Finally got surround reinstalled after several years without

My receiver is getting a little long in the tooth. It's a Yamaha RX-V1, but no room in the budget to replace it. It's got outputs for eight speakers, but, if I'm reading it correctly, can only take in 5.1 and then split the rear signal to a rear center, and ditto for the front "effect" speakers.

With music, at least, I prefer to hear it as it's recorded and mixed, rather than applying some matrix. But what about movies?

Anyone else still using a similar set up?

I've got some old Infinity bookshelf speakers that could double as front effect speakers, though getting a rear in there would be nigh impossible. It took me a year to get someone to install my surrounds, and there's literally a bridge girder between the two walls I'd need to access in my attic.

Oh yeah, added bonus, the surrounds really **** with the cat's head.

 

I had an older Yamaha processor that had the front effects speakers which were in-wall. I haven't had a Yamaha since then and don't miss the front effect speakers at all. I have a 5.2 system that works quite well in a fairly small room (17'w x 13'd). I'd skip the front effects and rear center speaker but that's up to you .

Bill

 

I have a feeling that the trouble wouldn't be worth the gains. I'd sort of like to hear a good 7.1 system with the surrounds to my L/R and the rear channels behind me, but I can't think of very many movies where I'd care about front effects.

 

I have never had a surround system; I listen to music in stereo, which sounds good to me. None of the vinyl or CDs I have contain any information apart from the left and right channels. I suppose it could be good for some movies, though.

 

A couple of weeks ago my 17 year old AV receiver stopped producing any sound from digital sources. In the previous months knowing that the receiver was on it's way out as glitches started occurring I started looking into high quality used gear and learned about the Pioneer Elite VSX-84TXSi which was their top of the line AV receiver circa 2007. I already had the fab Pioneer Elite DV 79AVi universal player and with a single i-Link firewire cable connected to the Elite receiver could get multi-channel sound from SACD and DVD-Audio as well as top quality surround sound from DVDs ($3 from Monoprice). Good luck was in abundance when my old receiver failed, I found the Elite receiver in NM shape a short drive away for $175 from the original owner via Craig's List and had the full endorsement from my wife for the purchase!

The sound for both music and movies is fabulous. In addition to DTS and Dolby Digital it has various THX sonic filters and a wide array of presets in it's Advanced Surround settings including virtual 7.1 channel music and theater settings. With a few clicks of the button it's easy to find just the right setting for any video or music. Interestingly the music sonics are much better when using the various surround settings than in pure direct mode and sound far more analog when processed than not. It's been a blast finally hearing the multi-channel mixes of the various SACDs and DVD-A discs I've owned for ages.

It also upscales all the video inputted so I'm now viewing Apple TV, DVDs and even laserdiscs at 1080i which is my TV's max resolution. It's a Samsung 30" widescreen slim tube model from 2006, small, but great picture quality.

The Pioneer Elite VSX-84TXSi goes for $175-$350 on eBay, a fraction of it's original $1,500 cost. For anyone on a budget I highly recommend looking into one of these, and if you already have an iLink capable disc player it's a quick and inexpensive way to get multi-channel. With the iLink connection the DSD data goes direct into the receiver without any PCM conversion which is a very nice feature. While my previous receiver was adequate and served me well enough, this machine is at a whole other level, and is such a bargain bought used. I'm so glad the stars aligned and it all came together at just the right time.

 

The alternate surround mixes of albums such as The Captain And Me, and Rumours, are just two examples of how happy I am that I chose to go surround back in 2009.
As far as movies, I often wonder how may miss out on some great audio effect, that " puts me in " the film. Having gone from a mono TV speaker through a stereo setup, to my present day home theater.
Obviously, I'm a big fan.
.

 

I had both the 84TXSi and the 79AVi when they first came out. Excellent gear and you got the 84TXSi for a sweet price. Enjoy !

Bill

 

That's cool. I have numerous surround music titles that sound outstanding. I've been into surround since 1989 when Dolby Pro Logic was the big thing and have grown from there. So surround is no longer just for movies . Try it if you get a chance, you'll be hooked .

Bill

 

The only thing I can add is there are tons of high end NON HDMI receivers out there that are essentially boat anchors or door stops.

Buy it cheap because once you start listening to decent surround you'll want to upgrade.

Please don't forget you really need a timbre matched speaker array with identical woofers and tweeters all around.

 

Think so?

 

Ya know the wife is away this weekend, I'm gonna spin some 5.1.

 

The good thing about UHD aka 4K and Atmos surround is that a whole generation of high resolution lossless audio decoding receivers, let's say HDMI 1.3b and newer are going to get kicked to the curb.

