Emile Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Hi All, Was hoping to find out my "mental state." Please advise if I am crazy, an idiot, or just "OK." Haha ... please let me know "why." Had a 7.1 system for a long time. Music selection is classical (Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Opera, etc) and 70/80's rock, played extremely loud - yes, LOUD ... neighbors invite themselves and drink our wine when they hear it cranked up Movies are watched on a Panasonic 65" Viera Plasma - 95% of the time just with the sound on the tv speakers. (Maybe this post should be in "2-channel stereo.") Rarely stream music or movies. As of a year ago system consisted of an Onkyo AVR (TX-ZR810, 130wpc), couple of CD/DVD/BR players, rarely used TT and R2R. Speaker setup was L/R Cornwalls, Center Yamaha Pro 12", Sides Heresies, Rear Forte's, subwoofer 15" (w/ 1000W amp). Got some Pro speakers and after trying a 5.1 setup, ended up with a 3.1 configuration. (Haha, why would I need a 7.1 or 9.2.x AVR? ) Setup now is - from AVR, L/R Heresies, Center Heresy. same sub ... from AVR ZONE 2 PRE-OUT; L/R Kpt-904's (on Nikko Beta preamp and Crown K1 amp) and Rear Cornwalls (on Yamaha CR-620 receiver or my "new" Luxman R115). Yes, like it much better But have a problem with the Onkyo AVR now. Sub out is almost dead ... works 2% of the time, 98% "hum" or "nothing." Looking at getting it repaired under warranty. Estimated time is 2-4 weeks, so I am counting on at least 6 weeks Way too long to be without good sounds in the living room, and probably would like to keep (almost) the same speaker setup. Yes; could just feed RCA cables to the 904 amps, but would be missing the other speakers. So; went "shopping" and found that @Pats3of4 has an almost new Denon DRA-800H (2.1, 100wpc) available. Pretty sure all (only) 5 HDMI inputs can transfer to zone 2. 100wpc should be fine for front L/R Heresies. Wiring of course would be much easier ... but still a pain since most components are in an enclosed cedar cabinet (no access from the rear). Since it is 2.1, I would loose my center speaker ... probably not a big deal since we rarely listen to movies via the AVR ... and my wife hates the Heresy sitting in front of her fireplace anyway . Appreciate any thoughts you may have. Cheers, Emile PS; Haha, anyone interested in a single Heresy 1.5 or an Onkyo TX-RZ810 (after I get it fixed) I'm in Tampa Bay, FL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron167 Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Check out accessories for less to see if they have a replacement you "gotta have" as a drop-in replacement and then sell the fixed AVR after it's fixed (if you like the replacement better). Continue to tweak your configuration from there. My 2 cents... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave A Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 So what happened to all those old Crown amps and pro speakers? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emile Posted January 7, 2020 Author Share Posted January 7, 2020 5 hours ago, Dave A said: So what happened to all those old Crown amps and pro speakers? Gave some away, and have some left in my other setups Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emile Posted January 7, 2020 Author Share Posted January 7, 2020 Starting to think that this Denon DRA-800H will not give me enough flexibility to "play with other speakers/amps/stuff." Maybe an AV processor like an Emotiva UM-200 or Outlaw 975/976 would be more fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yura Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 I've had a full HT setup including THX Ultra speakers and ended up moving to RF7 mains and RC7. That's it. They go fairly low and sound full as is, never felt that I needed a sub with them. Almost any receiver can drive them, but something decent is still recommended. So, no - not a crazy idea. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emile Posted January 8, 2020 Author Share Posted January 8, 2020 OK; bought an Emotiva UMC-200 instead of the Denon. Will give me enough pre-outs to hookup additional amps and still have a center in case I want to haul it back and forth from fireplace to storage Thanks for all the inputs! Cheers, Emile 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave A Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 3 hours ago, Emile said: OK; bought an Emotiva UMC-200 instead of the Denon. Will give me enough pre-outs to hookup additional amps and still have a center in case I want to haul it back and forth from fireplace to storage Thanks for all the inputs! Cheers, Emile So, you went and listened to it first, I presume? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emile Posted January 8, 2020 Author Share Posted January 8, 2020 4 minutes ago, Dave A said: So, you went and listened to it first, I presume? Yeah ... $500 plane ticket to listen to a $200 processor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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