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[Panajev2001a]

Hello everyone,

What to do?
I am looking for an A/V receiver that marries itself well to consoles such as PS4 Pro and future UHD devices (the day I get an HDR compatible 4K TV, a UHD Blu-Ray player which could be the upcoming PS5, etc...), but it also allows me to connect other HDMI devices (PS3, Apple TV, and Wii U at the moment, my other consoles will stay in Italy until I have the space I need).

• HDR
• 4K
• ARC
• >= 3 HDMI ports
• Audio over HDMI support/5.1+ LPCM support
• Price need to keep in mind I may need to change the satellite and centre speakers (could the subwoofer stay?)

Other features I should check?

I am also looking for 4 satellite speakers and a centre speaker to complement this new A/V receiver, could you please make suggestions that keep the two in mind? (I do not have problems having A/V and spekers beign from different brands of course)

Background
I currently own a not so new Sony STR-DG520 A/V receiver and JBL SCS 178 5.1 surround sound speaker combination.

Updated link for the A/V receiver support: http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/product/str-dg520
Dimensions (w/h/d) (Approx.)
430 × 157.5 × 318 mm
(I have ~5 cm of extra space above the receiver where it currently sits, so I cannot get a new A/V receive that is much taller than the current one)

SCS 178 (surround speakers) specs: http://www.jbl-tw.com/uploads/files/SCS-178.pdf

The A/V receiver has served me very well all these years, surviving a move to the UK and a move of apartments here too, but beside the fact that it does not support 5.1+ LPCM, HDR, 4K, ARC, etc... as well as the fact that it is designed to drive 8 Ohm speakers limit its usefulness... especially with the JBL speakers I have which have a 4 Ohm impedance rating. This mismatch, for some reason neither the Audio guy in the store who helped me to assemble this combo nor my oblivious me who should have known better checked how perfectly they matched and as you may very well know this is a recipe for disaster (well, sound may crackle and appear cut off and the speakers will get damaged over time or the A/V may overheat if it does not have protection circuitry to prevent that... essentially the speakers want a lot more power than the A/V is designed to provide).

As it turns out, even my plan to upgrade the A/V to what would have been an expensive model that supports 4 Ohm speakers is now facing an issue... I think the Front Right speaker is kind of dying (peak volume is really low now), so changing both may be the best solution.

Notes
I think I will miss the speakers the most as the SW has always sounded really well and its light wood texture seem to always fits well with all the furniture I had previously and I have now

 

[Markitron]

The Denon's are by far the best at the low - medium end right now, I highly recommend one of those, particularly the 1300 and 2300. You may also be able to pick up last years models for a bit cheaper (the 1200 and 2200), which also are fully future proof. The Atmos and DTS X support on the Denon AVR's is also fantastic.

 

[EmiPrime]

http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/denon/avrx2300w/deno-avrx2300-blk

I have been looking into this and settled on the Denon AVRX2300W. I'm waiting for another price drop however before I pull the trigger.

 

[PaulLFC]

http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/denon/avrx2300w/deno-avrx2300-blk

I have been looking into this and settled on the Denon AVRX2300W. I'm waiting for another price drop however before I pull the trigger.

The Denon X2300W is exactly the receiver I settled on, although I haven't bought it yet - waiting to see if it gets a price reduction in the January sales before I do.

It seems the best receiver in its price range, I particularly like that all the HDMI ports are compatible with HDCP 2.2, which only some ports on other manufacturers' receivers seem to be.

 

[boredandlazy]

As someone who has a Denon X2300W I think it's fantastic. Plus I use the dual outputs to have one go to a TV input setup for gaming, whilst the second goes to a TV input setup for movies.

 

[Drama Zed Nod]

I made this thread a while ago which you might find useful.

Lots of great people posted with info:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1275630

 

[EmiPrime]

The Denon X2300W is exactly the receiver I settled on, although I haven't bought it yet - waiting to see if it gets a price reduction in the January sales before I do.

It seems the best receiver in its price range, I particularly like that all the HDMI ports are compatible with HDCP 2.2, which only some ports on other manufacturers' receivers seem to be.

I don't know why so many manufacturers are doing that. Only 1 HDCP 2.2 HDMI port? Get outta here.

 

[Bloodsent]

As someone who has a Denon X2300W I think it's fantastic. Plus I use the dual outputs to have one go to a TV input setup for gaming, whilst the second goes to a TV input setup for movies.

Be careful with this method, as I believe it will depend on the TV. I have a Samsung KS8000 and had nothing but handshaking problems with one output going to HDMI 4 for Movie mode, and the other output going to HDMI 3 for Game mode. Once going back to a single output, everything cleared up.

 

[PaulLFC]

As someone who has a Denon X2300W I think it's fantastic. Plus I use the dual outputs to have one go to a TV input setup for gaming, whilst the second goes to a TV input setup for movies.

Good to hear the receiver works well - do you have a PS4 Pro or Xbox One S? If so, does the Denon work with 4K output modes?

I've heard the Pro especially can be difficult / impossible to get working at 4K with some receivers that support it.

 

[Panajev2001a]

I made this thread a while ago which you might find useful.

Lots of great people posted with info:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1275630

Do you have some suggestions about speakers too?

 

[DOT DASH DOT]

I've got last years X2200, it runs everything floorlessly, 4K 50/60 HDR, wide colour gamuts, Atmos/DTS-X, you name it! Amazing receiver, so the X2300 definitely will as there's really not much between the 2.

 

[Drama Zed Nod]

Do you have some suggestions about speakers too?

I've been rocking 5 of these KEF Eggs (on the official KEF stands)

http://uk.kef.com/e301

and the KEF Kube 2 Sub:

http://uk.kef.com/kube-2

for about 5 years now.