This is old news for some of you but it's worth repeating. I run my 17 year old cheap Paradigm Atom v.2 faux THX system. I knew if I bought the correct array once I'd be done. My receiver is from an 2009. It was a two year old nick scratch and sent from Best Buy. It decodes every lossless and lossy format under the sun from 2009. all that for 1/3 of the $1,500 MSRP.

The first time I listened to my $99 Pioneer SACD transport and my Miles Davis KoB surround SACD it was heaven.

Cheers, Michael

 

I already had matched front and center Polk LSi's and found the matching rears a year ago.

 

I wish accessing the rear of the amp wasn't so hard. I like putting my quad reel to reel deck into the 5.1 direct inputs. I have some switch boxes I could use, but I'm sure they cause some sonic degradation.

 

I wouldn't proclaim to have a "high end" 7.1 setup but it's decent. Energy Connoisseur fronts, Focal center (long story on the mismatch), Def Tech sides, and in-ceiling rears. HSU VTF-15h sub, and an Anthem MRX-510 AVR with ARC engaged. All fed by a single HTPC with Roon for music and a tricked out software player for anything A/V, Media Center for TV. Blu-Ray movies, especially in 7.1, are a treat. BluRay concerts are one of my favorite things to play up there but we watch too much darn TV to get many of those playing. I had that setup running just 5.1 for awhile (not using the rear in-ceilings) and despite not really being "ideal," I could instantly tell the difference and appreciate the surround aspects moreso when I went back to the 7.1 setup. It just really ties that backend together and sounds feel less directional and "focused" I suppose. Rarely do sounds go straight back, they are generally going back and away, back and up, back and around, etc... and the rear in-ceilings help solidify that effect.

 

My Sony STR-DA4ES is modern compared to that relic. Hey 5.1 analog in and a nice universal player is all you need for some great multichannel sound. And Dolby Digital and DTS from movie sources will sound great! Enjoy!

 

Crap, my left front channel has gone out. This is a common problem with these receivers, but neither of the two common fixes, running an RCA from the Pre-Outs to the Pre-Ins nor the reset to factory defaults has had any effect.

Oddly, the speaker works when playing through the analog out, it's only when a digital signal comes in that it's dead. It also silent when running the set up test tone.

Any thoughts?

 

As others have mentioned on this thread, keep an eye out on Craigslist. People are dumping their older recievers for new Atmos models and great deals can be had. If you have a smartphone, you can use an app to have notifications pushed to you when Craigslist get new receivers posted.

 

Here a guy dumping his 1080P HDMI rig for Ultra HD 4K!

Pioneer elite sc-81 receiver, Panasonic 3D bluray player for sale. »

 

I've been a surround music lover since the early 2000's Initially the most available discs where for live concerts, (with video on DVD) and for the most part the mixes simply put you 10 rows back at the concert and sometimes on stage. With these concerts, Stereo is great, and sometimes better, but it doesn't give you as much "3D sense" as a good 5.1 mix.

As I hunted around I found great SACD stereo remasters (the ABKO Stones release) which were fabulous (kicking myself for not buying more!) and stumbled into music only DVD-A and SACD 5.1's Unbelievable gems there that are hard to buy today. (Avalon for example)

With that said, with Blue Ray Audio Only releases these days, and some incredible sounding reasonably priced SACD multi channel discs (Elton Johns early releases), my quest for more is ongoing.

Back in the 70's I liked Eltons stuff, but never owned any LP's The SACD's available today at about $15 are just mind blowing. Audio nirvana and great songs and performances. In rock, the best of the best in 5.1 mixes.

I would encourage anyone moving to 5.1 for music!

 

My buddy just picked up a 2011 Pioneer Elite SC-35 for $380 including the original box, manual, remote and setup microphone. Folks that was a $1,600 receiver. The seller just had to have HDMI 2.0 for Ultra HD and Atmos.

 

Older AVRs are an absolute steal even if you just use them in stereo mode.

 

High end HDMI 1.4 receivers on the secondary market really are great values.

Pioneer brags about a lot of techno-babble in the top of the line Elite receivers; construction, DACs, AIR Studio and THX Certification... It all adds up to nice sounding receivers. I know that some folks turn their nose up at the digital ICE amplifiers, but they sound just fine to my ears.

Audiophile types, please note that Pioneer Elite receivers do have a pure direct mode that turns off all audio processing.

Happy hunting and listening, Michael

 

The Onkyo receiver I have in my home theater hums and has other problems. Maybe it's getting to be time to replace......

 

Just finished mine as well. Quite a backlog