TV Audio setup

[gozzygozborn]

Hey guys, I'm looking at getting a new TV setup and I'm curious what you guys run for audio. I hate to say it but my first reaction is to just get a soundbar because I haven't had great experiences with AV receivers for tv's in the past.  I find they don't always work seamlessly with TV's and inputs from cable boxes, they often don't turn on with the TV correctly, or get all messed up when changing between audio sources.  At the same time, I would appreciate the sound upgrade from using a decent stereo setup over a soundbar, and I'm interested what you all have to say and what your recommendations are. 

[Ahoy Hoy]

I have two KRK R6 and a KRK S10 sub pluged in. They have the option that they turn off after ten mins with no audio and turn on when they get a signal.

The only problem I found is when the TV has external audio pluged in it just send max audio volume and you cant control it with the TV remote so I had to buy a cheap DAC with a remote to do volume.

[circeseye]

computer to receiver to tv.

yes arc/earc is a cluster f#@$. tv apps will play surround from tv to receiver but not outside sources from tv...turning off/on is finicky, decouples a lot.

so 2 remotes it is to turn off/on, but not an issue

as long as its hdmi into receiver from any source it works fine as long as content supports surround.

only oof really...most receivers are hdmi 2.0 so 4k 60hz. hdmi 2.1 does 4k 120hz but receivers have a flawed chip and can be a pain to get working correctly. (new hdmi 2.1 chips wont be out till 3rd or 4th quarter)

[H713]

Some of this depends on what your budget looks like. I once tried a pretty expensive sound bar (I think it was in the $500 range) in hopes of getting around the AVR issue and returned it after about 15 minutes. It sounded considerably worse than even a relatively cheap pair of speakers.

 

The active speakers suggestion isn't a bad idea. You may also consider looking at stereo receivers, sometimes they're less stupidly designed than the 5.1 / 7.1 / whatever.1 AVRs. Sometimes you can find an integrated amp with a 

 

You asked what I'm running...

I hate AVRs as much as anyone. Even the Marantz (which is way too expensive for what it is) I have in the living room is a bad design- the volume control doesn't feel right. It's logarithmic, but it's about 5 or 10 turns of the encoder to go from min to max volume- that's annoying. I suspect that 99% of the population isn't nearly as picky about volume controls as I am.

Also, I usually just leave it running 24/7, so I don't have to deal with trying to make it turn on / off at the same time as the TV. These things are pretty reliable and don't run all that hot, so it's not a huge deal. Some manufacturers even recommend it.

 

One solution I'm considering is to do it using a Soundweb London DSP box and controlling it with an iPad. Then the plan is to put the Soundweb in the basement with all of the power amps. That allows me to use my preferred choice for power amps without their cooling fans being a problem. I can also do active filtering for the subwoofer using the Soundweb.

[gozzygozborn]

8 hours ago, H713 said:

Some of this depends on what your budget looks like. I once tried a pretty expensive sound bar (I think it was in the $500 range) in hopes of getting around the AVR issue and returned it after about 15 minutes. It sounded considerably worse than even a relatively cheap pair of speakers.

 

The active speakers suggestion isn't a bad idea. You may also consider looking at stereo receivers, sometimes they're less stupidly designed than the 5.1 / 7.1 / whatever.1 AVRs. Sometimes you can find an integrated amp with a 

 

You asked what I'm running...

I hate AVRs as much as anyone. Even the Marantz (which is way too expensive for what it is) I have in the living room is a bad design- the volume control doesn't feel right. It's logarithmic, but it's about 5 or 10 turns of the encoder to go from min to max volume- that's annoying. I suspect that 99% of the population isn't nearly as picky about volume controls as I am.

Also, I usually just leave it running 24/7, so I don't have to deal with trying to make it turn on / off at the same time as the TV. These things are pretty reliable and don't run all that hot, so it's not a huge deal. Some manufacturers even recommend it.

 

One solution I'm considering is to do it using a Soundweb London DSP box and controlling it with an iPad. Then the plan is to put the Soundweb in the basement with all of the power amps. That allows me to use my preferred choice for power amps without their cooling fans being a problem. I can also do active filtering for the subwoofer using the Soundweb.

Yeah if I ended up going the sound bar route I was thinking something like the Yamaha YAS-209 https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-YAS-209-Wireless-Subwoofer-Bluetooth/dp/B07T5GGR8L since I think that is the most it makes sense to spend on a 2.1 sound bar; I've had a $700 one that just sounded ok, certainly not worth $700.  The reason I mentioned the stereo setup as an alternative was that I was hoping stereo receivers might not be as much of a pain as AVRs like you mentioned (if anyone can speak to this please let me know).  I also don't really have an advantage with an AV setup since I will likely be pushing the couch against the wall and cant really run rear speakers.  The downside of a stereo receiver such as this one https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-Audio-R-S202BL-Stereo-Receiver/dp/B01EMQI2CU is that it is only analog, so I would need to add cheap DAC and I am unsure if that setup would play nicely with a tv, or have similar issues to an AV receiver.  I have also seen little stereo amplifiers such as this one https://www.amazon.com/S-M-S-L-AD18-Amplifier-Bluetooth-Subwoofer/dp/B071JN7GXN that include DACs, and I don't see a reason why it wouldn't work in this case, but I have never seen or heard of anyone using one of these in their TV setup so I am a little unsure.  What are your thoughts?