My Eggs are a slightly older version than the ones i linked first (same sub though) as they have changed them a little since i purchased mine. The exact model with the eggs and sub (not the stands , those are extra , is the Kef KHT2005.3)

It's been great for a 5.1 system for movies and games.

not my pic but just to show you them:

 

[Panajev2001a]

Both the Yamaha Modelsuggested in the linked thread and the Denon one suggested here look like very good receivers, but how to choose between them?

Would you be able to help with matching speakers to them as my current speakers do not seem to be fit for that (and one of the satellites is getting worse and worse).

Assuming one input being HDMI 2.2 full UHD and HDR compatible were to be enough (and considering I do not need WiFi features that much either)... what other model could I look for?

 

[Panajev2001a]

I've been rocking 5 of these KEF Eggs (on the official KEF stands)

http://uk.kef.com/e301

and the KEF Kube 2 Sub:

http://uk.kef.com/kube-2

for about 5 years now.

My Eggs are a slightly older version than the ones i linked first (same sub though) as they have changed them a little since i purchased mine. The exact model with the eggs and sub (not the stands , those are extra , is the Kef KHT2005.3)

It's been great for a 5.1 system for movies and games.

not my pic but just to show you them:

Yes, but at £230+ a speaker is out of wife approval budget hehe .

 

[Kleegamefan]

Look at the Emotiva pre/pros


https://emotiva.com/products/pres-and-pros/xmc-1


They have the option for Dirac Live digital room correction, which is miles better than Audyssey and even Anthem Room Correction.

Dirac goes head to head against the Trinnov system except Dirac is actually available in affordable products.


Early next year, Emotiva is introducing the Emersa EMP-1 a 7.1 Pre/pro with Bluetooth connectivity, USB DAC, Dolby Atmos processing along with Dirac Live digital room correction for $899 USD.

If you were to couple that with the matching Emersa EDA -7($999) an amp with 7 channels of fully digital ICEpower amplification, you would have 100% the best sounding/flexible audio electronics for under 2 grand, bar none.

 

[Panajev2001a]

Look at the Emotiva pre/pros


https://emotiva.com/products/pres-and-pros/xmc-1


They have the option for Dirac Live digital room correction, which is miles better than Audyssey and even Anthem Room Correction.

Dirac goes head to head against the Trinnov system except Dirac is actually available in affordable products.


Early next year, Emotiva is introducing the Emersa EMP-1 a 7.1 Pre/pro with Bluetooth connectivity, USB DAC, Dolby Atmos processing along with Dirac Live digital room correction for $899 USD.

If you were to couple that with the matching Emersa EDA -7($999) an amp with 7 channels of fully digital ICEpower amplification, you would have 100% the best sounding/flexible audio electronics for under 2 grand, bar none.

Hey Klee, that does really look like a great option, wouldn't expect anything less of you .

Would I be bothering the fishes my wife would send me to sleep with if I spent two grands on A/V plus something more for speakers to match ? Considering I would like a PSVR and 4K TV upgrade, two grands on the audio alone may be pushing it .

Thanks anyways , when I get a big pay bump and want to really treat my audio setup well you will hear from me .

 

[boredandlazy]

Be careful with this method, as I believe it will depend on the TV. I have a Samsung KS8000 and had nothing but handshaking problems with one output going to HDMI 4 for Movie mode, and the other output going to HDMI 3 for Game mode. Once going back to a single output, everything cleared up.

I know. It used to mess up when I used an older Denon (2313) on my Sony W900A. Thankfully it works perfectly fine in the LG E6. One thing that might be different though, is that on the 2313 both outputs supported ARC, whilst on the X2300W only output 1 does.

Good to hear the receiver works well - do you have a PS4 Pro or Xbox One S? If so, does the Denon work with 4K output modes?

I've heard the Pro especially can be difficult / impossible to get working at 4K with some receivers that support it.

PS4 Pro. No problems with the Denon whatsoever (yet). I haven't played any HDR games yet though, since I'm waiting on the HDR Game mode patch for the LG E6 to hit Australia.

 

[PaulLFC]

PS4 Pro. No problems with the Denon whatsoever (yet). I haven't played any HDR games yet though, since I'm waiting on the HDR Game mode patch for the LG E6 to hit Australia.

Thanks very much, good to hear. Now I just need to wait and see if the 2300 gets any price reduction in the upcoming sales.

 

[Panajev2001a]

Hello guys and thanks for your help .
I have been gathering stats for my cabinet and shelves, the current A/V receiver, the current Speakers, the new A/V receiver I would like to get, and some speaker setups I am considering: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rqT-BDkLKr-QjlGWgTKNsigE8UF9mXoJG4VbE3SNmRE/edit?usp=sharing

This is the combo I am probably going for:

A/V Receiver
Denon AVR-X2300W: http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/denon/avrx2300w/deno-avrx2300-blk
Too many good reviews here and online to pass it up.

Specsheet/Owner's Manual
http://manuals.denon.com/AVRX2300W/...name=/AVRX2300W/NA/EN/pdf/AVRX2300W_NA_EN.pdf


Surround Sound package
Option 1 - Monitor MASS Audio 5.1

Specsheet/Owner's Manual
http://ca2.monitoraudiocdn.com/down...rochure-2014-small_1.pdf?mtime=20140909125102

Reviews

I just have one problem - After a period of silence or bass-less music like pure guitar, high piano notes etc, my subwoofer takes a second or so to detect bass notes coming in. It misses the first one or two bass beats, and then works perfectly afterwards. Is this normal?

So basically for example if there is silence, and then bass notes start coming in, the subwoofer activates only after the first beat or so has passed.

I have tried various things - I have set the subwoofer switch to "Always On" instead of "Auto On" etc, tried to increase signal strength to the sub-woofer, tried to up the crossover frequency to 120Hz but I am facing the same problem.

