🔌 Considering the RZ30? Find it here amzn.to/4hfaOWN 🔌 Watch our REVIEW to get caught up on today’s UNPLUGGED! ruclips.net/video/BFplelXHHu8/видео.html 😀If you enjoyed this video, please hit the 👍 Like button! 🙏 Please stay on topic & be respectful. ⬆Channel Policies and FTC Disclosures are available in the description box above.
You two are lucky charms. I was watching the Marantz Cinema 50 video, hit your amazon link, it was $600 off. Immediately purchased. 5 hours later back to full price. Paired with external amp for LCR ML Foundation F1's and matching center, ML Motion Surrounds, and SVS PB2000Pro sub, full 9.1 Atmos surround in my mini theater, I am in Audio Heaven. Thank you! Keep up the excellent videos.
@@alandawson9419 If you're happy with the 1080 and it still works for you, why not keep it and wait? If you're itching for something new, the 1000 will likely be a subtle improvement.
Newbie here and you two have been such a help. Building our first system that will be movie, shows, gaming, sports sound for 77” LG C4 as well as for Hi fi audio listening to my first nice turn table. Coming from an all in one record player and a 54” Vizio soundbar sub and rears combo so I have a long way to climb ha. I went with (2) Klipsch 8000f ii based on your great review on them, a 504c ii center channel (still hope that was the right call), and will eventually pick a sub (open to recommendations on it too but wasn’t sure I’d need one yet!) essentially I think that would be a 3.1 system, 3.0 for now until I make that decision. After all your videos and recon I’m very stuck on rz30 vs rz50 vs marantz cinema 50 or one of their older SR line. I’ve even looked at the rz75 and Marantz 40 but it felt that may be way overkill if that’s a thing. Yamaha is off the list as I want easy 😂 Sony or denon I haven’t done much recon on. Was trying to keep it simple but we know how that goes in this hobby. I would love your receiver opinions for my setup! Most info starts as two channel wattage and is usually reviews head right into info with 5.x , 7.x, 11.x. I don’t quite know how much wattage loss there is when you only do a 3.0 or 3.1 and how that math works so right amount of power is a question. Also open to thoughts on sub too! Thank you for all you too do!
Apologies for missing your question. I believe I just answered it on another video. Again, sorry, not sure how this one slipped through the cracks but if you need more help, just reply to my reply on the other video and we'll get you all sorted out.
Good morning, my Friday mornings are dedicated to your video! Love your work and enjoy the conversation and learning about the vast universe of home audio and video! Thanks Andrew and Kristi for your continued dedication and thoughtful content. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
The notion that AVR's would somehow be capable of high dynamic range movie audio output but incapable of clean, high quality, enjoyable audio playback is kind of weird to begin with. Obviously super cheap gear is still going to be super cheap gear but when you get to a decent level of quality (which happens pretty early in the lineup of any mainstream AVR manufacturer in my opinion) you're pretty set if everything is installed right. What speakers you have, your room acoustics, your subwoofer integration and a ton of other factors are much larger ones than which amplifier and processor things are fed from.
Re: “The Full Carl” - I’ve been a semi-pro musician, live audio engineer, and recording guy for more than 20 years. I too love the sensation of the “hit” but it’s neither necessary or even healthy. Ask some of the “purists” when they had their last comprehensive hearing test. Bottom line: Ears are fragile and you only get two….
Indeed ears are fragile. I don’t go full “Carl” all the time. The key to keeping your hearing is exposure time. 😜 For instance, when I attend a concert I have ear plugs in. Concert volume levels for extended periods of time isn’t advisable. But occasional thumps in the chest is where it’s at imho!!
Music on an AVR is exactly why I purchased the Anthem MRX 740 8K. Especially after watching Andrew and Kristie's reviews of that AVR. I love it. Amazing while watching TV/Movies and for stereo music from the turntable.
has been all the way around. From Stereo to avr system to soundbars. Now I'm back with a basic mid-range Stereo setup. 2 speakers, power amp and a streaming/pre amp. enjoying music again and really good at movies too
Great revue! I am still using my old Yamaha RX-V995 because it still rocks plus, my vintage gear but always fun to see the new stuff. Carl sighting!!! 👏😂
I use Yamaha's YPAO and Anthem Room Correction (in two different systems).YPAO requires more manual tweaking than Anthem's RC to get optimal performance, but that tweaking gives more precise control of specific frequency bands. In the end, I'm a big fan of both systems.
Glad to see they're still doing updates for the RZ-50! I'm generally super happy with the quality and features of that receiver, but I've had some huge issues trying to get DIRAC working from the actual computer software (vs just using the Onkyo app). I've really wanted to use a good calibration mic and the finer granularity of the full Dirac software, but my receiver does not show up at all when the software is searching for devices, no matter what network settings I have set up at home. Everything should be right, why is this not showing up? Is this a known issue? Is the RZ-50 not supposed to be able to be used with the Windows software version of Dirac?
i think the prices for Dirac are just ridiculous for what it is. I know people in Hifi are used to getting ripped off but 500+ Dollars for a software you can only use on a single product is just a joke
I'm impressed by all the features you get on these modern Receivers for the price. The only reason i have never owned one and just have a 2 channel amplifier is because i've never been that bothered about the sound quality on movies. I've listened to the 2 channel on some of my friends receivers and it sounds every bit as good as my dedicated 2 channel.
I have a do-it-all 5.1 system because I live in a small apartment and I love movies and music. I prioritised music quality and went for a NAD amp and Hsu Research speakers and sub. It sounds amazing by any standards.
Hello Kristi & Chris..just to say that U2 are wonderful!respectful,professional n so much more!a couple made in heaven!the best is that complicity n that sense of humour.wish you all the best n do take good care of yrselves..you are the real Americans,true n genuine who are makin America great!thanks for all guys.keep it up.congrats for the great job..big kisses from far away Mauritius.
Expensive audiophile gear can be way cool and sound awesome, and when I was young I fervently hoped that someday I could afford a great setup. In the meantime I still enjoyed listening to my music through transistor radios, a Panasonic cassette recorder, and a 1960s console record player. I'm 60 now and maybe because my listening roots were so humble, I find that any decent AV setup sounds awesome to me now, and I feel no desire to spend more for specialized gear.
I just recently set up my first home theater system using an RZ50. I was expecting to use it mostly for tv/movies, but I’ve found myself using it for listening to music wayyy more than I used to with my old dinky sound bar, and it is SO much fun for that. I got it on sale and it was such a great value, especially when you factor in Dirac (which I had no problems using, and I’m a newbie)
I love my RZ70. Then add Dirac + Bass Control...chef's kiss. I can feel the waves and "textures" from my SB3000's. The only con: it makes me want to get a Storm Processor with Dirac ART when I do my full build.
