Audio Visual Amplifier/Receiver choice.

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Ok, I'm not expecting a large number of responses here but maybe some of us are interested in A/V amps?

The problem I have is that my elderly Yamaha RX-A810 Avantage receiver amp has developed a terminal fault. I've contacted a couple of local electronic repair specialists both of whom said a repair might be possible but I should consider that, at the age it is, having repaired it some other component might subsequently fail quite quickly and, whilst they'd be happy to attempt a repair, I might be better just buying a replacement.

I've been considering this and I think their advice is good. However, what to buy? The 810, being from the Avantage range, was a top quality item and a bit higher performance than required by my Monitor Audio Bronze speakers (Bronze BX2 as my mains and BX1 as rear surround with a Bronze centre) I also have a fully powered MJ Acoustics Ref 100 MK11 subwoofer. - a really serious piece of kit if anyone is thinking about a sub. So I'm looking this time at more affordable mid range quality amplifiers from Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, Sony, and all the other contenders. The one which seems to be attracting me most is the Yamaha RX-V6a but the Sony TA-AN 1000 looks good too, although I've come across several posts about standby current consumption being on the high side (and it needs to live in standby as I use the amp as a switching source for my other devices via HDMI - so freeview box and blu ray in via HDMI and then out via eARC to the TV. I also feed my NAS through the amp to the TV via network cable.

So, I'm just wondering if there's anyone here who might like to offer an opinion or recommend an amp/receiver I should consider?

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Just thought I'd do a wee post here in case anyone has an opinion.

I've been looking at a lot of reviews and talking to local suppliers and I think I'm coming back, as I did first time round, to buying another Yamaha. The other very strong contender was the Sony TA-AN1000 but it seems to pull quite a strong current in standby - and it needs to be in standby as I'm using it as a switching station for the other feeds (from the freeveiw box, Blu ray player, NAS). My old Yamaha did this at almost no current consumption at all. The Denon x2800h is another possibility - or, maybe the x3800h. but when I pitch them against the Yamaha RX-v6a or Yamaha RX-a2a somehow the Yams seem to come out tops. Next thing is to get some demos and finally make my mind up so I can look out for bargain deals in the new year sales.

So, last chance folks, anyone want to give me a final bit of advice or suggest a piece of kit I've not considered?

Just for your delectation, this is the front runner at this moment: https://www.richersounds.com/yamaha-rxv6a-black/ Oh, and I'm a VIP club member which might get me a bit of discount off their quoted price.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Well folks, in my usual indecisive way, I'm still trying to make my mind up which amp/receiver I'm going to buy. There's no hurry so I can afford to deliberate on this for as long as I like. I've looked at most of the "front runners" which fit my requirements - that is to say to power my existing 5.1 speaker setup with the possibility at some time in the future to add two front "height" speakers so it can "do" Dolby Atmos.

I've been looking at Denon, Maranz, Sony, Pioneer, Yamaha, Onkyo and others. I'm slightly constrained by the fact I'll be buying from Richer Sounds so I've narrowed down to stuff they can supply - but that leaves me with a very good variety of makes. As I mentioned above,I liked the look and reviews on the Sony TA-AN 1000, but I've not been able to find a way round the high current consumption "thing" in standby so I think it's definitely out. A number of the other options have a reputation for tending to generate quite a bit of heat and the amp is going to be located on the bottom shelf of my custom built cabinet which has the centre speaker above it and the TV above that. Being custom made, the amplifier shelf is open at both front and rear for max airflow so overheating shouldn't be a problem, but the Yams have a reputation for running quite cool - my old one certainly never pumped out much heat even when driving the speakers hard - So I'm pretty much convinced another Yamaha is right for me. The RX-V6A seems to fit the bill in many respects but I'm very tempted by the RX A2A Avantage (my existing, now broken, one is a lower spec Avantage amp - Avantage being Yamaha's top spec range of amps) It's a bit more money but, from what I've read, although it's performance is very similar to the V6A, it contains more robust components.

Seems like I'm coming down to a decision between these two. I think a visit to Richer and a chat with them is the next step. Hopefully, some time before Easter, I'll be able to complete this thread with info on what I actually bought!

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Not sure how many people are interested in this thread? but I see it's been viewed 140 times since I started it so thought I'd do a wee update here.

