[smcilwaine287]

I currently have 2 RF-62's, RC-52 center, RW-12d subwoofer, and some bipolar definitive technology rears.


I am powering this with a Yamaha rx-v 663. I am looking to possibly upgrade the receiver. I have a chance to get a Yamaha rx-v 1900 for a good price, and I am wondering if I would notice any better sound quality. My vocals at home (for 2 channel) seem muffled and unclear. It is never like this in the show rooms I hear these is, but when I hear them in the show room it is normally played with the rx-v1900. but how much of this has to do with the receiver, as opposed to the properly set up room? I would say I do 80% movies, 20% music, however music is what I am really displeased with on the 663. I feel like at a very moderate volume the 663 sounds great, but at higher volume (which i always do) I feel like lots of that detail just goes away.




BOTTOM LINE - If I upgrade from the Yamaha rx-v 663 to the rx-1900 would there be a noticable difference for music and movies?

 

[localnet]

Are those speakers of yours 8ohm or 4ohm?


On edit: I see they are Klipsch 8ohm units. I would look at your settings before running out and buying a new unit. Where is the cross over set, large or small speaker setting, etc., and go from there.


Mike

 

[MichaelJHuman]

First off, don't expect better sound quality except in cases where the extra power of the 1900 avoids clipping. My RX-V657 was replaced by the 2700, and then the 2700 by the 3900, and differences were minor under lower volumes. If anything, I preferred the 657's 7-channel stereo, oddly enough.


The 1900 will have more power - it better! But how much? For one thing, the 663's power drops off quite a bit when all channels are driven at the same time. The 1900 fares a bit better. Don't expect it to be twice as loud though.


As for your dialog, poor dialog intelligibility is a common complaint. People come in here once a week complaining about it, and they have a variety of receivers.


First off, if possible, angle your center channel to point to your ear level. I am not sure if this helps, but it's worth trying.


Next, people's hearing, like mine, might need some help due to the way movies are mixed, and how they sound in your home environment. So maybe try bumping the center channel level up a bit. Some people say thay have tried this, and it helps.


One more thing to try, is to run your speaker test. Make sure the center sounds ok. If you had blown a driver, you might notice a timbre change in how the center channel sounds. A frequency sweep would be better, but I don't know where to get something like that in Dolby Digital.


Don't expect the 1900 to suddenly make dialog clearer. I am not saying it won't, but there's no reason to think it will. It's got a better power section though, I assure you of that. Compare weights, published benchmarks on the 663 vs any of the x700, x800 or x900 receivers, and compare power consumption. And the 1900 adds some features you may, or may not find useful (but I can't think what they are off the top of my head, sorry.)

 

[smcilwaine287]

I meant vocals in 2 channel stereo, not movies, however I do crank up the center and angle it at myself which helps alot.


Like I said the 663 doesn't seem to be as clear at loud volumes. I am not looking for louder volumes out of the 1900, I am looking for crisper sound at the same relatively loud volume I already listen at.

 

[mbyrnes]

You could also look at adding a separate amp. Something like the Emotiva XPA-3 or XPA 5 would not cost a lot of money but would give you a ton of headroom (which it sounds like you are running out of). They have a 30 day in home trial (you'll pay for shipping).


The XPA-3 would probably be plenty. Running the surround speakers off of the 663 would be fine (more available power since fronts no longer use it).


The 663 has a pretty weak power supply. For 90% of people it is fine, but listening at loud levels you may be out of juice. What you describe sounds like distortion from lack of power.

 

[MichaelJHuman]



Quote:
Originally Posted by smcilwaine287 /forum/post/16879846


I meant vocals in 2 channel stereo, not movies, however I do crank up the center and angle it at myself which helps alot.


Like I said the 663 doesn't seem to be as clear at loud volumes. I am not looking for louder volumes out of the 1900, I am looking for crisper sound at the same relatively loud volume I already listen at.

Like I say, don't expect this. And separate amps probably won't help either. As mentioned above, the 1900 has more power, so if your are going into slight clipping, it might help. I just want to encourage some pessimism on a better amp stage correcting your issue. I don't like to see people having false expectations of what a change of gear can do for them.


You can't fix your ears, so if you have hearing damage in that range, you are SOL


You could work on your room accoustics, but most people won't want to do that


You could consider a different center channel speaker, but yours might be fine, I don't know

 

[dan711]



Quote:
Originally Posted by smcilwaine287 /forum/post/16879846


I meant vocals in 2 channel stereo, not movies, however I do crank up the center and angle it at myself which helps alot.


Like I said the 663 doesn't seem to be as clear at loud volumes. I am not looking for louder volumes out of the 1900, I am looking for crisper sound at the same relatively loud volume I already listen at.

Sounds to me like you're searching for a different sound. Going from one Yamaha to another may or may not get you the sound you're looking for. Maybe audition another brand of receiver to see if it mates differently with your speakers.

 

[localnet]



Quote:
Originally Posted by dan711 /forum/post/16883155


Sounds to me like you're searching for a different sound. Going from one Yamaha to another may or may not get you the sound you're looking for. Maybe audition another brand of receiver to see if it mates differently with your speakers.

Maybe audition another brand of speaker. I could never stand the sound that a Klipsch speaker makes. Just me, sorry to offend, just my .02 and ears....


Mike