Av Receiver in Stereo mode

[samgurung]

Hi All,

Was hoping someone could help me out with this.

When you operate an AVR in two channel (stereo only) mode does that improve the quality of sound for music? Do AVRs that have this option perform better when they have to power only two channels?

Thanks!

 

[RRR]

Hi All,

Was hoping someone could help me out with this.

When you operate an AVR in two channel (stereo only) mode does that improve the quality of sound for music? Do AVRs that have this option perform better when they have to power only two channels?

Thanks!

Hi..
All AVRs will have a stereo mode for music. When used in this mode, the surround channels and circuits are switched off. However it does not necessarily mean better quality sound.
Thehe sound quality will be better when an integrated amp is used as it is designed primarily for stereo only.
Hope this helps.

 

[haisaikat]

Look if AVR has a Pure / Pure Direct Mode where even the digital dials are turned off. It's better for music, even sub out is stopped too. Having said that at times I have seen costlier AVRs in stereo mode can beat in performance stereo amplifiers, depends on model to model.

Also in AVR production a lot of cost goes into the licensing fees about codec decoding chips too. So a 30K AVR vs a 30k stereo amp will not have similar performance as later will spend more on the actual stereo components. But design also matters and hence above is not always thumb rule.

 

[sandeepmohan]

When you operate an AVR in two channel (stereo only) mode does that improve the quality of sound for music? Do AVRs that have this option perform better when they have to power only two channels?

The answer to your first question is "No".

An AVR will give you a little more headroom on power when only two channels are driven. For some reason, even when driven as two channel, the dynamic range of a AV receiver is nowhere near as good as a dedicated stereo integrated amplifier. While you may gain on some power, fidelity does not improve. This has been my observation.

 

[arunthegr8]

You might have slightly more dynamic headroom when driving only 2 speakers as opposed to 5 or 7 depending on your setup as all the channels are drawing power from a single transformer. However Since all channels are crammed into one chasis there is only so much the manufacturers can cram in in terms of circuit design and capacitors etc. Hence no way it is going to sound as good a stereo integrated.

 

[efernand1]

Hi All,

Was hoping someone could help me out with this.

When you operate an AVR in two channel (stereo only) mode does that improve the quality of sound for music? Do AVRs that have this option perform better when they have to power only two channels?

Thanks!

As most have already given you their views....here is mine....

I am more into music and hence Marantz suits my requirements....the SR series is built exceptionally with good components and can be fine tuned as required. Depending on which brand and model speakers you pair it with.....Stereo sounds much better and can be compared as close to any integrated amp with similar output performance. An integrated amp is just hooking speakers and playback....the AVR goes further where you can adjust source levels, speaker levels and even their Equalization with tonal balances including distance......if you play around with these settings manually, you can achieve what integrated amps offer......Audyssey and auto calibrations often result conservative settings and results thus paining a wrong idea that AVRs cant deliver at all a good performance......explore the hidden performance.....

 

[haisaikat]

the SR series is built exceptionally with good components and can be fine tuned as required. Depending on which brand and model speakers you pair it with.....Stereo sounds much better and can be compared as close to any integrated amp with similar output performance. An integrated amp is just hooking speakers and playback....the AVR goes further where you can adjust source levels, speaker levels and even their Equalization with tonal balances including distance..

I agree to this, not that I have heard but high end brand Kii Audio makes active stereo speakers that has its own EQ setup for room specific correction.

 

[MaSh]

Receiver can be in any mode, it will not perform like a stereo amplifier. There are just too many things going on in a receiver compared to a straight path in a stereo amplifier.

If using a stereo amp is not an option, try using receiver with audyssey set to flat or front channel bypass. I never liked the pure or direct modes.

MaSh

 

[saikatbiswas82]

Pure direct mode in yama avr does bypass all dsps and other processing and acts like stereo amp only. The liking is purely subjective.

 

[MaSh]

Pure direct mode in yama avr does bypass all dsps and other processing and acts like stereo amp only. The liking is purely subjective.

