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Atmos headache - purchasing a new AVR Denon? Yammy? Pioneer?

jomari

jomari

War Never Changes
Famous
so, i wanted to go 5.1.2 but never knew if i could benefit from a 5.1.4 system. or could afford it.

then this came along,

https://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVRX4400H-Channel-Network-Receiver/dp/B072Z6VT1C

i recently listened to some AVR's at magnolia here, and was really impressed with a yamaha A780, and how 'warm' the sound was, compared to the pioneer or the denon back there.

older AVR's ive had was a sony and a pioneer. the sony felt and sounded tinny to me. the pioneer, well, the closest i can get is the pioneer VSX-503, which is about 200 cheaper,

https://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-VSX-...tronics&sprefix=9.2+re,electronics,212&sr=1-9

i was going to settle, and just get a yamaha, because of my previous demo,

https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-RX-V6...fix=9.2+re,electronics,212&sr=1-2-spons&psc=1

but its only 5.1.2

so,

1. hows denon regarding heat dissipation and longetivity.
2. pioneer has been bought out by onkyo apparently.
3. i want to get the yamaha, since its the most 'stable' compared to both the denon (apparently clips at times) and the pioneer, (which during the demo, felt thin to me)

its a relatively smaller room, but has a slanted vault ceiling. i am planning to do 5.1.2 and using front firing old speakers.

is 5.1.4 really that impressive?

i believed 7.1 was fun, but after moving to a smaller apartment back then, it kinda didnt matter. my older AVR (which i still have - Pio VSX-1123), has height channels.

but like the fleshlight, its not the real thing. (change the analogy (no pun intended/inserted. *kapow!* if you want mods, im just exhausted right now)
 
When I started reading your post @jomari , never did I think it would contain the word "Fleshlight". LOL Good luck buddy, I don't have any suggestions, but I hope you find exactly what you are looking for.
 
First, I would look at accessories for less for a refurbished unit. Going 9 overall channels isn't super expensive. It gets that way once you go 11 and 13.

For those that I've heard from, 2 height channels isn't as good as 4 because 4 provides the panning from front to back.
 
bmwuk said:
First, I would look at accessories for less for a refurbished unit. Going 9 overall channels isn't super expensive. It gets that way once you go 11 and 13.

For those that I've heard from, 2 height channels isn't as good as 4 because 4 provides the panning from front to back.
Click to expand...

thank you, thats the thing right. if i wanted to go 5.1.2 i'd just use my height channels and have the AVR create it for me. but its not the real deal right? you know how that feels.

anyways, i think im opting for the denon and buy it at our local frys. its currently at 899.00 similar to amazon, but at least i can try to test it heavily and return it if needed. problem is, all my speakers at at storage. i have a old old polk surroundbar (its a passive one our old landlord gave to us for free), and might try it out.
 
this is awesome. i found a code via frys electronics, and saw that i can get a whopping discount to bring it down to 500 bucks. i am sold. i can save about 300 dollars compared to what i wanted, the denon, and think i can deal with that. i hope so. if not, at least its easier to return the unit to frys than to go through amazon.

i hope all goes well on this, will keep this thread posted a bit.
 
I've always been a fan of Denon, even over Yamaha. IMO, either one is rather better than Onkyo. When I upgraded to Atmos (the thread about it is on here somewhere) I went with Marantz- it's a sister unit to the Denon and from Accessories4Less the price was excellent. My only complaint about the unit was the limited receive angle for the IR sensor- I fixed that with a generic IR Blaster type thing off Amazon.

As for the benefits of Atmos, when it's available it does lend some new dimension to the audio. I'd probably say it's a diminishing returns thing- as you go from a good 2.1 setup to a 5.1 setup it adds some, but doesn't increase the enjoyment by 2.5 times. Likewise, going Atmos (I have 5.1.2- only 2 height speakers right above the seating position) adds a touch more but doesn't exactly transform things. I wouldn't spend a ton on the height speakers for this reason. I used a couple in-ceiling Paradigms for this.
 
i dread wiring the rear surround speakers. this time twice the headache. i really wanted to go ceiling speakers, but my ceiling is vaulted, the wrong way too.

listening position is possibly going to be er... parrallel to the incline of the ceiling. Left side is higher than the right side.

picking up the AVR today. i will do more studying and ask about the return policy first before we open it. then will have to try to check the hdmi ports and the speaker terminals if all is working properly. apparently AVR's nowadays have faulty both.
 
They do make some in-ceiling speakers that have slanted/tiltable portions to beam things in the right direction.

But yeah, wiring it will be a pain.
 
I am mainly a Marantz guy, but I've also had great experiences with Yamaha. I used to like Onkyo, but their quality has been sliding for years and I no longer trust them.
 
I wouldn't spend a ton on the height speakers for this reason. I used a couple in-ceiling Paradigms for this.
Click to expand...

That is really funny, because I bought a pair of Paradigm in-ceiling speakers to use in a 5.1.2 setup with a Marantz receiver when I bought my house. I have not installed them, however, as cash is a bit tight and that retrofit is not going to be fun.
 
Haywood said:
That is really funny, because I bought a pair of Paradigm in-ceiling speakers to use in a 5.1.2 setup with a Marantz receiver when I bought my house. I have not installed them, however, as cash is a bit tight and that retrofit is not going to be fun.
Click to expand...

Ha. It was part of a complete speaker upgrade. Luckily for me, this was in the basement and two whole walls of my theater are accessible from the unfinished side. Running the speaker wires for the ceiling was as simple as just using a long enough stick to run them between the joists. Making sure I cut the speaker holes in the right spot was more trouble.

Those Paradigm in-ceilings were thought out really well. They were exceedingly simple to put in.
 
my problem is, ive never done custom in wall ANYTHING. so as much as id like to try, ive never fished wire in walls or anything. being a lifetime renter, ive learned to hide them in cordmate stuff, but at times im envious of people who do have em.

got the AVR, i cant even use it right now. mom in law doesnt know about it, and i will plant the seed she thinks its the 'old' one.

since the room is the formal living room to be converted into a bedroom, i might, might have the contractor help me install in wall stuff. if i get luck, might get in wall speakers.
 
You can find guys who do in-wall wire runs- if you want it done right, quickly, and to not worry about it, it might be worth the money. We found one through a network outsourcing company we used in the office.
 
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