About the people, having problems with room correction. I understand where they are coming from. I have used Audesy for almost to decades with and without the app. I very recently to the plunge and bought dirac limited for denon x4800, and I was a bit scared. But I was very positivly surprised. It was very user frindly. It took some time, but wow what a good result! Making sub curves for ALL speakers was easy and it just works. Before I had good surroundsound and now I have great surroundsound. To those people who fear losing the sound of their speakers. Just stick with the limited 20-500hz. And by the way it is no longer possible to use the "dialog +- option" in the options.
On the note of playing the avr and making people think it is more expensive gear, the same is true about photography. I pro photographer I know usually use two lights for his studio shoots, and get amazing images using that setup. But he lost some business because his studio looked «unprofessional». He went and got a bunch of broken lights and just set them up in the studio, and voila: Professional! Still just used the two lights! 👍🏻 Oh, I went down the RZ30 rabbithole, and came across a few threads that were just plain rude talking about your work and videos. I apologize for those idiots, they are all wrong. Your work, videos and take on the audio world are amazing, and the amount of work you put in clearly shows. So discard all that stuff and keep going, the ones who matter love it! 👍🏻😊
Takes me only 5 minutes to get Dirac running after using a few times. Set the levels then go. Dirac has been the best for me for calibration. Audyssey was close but Yamaha’s was far behind…that was just me. Others may have a different opinion. I just like how Dirac adjust phase between speakers. Saved me so much time than all the trial and error I was doing before.
LOL about the gik panel--I scratched my head over its placement back in your Austin days. And, noticed that you pretty obviously had just hung it from the same nail as the painting. Thanks!
I also had a home cinema receiver at home with a 5.1 installation for years. Today I only have a Yamaha R-N800A and a 2.1 installation. It bothered me that there were speakers all over the living room and the cables were visible everywhere. So now I have two Wharfedale Linton 85s and a sub. That's enough, sounds fantastic for both music and movies.
I love these long form discussions with you two. Very informative and the deep dives are fun! I'm exploring the idea of changing my surround bookshelves into in-wall or in-ceiling for my 5.1 system. Currently, my rear speakers are KEF Q150's. They sound fine, but are just always in the way for traffic around the room. I can position them well behind me in the corners but just don't sound as good there. Any recommendations on whether to go the in-wall approach for surrounds/rears? My fronts are KEF R3's and center is KEF R2C. Sub is an SVS PB1000, driven by Onkyo TX NR6100.
About the Onkyo power issue with low impedance speakers: it's caused by the low impedance setting. Never set the impedance setting in the receiver to low impedance setting, whatever speakers you have and it will be fine.
I think high end receivers can perform just as well as dedicated separates or integegrated amp setups but I prefer the flexibility of separates. I'm running the Yamaha CX-A5200 processor with outlaw model 2200 for fronts and center then Emotiva amps for the remaining 4 surrounds and 4 atmos in-ceilings. If I ever need to upgrade the processor, I know I'll never need to worry about power.
I have been watching pricing on the RZ50 and bought an Out of Box for under $600 in Sept and very pleased and found nothing wrong or missing in the box. Good place to try and source, can be good and bad.
Wait, what, is that a JBL MA710 AVR I see in the background near the white table lamp??? Since I have the full JBL Stage 2, 5.1.2 speaker set up already I am hoping it is and that your review, if it is the JBL, will give me guidance especially if you compare it to the Sony STR-AN1000 which is my current AVR. Fingers crossed 🤞🏻
everyone has an opinion. but its the ones that mistake their opinion for knowledge that are insufferable. i love the painting/acoustic panel anecdote. perfect. thanks guys! good stuff as always.
Bro are you kidding me? No we don’t need moms and wives to tell us how to dress nicely. Believe or it not men can see and dress themselves nicely! Anyways I had to get that off my chest lol.
I am pretty satisfied with my AVR (Denon x4700H) for stereo (2.1) music. I do have an itch to get separate stereo gear, but can't see it sounding too much better in my living room. Seems like a lot of extra money for a minor improvement.
Andrew, you're absolutely spot on about receivers. Ofcourse many snobs don't want to hear this, but it's true. I have a Yamaha Aventage rx-a780 running a 7.2 system. I've had audiophiles with seperates come through and hear my system, and I've gotten adjectives like "fantastic", "sounds great", etc, every time. I love the sound that I'm getting from my AVR, and I have no need to "upgrade" to anything else. I'm completely satisfied.
Maybe you have nice friends! The differences between a receiver like yours and a whole separates system will be small. The kind of thing you'd notice if you lived with one and switched to the other. Some people coming over to your house are not likely to be as in tune with the differences. I have a receiver based theater and a stereo set up. I love them both for different reasons. It's all good!
Andrew, thanks for answering my question. I never considered (should have) that the Vocal/Dialog values would be disabled while in Dirac Mode. I'll try reducing the bass in Dirac as you suggest.
I’ve been a Denon amp enthusiast for over 20 years. Six months back, my Denon AVR 7200WA stopped working; repairs would have cost me a whopping £800. So, I decided to upgrade to the RZ50. Wow! Love the RZ50; it wipes the floor with the Denon AVR 7200WA and all my previous Denons with movies and music. DracLive is amazing; personally, I found it easy to set up. The RZ50 offers amazing value. I'm so glad I decided not to buy another Denon.🙂
I'll admit I do judge AVR's based the non-detachable power cables which my brain likes to tell means low quality, I know it's not true but if they can just make the power cable detachable I'm sure it will be more hifi :). Great video!
Back in December I got an Klipsch rp 1400 subwoofer and went full Carl on it, though it was awesome I woke up my neighbor (2 am) with the Fury movie, he tought somebody was hammering down his house. With a full Carl also comes a great responsibility.
Don't know where is best to leave this question, so here it is: I have a Cinema 70s (in 7.0.2 [up-firing]) with an outboard MM7025 to drive my mains. I have noticed that some days it sounds louder at the same volume level than others. For example, I ran the same song three nights in a row: 1st & 2nd nights it generated a reading of ~80 dB on an SPL meter at the listening position with the volume set to -29 dB. The third night I ran the test, I had to run the volume ~9 dB higher (so -20 dB) to get the same SPL reading at the listening position. Any idea what that might be? (I picked the -29 dB volume level b/c it's above where the click-for-more-power happens.)
So Andrew I’m new to the channel. I really don’t know a lot about receivers back in the 90s. I bought a Yamaha DSP-A1 receiver at the time it ran about $2500. I thought it was a pretty good receiver. I’m still using it but I wanna update to a better one with HDMI so I’m wondering if you could give me some advice on what would be comparable to that receiver, but I would still like to buy a Yamaha
Regarding a comment about visuals with your equipment, I found when I initially got into this hobby over 40 years ago, I personally found the tactile feeling of working with my receiver, graphic eq, tape deck and turntable a more satisfying experience than how the industry has evolved throughout the years. I see quality in build degraded, and longevity questionable. But that's just my subjective opinion.
There was junk equipment and quality back then too. But yes today equipment has a limited life span with all the changing tech. Atmos and dts:X have been with us for ten years in the consumer market so it’s just a matter of time until some new codec that will be introduced to disrupt the market.
