Jump to content

What do you guy's think of this upgrade path?


PGA

Recommended Posts

14 months ago, I built myself a man cave/den/home theater. It was one of my kid’s former bedrooms and I am reasonably happy how it turned out. The room is acoustically treated somewhat with curtains, carpet and I am going to add/build some Bass traps, acoustic panels, and incorporate some diffusion.

As for me, I am 59, this is a new hobby (14 months) since I am recently retired. It maybe a new hobby, but I have had several hobbies in my life and like most of you……………. when I get into a hobby, I AM ALL in!

I started out last year getting my feet wet with a HTIB. I choose the Onkyo HT-9800, which is their high-end unit. It has been a good start as I progress and gain more and more knowledge. Two weeks ago, I drastically upgraded my Left/Right and center channels with 3 RF-7III’s. I am going to sit back and enjoy my current set-up for a few months and plan my next round of upgrades.

I am seriously thinking of going separates. I am thinking of: A Marantz AV7705 paired with the upcoming Monolith by Monoprice 11 Channel (3x200 + 8x100 Watts) Multi-Channel Home Theater Power Amplifier with XLR Inputs. I would use XLR cables connecting the two. I love commercial grade, overkill equipment and tools!

My current receiver does Atmos with Atmos content, but does not upscale any legacy content to Atmos, much less Auro 3D and so forth.

Movies, TV and gaming are my main interests. Music too, I want it all!  😊

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@PGA,

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

I don't think you really need much advice, you seem to have it all figured out.  If you can afford the separates setup you are considering, I say go for it.  No such thing as overkill in my book.

 

Enjoy,

Bill

 

Oh, don't forget a couple of subwoofers that will keep up with your RF-7III triplets.

 

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@willland

 

Thank you!

 

Am I correct in my understanding of how my current receiver processes Dolby Atmos, VS how the AV7705 would do so? For example, currently the only time I see "Atmos" indicated on my receiver is when I am playing the Dolby Atmos trailers on my PC via windows. Note: ( I don't have a blu-ray player yet, so I do not have any authentic Atmos content such as a full length movie etc.) So, the way that I see it,  my current receiver is capable of playing a Dolby Atmos movie for example. However, it is NOT capable of playing a tv show or a non Atmos movie and upscaling this so called "legacy content" and making it sound like Dolby Atmos. Am I on the right track? And is the AV7705 capable of taking any TV or non Atmos movie or ps4 game and making it sound like real Dolby Atmos? Is that what upscaling means?

 

Btw.....when I do play the Dolby Atmos teaser trailers on my PC the sound to me is amazing. Much better than any other modes on my receiver, such as: 7.1m THX, DTS and so forth.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Well, you said you're all in, so here goes:

 

Get good subwoofers, unless you already have them!

Two will help each other and, properly installed, cancel out room problems below 80 Hz (to a degree).

They will allow for more headroom in your main channels, since they will do the heavy lifting.

Modern movies on Blu-ray go down as low as 16 Hz (I've heard that a few reach 10 Hz), so, be advised. 

 

After you have the subs, get some caffeine (if you use it) and read this: Guide to Subwoofer Calibration and Bass Preferences  Unlike some, it's up to date and thorough.

The Marantz AV7705 will have Audyssey MultEQ XT32 (Audyssey's best).  Buy the app separately; it's low cost.  Audyssey requires careful set up, and more than one try (generally).  Don't let anyone talk you out of it!  Currently, only Marantz and Denon have it.  It can smooth out the response of both your room and your speakers (all need a little), as well as address a few time domain issues.   First, finish treating the room -- if necessary, read up on absorption and diffusion.  Don't over-deaden!  After you run Audyssey, turn up the subwoofers (at the subwoofer gain knob, so as to not clip the subwoofer line driver in the Marantz's subwoofer output), to taste, usually 3 to 6 dB or a little more.  Almost everyone does that, because 1) They prefer more bass; Audyssey is a bit conservative with the bass, 2) Research has indicated that most people not only prefer up to 9 dB bass boost, but they think that boosted bass is FLAT when they hear it, 3) Bass is shaved off of most music recordings in order to jack up midrange.  See Chris A's thread, "The Missing Octave."  In movies, the LFE effects are not shaved off (usually) but the music often is, particularly in transfers of films of the magnificent magnetic era.  Make sure your subwoofers are good enough to take what you are liable to give them.  While film industry Reference Level specs 105 dB for "rare but recurrent peaks," through each of the main channels, the figure is 115 dB for the subwoofers' peaks.

 

Before you run Audyssey, have a little more caffeine and read this: Audyssey FAQ Linked Here  It is far superior to the coverage I've seen in equipment manuals.   While we're at it, I'll say I think Dynamic EQ muddies things up, and people would be better off just using the bass tone control (available only when DEQ is off).  Dynamic Volume compresses dynamic range, and is only for people who hate music, movies, the power of the orchestra, or have sleeping babies.

 

Make sure Monoprice provides some power specs per channel for their amp for ____watts per channel, with all channels (or the number of channels you will use) operating, to properly stress the power supply.  They haven't mentioned that on the list I found online.  Some amps (7channel ones!) will only provide about 80% of their rated power per channel when all channels are operating.  Naturally this would be for 20 to 20K Hz, at 8 ohms, at low distortion (THD 0.09% or less at full rated power).  Forget the 1K spec.  I would be ashamed to even list that one, but many otherwise good companies do. 

 

Have fun!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I couldn't have said it better. Like driving a 740 horsepower hellcat Dodge, excess is just right. I'm almost 64 myself, and love to have my heart jump either with my speakers or car/motorcycle. No your on the right track, don't stop till it scares you, then you got it. Definitely calm the room down though. Klipsch are live and loud. Putting traps in the right place makes it all come together. You might want to have someone come by with microphones or do it yourself for optimum sound. A little tweaking goes a long way.

Sent from my N9131 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...