Thread: Recommendations for SACD capable AV Amps

Posts: 19
Page: 1 2 next

Post by VariableLoudness December 17, 2009 (1 of 19)
I purposefully omitted the the "receiver" word in the thread title to offset my noob status. ;-)

About 4 months ago my Yamaha 5 disc carousal took a dump. I am a music addict/freak. So not being a big fan of withdrawals, that meant going that day and getting something to replace it. I brought home a Sony SACD 5 disc carousal.

I have been a big lover of quality remasters for the last 10 years, but I had never heard an SACD standard stereo representation of DSD until I got this unit. WOW!!!!! The width of the sound stage alone is unbelievable and I have never even heard a true 5.1 decoded SACD in my life (yet)

I am honestly not in an income bracket that will allow me to spend over 6-8 hundred dollars on an AV receiver, er, I mean unit. Pathetic I know, but that's reality for me presently. Actually, for a movie and audio buff, I am pretty low on the totem pole of experience, even though I have roughly 10,000 discs, thousands of LPs and DVD movies. I have always collected music, but not so much audiophile level equipment, although my music hall turntable ain't all bad.

I have a very basic Bravia HD TV, I just bought my first Blue Ray player last night (LG 390 something or other) and as I stated, the SACD factor came by way of "there's no other type of commercial CD player available these days"

The room I listen to in is as humble as my aforementioned electronics. It's probably 15X15. Do you think I should just skip the 5.1 SACD experience because of my room's size alone? I mean is that a big enough environment to appreciate a surround system?

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I lived in a house all to myself where these things merely required the invocation of my imagination to make reality. You all know what happened next. lol!

Secondly, are there SACD decoder units in that 500.00 USD range that will accommodate basic blue ray and SACD, wherein the listener can honestly appreciate a quality representation of HD audio?

Thanks,
Jeff

Post by Polly Nomial December 17, 2009 (2 of 19)
I would certainly give the 5.1 a whirl - you won't regret it, despite what some of the naysayers here would have you believe.

As for the unit, well as far as the Blu-ray/SACD goes your only option at the moment in your price bracket is the Oppo. Providing you match it with a unit that accepts the signal via HDMI, you'll be fine.

Happy listening!

Post by jakeroux December 17, 2009 (3 of 19)
As to the Amp/ Receiver...

Having found myself in a similar situation several years ago, I opted for a mid to lower level Denon AVR (2807 at the time) and have been pleased with the choice. You ask 10 people and you’ll probably get 15 opinions, but do a little research and pricing. Most Denon, Onkyo and Yamaha units in the $500 - $1000 range will decode the various formats and have 5.1 or 7.1 output, as well as HDMI and video switching/upscaling capabilities.

Don’t let the room dimensions stop you from giving surround a try – you can easily start with cheaper rear speakers and upgrade as you get the chance. Also look for an AVR unit that includes Audyssey calibration, as it will get the sound levels balanced for you and take into account room acoustics.


As to the Disc Player...

Oppo BDP-83 - best (only?) performance/price combination in that range.


Good luck, and just be careful to not get into any forum discussions regarding the relative merits of two channel SACD vs. standard CD on your system (somewhat of an inside joke…)

Post by sibelius2 December 18, 2009 (4 of 19)
I'm not familiar with Sony players, but I'm assuming yours has 6-channel analog out but no HDMI out. Unfortunately, that narrows your options these days.

First things first: no, your room is not too small for a surround setup. Early SACDs often came with detailed instructions which underlined the importance of having five speakers perfectly equidistant from the listening point, but that's far less of a concern now, as new receivers include software to overcome almost any arrangement your room dictates. Your Sony carousel should (you'll have to look it up) offer some sort of speaker distance correction as well.

If you really only want to tiptoe into it, most receivers will allow you to indicate that you have no rear speakers, for example. This would allow you to start with a 3.1 system (3 front plus subwoofer) and the receiver can compensate accordingly as it decodes any surround signal you might send it. This is important because, in my experience, surround codecs like DTS sound fantastic on a multichannel system, but poor when downmixed to 2-channel. Also, if your going to be playing movies on this system, it really makes a HUGE difference to have the dialogue coming from a center speaker right by the screen. Later, you might decide to add 2 or 4 rear speakers.

Many manufacturers entirely replaced 6-channel analog inputs on their receivers with HDMI inputs. Models which offer both are still available, but unfortunately you'll have to pay more for them (although still well within your budget.)

In a perfect world, you could return your LG BD player and your Sony carousel, and instead buy a universal player from Oppo plus an entry-level receiver from Onkyo, which together would run you about US$700. The Oppo can output raw DSD over HDMI cable, so you wouldn't have to worry about the 6-channel analog. The Onkyo can decode DSD plus the BD audio codecs, plus Audyssey software to apply speaker distance and room EQ correction. What would have been a very complicated setup just two or three years ago is now made quite simple, and every review I've read says the results sound fantasic. I don't own one myself, but I sure wish I did.

Post by Disbeliever December 18, 2009 (5 of 19)
Excellent AV amps/receivers at low cost are Onkyo 706 & 707 they decode DSD to analogue in Pure Direct mode without PCM conversion, HDMI 1.3 albeit they run rather warm but should not be a problem.