Great videos guys! I always find it tricky with room acoustics, because I enjoy watching reviewers that don’t have any or few treatment because I don’t have any and sometimes I feel it is easier to relate to somebody that doesn’t have a perfectly treated room when explaining the product, rather than a small amount that actually have panels everywhere to which it’s never going to relate to my environment. So I always find it weird when people really make a stink about it
What I like watching about this channel is, I’m a mcintosh system owner I agree some of these AVR’s are coming up in sound, what I don’t hear and like is u need a $30000 preamp like a Trinnov to sound good. Andrew seams like a guy I’d have met in the 90’s at one of the home audio stores here in Vancouver and not being over the top saying I need blow a wad of dough it’s refreshing
About the 4ohm speaker issue. NEVER activate 4ohm mode in „speaker setup” - it is exactly the cause of power drop. You can find tests confirming the fact on RUclips.
RZ50 currently on sale for $999 😱 Ya gotta love Onkyo if only for the rockin’ value price of admission. I know Sony’s got some extra spatial sauce & extra channels w/ the 5000ES buuutt… Onkyo’s literally HALF price 🥹 and in my pocket book that’s just a smart way to win hearts & minds Salute to y’all, Robinsons, for highlighting this & other often overlooked great value products in AV
This was very informative as always and I find your reviews to be excellent and very balanced. I'd like your thoughts on what is best - either using the TV as the hub or using the AVR? I have the RZ50 connected to a LG C2 OLED using eArc and use the LG as the hub which has my cable box and Xbox Series X connected. My reasoning for this is that the signal path for the picture is more direct as opposed to having the RZ50 pass it through to the TV, and a more direct signal path for high rez/4K picture is better? The LG then just has to pass the audio through to the RZ50, which is less onerous. Thoughts?
A properly calibrated system will sound amazing. I used A1 Evo to refine my Audissey calibration on my Marantz Cinema 50 and it sounds absolutely amazing for music now. Especially multichannel music. The Marantz is also especially good at turning 2 channel stereo into multi channel using Dolby (not talking about All Channel Stereo). My Pink Floyd CDs sound absolutely amazing in emulated multichannel. Any audiophile who says any different needs to open their mind.
Andrew, for the discussion around impedance: Do you mess with the impedance switch in AVRs when you are doing your reviews depending on the speaker? Or just leave it in default? Thanks so much for this channel! It’s helped so much.
i love these unplugged episodes. Also I swapped az5000es for rz70. Felt the rz70 was more lively. Waiting for my wife to approve some new speakers: SVS Titans and surrounds.
I couldn't agree more with the idea that an AVR can function as a do-it-all setup. Every now and again i'll see setups with a receiver and an integrated amp because the person refuses to use the receiver for 2-channel listening. This is rarely warranted.
Great video as always. Well at least Carl embraced his "Carl-ness" eh? 😅😂 Sorry that movie kept coming to mind when he and his preference are mentioned. So true what u said about visual aesthetics. I myself am a victim to seeing and having "stacks" of gear on my shelf. Now, it's a lot less I agree with the AVR preference for the "all in one" scenarios. On my 2nd "old school" AVR (pre HDMI) & loving it❤ thanks in part to your videos. I still use this and the previous one as a pre amp, tho. Keep good and have a great weekend, everyone❤
Any calibration (room correction) setup is basically a starting point. I work at a hifi retail store and even when we use McIntosh's more sophisticated calibration integration, we almost always end up manually adjusting a few channels in some degree based on what human ears are experiencing.
I had an Onkyo for a decade and was very happy with the sound and performance. I now have my first Anthem (mrx1140) for about 6 months. Their Anthem Room Correction (ARC) is absolutely amazing. The sound, it all just harmonizes perfectly and is a pure joy to listen to. And not hard to use. Dirac seems difficult.
I been waiting for this so video so I can relax and start my Friday. Can't wait for the cambridge EXA 100 Will you be reviewing the KEF Q Concerto Meta? Thanks guys
I 2 had an integra and I related to you when I heard you for the first time doing the rz50 review. I got it and very happy with my AVR set up!!! 100% on your reviews... 😍
Dirac was very easy, but frustrating when it got to the subs in set up. Kept erroring out. I had to turn my klipsch to 25% on the sub, and -12db in menu for it to complete the set up.
Still struggling with the setup too. Between 102 and 106 errors, I can't seem to dial it in to finish calibration. I have a ticket in with Crutchfield. I'm Confident we will get it figured out. I'm certain it's the sub on board volume output.
@@jsackett42160 I swap between my JBL studio 580’s and wharfdale diamond 11.4’s. Because of my smaller man cave of 13x13x9 both pair achieve an F3 of 25hz. I prefer the JBL’s because they scale much larger than the Wharfdales.
Would love to hear your opinion about comparing an older higher range AVR to a new lower range AVR for situations where more speakers is a no go. I have an Onkyo NR5008. It's old, pre- Atmos, but a real power house and still sounds amazing. It did cost me less than 200 euro and beats my 500,- stereo amp big time. What would I gain or lose in audio quality with a Cinema 50/40 or Onkyo RZ50/70 if I just run 5.1? Thanks in advance!
My second set up, bedroom, is same way. I have a 2008ish yamaha rx-v1800 (130 watts x7) in 3 channel, no sub. It's 7.1 and is pre atmos. Only draw back is no arc/earc so tv/streaming content is limited to 5.1 with optical out. Works perfect for the set up.
My Integra drx 5.4 rips for both, I love it but I added a BlueSound node to the system and it was a huge upgrade. The firmware update was awesome too, fixes the annoying wifi dropouts
Onkyo is the gift that just keeps on giving!! When I first joined this crazy race they were my dogs!! ....Unless you are well rich I still don't know why you would dip your toe anywhere else!!!????
@@techsamurai11 Do you think one could have a great music setup with: this AVR, 2 sensitive high quality FR & FL speakers, and 2 high quality subs? I think so. Maybe not super great, but great.
Onkyo and Klipsch belong to the same group now. The new Klipsch Flexus 300 soundbar will offer a limited version of Dirac included, with the cost option to go full frequency. Onkyo's competitive pricing on their Dirac enabled AV receivers is, I think, due to a form of free advertising for Dirac, and so are probably giving the group some concessions. I'm sure many who find value in the free Live version will feel compelled to pay for Dirac Bass Control which would be relatively affordable. I see the new JBL receiver at the back, hehheehehe, but another reviewer claimed its setup is awful for what is aimed at an AV newbie, but found its sound was great once tweaked correctly. Kristi didn't give her thoughts on the Marantz Model 60n, but maybe her omission says it all? Your new review on Sunday??? I'm willing to bet a few CDs from Amazon that it's another Marantz ;) ;)
I love ya my friend, but I have to disagree here. I have an RZ70 and when using HIFI the Stereo just guts my Klipsch 8000F II's. I just bought a WIIM Ultra (Eversolo is too rich for my blood at this point) to run through the HDMI 1 which is the only one that provides lossless audio compression and bypasses the receivers internal DAC when the option is set to perform that way in the web interface. It sucks spending $2K on an AVR that sucks at audio. HVR is outstanding though. I digress. It'd be fun for you to throw a mic in the middle of the room and see what frequencies do what and then attach an external DAC.
