Question What's a good AV Receiver to work alongside a DAC/Pre-Power Amp combo?

Petey

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I have a Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ and Brooklyn Amp+ connected to my LG OLED TV via a toslink SPDIF connection. I have a couple of consoles and an Apple TV 4k connected to the TV and I also use the TV apps like Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ etc... I'm finding the quality of the downmixing being output by the TV to my DAC varies wildly, sometimes it's completely lacking in dynamic range and the volume can be low. I find setting the Apple TV 4k to output stereo produces the best sound, I assume the downmix is then happening directly inside the Apple TV rather the OLED, however this also produces varying results depending on the content and app.

My DAC supports a hometheatre bypass so I can pass it a pre-out FL + FR from another source (an AV Receiver in this case) and still continue to use it in conjunction with my Brooklyn Amp+ connected to my front speakers. Then in addition I can use the other channels from the AV Receiver for the Center, SL + SR.

My thinking for this approach is because I can use the eArc from the OLED to the AV Receiver, which will be much better suited to dealing with a multi-channel signal and I can add additional speakers over time.

Does anyone have any experience with a similar setup and could recommend a good, moderately priced AV Receiver that will accept an eArc signal and pre-out FL + FR?
 
A Denon 3600 or 3700 would be a good mid range AVR to go for, they have all of the features that you need and do well on both bench tests and user reviews. Their downside is that they don't sound great for music, but you can use your current set-up for that, so should meet your needs nicely.
 
Thanks for the recommendation. I've also been looking at the Marantz NR1711 as it has a smaller form factor and what appears to be a very similar feature set albeit with less power.

I would initially just be using the FL + FR pre-out so I'm hoping the AV Receiver would do a better job at downmixing into a 2ch signal. It is just speculation at this point though as of course I have no way to test this theory.
 
Yes, those little slimline Marantz AVR's are really good amps, I have one here on my desk (NR1508) running a pair of small stereo speakers. It's been very reliable, sounds good, and has tonnes of features.

But.. as you say, very low power, and no option of adding extra power for the centre or surrounds. Personally, I wouldn't use it for cinematic experiences in a main room, unless you stick to stereo?
 
I don't have a massive room so I think the power would be adequate.

My main concern is whether an AV Receiver will do a better job with an eArc from the TV and downmixing to stereo against the using the Toslink from the TV into my DAC.
 
In theory it should, as you will have access to better quality audio streams. You will also be able to connect devices directly to the AVR and have the AVR decode the sound without the TV touching it, and then pass the video through the AVR to the TV.
 
I believe it only has a single HDMI 2.1 input and I have two devices that use this so I'd have to plug them directly into the TV and then use the eArc.

Food for thought, thanks for your insight and recommendations.
 

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