Queries on AV recievers features

[arunlouie]

Hi All,
This is my first post in this forum, its really a great forum. I dont know much about AV filed, a week before I thought of buying AV Reciever then started my search. Then I realised its not a day job. So I decided to research for atleast a month.

I didn't tried any audition, before that i thought of getting knowledge of jargons. Few I got but for many more you guys have to help. Following are few,

1. How far HD audio is better than the normal? (Because in Video we can easily differentiate with resolution.)

2. In some AV recievers spec I found video upscaling, will it really does the magic, because I skeptical about the the resolution it can upscale from a low resolution video (say my Ipod). Will it is capable of upscale any video to 1080p?

3. The audio freq I saw, 20Hz-20KHz, 5Hz-100Khz. What is the lowest and highest? and is it really a significant factor we have to look when buying a reciever? If yes upto what range is really good?

4. What is 7.2? Is it with 2 subs? Is it really good to have 2 subs for a system?

5. How far we can make the audio better by adding a Bi-Amp?

6. I like to know which system is best with respect to both performance & Money
Marantz/Yamaha/Onkyo/Denon...etc?? (Rated on my study)

But marantz is bit costly, so yamaha seems to be good for both Audio and video.
7. I like to know which speakers is best with respect to both performance & Money
Waferdale/polk/jamo/Onkyo...etc?? (Rated on my study)


PS: @Moderators/GURUS: Is there any post in this forum which gives all the description about the jargons in AV field? If not can we create on?


Regards,
Arun

 

[marsilians]

welcome to the forum...

Hi All,
This is my first post in this forum, its really a great forum. I dont know much about AV filed, a week before I thought of buying AV Reciever then started my search. Then I realised its not a day job. So I decided to research for atleast a month.

I didn't tried any audition, before that i thought of getting knowledge of jargons. Few I got but for many more you guys have to help. Following are few,

1. How far HD audio is better than the normal? (Because in Video we can easily differentiate with resolution.)

By HD audio if you mean the the recent entrants like DD HD and DTS HD, they are excellent thoughthe availability and choices are limited not counting the cost.

There is another set of production called 'high resolution' audio which includes SACD, DVD-Audio (not DVDs with film songs), HDCD which are also stunning to listen to.

2. In some AV recievers spec I found video upscaling, will it really does the magic, because I skeptical about the the resolution it can upscale from a low resolution video (say my Ipod). Will it is capable of upscale any video to 1080p?

Good and timely question. The answer is NO. If you do not plan on watching blu-ray or the now defunct HD DVD formats, then you wont need a TV beyond 720P to get excellent quality video. 1080P for mass market is 3-5 years away in my view.

3. The audio freq I saw, 20Hz-20KHz, 5Hz-100Khz. What is the lowest and highest? and is it really a significant factor we have to look when buying a reciever? If yes upto what range is really good?

This is the frequency range over which the component can work (similar to your car odometer). If you buy a relatively new receiver that was built within the last 10 yrs or so, then dont sweat too much over these numbers.

4. What is 7.2? Is it with 2 subs? Is it really good to have 2 subs for a system?

7.2 means the component can support 7 speakers Left, Cen, Right, Surr Lef/Right & Surr back left/right

and 2 subs.

If you get a decent powered sub which has 8 or more inches driver, then you are good. 2 subwoofer are excellent on higher value systems but very hard to setup. 95% of HT people wont need it.

5. How far we can make the audio better by adding a Bi-Amp?

Audio does not get better but you will have more power to your speakers which is a good thing under most circumstances

6. I like to know which system is best with respect to both performance & Money
Marantz/Yamaha/Onkyo/Denon...etc?? (Rated on my study)

But marantz is bit costly, so yamaha seems to be good for both Audio and video.
7. I like to know which speakers is best with respect to both performance & Money
Waferdale/polk/jamo/Onkyo...etc?? (Rated on my study)

The brands you have noted are decent brands. What is your budget?

PS: @Moderators/GURUS: Is there any post in this forum which gives all the description about the jargons in AV field? If not can we create on?

I suggest you search as most of your questions would ahve been asked before. I had some spare time and decided to reply to your directly. These also have good responses by other posters. So search away....

 

[spirovious]

Hi All,


Welcome to forum,
This is my first post in this forum, its really a great forum. I dont know much about AV filed, a week before I thought of buying AV Reciever then started my search. Then I realised its not a day job. So I decided to research for atleast a month.

I didn't tried any audition, before that i thought of getting knowledge of jargons. Few I got but for many more you guys have to help. Following are few,

1. How far HD audio is better than the normal? (Because in Video we can easily differentiate with resolution.)

HD is better as quality(Q) of sound is better.It is only useful when you see Blueray mov.For reg DVDp,ist not required.

2. In some AV recievers spec I found video upscaling, will it really does the magic, because I skeptical about the the resolution it can upscale from a low resolution video (say my Ipod). Will it is capable of upscale any video to 1080p?

Upscaling is reqd when you have HDTV(LCD) which has native resolution of 1080p/720p & want to watch SD(cable/settop) OR DVDs as they are low resolution format & cannot be enjoiyed totally without upscaling.
Blray movies are recorded in 1080p ,so you can directly connect to HDTV.

3. The audio freq I saw, 20Hz-20KHz, 5Hz-100Khz. What is the lowest and highest? and is it really a significant factor we have to look when buying a reciever? If yes upto what range is really good?

