Receiver quandary...

[Cofnchtr]

Hi, Heard a Denon 2311 t'other day in SSAV. Was great for films but the musical side was very very bright/harsh/brittle sounding. So much so I wanted to turn it off. Source was Sony's 570 BD player, listening through B&W M1 satellites with an REL T3 sub. The music was passed along the HDMI - the analogue outs were then used and the brightness disappeared but then I asked myself why connect all this digital equipment together with analogue? Why did it sound so poor keeping it digital? I currently use an optical connection from Pioneer 320 to Yamaha amp and sound is not harsh at all. Looking to upgrade from my Yamaha to something else - Pioneer VSX-1020 or VSX-2020 or an equivalent from Yamaha or Marantz (I first dipped my toe into the home cinema arena with a Marantz PM700AV). My original upgrade target was a Pioneer VSX-920 but having heard how good movies sound with an £800 Denon, my aim has been re-adjusted. The OH now needs persuading... Music is played often as are movies - main diet will be SKYHD. Will the Yamaha and Pioneers sound as harsh? According to the salesman the CD was a DTS-HD surround recording of Sting/The Police although copies were used and not originals. Already booked Pioneer/Yamaha auditions - any guidelines as to what I should expect? Cheers, Cofnchtr.

 

[grdunn123]

Hi, as far as I know you can only get compressed DTS-HD sound on to a cd?? I'm pretty sure the harshness in sound quality is due to the satellite speakers which are obviously not full range.

 

[scene]

When passing digital to the Denon, you used its DAC. When passing analogue, you used the Sony's DAC. Part of the difference will be down to the relative performances of these DACs, overlaid by any warmth added by the analogue interconnect. Also, when playing analogue, the Denon could have been set in Pure Direct mode, turning off any extraneous circuitry, further improving stereo performance...

Having said this, the pioneer will probably sound a little warmer and the Yamaha a lot warmer - but again stereo direct modes (analogue) will sound different to the digital.

 

[kinda]

I've got a 1911 and have had good musical results from a Sonos via digital coax and analogue.

At the moment I feel analogue is best, so using the Sonos DAC, but I'll have another comparison soon just to make sure.

I've not found the Denon to be too harsh / brittle, but if you do then the Pioneer may not be for you as to my ears it was really focused on the higher frequencies to the point of almost hissing and the bass was not so solid.

The Yamaha may be more up you street; more laid back and natural to my ears, detailed, but again lacking the bass solifity of the Denon.