Which AV Receiver would be best for this setup?

[Grymmhain]

Hey, I've got the following

 

Gigabyte M32U 32"

Samsung HW N550 Soundbar

PC a 3080 RTX

PS4

Switch

 

I want to drop my current connection setup which is a bit jank (PC goes to monitor via DP and soundbar via HDMI, the consoles go to a switcher, to a capture card, to an audio extractor, then to the monitor via HDMI and the soundbar via optical).  It "worked" when I streamed, but I've given that up due to work/life, and I'd like to reduce the clutter and need to switch two inputs when I switch from PC to a console.

 

Ideally I want an AV receiver which can support 4k 120hz (yes I know the PS4 and certainly not the Switch will benefit much/at all) which I can use my soundbar with, and from what I understand HDMI even HDMI 2.0 is the best option that my soundbar supports.  I'm not overly concerned with audio features, but I presume any AV receiver capable of 4k 120 will out feature a budget soundbar from 2019.

 

Which brings me to the LTT forum hive mind, what would be a good receiver for this?  My budget is around 800, with a little wiggle room if needed.

[PorkishPig]

51 minutes ago, Grymmhain said:

Ideally I want an AV receiver which can support 4k 120hz (yes I know the PS4 and certainly not the Switch will benefit much/at all)

Denon AVRs are great, I'd suggest taking a look at the AVR-S970H. It goes for $750 on Amazon and has 3 HDMI 2.1 inputs.

 

You can save a buck and go with the AVR-S960H for $600, but it only has one HDMI 2.1 input, and reportedly has some firmware issues at 4k 120hz.

51 minutes ago, Grymmhain said:

which I can use my soundbar with, and from what I understand HDMI even HDMI 2.0 is the best option that my soundbar supports.

You can use the front headphone out to go from the AVR to your soundbar via 6.35mm to 2.5mm. Neither unit has any other outputs other than standard speaker terminals.

 

Keep in mind that this configuration completely defeats the purpose of using an AVR. You would not be able to use the speaker terminal outputs in this configuration, as they are disabled when using the headphone output.

[Grymmhain]

28 minutes ago, PorkishPig said:

You can use the front headphone out to go from the AVR to your soundbar via 6.35mm to 2.5mm. Neither unit has any other outputs other than standard speaker terminals.

Checking out the AVR-S970H, wouldn't I be able to use the 2 HDMI outs, one to the monitor one to soundbar?

 

Edited- I mistakenly thought the S970H had optical out, where it has two optical in but zero optical out.

 

Thank you for your time, and the suggestion

 

[PorkishPig]

1 minute ago, Grymmhain said:

Checking out the AVR-S970H, wouldn't I be able to use the 2 HDMI outs, one to the monitor one to soundbar

That's an interesting thought...

 

Unfortunately, I have no experience with this configuration, I am not sure that it is supported. Looking around online I couldn't find anyone else trying this.

1 minute ago, Grymmhain said:

or failing that the optical out?

The AVR-S970H only has digital audio inputs, no outputs.

[cmndr]

You probably want a good KVM. Which it looks like your monitor has built into it. 
Plug your soundbar into the monitor via it's aux-out port. You might need a $5 aux cable.  This cuts away a good chunk of your complexity.


The middle channel will still work when there's identical content in the L+R channels and the sub just handles low frequency stuff so aux should be fine as long as you use a not-bad cable. 
 

I would NOT get an AV Receiver for your use case. Also be warned that at least 1.5 years ago using an AVR with windows is janky. My set up is -> stuff goes into TV (used as monitor) -> monitor connects to AVR via eARC
AV Receivers are primarily meant for powering speakers, processing sound signals going to them and toggling between inputs. Unless you plan to ditch the sound bar most of your spend is wasted. 

If you're able to find something like a used Denon x3200w it'd check every box other than k4 120Hz uncompressed... which realistically, for the one device that needs it... just plug into your computer. 

If you REALLY feel like you need an AVR, consider this - https://slickdeals.net/newsearch.php?q=s760h - you have a good shot at getting one for around $300 and tax, leaving $400-450ish left over. 
Use the rest of your left over budget to get bookshelf speakers instead of a very low quality soundbar. A pair of [Emotiva B1+, JBL 530, Polk ES15] and maybe a subwoofer (used SVS?) would run circles around your soundbar (which I've used before)

 

On 1/15/2023 at 7:46 PM, Grymmhain said:

Checking out the AVR-S970H, wouldn't I be able to use the 2 HDMI outs, one to the monitor one to soundbar?

 

Edited- I mistakenly thought the S970H had optical out, where it has two optical in but zero optical out.

 

Thank you for your time, and the suggestion

I haven't fiddled around with Zone 2 functionality on AVRs very much but the little bit of late night hassling/experimenting back in 2020 with a Marantz sr6011 and your exact sound bar, trying to SEE if I could get sound out of it failed. It's VERY VERY possible I did something wrong (no manual, no idea what I was doing at the time). 

I suspect that if you want to fiddle around, enable sound out via HDMI Zone 2, ensure it's on, have the monitor out on Zone 1 and audio cloned out to Zone 2. Probably easier to do Aux out from your monitor though.

