confused about amp and speakers

[bazz]

hello,

So I wanted to buy a new amp and speakers. I started informing myself and came to the conclusion that a stereo 2/2.1 setup would be best for me sinve I dont care about suround. I would use the setup 70% for music ..30% for movies. Music will be stored on a NAS. I also plan to have something like a amazon fire tv which has a digital audio output. After much reading I thought the Marantz 6005 with dali zensor 3 speakers would be a good and affordable setup for me. I went to a hifi shop and listened to the marantz 6005 paired with dynaudio speakers(no dali in stock) and they sounded very very good to me. The marantz 6005 also has a digital audio input and a dac which sounds perfect to me...So sounds like a deal

But then I read a bit more and came to some threads that stated that there is almmost no difference in sound between most of the receivers...biggest difference is in the speakers. So this made me wondering if it would not be better to buy a cheaper receiver and better/more expensive speakers. I was looking at the onkyo tx-8050 which has a usb dac port and more power then the marantz 6005. But I am still worried about the sound.... And for speakers..Should i be happy with the dali zensor 3 speakers or use the money i save with the onkyo to buy better speakers..

Any thoughts and advise are welcome for this confused hifi newbie

 

[Andy Clough]

If your main priority is music, then I would definitely go for a stereo amp such as the Marantz rather than a multichannel AV receiver. The fact is most AV receivers will not sound as good as a dedicated stereo amp when it comes to music playback. I would disagree with the view that there is almost no difference insound betwwen most of the receivers.

As for the Dali Zensor 3 speakers, they are - as we said in our review - "stonkingly good speakers".

 

[Anderson]

If your main priority is music, then I would definitely go for a stereo amp such as the Marantz rather than a multichannel AV receiver. The fact is most AV receivers will not sound as good as a dedicated stereo amp when it comes to music playback. I would disagree with the view that there is almost no difference insound betwwen most of the receivers.

As for the Dali Zensor 3 speakers, they are - as we said in our review - "stonkingly good speakers".

The fact is? No your facts are audio snobbery dressed as fact. AV amps are no different than stereo amps really except you get more features.

Another nameless review.

Also worth pointing out that your opinions about audio are paid for by advertisers on the magazine and website.

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Angry, Anderson? *smile*

 

[Anderson]

Hangover.

Kids are doing my head in too.

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Hangover.

Kids are doing my head in too.

Self inflicted misery then.

 

[Anderson]

Hangover.

Kids are doing my head in too.

Self inflicted misery then.

Yes. On all counts, the kids are a slowburn.

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Hangover.

Kids are doing my head in too.

Self inflicted misery then.

Yes. On all counts, the kids are a slowburn.

So we won't see you on the news tonight then? That's good.

 

[Esra]

I would also go for a AV receiver with speakers at this price.Depends on the AV receiver though.I could also be pretty happy with my Pio. LX 57 if I compare it with my other (stereo dedicated) gear which was 2.5-3 more expensive.Yes it sounds noticeable better with them (with speakers which can reveal the difference) but nowhere near 3 times.With your budget i would prefer def. a good not budget AV receiver given it´s price and features and would buy better speakers instead.

 

[jonathanRD]

Hi Bazz, if I was you I would go back to that hifi shop and listen some more. The Marantz/Dali combo you said sounded very very good, so go back and have another listen, and then see what the options are (including av receivers) and listen to them too. Ideally, arrange to take what you like best home overnight/over a weekend for a home demo to get an extended and more relaxed listen.

 

[Anderson]

Absolutely not, I'm much too careful for that. I have discovered a temporary relief in the form of a PS4, Netflix and iCarly.

(For the kids obviously)

 

[bazz]

tx for all the answers.

I was no thinking about buying an av receiver. If I am correct the marantz 6005 and the onkyo tx-8050 are both stereo receivers and they both have a built in DAC. The nice thing with the onkyo is that it also has a usb dac port and it can play music from my network.

I just don't know if there would be a difference in sound quality between them. And the shops here dont have the onkyo in stock... Anyone who has/heard them both?

 

[davedotco]

tx for all the answers.

I was no thinking about buying an av receiver. If I am correct the marantz 6005 and the onkyo tx-8050 are both stereo receivers and they both have a built in DAC. The nice thing with the onkyo is that it also has a usb dac port and it can play music from my network.

I just don't know if there would be a difference in sound quality between them. And the shops here dont have the onkyo in stock... Anyone who has/heard them both?

Ok. Firstly the Marantz is an amp not a reciever and it does not have network capabilities, you will need some way of streaming music from your Nas. Neither does it have a usb input, either for a computer or an iThing.

The Onkyo is netwoked, so will play direct from your Nas, it also has a front panel usb for an iThing. If it is available to you, the Yamaha R-N500 has similar facilities to the Onkyo.

Sound wise the Marantz has the 'reputation' though personally I would by the Yamaha for it's functionality.

 

[bazz]

I bought the onkyo tx-8050. Christmas deal for 350 euro

Sounds great to me paired with the dali zensor 3 speakers. But I still have a problem. I connected the optical out from my tv set to an optical in on the onkyo..but no sound. My tv is a sony kdlw705. In the tv I changed output from tv to audio system.

On the onkyo the optical input is linked to the cd. But one thing I notice is that when I select cd on the onkyo it says analog. I tried a lot but no idea how to change to digital...