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-sp...nal-delay-before-bass-response-subwoofer.html

7/10
The Bad

• Sub is bulky and has a small lag from cold
• Music performance not as good as films

https://www.avforums.com/review/monitor-audio-mass-speaker-package-review.542

Verdict
The choice here is difficult... Richer Sound has a nice deal with the Denon AVR-X2300W and the Monitor MASS Audio 5.1 setup (Here), but it appears that the W200 Subwoofer has some issues in terms of lagging behind the rest of the audio in some cases.

Notes
One of the things they suggested is to use a Y splitter for the cable that plugs in the LFE output of the A/V and to connect the two RCA cables into the stereo inputs of the subwoofer (this fixes the issue of cold start completely, but a poster was worried this would mean poor utilisation of the LFE output in movies as the subwoofer would have to do work the A/V receiver should take care of). What do you think?



Option 2 - Onkyo 5.1.2 setup
http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/onkyo/sksht588/onky-sksht588-blk

Verdict
The front speakers will just not fit my apartment setup and if I were to make them fit just right the Atmos fire-up speaker part would be occluded badly... a no go.


Option 3 - Q ACOUSTICS 2000i 5.1 Pack
http://www.richersounds.com/package/speakers/speaker-packages/pah01309

Specsheet/Owner's Manual
https://www.qacoustics.co.uk/downloads/qacoustics/2000i_Manual.pdf

Reviews

5/5
Pros:

• Gorgeous design
• Superb scale, dynamism and detail
• Terrific value for money

http://www.trustedreviews.com/q-acoustics-2000i-series-5-1-review

Verdict
Glowing reviews, size fits the space well, the price does not seem outright robbery, and it seems to match the A/V Receiver well.

Notes
This one comes with basic cables, but RS of course suggests an upgrade. What should I do? What kind of cables/plugs could I order from RS to complement this setup well?

 

[cjp]

Thanks for this thread OP, I'm in the exact same situation!

This Denon AVRX2300W looks like a really good piece of equipment to go along with my dad's 55XD903.

He's previously used Sony HTIB but the one he's currently got has some issues with the 903.

So with this Denon we'd go the route of plugging all devices into the receiver and controlling everything through there? With the HITB the devices have always been plugged straight into the TV and then used the ARC (I think?)

 

[mrklaw]

Regarding the sub - if you're only taking the feed from the LFE out, then the sub is never doing work that other speakers should - you'd set your receiver so your main speakers are 'small' probably which would send some audio out to the sub, but that would happen regardless of using a y-cable

 

[Captain Chaos]

I have a DENON AVRX2300W in my basket.

 

[LilJoka]

The post about the sub:
All modern subs have bass detection, they come out of standby once bass exceeds some small threshold. That can take a few seconds after detection since a lot of subs are now digital and have to boot up. So the first few thumps might be missed then the sub comes alive.
Most subs will have a Auto Standby mode like this, but will also have a switch for Always On. That will get rid of this "problem". Most will recommend leaving it on auto standby to preserve its lifetime though.

Im not sure what else the description refers to at all. Sounds almost like auto on isnt doing its job.

 

[Corky]

Any reason to avoid getting a X1300W instead of the X2300W for the same purposes? Might only be able to get my hands on the former :[

 

[Panajev2001a]

The post about the sub:
All modern subs have bass detection, they come out of standby once bass exceeds some small threshold. That can take a few seconds after detection since a lot of subs are now digital and have to boot up. So the first few thumps might be missed then the sub comes alive.
Most subs will have a Auto Standby mode like this, but will also have a switch for Always On. That will get rid of this "problem". Most will recommend leaving it on auto standby to preserve its lifetime though.

Im not sure what else the description refers to at all. Sounds almost like auto on isnt doing its job.

That is what it sounds like, always on not doing its job, some people suggested using the 12V trigger, not available as output in the DENON AVR-X2300W A/V receiver, or connecting like so:

                      ----L----L-IN--
AVR - LFE output --Y-|              |- W200 subwoofer- LFE input - 
                      ----R----R-IN--

Essentially the connection is the same, but this way the subwoofer will not lag, the poster said, while in the other setup it will fall asleep regularly and then lag coming back up.
Why would it not fall asleep?
Is this setup driving the subwoofer the same way?

 

[RedlineRonin]

Look at the Emotiva pre/pros


https://emotiva.com/products/pres-and-pros/xmc-1


They have the option for Dirac Live digital room correction, which is miles better than Audyssey and even Anthem Room Correction.

Dirac goes head to head against the Trinnov system except Dirac is actually available in affordable products.


Early next year, Emotiva is introducing the Emersa EMP-1 a 7.1 Pre/pro with Bluetooth connectivity, USB DAC, Dolby Atmos processing along with Dirac Live digital room correction for $899 USD.

If you were to couple that with the matching Emersa EDA -7($999) an amp with 7 channels of fully digital ICEpower amplification, you would have 100% the best sounding/flexible audio electronics for under 2 grand, bar none.

This thread is great as I'm going to be in the same situation soon. Do you have any sources on the whole "Dirac better than ARC" bit? I run an emotiva xpa5 now (love it) and I'm driving it from a pioneer elite sc 27. I demo'd everything in my house at the time and MCACC was head and shoulders above YPAO and Audyssey at that time (~2009-2010).

I'm a huge believer in room correction but haven't kept up since then. Wouldn't mind at all having an emotiva pre pro (I went to their first "emofest" in Tennessee and it's an amazing company with amazing people running it) but had actually been thinking about the anthem avm60 specifically for ARC.

would live anymore info you could provide.

 

[LilJoka]

That is what it sounds like, always on not doing its job, some people suggested using the 12V trigger, not available as output in the DENON AVR-X2300W A/V receiver, or connecting like so:

                               ---L----L-IN--
AVR - LFE output -|                     |- W200 subwoofer- LFE input - 
                               ---R---R-IN--

Essentially the connection is the same, but this way the subwoofer will not lag, the poster said, while in the other setup it will fall asleep regularly and then lag coming back up.
Why would it not fall asleep?
Is this setup driving the subwoofer the same way?

