Looking for A/V receiver and speaker setup

[MG2R]

I want to re-vamp my living room media setup. Currently I have a combination of TV, old stereo, a small linux box, a decoder, and a bluetooth speaker. I want to simplify, so I'm in the market for an A/V receiver with a built-in amp for speakers. Also looking for speakers that go with it. I know literally nothing about this specific market segment, so I was hoping you guiys might give me some suggestions and/or things to watch out for.

 

Hard requirements:

* 3 HDMI in, preferrably 4 or 5

* Capable of acting as a bluetooth speaker

* 2.1 audio output

* HDMI ARC support

* 1080p support

* HDCP 2.2 support (sigh)

 

Nice to have, but not hard requirements

* Airplay

* Built-in network streaming

* FM/DAB+

* 4K support

* 5.1 surround support

* The microphone-auded automated levels tuning feature (whatever it's called)

 

For the speakers, I'll have to see if I can convince the lady of the house to let me put speakers behind the sofa (where we walk to get from the kitchen area to the dining table/hallway). If not, I'll stick to 2.1. If she agrees, I'd like to somehow attach small speakers to the sofa.

 

I'm looking to spend no more than 500 EUR. Any suggestions/comments/feedback is highly appreciated!

[Derkoli]

17 minutes ago, MG2R said:

I want to re-vamp my living room media setup. Currently I have a combination of TV, old stereo, a small linux box, a decoder, and a bluetooth speaker. I want to simplify, so I'm in the market for an A/V receiver with a built-in amp for speakers. Also looking for speakers that go with it. I know literally nothing about this specific market segment, so I was hoping you guiys might give me some suggestions and/or things to watch out for.

 

Hard requirements:

* 3 HDMI in, preferrably 4 or 5

* Capable of acting as a bluetooth speaker

* 2.1 audio output

* HDMI ARC support

* 1080p support

* HDCP 2.2 support (sigh)

 

Nice to have, but not hard requirements

* Airplay

* Built-in network streaming

* FM/DAB+

* 4K support

* 5.1 surround support

* The microphone-auded automated levels tuning feature (whatever it's called)

 

For the speakers, I'll have to see if I can convince the lady of the house to let me put speakers behind the sofa (where we walk to get from the kitchen area to the dining table/hallway). If not, I'll stick to 2.1. If she agrees, I'd like to somehow attach small speakers to the sofa.

 

I'm looking to spend no more than 500 EUR. Any suggestions/comments/feedback is highly appreciated!

I would get a decent 5.1 AV receiver, then a 2.0 setup. Then add a sub, then surrounds. I would take a look at the yamaha RX-V385 receiver, it has bluetooth, HDMI, 5.1 and HDCP 2.2 support. It also has a calibration microphone . Then if you go a little bit over 500 you can get the klipsch RP-150M, which are really nice speakers. It would be best to get a 2.0 setup with a 5.1 receiver then add to it, because doing full 5.1 surround with decent sound quality will be hard for 500 dollars.

https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-RX-V385-5-1-Channel-Receiver-Bluetooth/dp/B07BNXXJKB/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=yamaha+385&qid=1565800516&s=gateway&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-RP-150M-Bookshelf-Speaker-Cherry/dp/B00RXHEH8Y/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=klipsch+rp+150&qid=1565800595&s=gateway&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-16-Gauge-Speaker-Wire-Feet/dp/B006LW0W5Y/ref=pd_hpb_a2a_sims_1/137-1256805-5751720?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B006LW0W5Y&pd_rd_r=37082852-bfa0-443e-9a66-03292516fde9&pd_rd_w=LaJB5&pd_rd_wg=3BoIY&pf_rd_p=d78c30a3-fc38-44f4-b18b-75a30a231f5b&pf_rd_r=JNB2TMBN9P20Q946WET7&psc=1&refRID=JNB2TMBN9P20Q946WET7

 

[circeseye]

majority of pioneers and denons also have majority of that...the bluetooth speakers is the only thing im not sure of (i guess you dont like wires? lol )

[circeseye]

2 hours ago, Derkoli said:

 because doing full 5.1 surround with decent sound quality will be hard for 500 dollars.

 

 

your joking right? there are a lot of pioneer, denon, yamaha with full 5.1 and better under 500 with all surround supports including atmos and sounds good....AND with most options hes looking for

[Derkoli]

1 hour ago, circeseye said:

your joking right? there are a lot of pioneer, denon, yamaha with full 5.1 and better under 500 with all surround supports including atmos and sounds good....AND with most options hes looking for

I'm not joking. Getting a full 5.1 system for 500 dollars is hard. With the AV receiver included, you'll most likely only have 250 left over for speakers and a sub.

[circeseye]

9 hours ago, Derkoli said:

I'm not joking. Getting a full 5.1 system for 500 dollars is hard. With the AV receiver included, you'll most likely only have 250 left over for speakers and a sub.

oh you mean with speakers lol...ok ok..then yea thats true

but then its always better to get speakers separate from receiver..most set ups that come with speakers also (unless high end) are usually basic..better to get a receiver then shop around for speakers but even then you can buy them in pairs and such to keep in begining budget till you have full set

buy 2, save, buy 2 more, save, buy center and sub or more for more channels

 

[Derkoli]

5 hours ago, circeseye said:

oh you mean with speakers lol...ok ok..then yea thats true

but then its always better to get speakers separate from receiver..most set ups that come with speakers also (unless high end) are usually basic..better to get a receiver then shop around for speakers but even then you can buy them in pairs and such to keep in begining budget till you have full set

buy 2, save, buy 2 more, save, buy center and sub or more for more channels

 

Yep. I thought you meant 500 for the receiver and all the speakers haha. But yes you can get an amazing receiver for 500 dollars/euros

[MG2R]

Hey guys, thank you for the feedback!