I just ordered a pair of 8000f ii and 504c center (still deciding on which sub) for movie and gaming use and hifi for music with turn table and streaming. I was about to pull the trigger on a rz30 or 50 or 70, but there is never reviews based on 3.1 and hifi stereo. Your post has me second guessing.
Este es un avr que tenía en mente ya que he tenido marantz sr8015,denon avc x8500 y desde hace dos años tengo un arcam avr31 en cual su sonido en estéreo y música me enamoro pero ya me cansé un poco de él y sus errores tontos! Se que en estéreo el onkyo no está a la altura del arcam porque me lo han confirmado varias personas..pero en cine que tal es el onkyo?
AVR is great for music once you get into the better models with low noise and high quality dacs. I drive 4 ohm speakers in my LCR channels and 8 ohm surrounds, my Sony 5400ES doesn't even get hot, 2 channel has power reserve in spades.
Buenas Andréw cuando dices que a tu padre y tu hermano le probaste la escena era con el rz30? Solo el moviendo todas esas cajas svs titán? Por cierto cuál dirías que es el avr que te ha ofrecido un sonido más puro de cine Anthem mrx740 Onkyo Yamaha rxa8 Marantz cinema o denon? Saludos
Sound is subjective. My own view regarding AVR's is that I don't think there is a certain direction one should go with as a one size fits all. I have a Sony ZA3100ES hooked up to Definitive Technology speakers (with the built-in powered subwoofers) in a 7.1 Atmos setup and it performs masterfully for both music & film. The clarity, presence and immersion is fantastic. The only "downside" is that the 3100ES does not have a Phono stage (which Sony, if I'm correct, would remedy later on with their updated "ES" models) but that shortcoming was easily remedied with a good quality external amp (Schiit Mani 2) And , I've always preferred 5-channel stereo over two-channel for some reason. Some snobby purists may shriek in horror at that statement, but hey, that's just me. Do I use room treatments? No. I don't need them. I'm not saying they are snake oil but I don't see it as a must-have either. Sometimes the more that you think you need can cause unneeded complexities that transforms something simple into something complicated (and costly 💵) My point is this, no one in my opinion is wrong regarding what they prefer or hear. Your ears are always yours and no one else's. What IS always wrong 100% of the time is telling someone else that what they have and enjoy is inadequate or altogether wrong. That's simple arrogance at play. Having said all of that stuff, I enjoy the back and forth conversation in this video, it covered a lot of ground and challenged a common misconception regarding how what people see can influence what they hear (or expect to hear) in which I agree with Andrew...I do think in many cases we inject what we see that complicates our natural perceptions doing their job.
I want to buy my first AVR. I thinking about getting the Onkyo RZ 30 or RZ 50. They are both the same price in my country. I want to create a 5.1 setting with front l+r maybe a small tower. My room living room is 7m x 5m but i sit close to the tv. The rz 50 has 120 watts instead of the rz30 100w, but the rz 30 is newer and maybe the software is better? I also heard a runor the rz30 has an renewed amp. So wich one do you recommend for me and will i hear difference in audio quality between onkyo rz's and pioneer elites?
🔌 Considering the RZ30? Find it here amzn.to/4hfaOWN
🔌 Watch our REVIEW to get caught up on today’s UNPLUGGED! ruclips.net/video/BFplelXHHu8/видео.html
😀If you enjoyed this video, please hit the 👍 Like button! 🙏 Please stay on topic & be respectful.
⬆Channel Policies and FTC Disclosures are available in the description box above.
Kristi was close you guys have summoned the power of the dragon ! (the winged one not the Nakamichi) 😊
lmao, no i haven’t heard a receiver sound as good as a stereo for music, and i’ve heard nice $1m home theater versus stereo systems.
Andrew/Kristi you should sign off on your reviews with “opinions are like assholes…everybody’s got one”
Just love the sound panel trick you guys pulled in Austin. Still laughing.
That goes to show that most audiophile stuff is preconceived ideas/placebo effect/snake oil.
You two are lucky charms. I was watching the Marantz Cinema 50 video, hit your amazon link, it was $600 off. Immediately purchased. 5 hours later back to full price. Paired with external amp for LCR ML Foundation F1's and matching center, ML Motion Surrounds, and SVS PB2000Pro sub, full 9.1 Atmos surround in my mini theater, I am in Audio Heaven. Thank you! Keep up the excellent videos.
So glad you are happy!
Thanks! - will the Sony An1000 be an improvement over my dn1080 with the 360 room correction? You guys rock!
It could be. I found it to be a spacial improvement, but every room and setup will be different. Thanks for your support and for joining us today!
This is for a dedicated HT game room being built
@@alandawson9419 I would get the 1000 over the older 1080 in 2024.
@@andrewrobinsonreviewsI should have said I have the 1080 now, so question is upgrade or not.
@@alandawson9419 If you're happy with the 1080 and it still works for you, why not keep it and wait? If you're itching for something new, the 1000 will likely be a subtle improvement.
Newbie here and you two have been such a help. Building our first system that will be movie, shows, gaming, sports sound for 77” LG C4 as well as for Hi fi audio listening to my first nice turn table. Coming from an all in one record player and a 54” Vizio soundbar sub and rears combo so I have a long way to climb ha.
I went with (2) Klipsch 8000f ii based on your great review on them, a 504c ii center channel (still hope that was the right call), and will eventually pick a sub (open to recommendations on it too but wasn’t sure I’d need one yet!) essentially I think that would be a 3.1 system, 3.0 for now until I make that decision.
After all your videos and recon I’m very stuck on rz30 vs rz50 vs marantz cinema 50 or one of their older SR line. I’ve even looked at the rz75 and Marantz 40 but it felt that may be way overkill if that’s a thing. Yamaha is off the list as I want easy 😂 Sony or denon I haven’t done much recon on. Was trying to keep it simple but we know how that goes in this hobby.
I would love your receiver opinions for my setup! Most info starts as two channel wattage and is usually reviews head right into info with 5.x , 7.x, 11.x. I don’t quite know how much wattage loss there is when you only do a 3.0 or 3.1 and how that math works so right amount of power is a question. Also open to thoughts on sub too!
Thank you for all you too do!
Apologies for missing your question. I believe I just answered it on another video. Again, sorry, not sure how this one slipped through the cracks but if you need more help, just reply to my reply on the other video and we'll get you all sorted out.
Good morning, my Friday mornings are dedicated to your video! Love your work and enjoy the conversation and learning about the vast universe of home audio and video! Thanks Andrew and Kristi for your continued dedication and thoughtful content.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Thanks for watching. Have a great weekend too!
