Well, Thanks to my friend and fellow home theater enthusiast Andy for informing me of the Saturday sales that Newegg seems to be having lately. I missed out the first time Andy told me about the Yamaha receivers on sale at Newegg, but this time I scored a new 2009 model Yamaha RXV-765 for $399, what a great bargain for a receiver with a suggested retail of $649 and a street price of $599. Some may notice that this is the same receiver I was amazed to hear sounded so good at only 25 lbs of weight. I opted for the RXV-765 rather than the RXV-1065 for $200 more because I am not so concerned with the power of the 765 being 95 watts/channel and the 1065 being 105 watts/channel because I am going to go with the separate Emotiva three channel amp when I can afford it. It was primarily the features of the 765 and 1065 that got me to consider the Yamaha, and at $399 I don't think I could have made a better choice.
The differences in the 765 and the 1065 are 10 watts of power per channel and HD radio tuner, which I kind of wanted, but not for an extra $200. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my new receiver, and can't wait to watch some of the new movies that have come out, as I have been without a receiver for what seems like an eternity. I will be posting a full review and comparison to my old HK once I have some time to break in the new receiver and have a thorough listen. Stay Tuned.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
A New Home Theater Strategy
I have been thinking a lot about how I am going to proceed in replacing the stellar sound I got from the Harman 525 I had to retire. While researching various receivers and amps, I stumbled upon a really nice, favorably reviewed and high value priced three channel amplifier from a company called Emotiva. These amps can be used in a separates setup where a pre-amp is used to feed a signal to the amplifier.
Typically, these types of setups sound a lot better than using just a receiver, but can be prohibitively expensive. Well, most nice mid to high end receivers have the capability to be used as a pre-amp. This capability allows the receiver to work with a separate three channel amp like the Emotiva XPA-3, a 200 watt per channel amplifier, that will sound excellent when paired with a nice receiver. This is what I have in mind for my new setup for my main home theater. This strategy is beneficial in creating great sound in a lot of ways. First, the front left, center, and right channels will have a full 200 watts of power available to them, and this saves the full rated power per channel of the receiver to power the rear surrounds with little strain on the receivers power supply and will result in a very clean and pure sound from all 5 channels. Second, the problem with rating power on consumer grade receivers is that the testing is usually only for one or two channels at a time, and not all channels driven at the same time. The reason for this is because of the relatively weak power supply sections in these receivers. The power ratings for separates tend to be more true in their rating. The Emotiva XPA-3 as an example, uses 600 watts as a minimum power rating with all channels driven throughout the frequency range. The typical power on the Emotiva is usually closer to 650 watts. The reason for this becomes very apparent when you look at the power supply sections of a receiver vs the Emotiva. There is a reason the really good receivers weigh a lot and the average performing ones don't. There is usually a correlation between the ability to create adequate power, great sound and weight.
The added weight is due to a more robust power supply section capable of delivering higher current when needed.
Some comparisons
Item Watts/Ch #Ch Weight
HK AVR 525 70 5 42 lbs.
Yamaha RXV-765 95 7 25 lbs.
Emotiva XPA-3 200 3 57 lbs.
In this comparison, I am only showing the relationship of weight to rated power. I have heard the honest 70 watts/ch from the HK AVR 525 and it sounds good. I have also heard the RXV-765 and although rated at 95 watts/ch played no louder or clearer than my HK. I am actually amazed at the sound it delivered weighing in at 25 lbs. Unfortunately, the only way to demo the Emotiva is to order one and try it risk free for a month which I have not done yet. The spec sheet looks awesome though and is comparable to other high end amps costing thousands, and at $599 is a bargain.
Time to save my pennies, fill my piggybank and purchase this setup.