Humans can hear 20Hz to 20K & if AVR reproduces full range with same power(wattage) it is good.Amp which has range more than that is technically good & not is listening way.

4. What is 7.2? Is it with 2 subs? Is it really good to have 2 subs for a system?

subs are not reqd for smaller rooms.Very low freq are nor directional,so single powersub is enough.

5. How far we can make the audio better by adding a Bi-Amp?

Bi-amp will improve SQ just becos,High & Low freq are seperated.Practically even non-biamp setup can give you best performance.

6. I like to know which system is best with respect to both performance & Money
Marantz/Yamaha/Onkyo/Denon...etc?? (Rated on my study)

But marantz is bit costly, so yamaha seems to be good for both Audio and video.

Onkyo best for mov,average for music,mod-606, 706(best for value)
Denon 50/50,good features 1909(very popular)
Yamaha 2009 models are best for both,even aftersales service too.(663,863)

7. I like to know which speakers is best with respect to both performance & Money
Waferdale/polk/jamo/Onkyo...etc?? (Rated on my study)

Onkyo is not spk company, All are others are good when you connect it to suitable amp.The ans is relative & your listening experience.

I have answered all Q ,but they got typed in same blue fond, just read above too.

 

[spirovious]

marsilians,

How did you type ans below each Q?
When I did ,it got merged.
Pls.tell me the way.

 

[venkatcr]

Spiro,

What you have to do is separate the questions into independent quotes, and answer each question, before starting the next quote. To do this you have to do the following:

<Start square brackets><Quote=name of poster><End Square Brackets> <the question posted by the poster> <Start square brackets></quote><End Square Brackets>

<Your answer>

<Start square brackets><Quote=name of poster><End Square Brackets> <the question posted by the poster> <Start square brackets></quote><End Square Brackets>

<Your answer>

Just replace what I have written withing the '<' and '>' with the actual characters or text. On your screen it will look like as shown below. Before positing you can also click on 'Preview Post' button to see how you posting will look.

Cheers

 

[arunlouie]

Some AV recievers says, freq is (20Hz - 20kHz) like

Total Power (20Hz - 20kHz) - 630W (1kHz)

what 1Khz refers to??


Also Yamaha RX-V663 says HDMI upconversion , but HTR 6260 says HDMI upconversion (with upscaling up to 1080p). What is the difference? HD refers to 1080p right?

 

[venkatcr]

I sincerely hope that the image refers to a fictional discussion, or is a figment of your imagination, Venkat.

Guilty as charged, my lord. Sometimes the Q&A become boring, so I though a bit of humour is welcome.

Some AV recievers says, freq is (20Hz - 20kHz) like

Total Power (20Hz - 20kHz) - 630W (1kHz)

what 1Khz refers to??

'630W at 1KHz into 8 ohms' is a way of measuring the power generating capacity of an amplifier, keeping out external variables. Speaker impedance, and signal frequency variations tend to distort the power measurement of an amplifier. So you keep all external factors at some steady figures, and then measure the amplifier's output. So if you take two amplifiers, give them both the same 8 ohms speaker impedance, and feed a steady tone at 1Khz, you can compare the continuous power capabilities of the two amplifiers logically and accurately.

Also Yamaha RX-V663 says HDMI upconversion , but HTR 6260 says HDMI upconversion (with upscaling up to 1080p). What is the difference?

Please see the following thread for a detailed discussion:

http://www.hifivision.com/av-enhancers-room-acoustics/3017-upconversion-vs-upscaling.html

HD refers to 1080p right?

No. HD refers to High Definition. This has a resolution of 1366768 pixels and can accommodate 720P. Some HD ready systems have a resolution of 12801080 and can accommodate upto 1080i signals. Both these are referred to as HD Ready.

To show 1080P signals you need a resolution of 1920 X 1080 pixels. This is usually referred to as FullHD.

Cheers

 

[spirovious]

Spiro,

What you have to do is separate the questions into independent quotes, and answer each question, before starting the next quote. To do this you have to do the following:

<Start square brackets><Quote=name of poster><End Square Brackets> <the question posted by the poster> <Start square brackets></quote><End Square Brackets>

<Your answer>

<Start square brackets><Quote=name of poster><End Square Brackets> <the question posted by the poster> <Start square brackets></quote><End Square Brackets>

<Your answer>

Just replace what I have written withing the '<' and '>' with the actual characters or text. On your screen it will look like as shown below. Before positing you can also click on 'Preview Post' button to see how you posting will look.

Cheers

Thanks for detailed reply.

I took some trials as suggested by you then I got it.

 

[marsilians]

Some AV recievers says, freq is (20Hz - 20kHz) like

Total Power (20Hz - 20kHz) - 630W (1kHz)

what 1Khz refers to??


Also Yamaha RX-V663 says HDMI upconversion , but HTR 6260 says HDMI upconversion (with upscaling up to 1080p). What is the difference? HD refers to 1080p right?

Dont sweat over the frequency numbers. They are there as a default specification. what you get when you include them in your HT is something between the 2numbers which is fine for the most listening setups.

Re: HD - By definition anything which displays above 480 i/p is referred to as HD though it is flawed if you are nit picky. So 720, 1080 i&p are part of the HD resolutions.

 

[MND]

I would think audio quality depends on the quality of recording (some bluray recordings are better than others). Video Upscaling to 720p or other resolutions would not be the same as true HD. To get HD quality you still would need the source material to be recorded in HD.