5.1/7.1 PCM, HDMI, and DSP - An Explaination of the Future-Proof receiver - Page 89

I have to correct my self a little bit. After calibrating the SW-channel on Multichannel PCM so that it is at the same level on Dolby D, DTS and TrueHD plus DTS-MA it sounds right. The funny thing is that switching to bitstream on PS3 makes the High Def-tracks sounds lower compared to DD and DTS. The bass is also considerable lower than DD and DTS with bitsream. This is confusing.

It seems that PS3, as a source, has a higher sound level when it is decoding than when the 4806 doing the decoding.

Regardless, the subwoofer levels was both on zero on the amplifires settings when I compared the soundtracks.

I still have to rise the subwoofer level +10db in Multichannel to match the bitstreamed levels.

will my receiver, a hdmi 1.1 version Denon 2807, be able to handle lossless audio (Dolby TrueHD, dts-MA) input from a new BluRay player which decodes it first , via a hdmi cable only ? or does it have to be thru analog 5.1 input from the player ? thanks .....

^^Yes, via HDMI.

Hey guys,

I want to buy a new receiver for around $500. I've been looking at the Onkyo TX-SR606 and the Sony STRDG820. What level would these be classed at? And are these good options? or should I be looking at something else??

Thx a lot in advance.

Yan

There are threads on both of these receivers with extensive information. Read them FIRST (the SEARCH function is your friend) and then come back with some questions if you still feel the need.

Yamaha RXV663 and Pioneer VSX-1018 are also popular choices at that price point.

Cut him some slack. Those 'official' threads are HUGE.

Yeah well all you have to do is compare what you're interested in to the first post in this thread.

Gents,

I'm in the market to upgrade my AVR (it's been awhile). I'm trying to get a handle on what techs are forthcoming, or if now is a good time to buy something robust to keep for a long time. Does anyone have any opinions on what's coming down the line that could be worth waiting for? Or have most of the HD standards all settled out and stabilized to a reasonable degree?

If there isn't anything, I'm considering jumping onto a Pioneer SC-05, just so you know what I'm looking at.

Thanks for the help...

IMO, if you make sure you get HDMI, Audyssey Room EQ, Audyssey Dynamic Volume and Audyssey Dynamic EQ you're good to go for a long time.

Great, thanks for the info. I haven't always been impressed with what I hear from Audyssey and was interested in trying Pioneer's latest gen MCACC (w/standing wave and phase control) and an Anti-Mode 8033 sub EQ, however. Appreciate the thoughts!

Audyssey is now pretty much the preferred EQ. The developer participates in the Audyssey thread and here is a link to the FAQ in that thread.

Thanks, I was actually just reading that thread about 5 mins ago . I'm sure audyssey has a large following, but I've seen plenty of rumblings here and there (off-hand comments in posts) about people preferring other EQ routines. Maybe I'm a bit of a purist, but I worry that Audssey just tries to do to much. Anyhow, this is getting a bit OT. I"l argue more once I've made my decision on what to buy, lol

The bottom line is Audyssey gives you a flat frequency response with a slight roll-off at the top to duplicate the mixing studio in the smaller home environment. Plenty of people prefer something else (boomier bass,etc.).

No one, except possibly Anthem on their big $ D-2 AVP, has remotely anywhere near the research into EQ and listener preferences that Audyssey does, certainly not Pioneer or Yamaha or even Krell or Meridian. Denon, Onkyo/Integra , Marantz, NAD, etc. are not exactly idiots, yet they chose it. So did Wisdom Audio for speaker/amp systems costing really big $$ ($35K and up), as did Simaudio for their $18K processor.

If you go to the Audyssey thread - it's huge - but most of the problems were due to something small in the calibration process. Almost all were fixed and the user goes away exstatic. Many are responded to by the CTO of Audyssey himself. Does Pioneer or Yamaha do this? No. The sour grapevine you hear about Audyssey is just due to improper calibration or from people who prefer sound that is not as accurate in the frequency and time domains. That's their choice, of course, but some people get pretty wacko in their own homes about what kind of sound they prefer. They have no basis in real life sounds to judge their systems against, especially movie-only users. So, spectacular effects are their criterion, regardless of what the actual sound mix contained.

By the way, all these modern EQ systems work in the DSP of the AVR/AVP, so Pioneer's is no different. It's no "purer". It's no "simpler".

I have Audyssey in an over $50K audio/HT system that is quite revealing. I am totally sold on it. I would never have a system without it. Anyone in my listening room will instantly conclude the same thing: turn it off, turn it on. I consider it one of the greatest breakthroughs in audio history. My basis for comparison is mch SACD's of live Philadephia Orchestra concerts I had actually attended.

By the way, I have no connection with Audyssey or the audio industry.