You guys should get some of your friends together and do a blind test AVR vs Stereo system.
I just decided. I’m going to program two more Dirac calibrations for my system and will name them Carl and Kristi.
Pleas make a video of HOW to use DIRAK LIVE!!! 🎉🎉
The notion that AVR's would somehow be capable of high dynamic range movie audio output but incapable of clean, high quality, enjoyable audio playback is kind of weird to begin with. Obviously super cheap gear is still going to be super cheap gear but when you get to a decent level of quality (which happens pretty early in the lineup of any mainstream AVR manufacturer in my opinion) you're pretty set if everything is installed right. What speakers you have, your room acoustics, your subwoofer integration and a ton of other factors are much larger ones than which amplifier and processor things are fed from.
Re: “The Full Carl” - I’ve been a semi-pro musician, live audio engineer, and recording guy for more than 20 years. I too love the sensation of the “hit” but it’s neither necessary or even healthy. Ask some of the “purists” when they had their last comprehensive hearing test. Bottom line: Ears are fragile and you only get two….
Indeed ears are fragile. I don’t go full “Carl” all the time.
The key to keeping your hearing is exposure time. 😜
For instance, when I attend a concert I have ear plugs in. Concert volume levels for extended periods of time isn’t advisable. But occasional thumps in the chest is where it’s at imho!!
Music on an AVR is exactly why I purchased the Anthem MRX 740 8K. Especially after watching Andrew and Kristie's reviews of that AVR. I love it. Amazing while watching TV/Movies and for stereo music from the turntable.
Thanks
Thank you so much!
Thanks you guys. I’m really happy that I found your channel, it’s definitely added thought provoking joy to my life. Time to go put on a record.
I agree with not using room correction and sticking with pure direct mode. Getting proper speaker placement and room treatments is enough for me.
has been all the way around. From Stereo to avr system to soundbars. Now I'm back with a basic mid-range Stereo setup. 2 speakers, power amp and a streaming/pre amp. enjoying music again and really good at movies too
Great revue! I am still using my old Yamaha RX-V995 because it still rocks plus, my vintage gear but always fun to see the new stuff. Carl sighting!!! 👏😂
I use Yamaha's YPAO and Anthem Room Correction (in two different systems).YPAO requires more manual tweaking than Anthem's RC to get optimal performance, but that tweaking gives more precise control of specific frequency bands. In the end, I'm a big fan of both systems.
It's always a treat listening to you guys😊
That's very kind of you. Thanks for watching.
Glad to see they're still doing updates for the RZ-50! I'm generally super happy with the quality and features of that receiver, but I've had some huge issues trying to get DIRAC working from the actual computer software (vs just using the Onkyo app). I've really wanted to use a good calibration mic and the finer granularity of the full Dirac software, but my receiver does not show up at all when the software is searching for devices, no matter what network settings I have set up at home. Everything should be right, why is this not showing up? Is this a known issue? Is the RZ-50 not supposed to be able to be used with the Windows software version of Dirac?
i think the prices for Dirac are just ridiculous for what it is. I know people in Hifi are used to getting ripped off but 500+ Dollars for a software you can only use on a single product is just a joke
I'm impressed by all the features you get on these modern Receivers for the price. The only reason i have never owned one and just have a 2 channel amplifier is because i've never been that bothered about the sound quality on movies. I've listened to the 2 channel on some of my friends receivers and it sounds every bit as good as my dedicated 2 channel.
I have a do-it-all 5.1 system because I live in a small apartment and I love movies and music. I prioritised music quality and went for a NAD amp and Hsu Research speakers and sub. It sounds amazing by any standards.
Been using AVR’s for stereo long time. And bought Blu-ray’s as cd players too
@@hilldog3450 me too and you don't need a subwoofer with a av, as you often do with a stereo amp.
We're in the exact same boat! And my rig sounds GOOD!
Hello Kristi & Chris..just to say that U2 are wonderful!respectful,professional n so much more!a couple made in heaven!the best is that complicity n that sense of humour.wish you all the best n do take good care of yrselves..you are the real Americans,true n genuine who are makin America great!thanks for all guys.keep it up.congrats for the great job..big kisses from far away Mauritius.
Expensive audiophile gear can be way cool and sound awesome, and when I was young I fervently hoped that someday I could afford a great setup. In the meantime I still enjoyed listening to my music through transistor radios, a Panasonic cassette recorder, and a 1960s console record player. I'm 60 now and maybe because my listening roots were so humble, I find that any decent AV setup sounds awesome to me now, and I feel no desire to spend more for specialized gear.
The best part of Fridays!! Thank y’all as always!! 🙌🏾🙏🏾
Thanks for tuning in!
Another great discussion session A&K. Number 27… where has time gone! Enjoy your weekend and looking forward to Sunday’s review. Thanks.
It's hard to believe, isn't it?!? Thanks for being with us since day 1. Have a great wknd yourself!!
Thanks for watching, and we'll see you Sunday!
I just recently set up my first home theater system using an RZ50. I was expecting to use it mostly for tv/movies, but I’ve found myself using it for listening to music wayyy more than I used to with my old dinky sound bar, and it is SO much fun for that. I got it on sale and it was such a great value, especially when you factor in Dirac (which I had no problems using, and I’m a newbie)
I love my RZ70. Then add Dirac + Bass Control...chef's kiss. I can feel the waves and "textures" from my SB3000's. The only con: it makes me want to get a Storm Processor with Dirac ART when I do my full build.
My 1999 Marantz SR5000 with Velodyne Sub still rocks!
Had the 5008 and Val 10 back in the day
About the people, having problems with room correction. I understand where they are coming from. I have used Audesy for almost to decades with and without the app. I very recently to the plunge and bought dirac limited for denon x4800, and I was a bit scared. But I was very positivly surprised. It was very user frindly. It took some time, but wow what a good result! Making sub curves for ALL speakers was easy and it just works. Before I had good surroundsound and now I have great surroundsound. To those people who fear losing the sound of their speakers. Just stick with the limited 20-500hz. And by the way it is no longer possible to use the "dialog +- option" in the options.
Great show people, possibly the best yet! So many nails hit on their heads, so many interesting topics discussed. Enjoyed this so much 👌
I LOVE 💕 THE YPAO AND USED IT TO SETUP MY SYSTEM AND STILL HAVE THE ABILITY TO FIDDLE WITH IT,ANYTIME 🤗💚💚💚
On the note of playing the avr and making people think it is more expensive gear, the same is true about photography.
I pro photographer I know usually use two lights for his studio shoots, and get amazing images using that setup. But he lost some business because his studio looked «unprofessional».
He went and got a bunch of broken lights and just set them up in the studio, and voila: Professional!
Still just used the two lights! 👍🏻
Oh, I went down the RZ30 rabbithole, and came across a few threads that were just plain rude talking about your work and videos.
I apologize for those idiots, they are all wrong.
