Sherwood R-972 User Thread - Page 74

- I tested a DVD-Audio disc on a BD player and it sounded great.
Audio - HDMI audio.

- Tested a CD on my CD player.
Pure clear effortless sound. Audio - Optical cable.

- Tested movies using Netflix streaming on my Panasonic BD player. DD Plus decoding works great. Forgot what I was missing (been watching movies in my bedroom w/o a dedicated surround system, albeit a nice HDTV with built-in surround).
Video and Audio - via HDMI

Hooked up my 15 inch sub (thanks to the golden days of uBid; actually that is also where my Infinity speakers came from).
The system sounds great. Watching, and more importantly, listening to a concert on Netflix. Great experience so far.


I also have an older model SACD / DVD-Audio player (Pioneer DV-563A), so I may need to hook that up using RCA cables (assuming the R-972 has the inputs). to play stereo SACD's. The strange thing is the menu only offers 2 ch or 5.1 and not auto, meaning if I switch between a 5.1 SACD and a 2.0 SACD disc I have to switch the setting each time???
The only open item:

EDIT - I hooked up the SACD player in 2 channel mode for now.
Listened to some SACD discs via the R-972 and it sounds great.

PS: I have not had to perform a single factory reset.
Edited by ia1z - 2/10/13 at 4:03pm

I haven't had a problem with this. How are you trying to see the EQ results? Are you going into the "manual" section? The manual options should be blanked out once Auto setup is run. You can see them in the Auto Setup "results" screen.

I have my PC connected via HDMI, 7.1 multi pcm. I ran some 2 channel music through foobar, and with trinnov activated I got a very nice soundstage with all speakers. It wasn't forced like multichannel stereo, and it was much better than PLIIx.

 

Sorry, I meant storing as in saving them to a USB drive or via the network. So they could be restored after a factory reset. One feature I really like... that others offer.

Thanks, that is interesting: I checked yesterday and the product page clearly said 'SOLD OUT' (not even 'out of stock', but 'sold out' so it really caught my attention).
Maybe a weekend web page glitch that they caught today...

 

Sold out was the open box (units)... at a slightly lower price. And since they purchased the entire inventory (of new units) when they are sold out they are gone! It's easy to see how many they have left... a little trick I learned from someone... simply enter a large quantity and a lot of carts will reduce your order to what they have available. Now I guess they might not have entered all they have or restocked (added inventory that wasn't reflected before)... but it's a good guess.

r-972 at 1saleaday.com sold out in ~30 minutes
$329.99 w. shipping
Condition: Factory Refurbished
Packaging: Retail
Warranty: 90 Day

They probably only had a few. They might have oversold the last time, which was why we were delayed.

Either way, I'm glad I pulled the trigger. I LOVE Trinnov. I don't see how I could use any AVR/pre-pro without it anymore.

Well that sucks. I've been checking several times a day but I must have been just a little bit too early when I checked last night before I went to bed. Definitely disappointed since I really wanted one of these. I'm assuming that this is it for 1saleaday having any more of these?

Did they impose a per person limit?
I am not sure, but I don't recall a limit when I ordered mine (one unit) back in January.
If there was no limit this time around, I can certainly see why it sold out so quickly even at that hour of the night.
They likely also simply did not have nearly as many units availanle as last time, like you suggested.

can you refer me to the user notes you are referring above? does trinnov documentation says/allows for connecting height speakers to rear surround speakers and it will accordingly send height info in that case? that sounds awesome and would be a great positive for me..

jtenn, I have HK AVR254, and planning upgrade to Aventage 1010/1020 or HK 3650. what are your thoughts about HK 2600 or HK 7550HD or vs Yamaha A820?

1- does 972 sound as flat and clear as HK2600?
2- i found denon and specially pioneer elite thin-sounding and little harsh/bright. coming from HK 2600.. did you find Yamaha sound similar to HK, as compared to pioneer/denon if you have heard any of those?

thx in advance..

Thanks, so they did have refurbished / B stock units for $50 less and my seeing it listed as condition 'new', which seemed different, was indeed for different units ($599) than I originally saw on the a4l site.

Here is the link to the user notes thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1397757/r972-trinnov-user-notes

I connected the front height speakers in my basement system to the rear surround speaker terminals on the R-972. During calibration, Trinnov located the position of these speakers and now routes the signal properly. Instead of sending rear surround effects to the speakers they are now magically functioning as front height speakers. I consider this a very impressive feature considering how well it works.

That is pretty awesome, although I wouldn't want to lose rear surround data to create heights.

