Stereo Sound from your AVR- Please share your experience

[20kHz]

Dear all AVR owners!
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Most of us firmly believe that Music is best enjoyed in Stereo Mode and Movies in surround sound setup.

However many people do not invest in both setup ( AVR && Stereo Amps) and buy an all purpose AVR.There are countless threads/post that certainly prove that budget/mid range AVRs do not sound well in STEREO mode.

I would like you to share your PERSONAL experience from AVR YOU OWN regarding STEREO sound reproduction from your AVR. Please share that-

1. How do you achieve stereo sound? Any specific mode in your AVR like DIRECT mode or all channel stereo mode? In these mode does your AVR switches off the surround/center speakers?

2. Do you connect just L+R speakers to enjoy stereo regardless of your AVR in surround mode?

3. Which AVR you own? Add anything else you would like to share!

This will help me and many people who are in dilemma about what to buy for music (>70%) -Stereo setup or AVR ? I am sure that many people are in this dilemma at some point of time.I am just starting on this journey of Hi-Fidelity and got stumbled in the first step !
I hope you understand and share your experience!
Thanks and waiting for your answers!

 

[rishiguru]

For an equal amount of money, a stereo amplifier will always have better sound quality than an AV amplifier/ AV receiver. The reason is stereo amplifiers deal with only audio & just 2 channels, while a standard AVR have to deal with 7 to 12 or even more audio channels along with video. Truth is HT is a much tougher business than stereo HiFi, is ten folds technically challenging and needs extensive development time with big budgets to produce a successful, descent sounding AVR with an equal video prowess. AVR business is so technically challenging and resource intensive that respected manufacturer like Lexicon, Arcam & Cambridge Audio had initial hiccups (in terms of reliability and overall performance) with their first few TOTL avrs when they entered this AVR domain. Also AVR's have so many more options, its is a very versatile device. It versatility is also its Achilles hill, as it has to sacrifice some sound quality for the sake allowing multiple audio/ video outputs, DSP processing, up scaling video ...etc. But as you climb up the ladder into zone of high-end AVR's the difference between stereo amplifiers & AVRs in terms of audio quality & power output diminishes drastically being sometimes next to nothing. I have heard quite a few high-end AVRs, and indeed they are very very musical.

I personally own a Yamaha DSP-Z9, a pretty fantastic sounding AV amplifier. I hear music in both two channel normal mode (with DSP calibration) as well as in all channel stereo mode. These are pretty regular to me. I also listen to some 5.1 channel audio from DVD-A. Sometimes I bypass the DSP & listen to Straight PCM/DSD or Direct PCM/DSD digital modes and in my ears sounds much more truthful having higher resolution than analog Pure Direct mode. It also adds up to my movie theater experience with explosive power, a pretty versatile device. Other experiences are with Denon AVC-A1SRA which like DSP-Z9 beat the paints of many well known high end stereo amps . Yamaha DSP-Z11 & Yamaha DSP-AZ1 are also worth mentioning, they are beautiful sounding AV amplifiers. Downside was one had to spend big bucks for them. In return it will provide you the liberty to have single setup that that does it all, from critical stereo listening to earth shaking theater sound.

In the end it is all down to personal preferences, you have a lot of money then go spend in two types of setups for movie and stereo with expensive equipment's. Else you go for a mediocre stereo setup along with a mediocre movie setup with two separate mediocre speaker packages. Lastly you can gun for a top of the line AVR which will do better justice in movies and provide good sound in stereo of a mediocre stereo amp with more power, all with a single multi channel speaker package. Also as you have saved the money in spending for a mediocre stereo speaker package you can now use it for good quality full range front floor-standers. You end up spending more or less the same money this way in-comparison to two seperate mediocre setups and in my view a much better choice.

 

[reignofchaos]

I can compare a basic onkyo TX-sr577 with a basic marantz Pm5004. The latter beats the pants off the receiver when playing music. It's a no contest basically. A receiver is not even worth considering for music.

 

[elangoas]

I have been using my AVR for stereo for more than 10 yrs time... Of the 11 yrs, first 4 yrs i used the AVR for stereo predominantly without being aware that stereo components existed hyeah:

I like the convenience of AVR doubling up for stereo/HT purpose...

In my 11 yrs of usage, i have used many Onkyo HTIB AVR, Marantz AVR, HK AVR, and have had a good listen to other brand of AVR too for stereo....

