Question Which AV Receiver ? - Dali Zensor 7 - 5.1

Swainy

Novice Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2016
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
Points
29
Age
47
Location
Barnsley
Total noob here, so Hi !

I am looking to set up a new home cinema (TV AVR 5.1 Speaker set up).
For background info,the TV I am looking at - either Samsung UE65JS9000 (SUHD) or my preferred model if I can bring myself to part with the extra grand, the LG 65EC970V (OLED)
I have settled on Dali Zensor 7 5.1 but can't decide on the Receiver, I am currently between....

Pioneer SCLX58/59
Yamaha RX-A3040

Couple of questions...

- Is this over kill (spend wise) for the chosen speakers ?
- Which would you recommend ?
- Am I missing something ? (is there a better option for price point ?)

I have read that the Pioneer may be too clinical for the Dali's when listening to music and that the yamaha may be the better option?

All advice is very welcome !

 
I'd say with your Dali's then the Yam 3040 would be my choice is music was important

however I'd also consider the Marantz SR7010, at £995 it's a bargain and should drive the Dali's well
 
I'd say with your Dali's then the Yam 3040 would be my choice is music was important

however I'd also consider the Marantz SR7010, at £995 it's a bargain and should drive the Dali's well

Thanks, thats the opinion which seems constant.
I plan on booking an appointment at RS to test the two this week so will add the Marantz if they have it.
Am I at about the right price point for the Dali's would you say ?
 
I'd say the Dali's will be a good choice for you but have a good listen first
 
Hi Swainy,

I have a 7.2 setup. Dali Zensor 7's, Vokal Centre, 4 x Zensor 3 (rears and surrounds) & 2 x Dali E-12 F subwoofers. I run mine from a Yamaha 2040.

Firstly I am extremely happy with mine. The 7's are great for music in 2.0 (better than the Monitor Audio Bronze range IMO but YMMV). In films they give a very accurate and expansive soundstage. The Yamaha does a great job of wrapping me in a bubble of sound rather than feel like things are coming from specific speakers.

A few points or thoughts I will mention.

1. Having previously owned this setup with a high end Pioneer receiver & a Yamaha 3030 receiver, both using the Sabre 32 bit Dac's a few films had some harsheness to them at sepcific points. This really bothered me when a £500 Sony str-dn1040 didn't have these "issues". Obviously now using the Yamaha 2040 with the "lower quality" ESS 9006 (as opposed to 9016) Dac which does not have the issue as far as I can detect. Seeing as I have no plan to run an Atmos setup in the near future a 9.2 amp is fine for me. However the 3040 does have the capability of running a 7.2.4 setup should that be in your planning for the future. This was a really minor niggle that honestly you will probably never notice. It literally was in a couple of places in certain films although repeatable by me at home and in the store.

2. I have had Zensor 1's as surrounds in the past too as opposed to the larger Zensor 3's. Honestly the difference between the two is negligible as far as sound quality goes. Whilst I can cross the Zensor 3's lower than the 1's I actually still use 80hz for both. The Zensor 3's are much harder to place discreetly though so my advice would be to just get the Zensor 1's. I upgraded to get a bigger surround sound and to match the woofers from the 7's to the rest. IMO I haven't really gained much and it's not worth the extra money / space.

3. I have only ever owned two subs; a REL Q150E 10" and the Dali E-12F 12" sub. I am very happy with the Dali. It sounds epic in comparison to my old one. Really gets the sofa shaking nicely when I want it to. Adding the second one gave me slightly better balanced bass in my main listening position - minor improvment but noticeable and for me worth it on picking up a 2nd hand one. However for similar money you could get a BK Monolith or a XTZ Sub 12.17. Both are practically the same price but review wise (and spec wise) should be an improvement on the Dali. If you can get a demo somewhere of these two I would try to. I don't think having the same sub manaufacturer as the speakers is important. You are not trying to match tonal characteristics. Just get nice controlled and deep bass. One of the other subs will do a better job IMO (alhtough haven't heard them myself). Unless the E12-F is part of a package deal that means you are effectively paying much less than the RRP for it I would go with one of the other two.


Can't comment on the Marantz since I have not heard it but again, judging by reviews I am sure it will be good. However the Yamaha gives a great performance for movies. I believe the Marantz is slightly more refined musically. I'm sure you will be pretty happy with either.

Hope some of this is helpful. Happy to answer any other queries you may have with regards to the Dali's if you want.

Hope the auditions go well :)
 
What a great reply, many thanks !

(My comment/questions below in RED, Expand Text box)


Hi Swainy,

I have a 7.2 setup. Dali Zensor 7's, Vokal Centre, 4 x Zensor 3 (rears and surrounds) & 2 x Dali E-12 F subwoofers. I run mine from a Yamaha 2040.

Firstly I am extremely happy with mine. The 7's are great for music in 2.0 (better than the Monitor Audio Bronze range IMO but YMMV). In films they give a very accurate and expansive soundstage. The Yamaha does a great job of wrapping me in a bubble of sound rather than feel like things are coming from specific speakers.

A few points or thoughts I will mention.

1. Having previously owned this setup with a high end Pioneer receiver & a Yamaha 3030 receiver, both using the Sabre 32 bit Dac's a few films had some harsheness to them at sepcific points. This really bothered me when a £500 Sony str-dn1040 didn't have these "issues". Obviously now using the Yamaha 2040 with the "lower quality" ESS 9006 (as opposed to 9016) Dac which does not have the issue as far as I can detect. Seeing as I have no plan to run an Atmos setup in the near future a 9.2 amp is fine for me. However the 3040 does have the capability of running a 7.2.4 setup should that be in your planning for the future. This was a really minor niggle that honestly you will probably never notice. It literally was in a couple of places in certain films although repeatable by me at home and in the store.