Dont fully get the diagram, but it should just be a Subwoofer cable (ie a Coax cable) from the AVR subwoofer output into the Subwoofer.
AFAIK the subs will wait for a signal on the LFE Input to exceed a certain peak-peak voltage (usually like 30mV) before actually turning on.

 

[checkeredknight]

I'm going to sound pretty ameturish here, compared to what a lot of people are discussing, but I've had this question a while and haven't been able to find an answer.

I'm planning on getting an LG 4K TV next month. I'm currently plugging my systems into a LG NB4540A 320W 4.1 soundbar. Due to lack of space, I don't really want to get anything bigger. As I'm running my systems via the soundbar through HDMI, I'm worried I won't be able to pass through in 4K. Does anyone know if this will actually be an issue?

 

[Panajev2001a]

Dont fully get the diagram, but it should just be a Subwoofer cable (ie a Coax cable) from the AVR subwoofer output into the Subwoofer.

Kind of fixed the diagram, I hope... sorry for the formatting.

Essentially, like my current setup is currently connected, it would be an RCA Y cable (a longer version of this eBay listing URL) that connected to the LFE output of the A/V receiver into the input of the subwoofer (subwoofers have both a dedicated LFE input and normal stereo inputs).
This thread cover the topic under a slightly different angle, but we are both asking the same kind of question essentially: http://www.avsforum.com/forum/113-subwoofers-bass-transducers/1199603-lfe-vs-stereo-inputs.html

From what I read, using the Stereo inputs of the subwoofer instead of the unfiltered LFE input means that regardless of the crossoverfilter you have setup on the A/V Receiver for the subwoofer the subwoofer will apply the filtering you have setup locally on it (and they advice to setup the crossover point as high as you can set it).
Still, if this means that the MASS W200 subwoofer would stop having any warm up lag issues it may be worth it... but then again... is it worth the extra money I could invest in better cables compared to the very well reviewed Q ACOUSTICS 2000i 5.1 Pack (RS, Trusted Reviews)?
Advice (btw, what kind of cables should I get? Worth getting banana plugs?) ?

AFAIK the subs will wait for a signal on the LFE Input to exceed a certain peak-peak voltage (usually like 30mV) before actually turning on.

This would make sense why, on the same W200 subwoofer, the LFE input is treated with different rules than the stereo input... although they are both connected to the A/V Receiver LFE output.

 

[Panajev2001a]

I'm going to sound pretty ameturish here, compared to what a lot of people are discussing, but I've had this question a while and haven't been able to find an answer.

I'm planning on getting an LG 4K TV next month. I'm currently plugging my systems into a LG NB4540A 320W 4.1 soundbar. Due to lack of space, I don't really want to get anything bigger. As I'm running my systems via the soundbar through HDMI, I'm worried I won't be able to pass through in 4K. Does anyone know if this will actually be an issue?

So the soundbar has the A/V receiver integrated? I would check in the manual if it talks about 4K passthrough and/or upscaling.

http://www.lg.com/ae/support/support-product/lg-NB4540

Edit: it does not specify the version of the HDMI port used... it may not support 4K passthrough nor HDR... the manual does not seem to say anything... :/.

 

[Panajev2001a]

Regarding the sub - if you're only taking the feed from the LFE out, then the sub is never doing work that other speakers should - you'd set your receiver so your main speakers are 'small' probably which would send some audio out to the sub, but that would happen regardless of using a y-cable

True, I am now really struggling again between the Monitor MASS solution and the Q Acoustic 2000i pack... what to do... what to do?...

 

[Panajev2001a]

Any reason to avoid getting a X1300W instead of the X2300W for the same purposes? Might only be able to get my hands on the former :[

Not sure,

AVR-X1300W

vs

AVR-X2300W

seems to boil down to essentially:

• X2300 has two more HDMI inputs
• X2300 has one more HDMI output
• X2300 will do 4K upscaling in addition to passthrough of 4K and HDR content (which they both do)
• X2300W is a tiny bit more powerful (even their PR page says 150 W vs 145 W per channel)

which is in line with the MSRP difference of about £100. Both of them seem to be reviewed very positively online.

 

[Thraktor]

I spent a few years working for a hifi & home cinema retailer, so I have a reasonable bit of experience with all this stuff. Not necessarily the newest models of the A/V receivers, but barring features those don't tend to change much from year to year. Hopefully I should be able to be of some help.

Hello guys and thanks for your help .
I have been gathering stats for my cabinet and shelves, the current A/V receiver, the current Speakers, the new A/V receiver I would like to get, and some speaker setups I am considering: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rqT-BDkLKr-QjlGWgTKNsigE8UF9mXoJG4VbE3SNmRE/edit?usp=sharing

This is the combo I am probably going for:

A/V Receiver
Denon AVR-X2300W: http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/denon/avrx2300w/deno-avrx2300-blk
Too many good reviews here and online to pass it up.

Specsheet/Owner's Manual
http://manuals.denon.com/AVRX2300W/...name=/AVRX2300W/NA/EN/pdf/AVRX2300W_NA_EN.pdf

Should be a good choice for an A/V receiver. As mentioned above I don't have any experience with this year's models, but Denons are pretty much always good choices in this price range. Yamaha and Sony also tend to be quite good in this price bracket, but if this has your needed featureset and fits your budget I say go with it.

Surround Sound package
Option 1 - Monitor MASS Audio 5.1

Specsheet/Owner's Manual
http://ca2.monitoraudiocdn.com/down...rochure-2014-small_1.pdf?mtime=20140909125102

Reviews

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-sp...nal-delay-before-bass-response-subwoofer.html


https://www.avforums.com/review/monitor-audio-mass-speaker-package-review.542

Verdict
The choice here is difficult... Richer Sound has a nice deal with the Denon AVR-X2300W and the Monitor MASS Audio 5.1 setup (Here), but it appears that the W200 Subwoofer has some issues in terms of lagging behind the rest of the audio in some cases.

