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[ClayKavalier]

I used to have my record player hooked up to M-Audio AV40s and my TV hooked up to a soundbar. I want to upgrade to these Elac bookshelf speakers, and since they're way better than both of my current audio setups I'd like to hook everything up to them.

I have a couple questions I've been having trouble finding answers to.

First, I'm confused about what kind of receiver I should get. Apparently these speakers are 4-ohm. I'm done some research and from what I understand technically any receiver will power them, but most receivers are rated for 8 or sometimes 6 ohms and they won't deliver their full advertised power load to 4 ohm speakers. This makes it confusing as to whether any given receiver will be powerful enough.

Another thing I'm wondering about is how much it matters how everything is connected to the receiver. I'm not planning on adding more speakers any time soon if ever, so I thought this Harmon Kardon stereo receiver would be a good choice. It doesn't have any HDMI ports, but I figured I would set it up the same way I have my sound bar now, my consoles are connected to the TV via HDMI and I have a cable going from the TV's optical out to the sound bar. But I've read online that I'll be degrading my sound quality by doing this since a majority of TVs are unable to decode DTS and Dolby Digital and the like.

Basically I'm just looking for a receiver suggestion. The different things to consider are throwing me for a loop.

 

[Mohonky]

Its actually really hard to find a HDMI switching stereo receiver / amp as most companies just straight up sell surround receivers for this sort of thing.

Kenwood used to do one, it was a real oddity though. It had 4x HDMI inputs and was a purely stereo receiver amp, it was actually a great little beast of a thing. I havent been in the loop for a long time and this wa a product going back 7 years now, so I dont know if anyone else ever did anything similar.

You do need to ve a little careful as most companies low end or entry receiver / amps wont like 4ohm, its too much current for them so its easy to overdrive the amp.

At that sort of price point Id probably end up looking at the Pioneer slim line surround entry level amp, its D class so 4 ohm shouldnt worry it.

Stepping up another too look at would be the Marantz NR1607, Marantz gear typically has more than enough current for 4ohm and I've personally always like the audio quality of the Marantz but this one is a step up in price.

 

[ClayKavalier]

I should have mentioned, I also have a 4K/ HDR tv, so I thought getting a stereo receiver would simplify that. Instead of worrying about whether the receiver is HDMI 2.0a or whatever and whether it can process Dolby Vision or HDR 10 and whatever other things could be incompatible, I thought it'd be easier to get a simple receiver and just have my consoles hooked up straight to the TV.

But if I'm losing sound quality I'd rather have everything go to the receiver, but in that case I think I'm pretty much going to be forced to get at least a 5.1 receiver even though I won't use most of the inputs.

 

[Mohonky]

I should have mentioned, I also have a 4K/ HDR tv, so I thought getting a stereo receiver would simplify that. Instead of worrying about whether the receiver is HDMI 2.0a or whatever and whether it can process Dolby Vision or HDR 10 and whatever other things could be incompatible, I thought it'd be easier to get a simple receiver and just have my consoles hooked up straight to the TV.

But if I'm losing sound quality I'd rather have everything go to the receiver, but in that case I think I'm pretty much going to be forced to get at least a 5.1 receiver even though I won't use most of the inputs.

Just updated my post and I kept HDR and 4K paasthrough in mind when looking as I figured its something you will now want.

 

[ClayKavalier]

Just updated my post and I kept HDR and 4K paasthrough in mind when looking as I figured its something you will now want.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Is this what you mean by Pioneer slim line?

That Marantz isn't necessarily out of my price range, and I've actually read a few review of the speakers I'm getting that say that it's worth it to get a better receiver/ amp since the speakers are a great value, supposedly they hold their own against speakers that cost a lot more. I just don't want to spend money I don't have to, if the Pioneer would sound the same I don't want to shell out $200 for no reason.

 

[Mohonky]

Thanks for the suggestions!

Is this what you mean by Pioneer slim line?

That Marantz isn't necessarily out of my price range, and I've actually read a few review of the speakers I'm getting that say that it's worth it to get a better receiver/ amp since the speakers are a great value, supposedly they hold their own against speakers that cost a lot more. I just don't want to spend money I don't have to, if the Pioneer would sound the same I don't want to shell out $200 for no reason.

Yeh thats the Pioneer.

If you listen to a lot of music, I like the Marantz, but in general for home theatre, games etc, the Pioneer has a nice open sound to it that can be quite bold.

 

[ClayKavalier]

Yeh thats the Pioneer.

If you listen to a lot of music, I like the Marantz, but in general for home theatre, games etc, the Pioneer has a nice open sound to it that can be quite bold.

Cool, thanks. It'll be used for about 50/50 music and movies/ games. Maybe I'll keep an eye out for the Marantz to go on sale, they're pretty close as is.