Typically, these types of setups sound a lot better than using just a receiver, but can be prohibitively expensive. Well, most nice mid to high end receivers have the capability to be used as a pre-amp. This capability allows the receiver to work with a separate three channel amp like the Emotiva XPA-3, a 200 watt per channel amplifier, that will sound excellent when paired with a nice receiver. This is what I have in mind for my new setup for my main home theater. This strategy is beneficial in creating great sound in a lot of ways. First, the front left, center, and right channels will have a full 200 watts of power available to them, and this saves the full rated power per channel of the receiver to power the rear surrounds with little strain on the receivers power supply and will result in a very clean and pure sound from all 5 channels. Second, the problem with rating power on consumer grade receivers is that the testing is usually only for one or two channels at a time, and not all channels driven at the same time. The reason for this is because of the relatively weak power supply sections in these receivers. The power ratings for separates tend to be more true in their rating. The Emotiva XPA-3 as an example, uses 600 watts as a minimum power rating with all channels driven throughout the frequency range. The typical power on the Emotiva is usually closer to 650 watts. The reason for this becomes very apparent when you look at the power supply sections of a receiver vs the Emotiva. There is a reason the really good receivers weigh a lot and the average performing ones don't. There is usually a correlation between the ability to create adequate power, great sound and weight.
The added weight is due to a more robust power supply section capable of delivering higher current when needed.
Some comparisons
Item Watts/Ch #Ch Weight
HK AVR 525 70 5 42 lbs.
Yamaha RXV-765 95 7 25 lbs.
Emotiva XPA-3 200 3 57 lbs.
In this comparison, I am only showing the relationship of weight to rated power. I have heard the honest 70 watts/ch from the HK AVR 525 and it sounds good. I have also heard the RXV-765 and although rated at 95 watts/ch played no louder or clearer than my HK. I am actually amazed at the sound it delivered weighing in at 25 lbs. Unfortunately, the only way to demo the Emotiva is to order one and try it risk free for a month which I have not done yet. The spec sheet looks awesome though and is comparable to other high end amps costing thousands, and at $599 is a bargain.
Time to save my pennies, fill my piggybank and purchase this setup.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Harman Kardon AVR 525 R.I.P
My local search for repair service for my Harman Kardon
AVR 525 turned up only one shop willing to look at my dying centerpiece to my home theater, and it was not a very good diagnosis. I am looking at $40 just to have the privilege of dropping it off to the shop for a diagnosis.
After describing the problem to the shop it was clear to me after hearing the response that there are many things that could be wrong with the receiver. Could be a mechanical volume control problem, could be in the digital circuit, could be a processor or logic board problem. I was just imagining having to pay for diagnosis in each of those areas at $80/hr and still not having the receiver working right. Not to mention the parts that would have to be special ordered, estimated at $100. No, I think I will have to retire my old friend and get a new receiver. May he rest in peace, we have been through many movies and many hours of music together.
AVR 525 turned up only one shop willing to look at my dying centerpiece to my home theater, and it was not a very good diagnosis. I am looking at $40 just to have the privilege of dropping it off to the shop for a diagnosis.After describing the problem to the shop it was clear to me after hearing the response that there are many things that could be wrong with the receiver. Could be a mechanical volume control problem, could be in the digital circuit, could be a processor or logic board problem. I was just imagining having to pay for diagnosis in each of those areas at $80/hr and still not having the receiver working right. Not to mention the parts that would have to be special ordered, estimated at $100. No, I think I will have to retire my old friend and get a new receiver. May he rest in peace, we have been through many movies and many hours of music together.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
HK Craps out
Well, after many years of faithful service, my receiver is acting up. I looked up the symptoms of the problem on google, and it seems that this particular problem has happened to other HK owners. The problem is that the volume of the receiver will shoot up suddenly, usually when watching movies. The volume knob also does not have an effect when manually turned down, leaving me no choice but to use the remote, or pause the movie and adjust the volume level back down. Also, as of late the remote is only able to adjust volume down and not up, so there is definitely something wrong with the volume control in the unit. Fortunately, I have been able to react before damaging my speakers, and I am at the point where I don't even use the receiver for surround sound movies anymore because of having to babysit the volume.