Post by The Seventh Taylor December 18, 2009 (6 of 19)
For a (surely incomplete) overview of AV receivers that can handle SACD alright you could take a look at http://www.ps3sacd.com/store.html All amps listed there feature HDMI input (there's even a distinction between those that support DSD decoding and those that will only do 7.1-channel high-res PCM) but that's probably not relevant for you unless you also happen to have an old PS3.

Post by Disbeliever December 18, 2009 (7 of 19)
The Seventh Taylor said:

For a (surely incomplete) overview of AV receivers that can handle SACD alright you could take a look at http://www.ps3sacd.com/store.html All amps listed there feature HDMI input (there's even a distinction between those that support DSD decoding and those that will only do 7.1-channel high-res PCM) but that's probably not relevant for you unless you also happen to have an old PS3.

The Onkyo's listed are old models which I would not recommend they do not have the latest features.

Post by VariableLoudness December 18, 2009 (8 of 19)
sibelius2 said:
Many manufacturers entirely replaced 6-channel analog inputs on their receivers with HDMI inputs. Models which offer both are still available, but unfortunately you'll have to pay more for them (although still well within your budget.)

In a perfect world, you could return your LG BD player and your Sony carousel, and instead buy a universal player from Oppo plus an entry-level receiver from Onkyo, which together would run you about US$700. The Oppo can output raw DSD over HDMI cable, so you wouldn't have to worry about the 6-channel analog. The Onkyo can decode DSD plus the BD audio codecs, plus Audyssey software to apply speaker distance and room EQ correction. What would have been a very complicated setup just two or three years ago is now made quite simple, and every review I've read says the results sound fantasic. I don't own one myself, but I sure wish I did.

I REALLY appreciate everyone's responses. Here are a few facts concerning my situation and set up.

The Sony disc player only has an optical (TS) output along with the standard SACD analog outputs. The LG 390 Blue Ray player has not been opened yet. I just purchased it at Best Buy 2 days ago and have 30 days to return it. Where can I purchase the Oppo unit?

I am currently using 4 speakers along with a 50 Watt RMS Onkyo stereo receiver to represent my stereo sound field. Nothing too special. 2 of the speakers are old 70s ADS L620s and two of them are mid 80s Bose 401s. I am not sure if I mentioned the fact that I do have an old very late 80s/early 90s Sony 5.1 AVR unit. It hasn't been hooked up in YEARS. It predates any sort of digital input/output. I also remember that it DID NOT like those Bose 401s on it's rear channels. If I cranked it I believe the Bose because of their 4 ohm rating would put the AVR into "protect" mode.

I really like the idea of:

"In a perfect world, you could return your LG BD player and your Sony carousel, and instead buy a universal player from Oppo plus an entry-level receiver from Onkyo, which together would run you about US$700."

..but maybe going with a slightly better than "entry" level AVR. Any specific suggestions (and I will go back as there may already be such suggestions in this thread presently) for a specific better than entry level AVR. I do like Onkyo's "low wattage/high current" sound, but wouldn't be opposed to a Yamaha or Dennon if their 500-600.00 models would better suffice.

I really don't need to return the Sony carousel SACD player just because I elect to listen to SACDs on the Oppo in 5.1. I could just run the 5 disc Sony carousel into the new AVR via it's standard 2 channel down mix and have the Oppo 5.1 option in single player mode.

Please remember: I am a certifiable music fruitcake. I NEED that carousel action, at least from time to time, to quench my insatiable A.D.D. musical addiction. ;-)Honestly, I RARELY listen to one disc straight through as I am not a big classical music fan. I am more of "random mode" rock/progressive/fusion/electronic music kind of guy.

Thanks Again Everyone!
Jeff

Post by sibelius2 December 18, 2009 (9 of 19)
VariableLoudness said:

...Where can I purchase the Oppo unit?

... 2 of the speakers are old 70s ADS L620s and two of them are mid 80s Bose 401s...

...I do have an old very late 80s/early 90s Sony 5.1 AVR unit...

...Any specific suggestions for a specific better than entry level AVR?

Oppo products are available from Amazon.com or oppodigital.com. But if you're attached to your Sony carousel then I recommend you stick with it and spend the difference on a receiver with 6-channel analog inputs plus HDMI inputs. If you stick with the Sony for SACD playback, then the Oppo would be redundant, and I'm sure the LG you just bought will work out fine for BD playback.

You get the best multichannel results from using speakers which are voice-matched so that the blend together naturally. This is often simply achieved by using speakers from the same manufacturer (although this is less necessary when picking out a subwoofer.)

Your old Sony AVR is too old to be useful for SACD surround playback. I'm sure it only has 2-channel analog inputs and then uses Dolby Pro-Logic matrixing to synthesize the center and surround channels. You'll want a new receiver which can handle the MC signals coming directly out of your players.

I named Onkyo before because their receivers decode DSD over HDMI making them a good match for the Oppo player. But certainly Denon (AVR-1910) and Yamaha (RX-V565) offer excellent receivers in your price range featuring both HDMI and analog MC input. This level of receivers offer many other features, such as iPod docks or "Zone 2" pre-outs which would allow you to send, say, the analog input from your Sony carousel to another receiver in another room so you could listen to SACDs in that room without the need of a second player.

Post by Paul Clark December 18, 2009 (10 of 19)
Can't get any cheaper than this Yamaha RX-V663 for about $360 new.
http://www.nextag.com/yamaha-rx-v663/shop-html

I had the previous model RX-V661 and was thrilled with my first SACD setup with it.

Page: 1 2 next

Closed