At present i use Onkyo TX-NR 818 AVR, which was top of the mid range offering from Onkyo in 2012...This is by far the best AVR i have used for music, followed by Marantz AVR..

I had an opportunity to listen to my friends dedicated stereo setup which consists of a Marantz CD player + Marantz PM 8005 + JBL studio FS...I played some familiar tamil film songs (CD) on his set-up and discovered that my setup 818 + Sonodyne Sonus 2605 FS + HTPC (Foobar/XBMC) was at par with his dedicated set-up...

If someday i decide for stereo and HT separately, then it would be Active speakers for stereo...

 

[buxx]

It really depends upon your speakers also-for you to perceive the difference in SQ.

I had connected a Denon 1610 AVR to my AIWA NSX S505 bookshelf speakers (6 Ohms) and then bought a Marantz PM5004 Amp.

Sources connected are my HTPC and TataSky HD+ via a DIY DAC.
(Amazon.com: HiFi digital to analog coaxial Decoder DIR9001 CS4398 96KHZ 24bit DAC converter: Electronics , ALERT: good spdif input 24/96 DAC for only $40 (with measurements) - diyAudio)

The difference is still there in this setup and even more when I crank the volume up a bit (40%) ! I usually listen at abt 25-30%.

With better quality 8 Ohms speakers, the difference would be more appreciable.

So yes, a Stereo AMP will always sound better than an AVR.
Moving very high up the chain on AVRs may close the difference.
But at those prices, you could still buy a better sounding AMP

AVR is a jack of all trades !

 

[Atif Hussain]

My view is if one is looking only for music he should not even bother for an AVR. This is taking into consideration he has least interest in movies and how it sounds. But for me music and movies are equally important as I do like both in an equal level. For us it becomes very hard on a limited budget to invest in two separate setups. I always believed in separate setups and had taken the route. After the marantz pm ki pearl I never looked backed to any other. Every time I compared this three times more expensive stereo amp with my marantz sr6009 avr it removed many layers of sonic glaze for better purity. I also was amazed at how much more power per channel the pearl could deliver in stereo when comapred to sr6009 even though both did 110 wpc with my 8 ohm rated towers. On the other hand it made me think how could marantz cram so much more functionalities and audio channels in sr6009 while their stereo amp being so simple is so expensive. One thought was that the stereo amp uses much expensive components, but then if sr6009 use to cost the same what it would have been the case in terms of audio quality.

A year passed and I got hold of a true monster avr of yeasteryear, a yamaha z9. And it completely changed my lookout of having separate setups. I had to clear my eardrums and listen night long sessions of music even to believe there are avrs like z9 that can be in the same level of my prized marantz pearl and beat them up when it comes to power. z9 produces true power output like pearl, there is no hype here like sr6009. But this is true now i am thinking of a single movie setup which will also act for music with z9. Problem is z9's are not easy to come by and todays top avr models are not even one forth of z9. After having experenced all these three, i will conclude todays avrs are better value for money products comapred to stereo amps.

 

[Vinod.R]

I have a AVR 3803 which I would say is a decent stereo performer. I have connected it to my KEF Q7 and is a decent performer, obviously not in the league of a Z9 or say an AVC-A1SRA.

But what I like about the 3803 is that it is a very musical amp. I usually play it in stereo or "pure direct" with everything that can be switched off actually switched off.

Sounds pretty good to me. This is after hearing some dedicated stereo amps.

 

[krell]

i am using onkyo tx nr1000/integra dtr10.5&marantz sr 14ex mk2,in my personnel opinion they are much superior than most of my previous stereo integrated amps like pioneer sa9800,sansui au d11,sansui au x501.
its all depends on personnel taste.for me a high quality av receiver works as a excellent stereo amp,some times surpasses.

 

[20kHz]

Thanks a lot to all !
I can guess from all above that --
1. If one can get a TOTL AVR (> 60K INR), one can expect a reasonably good stereo sound.
2. For any budget less than that it is best to stick to stereo setups!
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So based on my budget I have finalized stereo integrated amps from Norge Audio (or Any used Marantz/yamaha amp)! I am sure this will let me enjoy much better than any low end AVR.

(Will get AVR for movies if budget permits after some time. Again I will look for a no frills AVR just to enjoy 5.1)
Now time to tinker how I get Norge from Mumbai!

 

[spirovious]

Its difficult to get music at its best from your AVR-
may be due to
1.Not great DAC inside
2.Less powerful
3.So many circuits within AVR.

May high end AVR can do much better.