I'm in no hurry to do this and am actually quite enjoying browsing info and technical details on Audio Visual Amplifiers/Receivers in general. I just keep coming back to the Yamaha brand and their perceived high quality even if they are not as feature laden as some of their competitors. Although the A2A is actually a 7.1 receiver I still have no ambition to expand the system beyond my present 5.1 in the near future - This means I have two speakers either side of the TV with a centre speaker under it to deliver speech and two, slightly smaller speakers either end of the sofa which I sit on when viewing films. This accounts for the "5" and the .1 is the dedicated sub woofer to give low frequency effects (really does lift the experience of watching some films, especially my SF films which are my passion) I just might, at some indefinite time in the future, buy a couple of wall or upward firing speakers so giving an additional height definition to Dolby Atmos films, which this 7.1 amp can handle and pass through to the TV, however, at this time, I have very few films which can drive these and I think I may need a newer spec Blu Ray player as source? so that's for the future and will be simple to add on if I do decide to do it.

There's really only one thing which has been worrying me about the Yamaha models I can afford and that's that the HDMI is capped at 24Gbps rather than the more expensive models 40Gbps. This has implications for video resolution at 4 and 8 K so I went in to Richer sounds and had a chat. Luckily the shop was very quiet so I was able to chat with the manager who gave me advice on many aspects of several possibilities, like configuring the receiver and sources differently, but, at the end of the day, he said that he thought the Yam would be a good choice for what I wanted to do with it and that the HDMI cap is really only of consequence if I was a gamer with the latest games machines - I only want to watch films which should not be affected by this even at 4K. - and I don't yet have a TV that does 4K anyway! Then we went on to talk about the merits of the A2A as against the less expensive V6A. On paper, comparing features and functions, they seem very similar. However, when you start looking into it there does seem to be some "beefing up" of components and maybe some minor additional enhancements with the A2A which might be worth the additional cost? Plenty of time to still make my mind up. I also rang the Hi Fi shop where I bought the old amp and had a very interesting conversation with a very knowledgeable chap the result of which being that he slightly favoured the A2A on quality of build and components used. At this time, Richer sounds and the indy shop were both quoting the same price on the A2A of £769 but Richer were giving an additional discount because I'm a VIP customer and former buyer bringing it to a few quid over £700.

I'm having a lovely time investigating every last aspect of this and feeling no pressure to decide any time soon. There seems to be a rumour about that there may be some "stuff" - new models/versions/ existing updates - coming in the spring from Yamaha so I may just wait until then in case they are upgrading or changing the HDMI card in the A2A. I think, in light of the recent conversations, I'll probably be going with the A2A - unless? Oh dear, why am I so indecisive?

 

[PuntoHowTo]

I seem to recall that 24Gbps transfer speeds are only going to be an issue if you are running at high frame rate and high resolutions, such as is found in high end gaming set ups. 120 - 144 hz refresh rates and as you say 4-8k resolutions. This really only has implications if you are using something like a Playstation 5 or Xbox at 4-8k or a gaming PC.

As it stands I have a 4k monitor, which is capped at 60hz and it would never exceed the transfer speeds you would be limited to with the Yamaha, and as stated there are work arounds, I am presuming involving the audio receiver being the end of the loop rather than passing data through itself.

I have a lot of respect for Yamaha stuff. My piano is a Yamaha and I would very much like a set of HS8s for my recording set up. Currently I am using some very good buy much cheaper Presonus monitors.

The question is, will you ever be running 8k, do you have a broadband connection and any streaming services capable of delivering 8K and even if you did, would you be running at refresh rates above 60hz? or are you planning to take up competitive gaming where every frame counts.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I seem to recall that 24Gbps transfer speeds are only going to be an issue if you are running at high frame rate and high resolutions, such as is found in high end gaming set ups. 120 - 144 hz refresh rates and as you say 4-8k resolutions. This really only has implications if you are using something like a Playstation 5 or Xbox at 4-8k or a gaming PC.

As it stands I have a 4k monitor, which is capped at 60hz and it would never exceed the transfer speeds you would be limited to with the Yamaha, and as stated there are work arounds, I am presuming involving the audio receiver being the end of the loop rather than passing data through itself.

I have a lot of respect for Yamaha stuff. My piano is a Yamaha and I would very much like a set of HS8s for my recording set up. Currently I am using some very good buy much cheaper Presonus monitors.

