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[barfle]

View attachment 113882
Decided to try this instead of trigger wires for subs and amps not in the AVR rack...kind of a poor man's smart home solution...

Oooh, I gotta get me one of those!

 

[Marplot]

Yeah I use one similar to that for my subs and it works great .. without needing a login to use.
Put on on the christmas tree this year as well and my wife really liked it.

 

[PK]

Oooh, I gotta get me one of those!

No App Needed

 

[Sonik Wiz]

View attachment 113882
Decided to try this instead of trigger wires for subs and amps not in the AVR rack...kind of a poor man's smart home solution...

Years before Alexa & Siri were born I discovered the X10 remote control:

It's RF operated, works across multiple rooms, has dimmer functions & high current relay switchers. Receivers that can either be plug in or built into a light switch box for example. When I visited the X10 website today I see they also have a phone app if you don't want to use the multi-button remote pictured above. Reasonably priced esp when you can pick & choose what you want.

 

[barfle]

No App Needed

Can my Logitech Harmony Elite control them?

 

[PK]

Years before Alexa & Siri were born I discovered the X10 remote control:
View attachment 113906

It's RF operated, works across multiple rooms, has dimmer functions & high current relay switchers. Receivers that can either be plug in or built into a light switch box for example. When I visited the X10 website today I see they also have a phone app if you don't want to use the multi-button remote pictured above. Reasonably priced esp when you can pick & choose what you want.

That's definitely a level up or two
Plus I like that it says "Pro" on it rather than Black and Decker. Doesn't really go with Oppo etc. LOL

 

[PK]

Can my Logitech Harmony Elite control them?

Of course, as long as you sign up for the monthly subscription

 

[skindzier]

My recently purchased Rotel RAP 1580MKii. Rotel calls it an integrated amp rather than an AVR because it does not include a tuner.

Not the best picture as the unit is in a wooden stereo cabinet behind an LG OLED 65" TV. I'm really liking the sound so far.

View attachment 90773

Hi hafquark! I was poking around on the RAP-1580MKii and was wondering if it might be the solution to some of the HDMI handshake issues folks have seen when passing ATMOS out from a PC via HDMI. I guess the million dollar question is: can you send ATMOS via the USB DAC input from a PC? If so, it would seem to eliminate HDMI as a point of failure in the chain. Anybody else ever play with the USB DAC on this unit or the RSP-1576MKII?

Thanks!

 

[hafquark]

Hi hafquark! I was poking around on the RAP-1580MKii and was wondering if it might be the solution to some of the HDMI handshake issues folks have seen when passing ATMOS out from a PC via HDMI. I guess the million dollar question is: can you send ATMOS via the USB DAC input from a PC? If so, it would seem to eliminate HDMI as a point of failure in the chain. Anybody else ever play with the USB DAC on this unit or the RSP-1576MKII?

Thanks!

I only use the 5.1 analog inputs connected to an OPPO 205 for music; HDMI for video. Don't have it connected to the PC at all.

According to the manual:
The rear USB socket labeled PC-USB accepts a type B USB plug. This input
accepts PCM audio signals sent from your computer up to 24 bits/192kHz
resolution.

Whether it works with a USB DAC or creates handshake issues, I just don't know. Sorry I can't help you with this issue. Maybe someone else will chime in.

 

[PK]

I've been wanting to try a small monitor for some time...found this 4k and a stand on Amazon...digging it so far...

 

[mandrix]

View attachment 114568

View attachment 114569

I've been wanting to try a small monitor for some time...found this 4k and a stand on Amazon...digging it so far...

Sweet.
I bought a 28" 4K monitor last year. I did not realize that it would only do 4K from a DP port on a graphics card. Which I can do, but I prefer HDMI because I route all video through the AVR.
I finally just bought a 43" Roku as that's the biggest I could fit in the space.

 

[PK]

Sweet.
I bought a 28" 4K monitor last year. I did not realize that it would only do 4K from a DP port on a graphics card. Which I can do, but I prefer HDMI because I route all video through the AVR.
I finally just bought a 43" Roku as that's the biggest I could fit in the space.

This little guy is an alternative to a 65" TV...which feels kinda overwhelming when just listening to music...

 

[alansanchez86]

Does anyone has an Amp + Processor config, instead of an AVR? what's your experience? better sound? recommendations for processors? I may jump to a 15.2 setup

 

[Albert Dagger]

Does anyone has an Amp + Processor config, instead of an AVR? what's your experience? better sound? recommendations for processors? I may jump to a 15.2 setup

I have an AV10 and an AMP10, which can easily provide power to a 15.2 system. The AV10 measured very well, and I think it's up there with Trinnov in terms of noise, distortion, etc.
The AMP10 is an amazing class D amplifier, with 16 channels. It also measured incredibly well (you won't hear hiss or anything).
The price is steep, but if that's the kind of system you are looking for, I would invest in proper AV processing and amplification (and capability to use Audyssey or Dirac).

You might prefer monoblocks, and in that case it will be even more expensive.

 

[ar surround]

Does anyone has an Amp + Processor config, instead of an AVR? what's your experience? better sound? recommendations for processors? I may jump to a 15.2 setup

I use my Marantz AVR as a processor and also to drive only the four height speakers. My fronts, center, surrounds and rears are powered by large outboard amps. I’m pushing 400 wpc into the big fronts and 260 wpc into the remaining five floor speakers.