Notes
One of the things they suggested is to use a Y splitter for the cable that plugs in the LFE output of the A/V and to connect the two RCA cables into the stereo inputs of the subwoofer (this fixes the issue of cold start completely, but a poster was worried this would mean poor utilisation of the LFE output in movies as the subwoofer would have to do work the A/V receiver should take care of). What do you think?



Option 2 - Onkyo 5.1.2 setup
http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/onkyo/sksht588/onky-sksht588-blk

Verdict
The front speakers will just not fit my apartment setup and if I were to make them fit just right the Atmos fire-up speaker part would be occluded badly... a no go.


Option 3 - Q ACOUSTICS 2000i 5.1 Pack
http://www.richersounds.com/package/speakers/speaker-packages/pah01309

Specsheet/Owner's Manual
https://www.qacoustics.co.uk/downloads/qacoustics/2000i_Manual.pdf

Reviews

http://www.trustedreviews.com/q-acoustics-2000i-series-5-1-review

Verdict
Glowing reviews, size fits the space well, the price does not seem outright robbery, and it seems to match the A/V Receiver well.

Notes
This one comes with basic cables, but RS of course suggests an upgrade. What should I do? What kind of cables/plugs could I order from RS to complement this setup well?

Out of these choices, go with the Q Acoustics. Absolutely a better choice than either of the other two. The newer 3000 series is also a decent step up in sound quality, but are probably quite a bit more expensive. If you can find a DALI Zensor Pico 5.1 package for a decent price that would also be a very good choice, although again it's likely to be a bit more expensive than the Q2000i pack.

Regarding speaker cables, so long as it's pure copper (not copper coated aluminium or anything like that) then you're fine. There's no point going crazy on getting a specific gauge or any fancy kind of cables or anything like that. If you're looking for a specific branded cable, then QED Classic 79 Strand is probably the one to go for.

Subwoofer cables are a little different, not because they affect sound quality by much, but because they're so prone to electrical interference (the 50Hz hum picked up by nearby power cables is right in the middle of the subwoofer's range). You'll want something with decent shielding, although again there's no reason to go crazy. Two things you can do is either keep the subwoofer relatively close to the A/V receiver (shorter cables are both cheaper and pick up less interference), or just generally try to avoid running the cable near any power cabling (which could also be behind walls).

Edit: Just noticed you mentioned banana plugs in another post. They won't affect audio quality in any way, but are basically for convenience (being able to plug cables in and out whenever you want) and neatness. You probably won't be unplugging the cables very often, but particularly on A/V receivers the cabling can get pretty messy at the back, so it can be worth getting banana plugs just for that end of the cables to keep everything relatively tidy.

 

[checkeredknight]

So the soundbar has the A/V receiver integrated? I would check in the manual if it talks about 4K passthrough and/or upscaling.

http://www.lg.com/ae/support/support-product/lg-NB4540

Edit: it does not specify the version of the HDMI port used... it may not support 4K passthrough nor HDR... the manual does not seem to say anything... :/.

Thanks a lot for searching! Yeah, it's intergrated. Actually, the sound bar is from 2014, so I'm doubtful it'll support it. I just wasn't sure it even needed to specify. I reached out to LG and got no response... which says it all honestly. If it doesn't work, I'll likely go with something else, or just deal with the TV speakers (not the end of the world.)

 

[RedlineRonin]

Thanks a lot for searching! Yeah, it's intergrated. Actually, the sound bar is from 2014, so I'm doubtful it'll support it. I just wasn't sure it even needed to specify. I reached out to LG and got no response... which says it all honestly. If it doesn't work, I'll likely go with something else, or just deal with the TV speakers (not the end of the world.)

Can't quite follow your initial post 100%, but your best bet would be to run all devices into your new LG 4K set and then just run an optical audio from the "digital audio out" from the tv back to the sound bar.

 

[checkeredknight]

Can't quite follow your initial post 100%, but your best bet would be to run all devices into your new LG 4K set and then just run an optical audio from the "digital audio out" from the tv back to the sound bar.

I... have no idea why I didn't think of that. Thanks very much!

 

[Panajev2001a]

Can't quite follow your initial post 100%, but your best bet would be to run all devices into your new LG 4K set and then just run an optical audio from the "digital audio out" from the tv back to the sound bar.

Does not the sound bar support ARC? If so, connecting it to the ARC port of the TV and the devices into the other HDMI inputs of the TV.

 

[Panajev2001a]

I spent a few years working for a hifi & home cinema retailer, so I have a reasonable bit of experience with all this stuff. Not necessarily the newest models of the A/V receivers, but barring features those don't tend to change much from year to year. Hopefully I should be able to be of some help.



Should be a good choice for an A/V receiver. As mentioned above I don't have any experience with this year's models, but Denons are pretty much always good choices in this price range. Yamaha and Sony also tend to be quite good in this price bracket, but if this has your needed featureset and fits your budget I say go with it.



Out of these choices, go with the Q Acoustics. Absolutely a better choice than either of the other two. The newer 3000 series is also a decent step up in sound quality, but are probably quite a bit more expensive. If you can find a DALI Zensor Pico 5.1 package for a decent price that would also be a very good choice, although again it's likely to be a bit more expensive than the Q2000i pack.

Regarding speaker cables, so long as it's pure copper (not copper coated aluminium or anything like that) then you're fine. There's no point going crazy on getting a specific gauge or any fancy kind of cables or anything like that. If you're looking for a specific branded cable, then QED Classic 79 Strand is probably the one to go for.