Your work, videos and take on the audio world are amazing, and the amount of work you put in clearly shows. So discard all that stuff and keep going, the ones who matter love it! 👍🏻😊
"The power of Gray Skull" lol! Callback to my childhood.
Takes me only 5 minutes to get Dirac running after using a few times. Set the levels then go. Dirac has been the best for me for calibration. Audyssey was close but Yamaha’s was far behind…that was just me. Others may have a different opinion. I just like how Dirac adjust phase between speakers. Saved me so much time than all the trial and error I was doing before.
LOL about the gik panel--I scratched my head over its placement back in your Austin days. And, noticed that you pretty obviously had just hung it from the same nail as the painting. Thanks!
I also had a home cinema receiver at home with a 5.1 installation for years. Today I only have a Yamaha R-N800A and a 2.1 installation. It bothered me that there were speakers all over the living room and the cables were visible everywhere. So now I have two Wharfedale Linton 85s and a sub. That's enough, sounds fantastic for both music and movies.
I love these long form discussions with you two. Very informative and the deep dives are fun! I'm exploring the idea of changing my surround bookshelves into in-wall or in-ceiling for my 5.1 system. Currently, my rear speakers are KEF Q150's. They sound fine, but are just always in the way for traffic around the room. I can position them well behind me in the corners but just don't sound as good there. Any recommendations on whether to go the in-wall approach for surrounds/rears? My fronts are KEF R3's and center is KEF R2C. Sub is an SVS PB1000, driven by Onkyo TX NR6100.
About the Onkyo power issue with low impedance speakers: it's caused by the low impedance setting. Never set the impedance setting in the receiver to low impedance setting, whatever speakers you have and it will be fine.
I leave it in the default setting "6 Ohm or higher."
I think high end receivers can perform just as well as dedicated separates or integegrated amp setups but I prefer the flexibility of separates. I'm running the Yamaha CX-A5200 processor with outlaw model 2200 for fronts and center then Emotiva amps for the remaining 4 surrounds and 4 atmos in-ceilings. If I ever need to upgrade the processor, I know I'll never need to worry about power.
I have been watching pricing on the RZ50 and bought an Out of Box for under $600 in Sept and very pleased and found nothing wrong or missing in the box. Good place to try and source, can be good and bad.
Wait, what, is that a JBL MA710 AVR I see in the background near the white table lamp??? Since I have the full JBL Stage 2, 5.1.2 speaker set up already I am hoping it is and that your review, if it is the JBL, will give me guidance especially if you compare it to the Sony STR-AN1000 which is my current AVR. Fingers crossed 🤞🏻
Dirac is not complicated to set up, especially with the RZ50. I have the RZ50, and it was ridiculously simple to set up.
I don't think it's complicated. I believe people see it and are intimidated by it.
Got to see Katie pic on your unplugged video with pool cracked me up😂🎉thanxs..nothing about audio from me, in tiny apt. But love your alls videos ♡
everyone has an opinion. but its the ones that mistake their opinion for knowledge that are insufferable. i love the painting/acoustic panel anecdote. perfect. thanks guys! good stuff as always.
Nobody rocks a Jean Shirt or Jacket like Andrew....BUT I bet Kristi is the one who dresses him, she's the one with the good taste.
Man, I don't get credit for anything 😂
@@andrewrobinsonreviews 😂
Bro are you kidding me? No we don’t need moms and wives to tell us how to dress nicely. Believe or it not men can see and dress themselves nicely! Anyways I had to get that off my chest lol.
It's really okay to get help or style advice from others.
@KristiWright oh I know. I'm considered a very sharp dresser....THANKS TO MY WIFE, OF COURSE.
I am pretty satisfied with my AVR (Denon x4700H) for stereo (2.1) music. I do have an itch to get separate stereo gear, but can't see it sounding too much better in my living room. Seems like a lot of extra money for a minor improvement.
I agree with Andrew 🎉. Visually there is definitely an effect on perception.
It most definitely can be!
I can relate to Carl. I remember my dad saying his feet left the floor upstairs. 😮
Andrew, you're absolutely spot on about receivers. Ofcourse many snobs don't want to hear this, but it's true. I have a Yamaha Aventage rx-a780 running a 7.2 system. I've had audiophiles with seperates come through and hear my system, and I've gotten adjectives like "fantastic", "sounds great", etc, every time. I love the sound that I'm getting from my AVR, and I have no need to "upgrade" to anything else. I'm completely satisfied.
Maybe you have nice friends! The differences between a receiver like yours and a whole separates system will be small. The kind of thing you'd notice if you lived with one and switched to the other. Some people coming over to your house are not likely to be as in tune with the differences. I have a receiver based theater and a stereo set up. I love them both for different reasons. It's all good!
Andrew, thanks for answering my question. I never considered (should have) that the Vocal/Dialog values would be disabled while in Dirac Mode. I'll try reducing the bass in Dirac as you suggest.
If you need more help, feel free to leave another comment, and I'll do my best.
I’ve been a Denon amp enthusiast for over 20 years. Six months back, my Denon AVR 7200WA stopped working; repairs would have cost me a whopping £800. So, I decided to upgrade to the RZ50. Wow! Love the RZ50; it wipes the floor with the Denon AVR 7200WA and all my previous Denons with movies and music. DracLive is amazing; personally, I found it easy to set up. The RZ50 offers amazing value. I'm so glad I decided not to buy another Denon.🙂
I'll admit I do judge AVR's based the non-detachable power cables which my brain likes to tell means low quality, I know it's not true but if they can just make the power cable detachable I'm sure it will be more hifi :). Great video!
Back in December I got an Klipsch rp 1400 subwoofer and went full Carl on it, though it was awesome I woke up my neighbor (2 am) with the Fury movie, he tought somebody was hammering down his house. With a full Carl also comes a great responsibility.
Yes. You made that happen. That RZ30 review was incredible.
Great stuff. I would love to have a special on small room best setups. Thanks Andrew and Kristi!
Don't know where is best to leave this question, so here it is: I have a Cinema 70s (in 7.0.2 [up-firing]) with an outboard MM7025 to drive my mains. I have noticed that some days it sounds louder at the same volume level than others. For example, I ran the same song three nights in a row: 1st & 2nd nights it generated a reading of ~80 dB on an SPL meter at the listening position with the volume set to -29 dB. The third night I ran the test, I had to run the volume ~9 dB higher (so -20 dB) to get the same SPL reading at the listening position. Any idea what that might be? (I picked the -29 dB volume level b/c it's above where the click-for-more-power happens.)
So Andrew I’m new to the channel. I really don’t know a lot about receivers back in the 90s. I bought a Yamaha DSP-A1 receiver at the time it ran about $2500. I thought it was a pretty good receiver. I’m still using it but I wanna update to a better one with HDMI so I’m wondering if you could give me some advice on what would be comparable to that receiver, but I would still like to buy a Yamaha
Yay! Another episode. 🎉
Running around town today but will definitely listen while I drive. Happy Friday y’all!
