Hi all,
Following a room change I've finally been able to get a larger TV (42" to 65") and update my elderly 5.1 system.
Which was: Sony DA2400ES, QA 1030i floor stander x4, QA 2000c, BK XLS200 DF.
As this is a living room 6x4m, I'm looking to eliminate the floor standers while retaining reasonable performance.
The surround have been replaced with Dali Alteco C-1
Due to room layout I'm using 5.1 which still sounds pretty good to me.
Oddly the audio on Netflix seems way better from the new TV downmix (optical) than it did from a Roku stick+ direct into the AV receiver.
This could be as I stepped up a Netfix tier to get the 4k streams but has been very noticable, the sound seems more spacious and enveloping!
Maximum future speakers will be 5.2.2 so only using max 7 channels from the receiver.
I'm about to order Dali Opticon LCR x 2 + Opticon Vokal however spotted that these are 4 ohm so I expect the Sony will really struggle to drive them effectively.
A new receiver is on the cards, Denon AVC-3700/4700, Marantz S6015/7015 or equivalent so £1-1.5k
However given I'll likely keep the receiver for 8+ years it may be better to hold off to the next release cycle and pick up a newer model without the HDMI issues. Though perhaps I'm over concerned about this and really if it became an issue would just HMDI direct to the TV and use eARC for the audio. Have looked at the new Yamaha, but from what I read the Audessy XT32 is much better than what Yamaha offer.
So a couple of options.
Pickup a new/used integrated/power amp to support the Sony in the short term. Something like the Audiolab 6000A which has AV bypass.
From a Hifi perspective I can then get the best of the speakers with audio direct, likely need a new source, while retaining the improved power for the LR channels during movies etc. Though quite how I configure subwoofers between the receiver and amp could be an issue and the Opticon LCR may not be the best for music usage without support of a SW. This could also reduce the receiver spend as I looked at the higher spec recievers for a higher multichannel power reserve rather than features.
Pick up a recent used receiver, though prices seem pretty high. A 6 year old Denon 5200W sold for ~£600 on ebay so I'd rather just get a new one.
Buy a new receiver and trade it later if needs change.
Buy last years recivers at discount and forget the whole 8k / 4k 120hz for now.
I'm unlikely to buy a 8k TV until there is no choice.
Thanks
Following a room change I've finally been able to get a larger TV (42" to 65") and update my elderly 5.1 system.
Which was: Sony DA2400ES, QA 1030i floor stander x4, QA 2000c, BK XLS200 DF.
As this is a living room 6x4m, I'm looking to eliminate the floor standers while retaining reasonable performance.
The surround have been replaced with Dali Alteco C-1
Due to room layout I'm using 5.1 which still sounds pretty good to me.
Oddly the audio on Netflix seems way better from the new TV downmix (optical) than it did from a Roku stick+ direct into the AV receiver.
This could be as I stepped up a Netfix tier to get the 4k streams but has been very noticable, the sound seems more spacious and enveloping!
Maximum future speakers will be 5.2.2 so only using max 7 channels from the receiver.
I'm about to order Dali Opticon LCR x 2 + Opticon Vokal however spotted that these are 4 ohm so I expect the Sony will really struggle to drive them effectively.
A new receiver is on the cards, Denon AVC-3700/4700, Marantz S6015/7015 or equivalent so £1-1.5k
However given I'll likely keep the receiver for 8+ years it may be better to hold off to the next release cycle and pick up a newer model without the HDMI issues. Though perhaps I'm over concerned about this and really if it became an issue would just HMDI direct to the TV and use eARC for the audio. Have looked at the new Yamaha, but from what I read the Audessy XT32 is much better than what Yamaha offer.
So a couple of options.
Pickup a new/used integrated/power amp to support the Sony in the short term. Something like the Audiolab 6000A which has AV bypass.
From a Hifi perspective I can then get the best of the speakers with audio direct, likely need a new source, while retaining the improved power for the LR channels during movies etc. Though quite how I configure subwoofers between the receiver and amp could be an issue and the Opticon LCR may not be the best for music usage without support of a SW. This could also reduce the receiver spend as I looked at the higher spec recievers for a higher multichannel power reserve rather than features.
Pick up a recent used receiver, though prices seem pretty high. A 6 year old Denon 5200W sold for ~£600 on ebay so I'd rather just get a new one.
Buy a new receiver and trade it later if needs change.
Buy last years recivers at discount and forget the whole 8k / 4k 120hz for now.
I'm unlikely to buy a 8k TV until there is no choice.
Thanks