Yeah, I do fancy the Atmos set up to tbh, from what I gather at the minute though, there isn't very much content at all so will more than likely hang on. There doesn't seem a great deal of choice (Atmos speaker wise) at the moment either so even more reason.

2. I have had Zensor 1's as surrounds in the past too as opposed to the larger Zensor 3's. Honestly the difference between the two is negligible as far as sound quality goes. Whilst I can cross the Zensor 3's lower than the 1's I actually still use 80hz for both. The Zensor 3's are much harder to place discreetly though so my advice would be to just get the Zensor 1's. I upgraded to get a bigger surround sound and to match the woofers from the 7's to the rest. IMO I haven't really gained much and it's not worth the extra money / space.

Funny you should mention this, I have a budget, as you would imagine lol, but have considered swapping out the 1's for the 3's. I had the same thoughts but obviously an uneducated guess !
Think I will stick with the 1's as you say.


3. I have only ever owned two subs; a REL Q150E 10" and the Dali E-12F 12" sub. I am very happy with the Dali. It sounds epic in comparison to my old one. Really gets the sofa shaking nicely when I want it to. Adding the second one gave me slightly better balanced bass in my main listening position - minor improvment but noticeable and for me worth it on picking up a 2nd hand one. However for similar money you could get a BK Monolith or a XTZ Sub 12.17. Both are practically the same price but review wise (and spec wise) should be an improvement on the Dali. If you can get a demo somewhere of these two I would try to. I don't think having the same sub manaufacturer as the speakers is important. You are not trying to match tonal characteristics. Just get nice controlled and deep bass. One of the other subs will do a better job IMO (alhtough haven't heard them myself). Unless the E12-F is part of a package deal that means you are effectively paying much less than the RRP for it I would go with one of the other two.

I'll demo these.


Can't comment on the Marantz since I have not heard it but again, judging by reviews I am sure it will be good. However the Yamaha gives a great performance for movies. I believe the Marantz is slightly more refined musically. I'm sure you will be pretty happy with either.

Hope some of this is helpful. Happy to answer any other queries you may have with regards to the Dali's if you want.

Hope the auditions go well :)

Just spotted this on RS

Yamaha RXA3050 & Dali ZENSOR 7 5.1 | 5.1 Package System excluding DVD Player | Richer Sounds

Looks like DTS-X and Bluetooth are the only differences between 3040 + 3050?

Thanks for all your help, just what I need at the mo !
 
Sorry about the delay in responding.

I think another couple of differences between the two are that the 3050 has HDCP 2.2 (so will support passthrough of the expected new 4k Blu-ray standard). It also has support for Yamaha MusicCast (a bit like Sonos wireless).

Multi channel input is not mentioned on the Yamaha 3050 (it is mentioned on the 3040 spec page) web page and I also seem to recall somebody mentioning it on another forum site that multi-ch imputs have been removed on the newer model. As this is what I use to connect my Computer to my Receiver for true 7.2 speaker gaming. Not having the multi-ch inputs is a big deal for me. Otherwise it's a legacy audio connection that I suppose most people don't have a use for so this may or may not be a concern for you.

IMO the HDCP2.2 is the biggest reason to get the new model.

However, should you find a great deal on a 3040 or 2040 it would still be worth looking at them and then spending a bit extra on a 4k blu-ray player once they are available with dual HDMI outputs (one to go to your receiver - non 2.2 compatible and one to go direct to your 4k tv - 2.2 compatible).

Hope you have a good week :)
 
Last edited:
Sorry about the delay in responding.

I think another couple of differences between the two are that the 3050 has HDCP 2.2 (so will support passthrough of the expected new 4k Blu-ray standard). It also has support for Yamaha MusicCast (a bit like Sonos wireless).

Multi channel input is not mentioned on the Yamaha 3050 (it is mentioned on the 3040 spec page) web page and I also seem to recall somebody mentioning it on another forum site that multi-ch imputs have been removed on the newer model. As this is what I use to connect my Computer to my Receiver for true 7.2 speaker gaming. Not having the multi-ch inputs is a big deal for me. Otherwise it's a legacy audio connection that I suppose most people don't have a use for so this may or may not be a concern for you.

IMO the HDCP2.2 is the biggest reason to get the new model.

However, should you find a great deal on a 3040 or 2040 it would still be worth looking at them and then spending a bit extra on a 4k blu-ray player once they are available with dual HDMI outputs (one to go to your receiver - non 2.2 compatible and one to go direct to your 4k tv - 2.2 compatible).

Hope you have a good week :)

Thanks..

I was at RS on Sunday, I have ordered.....

Yamaha RX-A3050
Dali Zensor 7 5.1 in Walnut (7's , 1's , E12F SUB + Vokal Centre)
LG 55EG920V Curve (OLED)
QED XT40 - (Cable)
Cambridge Audio AUD100 7.5M (Sub Cable)
Cambridge Audio PREMIUM BANANA PLUGS
+ a couple of wall mounts for the rears.

All for delivery as the disappointing part is the decorating of the living room prior to set up!
(deal with the wife)
Cannot wait now, I'm as excited as a dog with ten dicks!

Thanks for all your advise, much appreciated.
 
Sure you will be very happy with that lot!!!

Let us know once it is setup. Honestly it's a great way of getting motivated to decorate a room.....don't know why more people don't do it myself really! ;)
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom