[Advice Needed] AVR vs. Stereo Amp for a 2.0 Bedroom Projector Setup?

[heretobuyanamp]

Hey everyone, hoping to get some thoughts from the community to settle a debate I'm having with myself before I pull the trigger on an amp.


I’m putting together a bedroom theater setup. I am running a JMGO UST projector paired with some power-hungry ELAC DB63s (6-ohm). Because of the room layout, I am sticking to a 2.0 setup for now, though I might add a center channel later under the screen. My budget is around ₹25k - ₹30k (looking entirely at the used market).


Here is my dilemma:


Option A: A Used AVR (e.g., Denon X-series, Marantz NR)

• The Pros: HDMI ARC is a huge deal for me. I really want that single-remote convenience for watching movies in bed. I also get room correction (like Audyssey) for nighttime listening, and the ability to add that center channel later.
• The Cons: I know budget/mid-tier AVRs don't always have the raw current needed to make low-sensitivity ELACs sound their best musically.

Option B: A Used Stereo Amp / Network Receiver (e.g., Yamaha R-N602, Marantz PM series)

• The Pros: Considerably better pure audio quality and the heavy-hitting power supply those ELACs crave.
• The Cons: Almost none of the pure stereo amps in my used budget have HDMI ARC. I would have to use an optical cable from the projector and be stuck juggling two remotes in bed.

For those of you running 2.0 or 2.1 TV/Projector setups, is the jump in pure audio quality from a stereo amp worth giving up the single-remote convenience of an AVR?


What route would you take for these ELACs? Would love to hear your thoughts (and if anyone has gear that fits the bill, let me know!). Thanks!

 

[rwnano]

I use AVR s, in particular, old Harman kardon AVR amplifiers for my system - I'm cheap and happy

 

[heretobuyanamp]

Any recommendations?

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Hey everyone, hoping to get some thoughts from the community to settle a debate I'm having with myself before I pull the trigger on an amp.


I’m putting together a bedroom theater setup. I am running a JMGO UST projector paired with some power-hungry ELAC DB63s (6-ohm). Because of the room layout, I am sticking to a 2.0 setup for now, though I might add a center channel later under the screen. My budget is around ₹25k - ₹30k (looking entirely at the used market).


Here is my dilemma:


Option A: A Used AVR (e.g., Denon X-series, Marantz NR)

• The Pros: HDMI ARC is a huge deal for me. I really want that single-remote convenience for watching movies in bed. I also get room correction (like Audyssey) for nighttime listening, and the ability to add that center channel later.
• The Cons: I know budget/mid-tier AVRs don't always have the raw current needed to make low-sensitivity ELACs sound their best musically.

Option B: A Used Stereo Amp / Network Receiver (e.g., Yamaha R-N602, Marantz PM series)

• The Pros: Considerably better pure audio quality and the heavy-hitting power supply those ELACs crave.
• The Cons: Almost none of the pure stereo amps in my used budget have HDMI ARC. I would have to use an optical cable from the projector and be stuck juggling two remotes in bed.

For those of you running 2.0 or 2.1 TV/Projector setups, is the jump in pure audio quality from a stereo amp worth giving up the single-remote convenience of an AVR?


What route would you take for these ELACs? Would love to hear your thoughts (and if anyone has gear that fits the bill, let me know!). Thanks!

I would go with an AVR anyday. I used to use a small Qacoustics Q7000i 5.1 HT system in my previous 11x14 feet bedroom with stunning results. This was driven off an old Marantz SR6011. The proper integration of satellites with a sub, makes a ton of difference in tight spaces. Your goodselves can always add a small sub like the Qacoustics 3060 or 7060 which are thin and also wall mountable to get great sound later.

 

[heretobuyanamp]

I would go with an AVR anyday. I used to use a small Qacoustics Q7000i 5.1 HT system in my previous 11x14 feet bedroom with stunning results. This was driven off an old Marantz SR6011. The proper integration of satellites with a sub, makes a ton of difference in tight spaces. Your goodselves can always add a small sub like the Qacoustics 3060 or 7060 which are thin and also wall mountable to get great sound later.

Thanks sir.
Will keep a note.

 

[DB1989]

Hey everyone, hoping to get some thoughts from the community to settle a debate I'm having with myself before I pull the trigger on an amp.


I’m putting together a bedroom theater setup. I am running a JMGO UST projector paired with some power-hungry ELAC DB63s (6-ohm). Because of the room layout, I am sticking to a 2.0 setup for now, though I might add a center channel later under the screen. My budget is around ₹25k - ₹30k (looking entirely at the used market).


Here is my dilemma:


Option A: A Used AVR (e.g., Denon X-series, Marantz NR)

• The Pros: HDMI ARC is a huge deal for me. I really want that single-remote convenience for watching movies in bed. I also get room correction (like Audyssey) for nighttime listening, and the ability to add that center channel later.
• The Cons: I know budget/mid-tier AVRs don't always have the raw current needed to make low-sensitivity ELACs sound their best musically.

Option B: A Used Stereo Amp / Network Receiver (e.g., Yamaha R-N602, Marantz PM series)

• The Pros: Considerably better pure audio quality and the heavy-hitting power supply those ELACs crave.
• The Cons: Almost none of the pure stereo amps in my used budget have HDMI ARC. I would have to use an optical cable from the projector and be stuck juggling two remotes in bed.

For those of you running 2.0 or 2.1 TV/Projector setups, is the jump in pure audio quality from a stereo amp worth giving up the single-remote convenience of an AVR?


What route would you take for these ELACs? Would love to hear your thoughts (and if anyone has gear that fits the bill, let me know!). Thanks!

There are stereo amps with HDMI ARC in every spectrum of the budget and with room correction like DIRAC. Both option A and B you're considering are based on incorrect factual assumptions. And while its not listed as an option, the assumption that the Elac DB63 are power hungry falls amongst the ken of incorrect assumptions - they are easy peasy lemon squeezy to drive.

 

[argho]

I would suggest an AVR , for one reason - it can decode multi-channel signals (Dolby Digital etc).

With a stereo amp, while music will certainly sound better, for movies and TV shows, a 5.1 / Dolby Atmos signal, will get mixed down to stereo, with not always the best results.

Whereas with an AVR , the mixdown is handled in a far better way.

And when you add an additional speaker, I would suggest a small sub, rather than a centre.
A 2.1 setup sounds excellent in a small space.
A centre channel is not really needed because properly setup FR and FL will give you a phantom centre.

And again, an AVR will keep the LFE channel separate and route to the sub, which a stereo amp cannot do.

 

[rwnano]

I would suggest an AVR , for one reason - it can decode multi-channel signals (Dolby Digital etc).

With a stereo amp, while music will certainly sound better, for movies and TV shows, a 5.1 / Dolby Atmos signal, will get mixed down to stereo, with not always the best results.

Whereas with an AVR , the mixdown is handled in a far better way.

And when you add an additional speaker, I would suggest a small sub, rather than a centre.
A 2.1 setup sounds excellent in a small space.
A centre channel is not really needed because properly setup FR and FL will give you a phantom centre.

And again, an AVR will keep the LFE channel separate and route to the sub, which a stereo amp cannot do.

This is an extraordinary well written response

 

[DB1989]

I would suggest an AVR , for one reason - it can decode multi-channel signals (Dolby Digital etc).

With a stereo amp, while music will certainly sound better, for movies and TV shows, a 5.1 / Dolby Atmos signal, will get mixed down to stereo, with not always the best results.

Whereas with an AVR , the mixdown is handled in a far better way.

And when you add an additional speaker, I would suggest a small sub, rather than a centre.
A 2.1 setup sounds excellent in a small space.
A centre channel is not really needed because properly setup FR and FL will give you a phantom centre.

And again, an AVR will keep the LFE channel separate and route to the sub, which a stereo amp cannot do.

These are all the right reasons to choose an AVR over a stereo amp. Marantz AVR's of the SR5xxx line do a pretty respectable job in this regard.

However, there are still some stereo amps that do as good a job at downmixing as proper AVR's viz. the Marantz Stereo 70s.

While one could argue that it is essentially a 2 channel Cinema 70, the 2ch power output is 33% higher on the Stereo 70s and i suspect it should do a much finer job than the Cinema. I have used other slimline AVR's from Marantz such as the Marantz NR1509 and the two channel performance sounds like mush.

I am currently the Marantz PM6006 (bought for an honest to goodness price of 27k in 2018) and the Marantz M1 (which has HDMI, subwoofer management and DIRAC) amongst their stereo line. I'm also using the Marantz NR1509 and the Marantz SR6013, which are AVRs.

The stereo performance of the SR6013 is comparable to the PM6006 - nearly indistinguishable to all but experienced ears, where the PM6006 exhibits slightly better dynamics and treble reproduction.

The M1's stereo performance is much superior to the SR6013 and the PM6006, as it should, but does not downmix as well as the AVRs. The Stereo 70s does look like the ideally crafted option for the intended brief.



The PM6006 has

 

[argho]

The Marantz Stereo 70s can only decode PCM 2.0 signal via HDMI.
Hence the downmixing is done by the TV.

Connection 1 : TV equipped with an HDMI connector and compatible with the ARC (Audio Return Channel) STEREO 70s

manuals.marantz.com