The question is, will you ever be running 8k, do you have a broadband connection and any streaming services capable of delivering 8K and even if you did, would you be running at refresh rates above 60hz? or are you planning to take up competitive gaming where every frame counts.

Thanks for your input here. I'll start by saying our present TV, Panasonic TX-L42E30B, (edge lit LCD) which we've had for many years, only "does" Standard Definition and 1080P HD. It was a top of the range TV when bought still produces a very nice picture with no "dead" pixels and better than average sound but I've noticed it's not quite as bright a picture as it used to be. I've tried turning up the brightness but it doesn't make a great deal of difference. I believe, from what I've read, that the LEDs can dim when they get old and I think that's probably what's starting to happen here. My intention is to replace it with a new Mini LED TV later this year or maybe early next year with my present favoured choice being the Sony Bravia 7 55 inch. It seems to get very good reviews, especially for viewing films which is my main obsession, although it's criticised for having a relatively narrow viewing angle which is OK for our application as we sit viewing pretty much at right angles to the screen.

My blu ray player doesn't seem to do 4K? but does give a much better picture on the TV than a DVD player The present, now malfunctioning, amplifier/reciever - Yamaha RX- A810 - says nothing about 4K in it's instruction book but the new Humax Aura Freeview Play box definitely can do 4K and keeps reminding me that some programs can be viewed in 4K when we select them.

Non of this would actually have been an issue had the A810 amp continued to work satisfactorily - although the TV is starting to be just slightly annoying as it's loosing some darker image details. Not being able to have the home theatre sound when viewing films, especially using the blu ray player - which is a much better sound source than when streaming or from live TV - is very disappointing though.

There's two main ways you can set a system like this up. I choose to connect the "devices" - which I've now "rationalized" down to the blue ray player, the Humax box and the NAS - to the Amp via HDMI and ethernet cables. Then I take one HDMI cable from the amp to the TV via the ARC ports (it'll be eARC on the new amp). This is very convenient as I can use the amp as a switching box between the sources and has worked splendidly in the old setup. The amp passes through the video signal which, once I've replaced the TV and, maybe, blu ray player (I'd like one that does 4K) is why I'm so interested in what the new amp can deal with. Although I don't fully understand how it works yet, the amp can do video upscaling too which would be nice when viewing SD content.

The other way I could do it would be to connect each external source to the TV via HDMI, with the amp connected via the eARC ports, and let the sound find it's way to the amp via the eARC connection. Switching between devices would then be done through the TV. I may choose to do it this way when I have the new TV but there may be a problem as the Bravia 7 only has two 4/8K HDMI ports and one of them is the eARC which I'll need for the TV to Amp connection, That leaves me with the Humax and, if I buy one, 4K Blu Ray player "fighting" over the other. Maybe I sound as if I know what I'm talking about here but I'm pretty much "winging it" in reality!

I'm much encouraged by the dealer, basically, saying exactly what you are, which is, that unless I'm thinking of high end gaming - which I'm definitely not - then this won't be an issue. So, apart from my indecisive nature, what's now holding me back is that my brother's affairs, following his death over a year ago now, are still unresolved and are likely to take another 6 months or so. In the meantime I'm laying out money monthly on stuff like the council tax on his house - which is now doubled as it's been empty for over a year, insurances on his work premises and settling outstanding utility bills - I'm keeping the heating running on low at his house to avoid frozen pipes and in his business premises because there's a sitting tenant in part of the property, another "problem" which needs to be resolved All of which are severely stretching my limited financial resources, so I'll not be laying out money on the amp until this is all tied up but I want to be thoroughly sorted out re the purchase so I can simply go out and buy it with confidence as soon as things are finalized.

 

[porta]

Strangely this is the first time I’ve seen this post…
For Audio: I thought my Awia separates was terminal, as the amp controls/is the hub for the rest of the separates, but I’ve since found out most of the internal components are either available or compatible.
For AV: my Grundig tape and DVD player/recorder was excellent but it’s got a squeaky head, I think…I’ve got a friend who loves tinkering and reckons he can sort it, but doesn’t want me to post it, so it will be coming with us next time we visit him!
As, like you, I have both an emotional and quality attachment to them, the sound was amazing, I’ve decided that, once I get my clean space in the workshop, I will be repairing the Awia.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

I’d be tempted to connect everything to the Tv then use a fibre optic connection out to the sound system, having it configured this way means there is little need to have to change settings on a dedicated av system you could just run it to a more “dumb” speaker set up, and it may make many of the features on amp redundant.