In quad reproduction, I’ve got 400 wpc going into the fronts and 350 wpc into the surrounds.

The Marantz AVR could never perform like this on its own, and the lack of compression using the monster Parasound amps is quite obvious. However, I use inefficient acoustic suspension speakers with no external subwoofers that require a lot of power. I believe that you have very efficient Klipsch speakers. Plus your subwoofers have their own amps. So the improvement by going to outboard amps might be minimal.

Perhaps try a large outboard amp on just the fronts first and see if it makes a difference.

 

[alansanchez86]

I use my Marantz AVR as a processor and also to drive only the four height speakers. My fronts, center, surrounds and rears are powered by large outboard amps. I’m pushing 400 wpc into the big fronts and 260 wpc into the remaining five floor speakers.

In quad reproduction, I’ve got 400 wpc going into the fronts and 350 wpc into the surrounds.

The Marantz AVR could never perform like this on its own, and the lack of compression using the monster Parasound amps is quite obvious. However, I use inefficient acoustic suspension speakers with no external subwoofers that require a lot of power. I believe that you have very efficient Klipsch speakers. Plus your subwoofers have their own amps. So the improvement by going to outboard amps might be minimal.

Perhaps try a large outboard amp on just the fronts first and see if it makes a difference.

Thanks for your input. That's correct I love my RF 7 IIIs and RC 64 III, they both are driven by an Emotiva Amp (6-ch though). Will think about it.

 

[mandrix]

As a retired guy on a limited income, I can't match what you guys have; but that's fine.
I use my Onkyo TX-RZ50 as the processor, and to power the base 5 speakers. I have an older receiver I use to power the 4 overhead speakers.
But I have seen the pics of your setup, and you have a larger room than I do. More power is good in most cases, at least up to what is necessary + some wiggle room. Everything after is icing on the cake.

 

[DrKlahn]

Does anyone has an Amp + Processor config, instead of an AVR? what's your experience? better sound? recommendations for processors? I may jump to a 15.2 setup

I've been using preamp/amp combinations for about 20 years at this point. Had a Rotel, Onkyo, Marantz and now a Lyngdorf. My speaker choices have mostly been the less sensitive higher load variety (they weren't chosen for that, that's just what I ended up liking). So, the outboard amp has resulted in what I feel better dynamics than what a receiver can produce. I've used a variety of amps and really like the current Parasound Halo's I have driving the base 7 channels (A31 - front 3, A52 back 4). The Emotiva/Rotel combo I had before to my ear tended to get harsh/thin at higher volume. The Rotel got moved to ceiling duty.

I don't know what your budget is for a preamp. I would wholeheartedly endorse the Lyngdorf as I feel Room Perfect is an amazing correction algorithm that really doesn't need any tweaking. Lyngdorf was my blind pick at 2 Mwaves (AV convention) in a row. Obviously even buying one used, like I did, is not cheap and new is really expensive. My next pick would be one of the Anthem preamps. They did very well in blind testing. They seem to have nice flexibility in their setup and the pricing is more down to earth. The new Marantz models are getting great word of mouth, but I was never all that pleased with the 7702 MK2 I had. Its implementation of Audyssey never sounded great in my space, so I'm hesitant to endorse them.

 

[barfle]

Does anyone has an Amp + Processor config, instead of an AVR? what's your experience? better sound? recommendations for processors? I may jump to a 15.2 setup

I’ve had separates for fifty years. Right now, I have a Marantz 7706 coupled to three Emotiva Pro Stealth 8 studio monitors, with an Emotiva BasX 6-channel amp driving my surrounds and Atmos speakers. It’ll probably stay that way for a while.

In fact, I’ve only owned one receiver in my life, that was a tube-based Pioneer (IIRC) that I bought while I was an involuntary government employee.

It’s my opinion that putting heat-generating components in with smaller signal processing is asking for trouble. Not that I’ve had a lot of that while using that old tube job (I probably didn’t even know what to listen for back then), but I’m generally happy with the way things sound this way.

 

[alansanchez86]

I’ve had separates for fifty years. Right now, I have a Marantz 7706 coupled to three Emotiva Pro Stealth 8 studio monitors, with an Emotiva BasX 6-channel amp driving my surrounds and Atmos speakers. It’ll probably stay that way for a while.

In fact, I’ve only owned one receiver in my life, that was a tube-based Pioneer (IIRC) that I bought while I was an involuntary government employee.

It’s my opinion that putting heat-generating components in with smaller signal processing is asking for trouble. Not that I’ve had a lot of that while using that old tube job (I probably didn’t even know what to listen for back then), but I’m generally happy with the way things sound this way.

Thanks!
Do you agree with the message above, that I won't get much benefit based on my current setup?

AVR = Denon 6700H, Amp = Emotiva XPA 6 Gen 3 (driving fronts, center, wides). Fronts = Klipsch RF 7 III, Center RC 64 III, Wides = 600 MII, Surrounds = 250S, Rears = 600M, Heights = PRO 180 RPC, SWs 1 = 1600SW, SW2 = 1400SW. Would it make much difference if I add the Emotiva XPA 9 Gen 3 and I changed the AVR for the Anthem AVM 70?