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Youthman Bought a Few Toys


Youthman

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I think you will not need external amps... Let us know what you think of just the AVR with the setup.

I spent some time tonight with the TX-NR1008 and the Onkyo had no problem driving my 7.2 system with it's internal amps.  Once the Sherbourn has been repaired, I'll be curious to test with and without the amp to see what my ears hear.

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Bet if you have someone hook the stuff up and you do it blind at exact same spl you won't hear a single bit of difference.

Can't really say for sure.  I remember when I added my first amp....a Parasound HCA2205a (220 x 5) to a Yamaha RX-V1800, I posted my First Impressions of the Parasound HCA2205a.  It was not night and day but at that time, my ears did hear a difference.  Here was some of my comments...

 

 

With 220 watts x 5, the Parasound adds even more bottom end to the RF-83's, giving them more authority in the bass region. I used to not enjoy listening to music in 5.1 or 7ch stereo but with the new amp, it really brings the surround channels to life. With movies, the surrounds seem more alive and engaged. At high volumes, the amp has no problems maintaining the integrity of the source material. The sound never gets harsh or muddy. Crystal clear no matter what volume. Musical has more separation of instruments than with the Yamaha alone.

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I think scrappy is right to the extent that you have enough power to drive your set without an amp and may not even notice. You only need an amp to power a preamp, inefficient speakers or an underpowered avr. The Onkyo from 7xx up have plenty to run Klipsch loud. Even a 4/5/6 can run to pretty loud volume cleanly. I have a nice Carver amp Id love to use but just don't need to.

 

Of course when you do run a powerful amp you know there will be no shortage of power no matter what. And my old Adcom monster 200 watt per channel but could draw like 1000 watts even lightly clipped on rf7"s...... well above 110 db though.

 

The issue from a sound perspective is Onkyo"s shortcomings in musical presentation ( only noticeable on very revealing speakers) for over a decade or so. I was an early thorn is their side, since the 90's I've complained. A few years back they made some gains with music and now are at least acceptable, theater has never been an issue.

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Steven, I actually noticed solid bass from the RF83, even at lower volume. That's one thing that was nice is I didn't have to crank it as loud to get the same amount off bass. Since the LaScalas don't have any deep bass, I may not notice much difference in that regard.

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The good news is you still wont have to crank it loud to get great bass and even response at low levels. The dynamic eq (not dynamic volume) setting is the best feature in years on select digital avrs. I also agree that for all but the most critical two channel listening the recent generations of Onkyo are fine. Certainly when you step up to the 5xxx series should actually be pretty nice.

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Dynamic EQ

Movie and music mixes are created at a reference level much louder than typical listening levels. Human perception of sound is different at lower playback volumes causing voices to appear brighter, bass to diminish and the surround soundstage to become less enveloping.

Audyssey Dynamic EQ™ adjusts the frequency response and surround volume levels moment-by-moment. The result is something never before possible—bass response, tonal balance and surround impression that remain constant despite changes in playback volume. This is the first technology to correctly combine information from incoming source levels with actual output sound levels, a pre-requisite for delivering a loudness correction solution.

 

That is pretty cool Fish!  That's one reason why I've always tended to turn it up loud because it sounds better that way.  LOL  I'm assuming the Dynamic EQ is turned on since the manual says after running Audyssey, the Dynamic EQ is turned on.  Do I need to have the DSP set to a certain setting?  They are different from my HK and previous Yamaha.  Haven't played with them enough to know which one to use for movies and which to use for music (when I want to utilize all 7 speakers).

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Im not sure on the dsp but it should be auto. If you push the audio button on remote and scroll down you should see settings. On mine sometimes I have to be watching/listening to source then scroll down and set dyn eq to on and music optimizer on for mp3. Its would be good to just check when using a source input. You can also adjust a few parameters on the fly, sub etc..then they revert later.

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DSP: Dolby PLIIx Movie / Audyssey DSX (DSX may only show up if using heights or wides)

 

Just checked and you'll only see this when using heights or wides so disregard unless you get a couple more LaScalas :)

 

 

***Front high speakers (Left and Right)
These speakers are necessary to enjoy Dolby Pro Logic IIz Height, and
Audyssey DSX™. They significantly enhance the spatial experience.
Position them at least 3.3 feet (100 cm) above the front speakers (preferably
as high as possible) and at an angle slightly wider than the front
speakers.

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Just leave it be and It will play what it's supposed to.

Not sure about that.  There are several "Listening Modes" that you can choose from for HT as well as for Music.  I'm not interested in stuff like the ridiculous Concert Hall Listening Modes that sounds like you setup a HT in your bathroom.....but the other ones I'm just not familiar with. 

 

The ones I'm referring to are ones like these...

 

Audyssey DSX
PLIIx Movie DSX
THX Cinema
THX S2 Cinema
THX Surround EX

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May I interject a question--don't mean to hijack this thread.  A number of previous comments had discussed one or more of the (Harmony) remote controls in "the big heist" of goodies.  Obviously, a number of posters know about remotes.

 

My issue/question is this:  as I recently bought a Yamaha RX-Z9 receiver, it was missing the original RAV-229 remote.  The seller had ordered a "replacement" remote, the RAV-352, brand new.  However, in checking w/ Yamaha Support, they say that the remotes are specific to each receiver, and that I am not able to get the codes to make the 352 function in the place of the original remote, the 229.

 

Does anyone know if a truly "smart" Harmony or some other remote might be able to tackle this problem for me?  

 

Any other ideas?

 

Thanks!

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My issue/question is this: as I recently bought a Yamaha RX-Z9 receiver, it was missing the original RAV-229 remote.

 

I can add your receiver as one of my devices. I have the Harmony Ultimate. PM me with what features you would like to know are showing up.

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. I'm not interested in stuff like the ridiculous Concert Hall Listening Modes that sounds like you setup a HT in your bathroom

 

I'm with ya there, never understood those type modes. You will have the opportunity to add more speakers if you want dsx (height or other placement options). All channel stereo and otherwise auto is what I use. Its always interesting to try dts, THX, modes ,at least they're real even though suttle.

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