Subwoofer cables are a little different, not because they affect sound quality by much, but because they're so prone to electrical interference (the 50Hz hum picked up by nearby power cables is right in the middle of the subwoofer's range). You'll want something with decent shielding, although again there's no reason to go crazy. Two things you can do is either keep the subwoofer relatively close to the A/V receiver (shorter cables are both cheaper and pick up less interference), or just generally try to avoid running the cable near any power cabling (which could also be behind walls).

Edit: Just noticed you mentioned banana plugs in another post. They won't affect audio quality in any way, but are basically for convenience (being able to plug cables in and out whenever you want) and neatness. You probably won't be unplugging the cables very often, but particularly on A/V receivers the cabling can get pretty messy at the back, so it can be worth getting banana plugs just for that end of the cables to keep everything relatively tidy.

Wow, thank you for the nice and detailed response, I am out and on my cellphone atm, but I will give you a proper response asap. I think I may go for the Denon + Q speakers combo as you also were suggesting .

 

[RedlineRonin]

Does not the sound bar support ARC? If so, connecting it to the ARC port of the TV and the devices into the other HDMI inputs of the TV.

Yup, I think this would also work.

 

[Panajev2001a]

I spent a few years working for a hifi & home cinema retailer, so I have a reasonable bit of experience with all this stuff. Not necessarily the newest models of the A/V receivers, but barring features those don't tend to change much from year to year. Hopefully I should be able to be of some help.

From what I have seen about your posts, you seem pretty knowledgeable and logical, plus you are here offering help... cannot ask for more .

Should be a good choice for an A/V receiver. As mentioned above I don't have any experience with this year's models, but Denons are pretty much always good choices in this price range. Yamaha and Sony also tend to be quite good in this price bracket, but if this has your needed featureset and fits your budget I say go with it.

Featureset and standards support was one of the reasons I was going after this model. This one is one of the few models in this price range I have seen with such a large (future proof-ish) array of HDMI inputs (8 all supporting latest HDMI, HDCP, and HDR specs).

Out of these choices, go with the Q Acoustics. Absolutely a better choice than either of the other two. The newer 3000 series is also a decent step up in sound quality, but are probably quite a bit more expensive. If you can find a DALI Zensor Pico 5.1 package for a decent price that would also be a very good choice, although again it's likely to be a bit more expensive than the Q2000i pack.

I have now finished putting the data in the table for the Q Acoustic set so that I could compare it with my current speakers and the Monitor Audio MASS 5.1 setup... I guess that the MASS solution is one of those that seem to have better numbers, but it is actually worse than other competitors like the Q2000i pack. It was not easy to compare the numbers for both anyway as their tech spec sheets do not report the same measurements, so I will leave the like for like comparison in depth evaluation to those with more domain knowledge. They both seem to work quite well with the selected receiver anyway.
If you want to leave some comments about the two solutions and why you reason the Q2000i solution is better than the Monitor Audio MASS 5.1 setup, I think I would be quite interested and learn something... and possibly other forum readers would too .

About Q3000i vs Q2000i it seems like the Q2000i reviewed slightly better and costs quite a bit less too, money I could invest in better cables or save for a future 4K TV upgrade .

Regarding speaker cables, so long as it's pure copper (not copper coated aluminium or anything like that) then you're fine. There's no point going crazy on getting a specific gauge or any fancy kind of cables or anything like that. If you're looking for a specific branded cable, then QED Classic 79 Strand is probably the one to go for.

Thank you, took some measures and ordered them (very very good reviews on Amazon.co.uk and the seller selling it via Amazon was one of the sellers the QED website recommends anyways) .

Subwoofer cables are a little different, not because they affect sound quality by much, but because they're so prone to electrical interference (the 50Hz hum picked up by nearby power cables is right in the middle of the subwoofer's range). You'll want something with decent shielding, although again there's no reason to go crazy. Two things you can do is either keep the subwoofer relatively close to the A/V receiver (shorter cables are both cheaper and pick up less interference), or just generally try to avoid running the cable near any power cabling (which could also be behind walls).

Richer Sounds warns about using the speaker provided cables and upgrade and after the constant (very low, but somewhat audible) humming I hear at the moment (and considering the A/V, the center, subwoofer, and front satellite speakers are all close to the TV and to the consoles... so not far away from electrical cables...) I am prone to invest some money in better cables .
Do you have a particular set of cables for the subwoofer in mind?

Edit: Just noticed you mentioned banana plugs in another post. They won't affect audio quality in any way, but are basically for convenience (being able to plug cables in and out whenever you want) and neatness. You probably won't be unplugging the cables very often, but particularly on A/V receivers the cabling can get pretty messy at the back, so it can be worth getting banana plugs just for that end of the cables to keep everything relatively tidy.

The only thing I am worried about is possible regulatory/safety issues (reason why in EU Denon does not even acknowledge banana plugs in the receive documentation ). Thank you for your advice anyway!

 

[Wolfgang Jr]

Hey Klee, that does really look like a great option, wouldn't expect anything less of you .

Would I be bothering the fishes my wife would send me to sleep with if I spent two grands on A/V plus something more for speakers to match ? Considering I would like a PSVR and 4K TV upgrade, two grands on the audio alone may be pushing it .

Thanks anyways , when I get a big pay bump and want to really treat my audio setup well you will hear from me .

Your money, do whatever you want with it.

 

[Thraktor]

From what I have seen about your posts, you seem pretty knowledgeable and logical, plus you are here offering help... cannot ask for more .

Well, I have all this otherwise useless knowledge stuck in my head now, so I feel like I might as well use it for a spot of advice now and again.

Featureset and standards support was one of the reasons I was going after this model. This one is one of the few models in this price range I have seen with such a large (future proof-ish) array of HDMI inputs (8 all supporting latest HDMI, HDCP, and HDR specs).