I have been thinking about my options in how to handle this problem, and it comes down to either
1. Repairing the HK and hope nothing else goes wrong
2. Replace the receiver by purchasing a newer model with more updated connections.
At this point, i have not gotten any repair estimates and that will have a big impact on my decision to repair or purchase new. I think my true desire is to purchase a new AV Receiver with hdmi connections, the latest HD codecs and good upconversion circuit by Anchor Bay or Silicon Optix. Right now I am looking at the Denon AVR-2310ci
and the Yamaha RXV-1065
. I am also considering some offerings from Marantz
, but the upconversion is not as good as the Denon or Yamaha. I would consider another HK but they like Marantz don't really offer the 'whole package' as they still are using older Faroudja scalers which are trumped by the Anchor Bay and Silicon Optix offerings. I think at this point I will plan on getting a new Denon or Yamaha receiver. The hdmi connections and new HD codecs almost make this a no brainer unless the repair will only cost me like $50-100 with a decent guarantee.
I have been thinking about my options in how to handle this problem, and it comes down to either
1. Repairing the HK and hope nothing else goes wrong
2. Replace the receiver by purchasing a newer model with more updated connections.
At this point, i have not gotten any repair estimates and that will have a big impact on my decision to repair or purchase new. I think my true desire is to purchase a new AV Receiver with hdmi connections, the latest HD codecs and good upconversion circuit by Anchor Bay or Silicon Optix. Right now I am looking at the Denon AVR-2310ci
and the Yamaha RXV-1065. I am also considering some offerings from Marantz, but the upconversion is not as good as the Denon or Yamaha. I would consider another HK but they like Marantz don't really offer the 'whole package' as they still are using older Faroudja scalers which are trumped by the Anchor Bay and Silicon Optix offerings. I think at this point I will plan on getting a new Denon or Yamaha receiver. The hdmi connections and new HD codecs almost make this a no brainer unless the repair will only cost me like $50-100 with a decent guarantee.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Choices in building a home theater
One thing to consider when deciding how to build your home theater is what solution you will decide to go with. There are a number of ways to get started in setting up your first home theater.
There are HTIB or home theater in a box solutions, which I generally recommend against because the money you spend on an HTIB system of any quality, you could use to purchase higher quality separate components which will perform better. The only break even exception would be the Bose 321 System. For the price it sounds good, plays fairly loud and is easy to setup. However, since it is all integrated as a system, if any of the components in the system fails you will likely be paying more to repair it than replacing a component that failed from a component based home theater.
Another fairly elegant home theater solution is the surround bar or sound projector technology. These solutions are convenient to setup and fully integrated. These systems perform best when accompanied by a subwoofer, which is an added cost, but well worth it. I am running a Yamaha ysp-800 sound projector with a definitive technology ten inch subwoofer in my bedroom, and the audio as well as the soundstage are excellent. I went from a 5.1 setup consisting of an Energy take 5 system with a separate receiver to the Yamaha system and have had no regrets. I have also demo'd the Polk surround bar solution and it is also a high quality solution in need of a subwoofer to sound excellent. However, the channel separation was not implemented as well as the Yamaha in my opinion and the cost is higher than the Yamaha ysp-800. The Yamaha utilizes 23 separate drivers with discrete amplification and decodes Dolby digital and DTS bitstreams. Also, the Polk surround bar requires a separate receiver.
My Bedroom setup is as follows and yields excellent results.
There are HTIB or home theater in a box solutions, which I generally recommend against because the money you spend on an HTIB system of any quality, you could use to purchase higher quality separate components which will perform better. The only break even exception would be the Bose 321 System. For the price it sounds good, plays fairly loud and is easy to setup. However, since it is all integrated as a system, if any of the components in the system fails you will likely be paying more to repair it than replacing a component that failed from a component based home theater.
Another fairly elegant home theater solution is the surround bar or sound projector technology. These solutions are convenient to setup and fully integrated. These systems perform best when accompanied by a subwoofer, which is an added cost, but well worth it. I am running a Yamaha ysp-800 sound projector with a definitive technology ten inch subwoofer in my bedroom, and the audio as well as the soundstage are excellent. I went from a 5.1 setup consisting of an Energy take 5 system with a separate receiver to the Yamaha system and have had no regrets. I have also demo'd the Polk surround bar solution and it is also a high quality solution in need of a subwoofer to sound excellent. However, the channel separation was not implemented as well as the Yamaha in my opinion and the cost is higher than the Yamaha ysp-800. The Yamaha utilizes 23 separate drivers with discrete amplification and decodes Dolby digital and DTS bitstreams. Also, the Polk surround bar requires a separate receiver.
