest I found with pre-out did cost 1150$, but I figured out that all Marantz receivers have pre-out for front channels so I am considering getting their 5.2 channel entry model, NR1510. I can get it for 455$ at the moment so it's within my budget without saving for months. Marantz does make some great DACs, amps, and DAC-amp combos even at lower price points... but not sure yet. There aren't many reviews for these and stereo merits don't necessarily translate to home theater.

Might wait and see if it gets reviewed: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...enon-avr-x3700h-avr-review.15031/#post-471970