I'm out of the loop when it comes to support for HDR and HDCP and so forth these days, but my general piece of advice for AVRs in this kind of price range is to set out a list of what specs you need and then check reviews and prices between Denon/Sony/Yamaha to figure out the one to go for. The Denon AVR-X2300W seems to be very good value at the moment for the featureset and is getting some very good reviews, so it certainly looks like the way to go.

I have now finished putting the data in the table for the Q Acoustic set so that I could compare it with my current speakers and the Monitor Audio MASS 5.1 setup... I guess that the MASS solution is one of those that seem to have better numbers, but it is actually worse than other competitors like the Q2000i pack. It was not easy to compare the numbers for both anyway as their tech spec sheets do not report the same measurements, so I will leave the like for like comparison in depth evaluation to those with more domain knowledge. They both seem to work quite well with the selected receiver anyway.
If you want to leave some comments about the two solutions and why you reason the Q2000i solution is better than the Monitor Audio MASS 5.1 setup, I think I would be quite interested and learn something... and possibly other forum readers would too .

The basic answer is just from experience listening to a lot of surround sound systems over about 3 years. Technically I was a sysadmin working on the online store, PoS systems, etc., but I helped out with sales quite a bit (as it's a small company), and so I got quite well acquainted with almost all of the larger brands' lineups.

When it comes to surround speakers, the Q Acoustics 2000i are a kind of inflection point in terms of spending. For every £/€ extra you spend below that point you're getting a pretty big improvement in sound quality, and once you go above the 2000i's you start to have to spend more and more to get a noticeable improvement. (This isn't to say there aren't better sounding speakers, and I own some pretty high-end stuff myself, but there are definitely diminishing returns as the price pushes up)

My general rule is that if someone's considering the Q Acoustics 2000i set they should go with it unless they're willing to spend another couple hundred more. I haven't heard a similarly priced set of speakers that sounds as good, and just as importantly I've never come across a customer who's unhappy with the 2000i's (and I'm sure I demoed them far more than any other speakers we had). They're quite neutral-sounding speakers, as well, and they tend to work well with pretty much any AVR.

Usually when someone's shopping for speakers I'd advise them to find a hifi store where they can do an A/B demo between the main sets of the speakers they're considering, with the amp they plan on using. The problem, though, is that we're talking about surround sound speakers, so it's quite a bit more difficult to do that. Wiring up A/B tests for surround sound speakers is pretty complicated, and at best a store is only going to be able to have maybe 3-4 sets to compare between, so the chances of them having the two you're looking for on demo is rather slim (although at least the ones you're looking at are pretty popular, increasing your chances somewhat). Then there's the issue of them having the Denon you're looking at hooked up to them (again the fact that it's popular at the moment helps your chances, but no guarantees). If you can find a nearby shop that has the right setup to compare the Q2000i's and Monitor Audio Mass, then I'd recommend giving it a listen for yourself. If you can't, though, I wouldn't worry too much, as I would very much doubt you'd be unhappy with the Q2000i's.

Regarding Monitor Audio, they do some very nice stuff in terms of bookshelf and floor standing speakers if you go up in price a bit, and the Mass system is good, but at the same price I simply think that the Q Acoustics are the better option.

About Q3000i vs Q2000i it seems like the Q2000i reviewed slightly better and costs quite a bit less too, money I could invest in better cables or save for a future 4K TV upgrade .

Yeah, the Q3000 launched at a slightly higher price, and it seems the Q2000i has even come down a bit since then, so even though the 3000 is a definite improvement, it's possibly not enough to warrant the extra cost, particularly if you're saving for a new TV as well.

Thank you, took some measures and ordered them (very very good reviews on Amazon.co.uk and the seller selling it via Amazon was one of the sellers the QED website recommends anyways) .

Richer Sounds warns about using the speaker provided cables and upgrade and after the constant (very low, but somewhat audible) humming I hear at the moment (and considering the A/V, the center, subwoofer, and front satellite speakers are all close to the TV and to the consoles... so not far away from electrical cables...) I am prone to invest some money in better cables .
Do you have a particular set of cables for the subwoofer in mind?

If you're hearing humming with your current setup then that's very likely to be a problem solved with a better subwoofer cable (although it could just be the sub itself). There are plenty of good brands, but QED is a decent enough one to go for (it helps that they're available pretty much everywhere). I wouldn't use their cheapest subwoofer cable (Profile), but their Performance subwoofer line should do the job.

The only thing I am worried about is possible regulatory/safety issues (reason why in EU Denon does not even acknowledge banana plugs in the receive documentation ). Thank you for your advice anyway!

Banana plugs (provided they're properly attached to the cable) should actually be safer than bare cable, as they're less likely to short. Given the number of cables running into the back of an AVR (and the fact that the speaker terminals tend to be so tightly packed) it can be quite easy to end up with a couple of stray strands causing a short when a positive and negative cable touch. In theory this can be bad for the amp (worst case scenario it fries), but in reality all modern AVRs have auto-shutoff circuitry that causes it to simply power down when there's a short (incidentally, if your AVR immediately shuts itself down each time you turn it on, this is probably the cause). With banana plugs there's no stray bits of cable, so shorts shouldn't happen, although if you take your time with bare cable you'll be fine as well.

 

[Panajev2001a]

Well, I have all this otherwise useless knowledge stuck in my head now, so I feel like I might as well use it for a spot of advice now and again.

I'm out of the loop when it comes to support for HDR and HDCP and so forth these days, but my general piece of advice for AVRs in this kind of price range is to set out a list of what specs you need and then check reviews and prices between Denon/Sony/Yamaha to figure out the one to go for. The Denon AVR-X2300W seems to be very good value at the moment for the featureset and is getting some very good reviews, so it certainly looks like the way to go.

That is what I did when thinking of the A/V Receivers... kind of sad moving away from Sony as I like the brand quite a bit (... and the time I changed TV from Sony to Samsung... I ran back to Sony shortly... it was not a bad TV, just not what I was looking for in terms of Blu-Ray playback and gaming performance).

