Ht set up: Does the AVR need changing?

Raghav

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I have more or less decided the set up for my Home Theatre room. Concealed cabling has been finished for all speakers, subwoofer and projector (Composite, Component & HDMI). All cables are DAC. Other equipment will be

Projector: Panasonic AX200 with Screen 12 feet away
Speakers: Wharfedale Diamond 10.1, 10CS, 10DFS and SW150/SX
(Polk RTi also considered but as of now Diamonds)
DVD Player: Philips with composite, component, co-axial and 5.1 multi-channel outputs. This I already have.
STB: Tata Sky (already have)
Music: iPod Touch 32GB (already have)
Console: Nintendo Wii
Camcorder: Sony MiniDV (already have)

Now the question is about AVR. I have in use a Yamaha RX-V357 (110W x 5 @1KHz. 2 component, 1 Co-axial, 2 Optical, 4 Analog, 1 Multi-channel inputs) which is now 4 years old. It has no HDMI at all, but 2 component outs. But as of now none of the above sources have HDMI either. Even the projector is HD ready which can be done by component cable.

AVR: Do I need to upgrade in order to keep up with the projector, Wii and drive the Diamonds (is the power enough)? If existing AVR can run in the set up then I will upgrade AVR when I switch to BDP and other HD sources.

What are your suggestions? Also feel free to comment on any other part the setup.

Regards,
Raghav
 
The best idea would be to audition your AVR with the speakers you have shortlisted and ensure that they match well. If the RTi sounds better, you can go for them.

Otherwise I don't see any reason that you should upgrade the AVR now, as there is no HDMI involved at all. Even the Wii does not have it.
 
ipod touch is a good idea, however you would be limited to 32GB of music space. It may run out soon if you store lossless?

regards
 
ipod touch is a good idea, however you would be limited to 32GB of music space. It may run out soon if you store lossless?

regards

In this constant fight over quality vs capacity, I ended up ripping my CDs in MP3 format. This was when i was using a 20GB iPod few years ago. That time capacity was scarce and I needed to fit my collection.

Space is now no constraint with iPod of 160GB as well. But, now that I have gone down MP3 path, I find re-ripping in lossless a big pain (entering data is another pain. CDDB is only 50% right). However much I want Lossless I am stuck with MP3.
 
AVR: Do I need to upgrade in order to keep up with the projector, Wii and drive the Diamonds (is the power enough)? If existing AVR can run in the set up then I will upgrade AVR when I switch to BDP and other HD sources.

With your existing components, you don't have to go for an upgrade now. As aptly suggested, you can switch to a better avr once you decide to go full HD. Till then, you are good to go.

Cheers.
 
So when are you going to upgrade to BD Player? I wouldn't be able to resist the eagerness to watch the HD movies on the big screen. WD TV would have been my stop gap arrangement:)

BTW is their a lot of price difference if you want to go for a FHD projector?
 
BTW is their a lot of price difference if you want to go for a FHD projector?

The AX-200U is for around 60-70K. Panasonic AE3000 was double of that. I do not know pricing and availability of Sanyo PLZ700 in India. I think its one of the cheapest FullHD model. If someone can help with prices it will be appreciated.

You are right. I am thinking about it. but then will have to upgrade AVR & DVD player. that would be another 60K. Lets wait and see. The buying is 2 months away as my HT room as well as house is being renovated.
 
With your existing components, you don't have to go for an upgrade now. As aptly suggested, you can switch to a better avr once you decide to go full HD. Till then, you are good to go.

Cheers.

The specs of the AVR given by Yamaha are as under

Maximum Power
(6 ohms, 1 kHz, 10% THD)
Front Channels 110 W + 110 W
Center Channel 110 W
Surround Channels 110 W + 110 W

Minimum RMS Output Power
(6 ohms, 1 kHz, 0.9% THD)
Front Channels 100 W + 100 W
Center Channel 100 W
Surround Channels 100 W + 100 W

Questions
1. Can this drive speakers with impedance 8ohms?
2. Are the first (max power) specs meaningful at all?
3. What is the realistic power at 8/6 ohms (5 channels, 20 Hz20 kHz, 0.5% THD)?

Practically can they drive a 5.1 of Diamond 10 / Polk RTi?
 
The specs of the AVR given by Yamaha are as under

Maximum Power
(6 ohms, 1 kHz, 10% THD)
Front Channels 110 W + 110 W
Center Channel 110 W
Surround Channels 110 W + 110 W

Minimum RMS Output Power
(6 ohms, 1 kHz, 0.9% THD)
Front Channels 100 W + 100 W
Center Channel 100 W
Surround Channels 100 W + 100 W

Questions
1. Can this drive speakers with impedance 8ohms?
2. Are the first (max power) specs meaningful at all?
3. What is the realistic power at 8/6 ohms (5 channels, 20 Hz20 kHz, 0.5% THD)?

Practically can they drive a 5.1 of Diamond 10 / Polk RTi?

To answer your question I would have to first remove 0.5% THD from considered as this can only be obtained by plotting the frequency response curve. For driving the 8Ohms impedance speakers will be quite easy for the AVR with around 80-85 watts of output power which is more than sufficient and will not be noticable in terms of hearing at 85 and hearing at 100 Watts if using sufficient volume level....

And yes this max power with THD figures are important as when driven to maximum power there is a noticeble (read: measureable) distortion but which might not be noticeable to layman ears as the volume will be too high and our ear will not tolerate the high db levels for long...
 
To answer your question I would have to first remove 0.5% THD from considered as this can only be obtained by plotting the frequency response curve.

For driving the 8Ohms impedance speakers will be quite easy for the AVR with around 80-85 watts of output power which is more than sufficient and will not be noticable in terms of hearing at 85 and hearing at 100 Watts if using sufficient volume level....

Got your point on THD and Ohms. Do we further need to adjust 80-85 watts for 20 Hz20 kHz as the specs are at only 1kHz. Just so that we can compare them with other AVRs.
 
Got your point on THD and Ohms. Do we further need to adjust 80-85 watts for 20 Hz20 kHz as the specs are at only 1kHz. Just so that we can compare them with other AVRs.
No. Not required because you cannot do it!! Most of the specs for almost all the AVR's are same. Those are the standard ways to document the max output specifications at some nominal impedance. This nominal impedance is quite important because the AVR may get quite hot (since it has to produce more output power) when you connect speakers of lesser impedance then the nominal for your AVR. The protection circuitry will get activated and you amp will auto-shutdown.
 
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