That is what is said for marantz, denon and others too. However, multiple DA conversions happen even if no DSP is applied.

Try sending parallel signal to a receiver and a stereo amp, preferably of same brand and try both to give out the same sound. The receiver will never sound as open and effortless as a stereo amp. I have tried this with a marantz pair and a pioneer pair. Complicated my setup after this test. If the aim is to keep things simple, then receiver is the way to go as it does everything conveniently, however if sound quality takes higher priority, it's got to be through a stereo amp.

MaSh

 

[jayantadak]

Receiver can be in any mode, it will not perform like a stereo amplifier. There are just too many things going on in a receiver compared to a straight path in a stereo amplifier.

If using a stereo amp is not an option, try using receiver with audyssey set to flat or front channel bypass. I never liked the pure or direct modes.

MaSh

The effects are totally cut-off when operated on 'Stereo' mode and the overall quantum of sound is subdued. Correct me if I am wrong.

 

[jigarpatel]

My setup is Marantz nr1509 (AVR) -> Marantz PM7005 or Naim Nait 5si (had it with for 3 weeks )-> Wharfedale 225.

For Stereo, I liked integrated stereo amp sound better, then AVR (with any modes be it pure direct, direct).

If you priority is stereo, then invest in integrated amp.

 

[newlash09]

Hi All,

Was hoping someone could help me out with this.

When you operate an AVR in two channel (stereo only) mode does that improve the quality of sound for music? Do AVRs that have this option perform better when they have to power only two channels?

Thanks!

Hi samgurung....

To be specific to your question. The answer is yes. Without going into talking about separate stereo amps, as far as an AVR is concerned. Using it in stereo mode has the advantage of optimising its power to just 2 channels. So will sound better.

But I would caution against the pure direct mode. Unless ones room is a saintly den from a room acoustics point of view . Keeping the AVR in stereo mode will keep the DSP programs like audyssey etc running. And even the sub is kept in the loop. When I calibrate my HT system, I play some tracks Iam familiar with and tune the sub woofer and crossover limits by ear in 2 channel stereo mode. So I think I have the sub dialled in very nicely.

And since I have marantz avr, I use the audyssey app to correct my room only up to 250hz. So in essence my AVR is only correcting the bass and leaving the remaining spectrum untouched. This adds life to music, which most room correction systems seem to suck out of the sound in my humble experience.

Now I can really bet that with room correction in the loop, with a properly dialled in sub, my very humble system will whack some expensive 2 channel amps in my same room, running my same speakers , when it comes to rock, rap , edm and modern punk. So even an fully optimised AVR, where its inbuilt control and flexibility is carefully tuned and optimised can sound really great for 2 channel music.

The place where stereo systems start heading ahead is on well recorded tracks with good channel separation, sound staging and imaging. But that is a whole load of bull with a lot of its own variables, and really is for an entirely different thread.

So please enjoy what you already have. Electronic wizadry inbuilt in AVR 's is amazing if properly used. All the best

 

[newlash09]

I would like to edit my above post as under mentioned :

So even an fully optimised AVR, where its inbuilt control and flexibility is carefully tuned and optimised can sound really great for 2 channel music, when used in conjunction with a sub. And that depending on the genre of music, can even better a comparably priced pure stereo amp just running 2 speakers without a sub.

 

[jigarpatel]

@newlash09
if you can create thread on audyssey app and room correction guide.
it will be help full to all members of this forum.

Personally I am not able to understand, how to modify and what to make out of those graphs provided by audyssey app.

 

[MaSh]

I would like to edit my above post as under mentioned :

So even an fully optimised AVR, where its inbuilt control and flexibility is carefully tuned and optimised can sound really great for 2 channel music, when used in conjunction with a sub. And that depending on the genre of music, can even better a comparably priced pure stereo amp just running 2 speakers without a sub.

He he isn't that the global debate. Some like it some don't, what matters only is that the listener enjoys his music.

MaSh

 

[manofernando]

I got a Kenwood x9090 7.1. But in stereo mode AVR just shifts itself to another level of sound. Such a bliss in creating the 2ch image.