Overall with the AVR set up you're thinking of, you'd still have a kind of janky set up. AVRs work reasonably well with TVs that have eARC out. Monitors without eARC are "ehh". There's a reason why I'm using a 55" 4K 120Hz TV as a display.


Have two high performance inputs right into the monitor, use an HDMI switch for lower performance or seldom used stuff. At this point you're toggling the monitor for the PC and main console and hitting the toggle one extra time to get to 'other stuff' which is on its own roulette.

[Grymmhain]

9 hours ago, cmndr said:

If you REALLY feel like you need an AVR,

I'm only quoting this just so I don't blow up your notifications.  I appreciate all your input above.

 

After asking around, it seems like I'd be bashing my head against a brick wall to get an AV receiver to work with the soundbar (so your midnight trials were likely not fraught with error). 

 

Looking around via google, most of the complaints with Windows and AVRs seem to be a lack of support for 7.1, which I wouldn't be running regardless of if I got the magic smoke in these devices to play nice with each other (something which I've no inclination to try and do). 

 

All that said, I am still heavily leaning in to a AVR, chiefly because I don't want to be beholden to a monitor for sound if/when I upgrade (which yes won't be for a good while given the monitor). 

 

Which brings me to my question: would something like https://shop.usa.yamaha.com/en/p/audio-home-theater/home-theater-systems/yht-5960u-5-1-channel-home-theater-system work with what I've described above? 

 

Just to make it easier, a link to the monitor: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083GRVFXN

 

Again my only real goal is decent to good audio (great to excellent is obviously a plus), and 4k 120hz.  I realize I'd be locked out of the 144hz the monitor supports, but my understanding is that there are diminishing returns for how much we can actually appreciate and notice beyond 120hz. 

 

And yes, I'd be ditching the soundbar with that set up.

[cmndr]

My personal take is that an AVR only really makes sense if your display supports ARC (ideally eARC) and you plan on using at least 2 good speakers.

 

Quote

Looking around via google, most of the complaints with Windows and AVRs seem to be a lack of support for 7.1, which I wouldn't be running regardless of if I got the magic smoke in these devices to play nice with each other (something which I've no inclination to try and do). 

At least with a Marantz and a budget Sony AVR on two Windows 10 systems and possibly (don't recall) one Ubuntu install there was always a "phantom" display (AVR was seen as a monitor that you could drag windows onto) and it messed with my ability to snap windows to the left or right. 

From a low latency and "does it work" perspective, I just plug everything into my monitor and I don't even use my AVR (SR6013) for switching between anything I regularly use. I also, admitedly, only care about 4K120Hz from my PC (RTX 2080 doesn't natively do HDMI 2.1, argh so if I do 4K 120Hz it's with compression until I upgrade the card or bite the bullet and get a DP->HDMI 2.1 adapter). I don't care much about the frame rate of my Nintendo switch, work laptop or tablet, 4K60Hz is plenty for those, if they even go that high. 


From a not well researched point of view, the unit you linked looks reasonably priced. I'm usually more of a "find a deal on used gear" and make things work type of person. Think on sale s760h + pair of JBL 530 (at $240) or Q150 (at < $300)
One thing to be aware of... center channels kind of suck on desks. A huge chunk of the sound waves from them will be cancelled out because they bound off the desk and they'll be angled kind of weird. I've mostly shifted to NOT bothering with center channels, even for HT use (I have an Emotiva C1+ sitting under my TV not doing anything). They help if you have lots of people sitting to the side. If it's just you... spend 2x as much on good L+R speakers. 
Also be aware that a lot of low end subwoofers are kind of EUGH. 

I'd focus on getting two SOLID bookshelf speakers over getting 5 "meh" speakers and a sub. Most of the sound that comes from speakers in a surround sound system is from the front sound stage (L+R and if you have one the center). Two good speakers will do front/back imaging pretty well and you can even hear sound coming to the sides of the speakers a bit. Generally speaking with two good speakers, the sound stage will be shifted a bit in front of you and it'll do depth pretty well. Surrounds pulls you towards the middle of the sound stage and gives more of a sense of L+R. It's nice but more of a cherry on top thing. 

The front sound stage (and then the sub if you have one) are the top places to toss cash. You have two ears. Most of the positional benefit comes from having two well placed speakers that are SOLID. If you do want a sound upgrade... Aiyima A07 as an amp + 2 good speakers. You can always flip the amp ($70 price new so shouldn't be hard to sell without too much loss, or to repurpose it) if you want an AVR in the future. Even if you want better speakers in a 5.1 set up, two not bad speakers can easily be migrated to surrounds. (I say this as someone with an 11.2 set up with around $3000 of subs, speakers and AVR)

[Grymmhain]

Just want to update that I've got the Yamaha AVR linked above, and I've not got a phantom display detected in display settings.

 

My only issue is a self inflicted one, I thought my machine was 4k 120hz ready, it's not.  But hey a little future proofing never hurt anyone. 

 

Does it sound amazing?  Well I've not fully tweaked it, it def. sounds better than the Samsung soundbar I was using though that's understandably a low bar.  And I'm sure it pales in comparison to the enthusiast set ups out there.  But it meets my needs.  

 

Thank you again to everyone who offered advice.  I know I didn't end up taking it, but it was helpful in making my decision.