AV32R, a couple questions

[Stereo Steve]

Well, just unpacked the one I bought off the forum. It's an original THX (no 5.1 bypass or 192 DACS) in black. I hooked it up to the Sony 900 SACD/DVD player I have also just bought and ran the monitor outs to the 5.1 inputs on my Rotel 1055 reciever. I was very pleased with the result.

First, CD's through a digital coax, in direct mode sounded stunning,even using the 1055 as a power amp. I was concerned that having moved form a Pio 656 that I would miss DVD-A and SACD but I tried a DVD-A disk in the 900, just playing the DD layer and I swear it's 95% of the way to DVD-A. SACD sounded superb although I was only able to connect the stereo cables of course. A couple questions cropped up in my mind.

1) I have the SACD players CD out connected to the AV32's AUX in. Am I missing anything here as I know newer recievers are branded as SACD ready. Do these standard phono inputs have lower frequency range or something?

2) Why have I never heard of TM Surround before? Everyone raves about Logic 7 but to me ears, TM is as good or better than PL2 (not tried movie/ TV with it yet, I admit). The Norah Jones SACD played with TM Surround on sounded sparkling and makes me wonder if I need a 5.1 input. I could have listened to it all night.

3) Would it be OK to use the 5.1 inputs of a low end reciever as a power stage until I get set up? I have a Sony 930 that could do the job. Will this cause harm to either unit?

I know these are silly questions really as it sounds better than my previous set-up but I'm interested to know anyway.

Now, where to get some cheap power amps to tide me over........

 

[alexs2]

Originally posted by Stereo Steve
Well, just unpacked the one I bought off the forum. It's an original THX (no 5.1 bypass or 192 DACS) in black. I hooked it up to the Sony 900 SACD/DVD player I have also just bought and ran the monitor outs to the 5.1 inputs on my Rotel 1055 reciever. I was very pleased with the result.


1) I have the SACD players CD out connected to the AV32's AUX in. Am I missing anything here as I know newer recievers are branded as SACD ready. Do these standard phono inputs have lower frequency range or something?

2) Why have I never heard of TM Surround before? Everyone raves about Logic 7 but to me ears, TM is as good or better than PL2 (not tried movie/ TV with it yet, I admit). The Norah Jones SACD played with TM Surround on sounded sparkling and makes me wonder if I need a 5.1 input. I could have listened to it all night.

3) Would it be OK to use the 5.1 inputs of a low end reciever as a power stage until I get set up? I have a Sony 930 that could do the job. Will this cause harm to either unit?

Glad you like it...I was also very pleased with mine when I bought it,and remain so.

Your questions.....
1.the standard phono inputs on the non bypass Tag's are run through a A/D convertor,and then back through the processor's DAC's prior to output,and this was one reason behind TAG offering the bypass,in order to avoid all the uneccessary processing.
Other than that,the frequency responses etc are unaltered.

2.TMS certainly works very well,and better than PLII to my ears anyway,without the high frequency "twittering" noises sometimes present with PLII....just another variation on the theme though.

3.Yes....you can use a receiver's power stages as a stop-gap with no problems.
For good cheap multichannel amps,take a look at the Rotel 1095.

 

[Stereo Steve]

Cheers. I'm so chuffed with this mahine. I had heard a 192 in a shop but having had a chance to really put the original model through it's paces I am blown away. Using a Sony 930 as power amp at the mo and it sounds simply stunning. I don't think you could do better for a grand. The first thing we did was put on Monster Inc and it did the little THX 'Moo' demo at the beginning. My wife (not an AV enthusiast) said 'Can we keep that little box then?' I find TM Surround great fo music although I end up turning it off as I prefer stereo but it's not brilliant for movies. I find Prologic better.

Incidentally, having had amps with PL2 and always thinking DPL was naff, I now find that the Tag sounds better in DPL than any cheap DPL2 amp I have heard! Always suspected I was missing something! So, I guess I'll upgrade to DPL2 now which brings me to another question.

Mine has never had a software upgrade from day 1. What's the best way of upgrading? Buying a cable (for £90!) or taking it to a dealer? Also, I gather that once upgraded, I need to phone TAG to ge the PL2 code or something. What other benefits will I get from updating the software as I'm tempted to leave it for a mo, at least until I move into my new place.

 

[alexs2]

Quite honestly,I'd be tempted to leave it as is,unless you go in for some proper upgrading like the 192 bypass or dual processor options,neither of which are especially cheap though!.....I don't use PLII much on mine,and generally prefer the TMS option for synthesized surround.

For software upgrades,the cable is fine,and you simply follow the instructions and then get it authorised....the software level on mine is 3.75,but like yours,hasnt been changed since I bought it.

 

[Stereo Steve]

I guess I'll leave it for the mo. I may have a trawl through the updates and see what I'm missing. I think mine is one of the first. It's serial number is in the 006xx range. Anyway, it's fine for the mo. I want to get the 5.1 bypass and 192's at one stage. DP seems a whole lot of cash but maybe worth looking into.

The thing is, I was always keen on SACD and DVD-A as it made my low to middle end gear sound good but now I find that CD's played through my Pioneer 656 and sent via spdif sound better than SACD's. I'm sure that a good SACD or DVD-A player would be better again but it means that in order to make the bypass worthwhile, I need to cough up for a universal player that justifies it.

Still, that's a dilemna for another day.

 

[AOD]

Steve, where are you located?

I have a similar spec unit but with PLII enabled. I also have a Tagtronic cable that you're welcome to use if you want to upgrade your software. PM me if you're interested, I'm in London, not too far from Tower Bridge.

Depending on what software you're running, the upgrade will sort out a number of minor niggles that Tag ironed out over the years.

 

[Stereo Steve]

Thanks Anthony, that's kind of you. I'm in the deep south west so popping over is not really an option. I guess I will stump up for a cable at some point. Could probably get a good price if I ever wanted to sell again.

By the way, is DPL2 worth it? Based on how much better the Tag does DPL than anything I have ever heard, it could be worth having. Also, am I supposed to hear the relays clicking quite loudly. It doesn't bother me and it's actually quite reassuring, as long it's supposed to do that.

 

[cskates]

The clicking of the relays is normal, but it's possible to switch the clicking off in the speaker menu. The default is now to have the relay switching off so you may have quite an old software version, the latest for the AV32R-SP is 3.85 IIRC. 3.85 is the final version for the AV32R-SP so buying an upgrade cable wouldn't really be worth it unless you're planning on other Tag kit. A Tag dealer should be able to perform the upgrade for you, or lend you a cable.

DPL2 is in a different league to DPL, it's a substantial improvement.

 

[Stereo Steve]

I think my software is one of the very first, 2. something. Will check in a minute. Surely if the relays don't click they are not working??

Anyway, will sevenoaks do the upgrade and how much will they charge? Maybe I'll get a cable actually as I can see me getting a DP or 192 at some point and if they want £20 to upgrade each time, after 3 goes I'll be wishing I had bought the cable.

 

[Matt F]

I took my AV32R into Audio Excellence to get the latest software loaded - there was no charge for this.

Matt.

 

[Stereo Steve]

Ah, thanks Matt, I think there is one of those near me somewhere. Think I'll phone around tomorrow.

 

[cskates]

The relays were used to switch off the outputs whenever the input or surround format was changed. This is now done by muting the digital output going to the DACs, mainly because the layer change on DVDs causes an interuption in the digital stream and the relays to kick in. The relays are still used whenever you mute the processor and there is still the option of switching them back to the old behaviour in the speaker menu.