My Bedroom setup is as follows and yields excellent results.
Sony Playstation 3 blu ray player
Yamaha ysp-800 Sound Projector
Definitive Technology Subwoofer 10 inch
Sony 32 inch Wega LCD 1080i Display
Home theater separates are the preferred method of setting up a home theater. The strategy of using separate components to build your home theater allows you to upgrade at your own pace. For instance, you can start out with a nice high quality receiver and just two or three high quality speakers for front Left and front Right and Center channel speakers along with a sub for a 2.1 or 3.1 system and later add surround speakers. You could also forgo the sub if you had front tower speakers for your left and right channels that could produce adequate bass. Home theater separates will obviously be the most expensive way to setup your home theater but will produce the best sound for a reasonable amount of money. Speakers can be one the most important pieces of the home theater puzzle and thankfully, they are one of the longest lasting. I have had my speakers for about ten years, and they sound better than the day I brought them home. I have in fact upgraded receivers twice, and my TV once, now with these same speakers and sub. So, the moral here is choose your speakers wisely. Don't rush, and give yourself plenty of time to audition speakers before you commit to purchasing them. Also, you will want to keep the timbre the same in your home theater by using the same brand and if possible series of speaker. This will keep the surround effect fluid and natural sounding.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Introduction
Value Home theatre is a fascinating hobby, and has matured quite a bit since I first got interested in the hobby over ten years ago. I can remember my first home theatre experience. It was 1994 I believe, and I saw a demo being given for Jurassic Park. It was a VHS tape played on a Pioneer dolby pro logic system, and I was capivated by the experience, especially the low frequency effects of the dinosours walking and roaring. It was from that point that I got hooked on the home theatre hobby. That system by todays standard is very archaic and outdated, especially when it comes to video quality, because the difference in the maturity of the technology available today is like night and day.
Today we have blu ray high definition video and sound, which is the state of the art at the moment. However, DVD is still mainstream in my opinion and it will take another year or so before blu ray becomes mainstream. This is due to the slow acceptance of the technology due to high priced players and movie titles as well as DRM issues. This is especially true because DVD delivers a pristine picture with very high quality discrete multichannel audio, just at a lower resolution, and at a very reasonable price point with little DRM enforced in the hardware. There is also the possibility of upconverting the dvd signal to HD resolutions using the latest DVD players, Blu Ray players, and HD TV's for an even better looking picture.
The focus of my blog will be on high value, high performance audio video gear that will still look and sound incredible but will still be affordable. One does not need to purchase audiophile rated A/V gear to get an acceptable and even incredible home theatre experience in your own home. I will also discuss home theatre do's and dont's, pitfalls and workarounds related to the tech involved in setting up your gear based on my own experiences, and offer advice and tips whenever I can.
I hope you will enjoy reading my Home Theatre blog. Visit often for new content, reviews, and opinions on gear that I am upgrading to, or planning on upgrading to.
Today we have blu ray high definition video and sound, which is the state of the art at the moment. However, DVD is still mainstream in my opinion and it will take another year or so before blu ray becomes mainstream. This is due to the slow acceptance of the technology due to high priced players and movie titles as well as DRM issues. This is especially true because DVD delivers a pristine picture with very high quality discrete multichannel audio, just at a lower resolution, and at a very reasonable price point with little DRM enforced in the hardware. There is also the possibility of upconverting the dvd signal to HD resolutions using the latest DVD players, Blu Ray players, and HD TV's for an even better looking picture.
The focus of my blog will be on high value, high performance audio video gear that will still look and sound incredible but will still be affordable. One does not need to purchase audiophile rated A/V gear to get an acceptable and even incredible home theatre experience in your own home. I will also discuss home theatre do's and dont's, pitfalls and workarounds related to the tech involved in setting up your gear based on my own experiences, and offer advice and tips whenever I can.
I hope you will enjoy reading my Home Theatre blog. Visit often for new content, reviews, and opinions on gear that I am upgrading to, or planning on upgrading to.
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