Denon AVR-X2300 vs old Yamaha amp for stereo

LarryJames

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hello

I have a Denon AVR-X2300 AV amp setup in a 5.1 mode with a Dali Oberon 5 surround sound speaker set. I have generally been happy with the sound quality. I decided this weekend to get out my old Dual turntable and connect it via a pre-amp to the Denon AV amp. The sound was tinny and lacking in depth in Stereo mode. I thought maybe the pre-amp was not very good so I then connected my Sony CD player to the amp via an optical connection and I had similar sound quality. Same thing using the blu-ray player connected to the AV amp. I then got out my old 30 year old Yamaha AX-300 amp (it only has analogue connections) and connected it to the front two speakers and the step up in sound quality for both vinyl and CD was enormous and reminded me of what good quality stereo sounds like! I checked the AV amp speaker wiring to make sure I had not mixed positive and negative.

Is this what I should expect with a general purpose AV amp compared to a 30 year old audio only amp or is there a problem in setup somewhere?

thanks for the help

Cheers
 
hi

good question. I went and checked and the only thing on was MultEQ XT which I switched off and that has made a slight improvement to the bass. I also spotted that the crossover frequency for the subwoofer is set to 80Hz. would that make a difference as the sub is not used stereo mode?

thanks
 
If you use direct/pure direct that'll bypass room EQ, bass management, bass/treble controls, possibly distance (delay) So that is the sound without anything else enabled, it's always best to start there, then compare what room EQ and bass managment sounds. It'll also disable all HDMI scaling and video circuits.
 
hi

Thanks for that tip. I didn't realise it was there on the remote. I tried both Direct and Pure Direct and it made a small difference but not much. Is there anything else to try?

thanks
 
Your old Sony is going to be far superior to the Denon for any stereo music source. Stereo music is not the strongest point of any AV amp until you have to the very higher tiers or better amps such as Anthem, Arcam or NAD. I've always been disappointed in how my Denons have performed with music, even with my current X6500.

Why not combine the old stereo amp and the Denon and use the same front speakers. All you need to do, for convenience, is use a speaker switcher such as the excellent Beresford 7220. Doing so means you connect all your music sources to the old stereo amp for a much more enjoyable music experience.
 
Hi @gibbsy

I suspect you are correct (It is an old Yamaha amplifier) but will do a final check of settings etc.

I have always avoided switches as they introduce an extra device but I will check out the Beresford. I also saw a post on the forum for using the pre-out option from the Denon AV amp to feed the Yamaha amplifier.

Thanks
 
Hi @gibbsy

I suspect you are correct (It is an old Yamaha amplifier) but will do a final check of settings etc.

I have always avoided switches as they introduce an extra device but I will check out the Beresford. I also saw a post on the forum for using the pre-out option from the Denon AV amp to feed the Yamaha amplifier.

Thanks
Your X2300 doesn't have the required front channel pre-outs that can be used with stereo amp. For that you would need to upgrade to the next tier, the X3XXX models.
 
@gibbsy thanks for that. I had assumed I could use the Zone 2 pre-outs on the back which can be configured to be a second set of stereo speakers (the picture shows they can be in the same room) and then use those to feed the audio amp that then connects to the front R/L speakers but maybe that doesn't work. I looked at the 3300 and you are right that has pre-out connections for the main speakers and also zone 2.
 
Zone 2 is just that, a stereo analogue out which downmixes to stereo only. The right amp and AV amp combination with HT by-pass works very well and is easy to set up. I used a Rega amp for around four years with my Denon.
 
@gibbsy I realised I didn't post to thank you. I did end up buying a beresford 7210 switch and it works great. I'll upgrade at some point to a denon amp with preout for front l+r but for now the setup is working fine. Thanks for the advice.
 

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