I’ve never run a set up like this so I can’t say what’s better or worse

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I’d be tempted to connect everything to the Tv then use a fibre optic connection out to the sound system, having it configured this way means there is little need to have to change settings on a dedicated av system you could just run it to a more “dumb” speaker set up, and it may make many of the features on amp redundant.

I’ve never run a set up like this so I can’t say what’s better or worse

Thanks for the suggestion. Can you explain to my simple wee brain, what you mean by a "dumb" speaker system? I tend to assign two system setups and store them in the amp. I configure the two main front speakers and the subwoofer to work as a stereo plus sub system for listening to music and all five - two fronts, Centre (speach), two surrounds, and sub for when watching films. I store both configurations in the amp memory so I can select them as needed with just the push of a button. I've not experimented much with main speaker cut off point but do set it at the generally recommended 80 hertz as I find it makes dialogue clearer when the sub is taking the "heavy" lifting with the lower frequencies.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

Thanks for the suggestion. Can you explain to my simple wee brain, what you mean by a "dumb" speaker system? I tend to assign two system setups and store them in the amp. I configure the two main front speakers and the subwoofer to work as a stereo plus sub system for listening to music and all five - two fronts, Centre (speach), two surrounds, and sub for when watching films. I store both configurations in the amp memory so I can select them as needed with just the push of a button. I've not experimented much with main speaker cut off point but do set it at the generally recommended 80 hertz as I find it makes dialogue clearer when the sub is taking the "heavy" lifting with the lower frequencies.

So when I say dumb speaker system I mean something like a surround/soundbar set up that doesn’t have lots of settings depending what source you select and instead just plays whatever audio is coming out of the TV either via optical or other sound out port.

Before we moved in 2023 we had a 50 inch Sony Bravia and a Sony soundbar fed from the Tv via an optical input. When you turn the Tv on, you turn the sound bar on and then there is no need to touch any more settings for sound other than the volume which could be turned up and down with the Tv or sky remote.

Your system is a lot more complex but if you fed the amp with sound from the TV say via an optical port or cable rather than HDMI, I can’t really think of a case where it is a benefit to run the Video signal through the amp,

But that all being said, are you ever likely to need the higher bit rate if you’re only as most watching things in 4K and not high end gaming?

If you go and check out 4K verses an 8k picture, how much do you notice the quality improvement ?

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

So when I say dumb speaker system I mean something like a surround/soundbar set up that doesn’t have lots of settings depending what source you select and instead just plays whatever audio is coming out of the TV either via optical or other sound out port.

Before we moved in 2023 we had a 50 inch Sony Bravia and a Sony soundbar fed from the Tv via an optical input. When you turn the Tv on, you turn the sound bar on and then there is no need to touch any more settings for sound other than the volume which could be turned up and down with the Tv or sky remote.

Ah, I see what you mean.

Your system is a lot more complex but if you fed the amp with sound from the TV say via an optical port or cable rather than HDMI, I can’t really think of a case where it is a benefit to run the Video signal through the amp,

It does take a wee bit of perseverance to set up the two configurations and save them but, once done, it becomes a one button press to select whichever one you want. The only reason I can think of to run the video signal through the amp is to take advantage of the upscaling - which is reported to be very good. However, once I replace the TV with the Sony then I think the Sony will do as good or maybe better a job of upscaling so either choice will work. I may just experiment with both for the fun of it. Less cabling using HDMI of course.

But that all being said, are you ever likely to need the higher bit rate if you’re only as most watching things in 4K and not high end gaming?

If you go and check out 4K verses an 8k picture, how much do you notice the quality improvement ?

Very much doubt if I'll ever own an 8k source and on a 55 inch screen I doubt if an 8k picture will be that much better than a 4k? Not a lot of 8k source material out there either? However the Bravia 7 is a 4k TV and I doubt if I'll outlive it so I'm just going to be (very) satisfied if I can do a 4k picture with great sound and I think that's exactly what the Bravia 7/RX-a2a combination can deliver. What will be very interesting will be to see whether, if I run the video through the RX-a2a, the upscaling from the new reciever/amp to my existing Panasonic 1080P HD TV visibly sharpens up the image in any way. I'm not expecting it to really come into it's own until it's linked to a 4k TV but I'm interested to see if there's any difference.