I checked the optical cable. There is a red light on the side that I connect to the receiver but it doesnt blink when I play music...So I guess the problem is at the source (tv)?

Anybody?

 

[davedotco]

It's 11 am, all the food prep is done, turkey (just) in the oven and Mrs DDC has dissapeared into the bath, probably for quite a long time.

So, to your new toy.

You have probably worked this out all ready, but one of the analog line inputs is designated CD, you are selecting that. The optical input will be named something else, Optical 1, Digital 3 or whatever.

To get your TV to work you need to set the digital output to stereo, it is often 5.1 as default which your receiver does not recognise. Go through the appropriate menus and check your settings.

I all else fails, check the manuals.

 

[bazz]

You have probably worked this out all ready, but one of the analog line inputs is designated CD, you are selecting that. The optical input will be named something else, Optical 1, Digital 3 or whatever.

To get your TV to work you need to set the digital output to stereo, it is often 5.1 as default which your receiver does not recognise. Go through the appropriate menus and check your settings.

I all else fails, check the manuals.

Still no solution. In my receiver you can assign CD for example to an optical output. Or you can choose TV/GAME/...whatever. TRied them all but it doenst work. The audio system of the TV is set to Audio system instead of TV speakers. No other options as far as I see.

I did some research and I think the sony bravia's only output digital audio when you are for example on a digital channel...https://us.en.kb.sony.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/40198/~/the-tv-does-not-output-sound-through-the-digital-audio-%28optical%29-out-jack.

I am not sure if the audio played from a USB stick is digital audio. Or does this depends on the file?

Its digital on the stick but I dont know if this also means 'digital signal'

 

[davedotco]

You have probably worked this out all ready, but one of the analog line inputs is designated CD, you are selecting that. The optical input will be named something else, Optical 1, Digital 3 or whatever.

To get your TV to work you need to set the digital output to stereo, it is often 5.1 as default which your receiver does not recognise. Go through the appropriate menus and check your settings.

I all else fails, check the manuals.

Still no solution. In my receiver you can assign CD for example to an optical output. Or you can choose TV/GAME/...whatever. TRied them all but it doenst work. The audio system of the TV is set to Audio system instead of TV speakers. No other options as far as I see.

I did some research and I think the sony bravia's only output digital audio when you are for example on a digital channel...https://us.en.kb.sony.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/40198/~/the-tv-does-not-output-sound-through-the-digital-audio-%28optical%29-out-jack.

I am not sure if the audio played from a USB stick is digital audio. Or does this depends on the file?

Its digital on the stick but I dont know if this also means 'digital signal'

The link you quoted simple reinforces what I said. The TV must be recieving a digital channel and must be set to stereo out, It would be unusual for a modern Sony TV to be unable to do that. Dig deeper in the menus and check the manual.

Similarly it is highly unlikely for the receiver to be faulty in the way you describe, it is almost certainly a setup issue. Can you speak to your dealer and have him talk you through it?

All music files are digital, so the contents of your USB stick will all be digital. They may be different formats, Flac, mp3 etc, but they are all digital. The manual should tell you how to access them.

 

[davedotco]

Checking further, your Sony TV outputs stereo only from it's Toslink socket. If you are recieving any kind of digital broadcast it should work fine.

This suggests a connection issue. Reset your receiver to factory settings as per the manual. Connect your tv to Optical 1 socket on the rear then using the input selector switch to Game. (Optical 1 is call Game for some reason) If you have a CD or Video player with a toslink output, try that too.

See what happens.

 

[bazz]

I called sony and we checked all settings. they were all correct. There should be digital output.

Reset the onky tx-8050 and connected to game 1(cable is in optical 1). Still no sound.

So next step is finding another device with an optical out and see if this is a tv or receiver problem (or cable)

thanks!

 

[MickyBlue]

If your main priority is music, then I would definitely go for a stereo amp such as the Marantz rather than a multichannel AV receiver. The fact is most AV receivers will not sound as good as a dedicated stereo amp when it comes to music playback. I would disagree with the view that there is almost no difference insound betwwen most of the receivers.

As for the Dali Zensor 3 speakers, they are - as we said in our review - "stonkingly good speakers".

The fact is? No your facts are audio snobbery dressed as fact. AV amps are no different than stereo amps really except you get more features.

Another nameless review.

Also worth pointing out that your opinions about audio are paid for by advertisers on the magazine and website.

actually andy is correct, a 300 pound stereo amp will most certainly beat any 300 pound A/V amp on stereo performance, i nearly choked with laughter when i saw this comment.

You would probably need to spend closer to a grand to get the same stereo performance of a 300 pound stereo amp.

 

[davedotco]

I called sony and we checked all settings. they were all correct. There should be digital output.

Reset the onky tx-8050 and connected to game 1(cable is in optical 1). Still no sound.

So next step is finding another device with an optical out and see if this is a tv or receiver problem (or cable)

thanks!

Damn. Still, step by step.

Double check that the TX 8050 can not switch off the digital inputs, then try a different toslink source and cable. Try the RCA digital inputs if you can, that should tell you that the dac is working and switched on.

Can you get back to the dealer and try it with some of his gear?

 

[bazz]

problem solvedI checked with the receiver from the neigbours...no sound.

Then I also used their cable...sound!

New cable and problem solved!

Thanks for the support and a happy new year to all...