Drive safe. Enjoy the show!
Hello!!
@@andrewrobinsonreviews I sure will!
@@KristiWright hello ma’am! Hope you’re enjoying your Friday! 😇
Regarding a comment about visuals with your equipment, I found when I initially got into this hobby over 40 years ago, I personally found the tactile feeling of working with my receiver, graphic eq, tape deck and turntable a more satisfying experience than how the industry has evolved throughout the years. I see quality in build degraded, and longevity questionable. But that's just my subjective opinion.
There was junk equipment and quality back then too. But yes today equipment has a limited life span with all the changing tech. Atmos and dts:X have been with us for ten years in the consumer market so it’s just a matter of time until some new codec that will be introduced to disrupt the market.
Do me a favor to test your powers. Can you say the Arcam SA45 should get released tomorrow?
The ARCAM SA45 WILL BE RELEASED TOMORROW! (did it work?)
Great videos guys! I always find it tricky with room acoustics, because I enjoy watching reviewers that don’t have any or few treatment because I don’t have any and sometimes I feel it is easier to relate to somebody that doesn’t have a perfectly treated room when explaining the product, rather than a small amount that actually have panels everywhere to which it’s never going to relate to my environment. So I always find it weird when people really make a stink about it
I think 'Carl' is my spirit animal. 😂
Is that a JBL receiver in the background I see? Next reviewed receiver?
What I like watching about this channel is, I’m a mcintosh system owner I agree some of these AVR’s are coming up in sound, what I don’t hear and like is u need a $30000 preamp like a Trinnov to sound good. Andrew seams like a guy I’d have met in the 90’s at one of the home audio stores here in Vancouver and not being over the top saying I need blow a wad of dough it’s refreshing
I listened to my first old Parasound amp and preamp paired with a SMSL dac su9n and fell in love with Parasound
About the 4ohm speaker issue. NEVER activate 4ohm mode in „speaker setup” - it is exactly the cause of power drop. You can find tests confirming the fact on RUclips.
RZ50 currently on sale for $999 😱
Ya gotta love Onkyo if only for the rockin’ value price of admission.
I know Sony’s got some extra spatial sauce & extra channels w/ the 5000ES buuutt…
Onkyo’s literally HALF price 🥹 and in my pocket book that’s just a smart way to win hearts & minds
Salute to y’all, Robinsons, for highlighting this & other often overlooked great value products in AV
This was very informative as always and I find your reviews to be excellent and very balanced. I'd like your thoughts on what is best - either using the TV as the hub or using the AVR? I have the RZ50 connected to a LG C2 OLED using eArc and use the LG as the hub which has my cable box and Xbox Series X connected. My reasoning for this is that the signal path for the picture is more direct as opposed to having the RZ50 pass it through to the TV, and a more direct signal path for high rez/4K picture is better? The LG then just has to pass the audio through to the RZ50, which is less onerous. Thoughts?
A properly calibrated system will sound amazing. I used A1 Evo to refine my Audissey calibration on my Marantz Cinema 50 and it sounds absolutely amazing for music now. Especially multichannel music. The Marantz is also especially good at turning 2 channel stereo into multi channel using Dolby (not talking about All Channel Stereo). My Pink Floyd CDs sound absolutely amazing in emulated multichannel. Any audiophile who says any different needs to open their mind.
Great Friday everyone!
Happy Friday to you! Hope you're having a great day!
@ I am, what about you? Today is a holiday so no work for me
Hey Afonso! Hope this week has been a good one so far! Anything fun on deck this weekend?
@ Just some work related stuff that I have to take care of. How was your week?
@@txerapng Busy but good!!
Andrew, for the discussion around impedance:
Do you mess with the impedance switch in AVRs when you are doing your reviews depending on the speaker? Or just leave it in default?
Thanks so much for this channel! It’s helped so much.
@@jokerwonga never mess with the impedance switch.
i love these unplugged episodes. Also I swapped az5000es for rz70. Felt the rz70 was more lively. Waiting for my wife to approve some new speakers: SVS Titans and surrounds.
I couldn't agree more with the idea that an AVR can function as a do-it-all setup. Every now and again i'll see setups with a receiver and an integrated amp because the person refuses to use the receiver for 2-channel listening. This is rarely warranted.
Great video as always. Well at least Carl embraced his "Carl-ness" eh? 😅😂
Sorry that movie kept coming to mind when he and his preference are mentioned.
So true what u said about visual aesthetics. I myself am a victim to seeing and having "stacks" of gear on my shelf. Now, it's a lot less
I agree with the AVR preference for the "all in one" scenarios.
On my 2nd "old school" AVR (pre HDMI) & loving it❤ thanks in part to your videos. I still use this and the previous one as a pre amp, tho.
Keep good and have a great weekend, everyone❤
best buy between rz50 vs rz30?
@@raul16nyc I’m curious to this too! 7.2.2 stand alone system. Is there a benefit between rz50 vs rz30?
Any calibration (room correction) setup is basically a starting point. I work at a hifi retail store and even when we use McIntosh's more sophisticated calibration integration, we almost always end up manually adjusting a few channels in some degree based on what human ears are experiencing.
I had an Onkyo for a decade and was very happy with the sound and performance. I now have my first Anthem (mrx1140) for about 6 months. Their Anthem Room Correction (ARC) is absolutely amazing. The sound, it all just harmonizes perfectly and is a pure joy to listen to. And not hard to use. Dirac seems difficult.
Oh, I was also hoping to see the RZ70 on this show.
RZ70 review ruclips.net/video/egFjwQiIz8Q/видео.html
@andrewrobinsonreviews DOH! How did I miss that?! Well, you can't catch'em all I guess. But I'm on it. Thanks! 😄
@andrewrobinsonreviews I'm at the 42.30 mark in the video now and, ehem, see you comment on "the beast" RZ70. 😁 I'll go watch it now!
I been waiting for this so video so I can relax and start my Friday.
Can't wait for the cambridge EXA 100
Will you be reviewing the KEF Q Concerto Meta?
Thanks guys
Stay tuned for the Cambridge. No current plans to review the Concerto.
I 2 had an integra and I related to you when I heard you for the first time doing the rz50 review. I got it and very happy with my AVR set up!!! 100% on your reviews... 😍
I loved my Integra AVRs and processors. Soooo good!
Dirac was very easy, but frustrating when it got to the subs in set up. Kept erroring out. I had to turn my klipsch to 25% on the sub, and -12db in menu for it to complete the set up.
Still struggling with the setup too. Between 102 and 106 errors, I can't seem to dial it in to finish calibration. I have a ticket in with Crutchfield. I'm Confident we will get it figured out. I'm certain it's the sub on board volume output.
By the Power of Grey Skull! 😆 Love it! And, CARL! Awesome!
Haha “By the power of of Greyskull I have the power!!!🗡️🔋🔌
Carl isn't happy unless the chandeliers are shaking 😂😂😂
Lol, I don’t have chandeliers in my man cave but the wall fixtures sure do rattle!!