 

On 8/14/2019 at 6:42 PM, Derkoli said:

I would get a decent 5.1 AV receiver, then a 2.0 setup. Then add a sub, then surrounds. I would take a look at the yamaha RX-V385 receiver, it has bluetooth, HDMI, 5.1 and HDCP 2.2 support. It also has a calibration microphone . Then if you go a little bit over 500 you can get the klipsch RP-150M, which are really nice speakers. It would be best to get a 2.0 setup with a 5.1 receiver then add to it, because doing full 5.1 surround with decent sound quality will be hard for 500 dollars.

Those speakers seem rather pricey. I get that they're super good speakers, but are they also good on the price/performance spectrum? One more thing I'm concerned about with those is that the matching speakers for surround are pretty big. As I stated, I'm quite limited space-wise behind the sofa so the surround speakers will have to be small. Would it be wise to buy non-matched speakers for surround?

 

I found some time to dig through Amazon (DE one, as I'm located in BE) as well and came up with this:

• Receiver: https://www.amazon.de/Pioneer-VSX-S520-B-Verst%C3%A4rker-Multiroom-Bluetooth/dp/B01LZNVFVA/ref=sr_1_3
• Speakers:https://www.amazon.de/Pioneer-Lautsprecher-Set-S-11-Heimkino-Systeme-Belastbarkeit-Schwarz/dp/B008JW9C1Y/ref=sr_1_2

That would land me right around 500 EUR for a surround setup, though it doesn't include a subwoofer.

Now, if you say those speakers are crap for the money, I'd rather not take them. Given their size, it's immediately apparent they won't be exquisite, but I've listened to similarly-sized Bose speakers with great enjoyment.

Care to share your thoughts on the above? Really appreciate the feedback.

 

 

[TheFlyingTraut]

Why do you care what brand your rear speakers are? They do not have to brand match. LCR is your most important for brand/model match.

[Proffecte]

Watch this. Old video, but lots of good information.

 

 

[MG2R]

19 hours ago, TheFlyingTraut said:

Why do you care what brand your rear speakers are? They do not have to brand match. LCR is your most important for brand/model match.

From my previous comment:

20 hours ago, MG2R said:

Would it be wise to buy non-matched speakers for surround?

I wasn't sure.

I've watched the video @Proffecte suggested and delved deeper into online resources. It seems that I misjudged the importance of the surround speakers. It also seems matching speakers isn't as important as I first thought.

Given that I can basically mix-n-match over time, I've decided to use the speakers I currently have hooked up to a super old minisystem for now. They sound good enough as a start. I'll be adding a subwoofer and then surrounds and a center when I found decent deals.

Thanks for all the comments and feedback, peeps. I've learned a lot!

[JZStudios]

On 8/14/2019 at 9:42 AM, Derkoli said:

I would get a decent 5.1 AV receiver, then a 2.0 setup. Then add a sub, then surrounds. I would take a look at the yamaha RX-V385 receiver

I have the RX-V379, and I agree. It has enough power for reasonable (and a little less reasonable) volumes, the software/interface on it is fantastic, and has all sorts of features and supports. It's been replaced with the current gen that does 4k HDR passthrough n' whatnot, but as a base I'm very happy with mine.

Bought it on sale at Best Buy for $360 which included some small yet decent NS-P40 5.1 speakers.

On 8/16/2019 at 3:36 PM, MG2R said:

Those speakers seem rather pricey. I get that they're super good speakers, but are they also good on the price/performance spectrum? One more thing I'm concerned about with those is that the matching speakers for surround are pretty big. As I stated, I'm quite limited space-wise behind the sofa so the surround speakers will have to be small. Would it be wise to buy non-matched speakers for surround?

The NS-P40 are only slightly larger than your average PC speakers, for having a decent volume output and audio quality. They also weigh only slightly over a pound, so they're exceptionally light. You can mount them anywhere. I have mine set up around my PC. Fairly cheap too. Sub isn't amazing.

 

Just as an... addendum and shilling for Yamaha some more, my brother got a different AVR against my advice in a similar price range because it has a whole 5 watts more power. I think it's a Denon and he constantly has issues with it, and the software on it sucks. The Yamaha software has it's options displayed clearly on both the AVR and the monitor/TV it's hooked up to. It's REALLY nice. You can also access the controls and settings if for whatever reason the remote breaks.

Talking about mixing and matching, the Yamaha has built-in EQ settings for each individual speaker, along with settings for speaker placements and other stuff. My brothers AVR has none of that. It'll also auto-recognize the type of connection plugged into it and rename that channel. No more hooking up your Xbox to the "Cable" channel, It'll read and display it as Xbox One, PS4, etc. Even if it doesn't you can go in the menu and rename or skip inputs.

I'm pretty sure they made the software for their high end models, and just use it on everything. I just don't think/know if it supports ARC, but my brothers certainly doesn't, so if that's a must have, I'd look into that too. But the Yamaha has 4 color coded memory buttons you can use to swap to other inputs and automatically apply whatever settings you have on them.

 

So before you buy an AVR, really fiddle with the settings menu if you can.

Also, back to speakers, the "small" form factor really doesn't seem to be a thing. It's primarily rather "large" bookshelf speakers, and if like me you're really tight on space, those won't work. As to surrounds, it depends on what you do. Flying Traut is right, your front 3 are most important, and if you primarily watch movies well... most movies really do very little with surround sound. There might be a cool moment or two, but not during the whole movie.

Games however, can be amazing with proper surround sound. My 2 favorite examples are Horizon Zero Dawn (I will literally just turn the game on and listen to it) and The Witcher 3.

 

This got longer than I wanted it to be.