It is rather amusing that "bit of a purist" would prefer something other than what can be achieved with Audyssey.

I'm looking to get a Denon 2809, which has Audyssey Multi-XT, as well as Dynamic EQ and Dynamic Volume.

May I ask what sort of differences you're hearing?

The last time I tried Audyssey setup was with a Denon receiver in my last place. It was an excellent room - quite dead. With Audyssey engaged the difference was VERY subtle. You had a hard time hearing any difference.

Quick question....

With a newer receiver that has HDMI audio and decodes the HD audio formats (like a Denon AVR-2809, which I'm looking to get), what surround modes can you use to convert 5.1 TrueHD, DTS-MA or LPCM soundtracks to 7.1 ?

First, Audyssey calibration is easy to do, but it's also easy to mess up by making some small error. You need to check the Official Audyssey Forum here at AVS, where there is an excellent set of common sense "best practices" - a well thought out setup guide based on a lot of user feedback. They need to be adhered to rigorously. Proper calibration is a must, otherwise your results are unpredictable and possibly poor.

Audyssey greatly improved sonic delicacy, tonality, coherence and spatial imaging, as well as bass performance and sonic integration. I would have to describe the overall difference as huge. My system was very good sounding before (cost >$60K), and it's in a very good large room, but it is much better now.

Audyssey is called "room EQ", and it does a good job of correcting many, but not all room interaction problems. For example, it corrected some room modes - peaks and nulls - in my room, which were verified by meaurement. There are some reflection and decay time issues only expertly done and expensive room treatments can correct, though.

Here's the thing, and it is not talked about much. Audyssey EQs each individual channel to the same reference target curve. As a result, all channels are voiced extremely closely to one another. Subwoofer integration is thereby greatly improved in the critical crossover regions. Just as importantly, all channels sound much more coherent with one another above the crossover region. This greatly improves the continuousness of multichannel imaging. Even if you use identical speakers at different locations in the room, they can sound somewhat different, causing imaging problems. But Audyssey pretty much does away with that. It will, within reason, even better integrate dissimilar speakers into a more cohesive sonic whole.

Also, Audyssey works in the frequency and time domains. So, the entire system is time aligned as well as having smoother frequency response. Note that I am not just talking about speaker distance compensation that all AVR's and AVP's have. I am talking about making arrival times consistent at all frequencies, even with speakers that may have time alignment issues around their mid/high crossovers.

Bottom line: I cannot live without it, even with what was an excellent system pre-Audyssey. I believe it considerably elevates the sound of even lower cost components.

Doing some research for a friend...what's the cheapest receiver you can buy that will accept 5.1 LPCM over HDMI? She's on a budget.

Pick one with those requirements in the first post of this thread and check the prices.

Ya, it's just that all those examples are over a year old. I was hoping somebody who'd done some similiar research more resently could though out a few contenders.

Yamaha RX-V663
6ave.com is a authorized dealer.
$349 shipped.
2 year Warranty.
Talk to David @ext8474
Tell him ur a member &
Call it a Day

Skimmed this topic for about an hour and instead of starting a new topic, figured I'd post it here first.

I currently have a Denon 3806, bought two years ago. Works great, I like it but just got a new Samsung 58" plasma TV that's 1.3 (58A650) compliant.

Bottom line, I'm all for getting the best possible picture out of my equipment that I can, but will "upgrading" from a 3806 to, say, a 2808CI do anything to give me a better picture or no?

Considering options of connecting a Sony PS3 to an AVP-A1HDCI, is there any benefit of connecting the PS3 via HDMI directly to the AVP-A1HDCI if the PS3 will only be used for game playing? The only alternative would HDMI straight out of PS3 into the video source, and optical from PS3 to AVP-A1HDCI.

What are the benefits with either option?

Sorry, posted to wrong spot.

Can the first post be updated to reflect whether audio processing is mandatory or not? For example is PCM decoding capability mandatory in HDMI 1.1, or HDMI 1.3? I know a lot of people have purchased “HDMI 1.3” receivers lately only to find out that they don’t support HDMI audio AT ALL!

I would say "a lot" is a stretch.

I wouldn't!

I will be upgrading my projector to a 1080P model in the next few months and adding a blue ray player.

As this doesn't have HDMI inputs I understand I need to use analog inputs in pass through mode to get the new audio formats to work in my receiver.

In looking at the manual it says it has 6 channel analog inputs for future formats and I see 6 connections in total, Main(left and right), Surround (left and right), centre and subwoofer.

Just wanted to confirm this is what i need so I don't have to update the receiver.

I understand I do need a Blue ray player that decodes and has the correct connections. Thus the Funai and Sony S350 are not in play for this. I will likely be waiting for the Oppo.