Still, from the reviews I could find and the spec-sheets the Denon AVR-X2300W had it all: all HDMI input ports support 4K passthrough and scaling (4K @60Hz on 7 out of its 8 HDMI inputs), HDR, 3D pass through, Deep Color, x.v.Color, HDCP 2.2, and HDMI 2.0a over all of its HDMI inputs. Then you have more: audio over HDMI and ARC, surround sound LPCM, Dolby Atmos/DTS:X, HDMI passthrough, etc...

The basic answer is just from experience listening to a lot of surround sound systems over about 3 years. Technically I was a sysadmin working on the online store, PoS systems, etc., but I helped out with sales quite a bit (as it's a small company), and so I got quite well acquainted with almost all of the larger brands' lineups.

When it comes to surround speakers, the Q Acoustics 2000i are a kind of inflection point in terms of spending. For every £/€ extra you spend below that point you're getting a pretty big improvement in sound quality, and once you go above the 2000i's you start to have to spend more and more to get a noticeable improvement. (This isn't to say there aren't better sounding speakers, and I own some pretty high-end stuff myself, but there are definitely diminishing returns as the price pushes up)

I understand, after the inflection point you need to increase the amount of £/$ for every unit of "audio quality" increase you are trying to get (and then the layout of the room, the materials of chairs, floor, walls, curtains, etc... would come into play too at a certain point... well, not at this kind of budget range perhaps ).
Would I like large enough planar speaker sources that pretty much anywhere in the room the sound intensity would be almost constant or at worst simply drop linearly ("infinitely" long linear sound sources)... yeah... but I am not really into the hundreds of thousands in audio equipment .
I am not trying to go for the bestest speakers, I actually set out to have well matched A/V Receiver + Speakers and I am quite happy the setup I am considering seems to be quite well regarded.

My general rule is that if someone's considering the Q Acoustics 2000i set they should go with it unless they're willing to spend another couple hundred more. I haven't heard a similarly priced set of speakers that sounds as good, and just as importantly I've never come across a customer who's unhappy with the 2000i's (and I'm sure I demoed them far more than any other speakers we had). They're quite neutral-sounding speakers, as well, and they tend to work well with pretty much any AVR.

Usually when someone's shopping for speakers I'd advise them to find a hifi store where they can do an A/B demo between the main sets of the speakers they're considering, with the amp they plan on using. The problem, though, is that we're talking about surround sound speakers, so it's quite a bit more difficult to do that. Wiring up A/B tests for surround sound speakers is pretty complicated, and at best a store is only going to be able to have maybe 3-4 sets to compare between, so the chances of them having the two you're looking for on demo is rather slim (although at least the ones you're looking at are pretty popular, increasing your chances somewhat). Then there's the issue of them having the Denon you're looking at hooked up to them (again the fact that it's popular at the moment helps your chances, but no guarantees). If you can find a nearby shop that has the right setup to compare the Q2000i's and Monitor Audio Mass, then I'd recommend giving it a listen for yourself. If you can't, though, I wouldn't worry too much, as I would very much doubt you'd be unhappy with the Q2000i's.

Thank you for the in depth commentary, much appreciated (and saved... I do like the export to PDF and into iBooks option built in Safari Mobile) .

Regarding Monitor Audio, they do some very nice stuff in terms of bookshelf and floor standing speakers if you go up in price a bit, and the Mass system is good, but at the same price I simply think that the Q Acoustics are the better option.

Actually, getting the AVR-X2300W + the Q2000i separately from RS would quite a bit cheaper than the AVR-X2300W + Monitor Audio MASS 5.1 combo deal sold by RS, even including RS's extended warranty for the former and not the latter. That sounds quite nice.

If you're hearing humming with your current setup then that's very likely to be a problem solved with a better subwoofer cable (although it could just be the sub itself). There are plenty of good brands, but QED is a decent enough one to go for (it helps that they're available pretty much everywhere). I wouldn't use their cheapest subwoofer cable (Profile), but their Performance subwoofer line should do the job.

I can hear humming in the satellite speakers as well, it is not that strong... but I know it is there . I think the default cables provided by JBL did not fit this setup. Thank you for the advice on the subwoofer cable, the Performance line (3m cable is more than good enough) is actually less than the shock factor audio prices have accustomed me to (still, about £10 per meter is not exactly peanuts ). I am sure it will be worth it .

Banana plugs (provided they're properly attached to the cable) should actually be safer than bare cable, as they're less likely to short. Given the number of cables running into the back of an AVR (and the fact that the speaker terminals tend to be so tightly packed) it can be quite easy to end up with a couple of stray strands causing a short when a positive and negative cable touch. In theory this can be bad for the amp (worst case scenario it fries), but in reality all modern AVRs have auto-shutoff circuitry that causes it to simply power down when there's a short (incidentally, if your AVR immediately shuts itself down each time you turn it on, this is probably the cause). With banana plugs there's no stray bits of cable, so shorts shouldn't happen, although if you take your time with bare cable you'll be fine as well.

I guess it is one of those safety regulations that is slightly overprotective, but most vendors seem to be adding small obstacle in the inputs themselves too (small pieces of plastics need to be removed in Denon's one). I will have to be very careful whichever solution I decide to go for .

 

[Endorphineforeverybody]

I have Q Acoustics 3010 and the center and I'm very happy with them. Just my 2 cent.

 

[metareferential]

I'm not upgrading anything until 4k projectors are updated with hdr (and until the hdr "war" settles) and all the other bells and whistles.

This holiday I got so close to buying a 65" OLED 4k set, but 110" can't be beaten. xD

So in a year or two I'll be buying a new pj and a new Denon receiver, I guess (getting on the atmos bandwagon, too). My klipsch speakers and the rest of my home theatre room are fine.