I actually tried using the video scaler last night, and it wasn't bad. No audio drops or glitches from my cable box or PC via hdmi. I'm going to see if it passes a 3D signal with it on later. I know it does with bypass.

Here is Trinnov application notes: http://www.cahoyt.com/Trinnov/R972Trinnov.pdf

On page 10 there is a write up on doing 9.1 with height channels and other configurations you can try.

your post seems to answer my next question, but i will confirm anyways. is R-972 capable of standby HDMI pass-through.. i.e. can i keep R-972 on standby and still be able to have one of my HDMI input's audio+video pass-through to HDMI output? most new receivers has this, and Yamaha Aventage even allows you to change inputs even in standby.

 

Nope... remember these guys were made in 2009 or so and have been sitting around.... and even at the time not exactly state-of-the-art (in many ways). Some might disagree...you decide to purchase it because of Trinnov and its low cost... you decide not to for everything else. :)

It has a beefy amp section and Trinnov. Those features alone are worth much more than $600, let alone $300. It's a pre-pro on steroids, and anything else is just a bonus or needs to be accepted as part of the deal.

Of course, now that I sold my Denon 4311, and with Emotiva running a secret refurb sale, I now have Trinnov and an XPA-5 for less than what I paid for the 4311. Huge upgrade. Hopefully I don't blow up my surrounds.

The soundstage height may well be increased, but Trinnov is not generating specific height information like DPLIIz, or DTS NeoX.

It is pretty loaded and even for the $599 A4L is selling them (new, refurbs are sold out and were $50 less) it is not a bad deal for anyone interested in the benefits of Trinnov.

Other notable features:
second room capability (including a second, albeit mini, remote)
beefy amplifier section
good sound quality
despite its age, it supports all the surround formats 95% of users need
plenty of inputs (including multiple component inputs for older devices that need not be replaced - 400 disc DVD changers, SACD / DVD-Audio players or newer devices like the Wii etc.)
2 switched outlets (you would be surprised how many $2600 MSRP receivers don't have these anymore - I use one for my powered Parsec FM IQ antenna and one for my powered sub)

Obviously for the $299 (shipped) I paid it was a no brainer (even if it did not have Trinnov).
Edited by ia1z - 2/13/13 at 2:26pm

Or have to reset the R-972 every time you make a change.

As noah pointed out,Trinnov uses the extra speakers to help better recreate the original acoustic field that is already present in the recording.It doesn't create height info.

i am almost sold on this. but you know what..
my primary reasons/excuses to upgrade from my beloved HK AVR254 were 1- HDMI passthrough, 2- min 6 HDMI inputs 3- PLiiz or Neo:X or Audyssey DSX, 4- Room correction s/w
and i wanted to get rid of 1- HDMI handshake issues.

other than Trinnov, all other expectations not met.. still i am considering to upgrade

ok two questions..
1- will this sound closer to HK or Marantz (flat/warm) or like Pioneer (somewhat bright and thin). i'd like sound as close to HK as possible.
2- 499/- at sherwoodonlinestore.com is a new or refurb, and any chance getting it cheaper in some time?

emotiva refurb sale? any recommendations for a 16 x 16 room in an apartment under $400? fyi, i have a very good Mirage Prestige 8".

 

1 - With the understanding all receivers sound identical so I won't be stoned my unscientific take is the R-972 sounds in line with Pioneer and Yamaha. Not a lot of presence (warmth). Especially, if you don't apply the +6 boost.

 

2 - I was told they are refurbs as A4L purchased their entire stock...

Warm/Bright/Thin, etc, it all means nothing. Any receiver can be dialed in to sound any way you want if you spend the time to EQ it correctly and fix your room modes. Your speakers, the amount of power they need to sound good, placement, and treating your room are the most important things. Trinnov automatically fixes many placement issues, which other receivers cannot do.

Unless 1saleaday runs another sale, $500 will be the best price for awhile.

I am very sensitive to bright sounding gear and find the 972 to be more neutral than anything. I did have a Marantz 7005 at one time and found that too laid back almost to the point of being boring to listen to but the 972 is more close to my old Onkyo 5508 in it's neutrality. I have 2 972's now and I can listen to both systems for hours and have never suffered listener fatigue which I do within 15 to 20 minutes with bright sounding systems.

Many receivers - including those with Audyssey (unless you have the Pro kit), HK's, and 972's (dunno about others) - don't have dials, i.e user-adjustable target curves other than a few built-in ones.

All the user can do is shotgun it with repeated setups with different mike and/or speaker locations.

It does mean something, I like my 972 but the HK 354 sounds better with no correction/flat vs 972/flat with no correction.A fact is a fact, the 972 rocks with trinnov, that is it's claim to fame, imo.