@Carl-bd1rf Ya probably got more subwoofers than a 90's lowrider🤣🤣
@@jsackett42160
No subwoofers. My tower main speakers F3 response is 25hz in room. 😜
@@Carl-bd1rf What towers are you rocking cause that's DEEP bass
@@jsackett42160
I swap between my JBL studio 580’s and wharfdale diamond 11.4’s.
Because of my smaller man cave of 13x13x9 both pair achieve an F3 of 25hz. I prefer the JBL’s because they scale much larger than the Wharfdales.
Would love to hear your opinion about comparing an older higher range AVR to a new lower range AVR for situations where more speakers is a no go. I have an Onkyo NR5008. It's old, pre- Atmos, but a real power house and still sounds amazing. It did cost me less than 200 euro and beats my 500,- stereo amp big time. What would I gain or lose in audio quality with a Cinema 50/40 or Onkyo RZ50/70 if I just run 5.1? Thanks in advance!
My second set up, bedroom, is same way. I have a 2008ish yamaha rx-v1800 (130 watts x7) in 3 channel, no sub. It's 7.1 and is pre atmos. Only draw back is no arc/earc so tv/streaming content is limited to 5.1 with optical out. Works perfect for the set up.
The Full Carl™️ needs to go on a t-shirt!
Indeed!!
My Integra drx 5.4 rips for both, I love it but I added a BlueSound node to the system and it was a huge upgrade. The firmware update was awesome too, fixes the annoying wifi dropouts
Onkyo is the gift that just keeps on giving!! When I first joined this crazy race they were my dogs!! ....Unless you are well rich I still don't know why you would dip your toe anywhere else!!!????
The Onkyo RZ 50 is on sale for $999.00 at Crutchfields Is that the better receiver compared to the RZ 30 ?
Yes, I think it goes: RZ30 < RZ50 < RZ70. That $1,000 RZ50 deal seems great.
Absolutely get the 50 on sale
I think they're almost the same, except the 50 has more power and the 30 has independent sub control
It's great for movies (and good for music).
@@techsamurai11
Do you think one could have a great music setup with: this AVR, 2 sensitive high quality FR & FL speakers, and 2 high quality subs?
I think so. Maybe not super great, but great.
Onkyo and Klipsch belong to the same group now. The new Klipsch Flexus 300 soundbar will offer a limited version of Dirac included, with the cost option to go full frequency. Onkyo's competitive pricing on their Dirac enabled AV receivers is, I think, due to a form of free advertising for Dirac, and so are probably giving the group some concessions. I'm sure many who find value in the free Live version will feel compelled to pay for Dirac Bass Control which would be relatively affordable.
I see the new JBL receiver at the back, hehheehehe, but another reviewer claimed its setup is awful for what is aimed at an AV newbie, but found its sound was great once tweaked correctly.
Kristi didn't give her thoughts on the Marantz Model 60n, but maybe her omission says it all?
Your new review on Sunday??? I'm willing to bet a few CDs from Amazon that it's another Marantz ;) ;)
I love ya my friend, but I have to disagree here. I have an RZ70 and when using HIFI the Stereo just guts my Klipsch 8000F II's. I just bought a WIIM Ultra (Eversolo is too rich for my blood at this point) to run through the HDMI 1 which is the only one that provides lossless audio compression and bypasses the receivers internal DAC when the option is set to perform that way in the web interface. It sucks spending $2K on an AVR that sucks at audio. HVR is outstanding though. I digress. It'd be fun for you to throw a mic in the middle of the room and see what frequencies do what and then attach an external DAC.
I just ordered a pair of 8000f ii and 504c center (still deciding on which sub) for movie and gaming use and hifi for music with turn table and streaming. I was about to pull the trigger on a rz30 or 50 or 70, but there is never reviews based on 3.1 and hifi stereo. Your post has me second guessing.
Este es un avr que tenía en mente ya que he tenido marantz sr8015,denon avc x8500 y desde hace dos años tengo un arcam avr31 en cual su sonido en estéreo y música me enamoro pero ya me cansé un poco de él y sus errores tontos!
Se que en estéreo el onkyo no está a la altura del arcam porque me lo han confirmado varias personas..pero en cine que tal es el onkyo?
AVR is great for music once you get into the better models with low noise and high quality dacs. I drive 4 ohm speakers in my LCR channels and 8 ohm surrounds, my Sony 5400ES doesn't even get hot, 2 channel has power reserve in spades.
so given a choice between onkyo rz30, onkyo rz50 and marantz cinema 70 which would be the best buy now?
Buenas Andréw cuando dices que a tu padre y tu hermano le probaste la escena era con el rz30? Solo el moviendo todas esas cajas svs titán?
Por cierto cuál dirías que es el avr que te ha ofrecido un sonido más puro de cine
Anthem mrx740
Onkyo
Yamaha rxa8
Marantz cinema o denon?
Saludos
Sound is subjective.
My own view regarding AVR's is that I don't think there is a certain direction one should go with as a one size fits all.
I have a Sony ZA3100ES hooked up to Definitive Technology speakers (with the built-in powered subwoofers) in a 7.1 Atmos setup and it performs masterfully for both music & film. The clarity, presence and immersion is fantastic.
The only "downside" is that the 3100ES does not have a Phono stage (which Sony, if I'm correct, would remedy later on with their updated "ES" models) but that shortcoming was easily remedied with a good quality external amp (Schiit Mani 2)
And , I've always preferred 5-channel stereo over two-channel for some reason. Some snobby purists may shriek in horror at that statement, but hey, that's just me.
Do I use room treatments? No.
I don't need them. I'm not saying they are snake oil but I don't see it as a must-have either. Sometimes the more that you think you need can cause unneeded complexities that transforms something simple into something complicated (and costly 💵)
My point is this, no one in my opinion is wrong regarding what they prefer or hear. Your ears are always yours and no one else's.
What IS always wrong 100% of the time is telling someone else that what they have and enjoy is inadequate or altogether wrong.
That's simple arrogance at play.
Having said all of that stuff, I enjoy the back and forth conversation in this video, it covered a lot of ground and challenged a common misconception regarding how what people see can influence what they hear (or expect to hear) in which I agree with Andrew...I do think in many cases we inject what we see that complicates our natural perceptions doing their job.
I want to buy my first AVR. I thinking about getting the Onkyo RZ 30 or RZ 50. They are both the same price in my country. I want to create a 5.1 setting with front l+r maybe a small tower. My room living room is 7m x 5m but i sit close to the tv.
The rz 50 has 120 watts instead of the rz30 100w, but the rz 30 is newer and maybe the software is better? I also heard a runor the rz30 has an renewed amp.
So wich one do you recommend for me and will i hear difference in audio quality between onkyo rz's and pioneer elites?
Carl is for sure a prolific Audiokarma poster
"It didn't do Jack" HAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!! LLLLLURVE IT. Kudos.