Question Please help me avoid another unsuitable AVR mistake!

Sun

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Hi,

I've been going round the houses with AVRs over the last 2 months and I've been out of the AV game for so long that I'm getting stuff wrong and wasting time and money.

My initial setup was
  • Pioneer VSX-1015 pre-outs to
  • Pioneer A-400X
  • Wharfedale Diamond 10.3, 10.0, 10.CM (all 6 Ohm) Diamond 10 | Wharfedale Hi-Fi
  • Velodyne VX10 Sub
  • Marantz CD5400 OSE
  • My room is only about 20sqm and has a sloped ceiling (converted loft)
My use is about 80/20 Music/Films, these days the source is predominantly FLAC and Google Music either via Chromecast or via HDMI from my pc, and like many people I enjoy nearly all genres.

So I finally decided that the 1015 was too long in the tooth as I wanted something with HDAudio, HDMI and 4k so I bought a Sony STR-DN1060 which sounded great for music, much better than the VSX, I feel it powered by speakers fare more easily. Initially I did not try to connect my Pioneer stereo amp to it as I wondered whether I could get by without it but when I made a decision to use it anyway I realised it had no pre-outs. :facepalm:

I then bought a Pioneer VSX-1131 which in comparison to the Sony doesn't sound bad but quite flat and under powered. I thought no problem I'll hook it up to my stereo amp but despite checking and reading the manual I made an incorrect assumption that the Zone2 on this 1131 would function as pre-outs, they do not. :facepalm:

So I currently have 3xAVRs and 1xAMP and cannot achieve a suitable setup or sound quality.

My latest genius idea, and I could easily be wrong again, is to stop making snap decisions and start putting the money into what's important. :)

I only have a 5.1 system, I don't expect that to change that much really, whilst it's a dedicated area it's unlikely to move easily to 7.1 due to space and Atmos due to ceiling shape. My thought is therefore that perhaps the best solution would be getting a simple/cheap 4K AV receiver like the Marantz NR1506 (which crucially does have pre-outs!!!!) and then teaming it with an amp with a DAC which is most suitable for digital music, the Marantz PM7005 for example.

So whilst I personally think I am on the right track now I've made two major blunders and I don't want to do it again, so am using this thread as a sanity check if nothing else. Does anyone think there are any major holes in my plan or any good alternatives I should consider?
 
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Perhaps you need a front pair of speakers with more punch, especially for music. You could go through a dozen receivers and find them all inadequate if the speakers, you may be looking at the wrong solution. Wharefdale produce some good and somewhat better speakers than your 10.3s, Diamond 250s perhaps, or even the Riva range.

A cheap receiver isn't going to do any better. Higher end receivers will sound a lot better, indeed my Denon 6200 is pretty good driving a pair of KEF R300s for stereo work. But higher end receivers work best with better speakers so in your position you could be back to square one.

If you get to somewhere that can put the higher end Wharfedales up for audition you could even take the 10.3s with you to listen to the difference.
 
Thanks and you have a valid point.

I don't think my speakers are bad in any way, I'm very fond of them in fact and certainly I know they can sound better right now as proved my a brief experience with the Sony but yes there's nothing to say they can't be improved too. On a practical level I've got something which is far from the epitome of audio heaven but a decent step up from entry level I feel.

As I've got speakers I'm happy with (currently) and sources I'm not happy with (currently) it seems that improving the sources is the best step, even if it does of course highlight limitations in the speakers subsequently.

As AV duties are much less important to me than Music I think going for higher end receivers is probably going to fall short of my expectations. Especially if you follow the whole 3x AMP cost to get a comparative AVR sound.

It's a great idea on taking the 10.3s with me, i'd love that but sadly in Suffolk I'm a bit limited on the auditioning front unfortunately.
 
You could try return the new recievers , explain your problem and any decent shop should help you out.
 
Sell the three AVR's that you no longer use, buy something like an 2015 Onkyo TX-NR838 used for around £300 or less, which is packed full of up to date features and has pre-outs. You can then enjoy your music again and films will sound great. By the way I have a TX-NR838 and for films it is great.
 

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