A very cheap way to enter into the true 5.1.2 experience. Much better alternative than a sound bar. If you have the space and wife doesn't mind, better to go full system than a sound bar.
Can easily get good quality 5.1.2 speakers sets on Gumtree or F/B market for under $500 as many people are selling their good quality speakers to downsize to soundbar.
Even the best sound bar cant compete with the entry level full system. Its simple physics. You just cant have enough sound separation between R and L on the soundbar.
All that virtual surround doesn't really work. It just makes the sound hollow thats all. Otherwise why would the high end sound bars like the Samsung Q990 come with 2 rear speakers?
Then, all those tiny subwoofers that come with the soundbar just physically cant go that low. No matter how mich DSP you do, physics just wont allow the sound to go lower than their size can allow.
Of course, for most people they cant tell the difference, or maybe theu can but just dont care. As long as they can hear the dialog thats all they need.
I’ve got a 5.1 setup and a Sonos arc + sub + era 300 pair. Honestly I’d take the Sonos anyday, sounds incredible for atmos material.
Each one to their own. Soundbar has the advantage simple to set up, no need of the cluttering of wires. Also they dont occupy much space so for people with limited living spaces they are perfect.
As for sound quality, it just cant match a dedicated AV system, but to most ears, its good enough. Thats why soundbar is alowly replacing full system. When i said dedicated, I mean a quality system. If you compare to those cheap home theatre in a box made by Aldi, of course they are as good as a soundbar at best.
As for Atmos, you might have good effect if you have a standard flat ceiling. But will never be the same as those with dedicated ceiling. Again, simple physics. The reflection of the sound has to bounce exactly on the listening position to have the full effect. Thats why even for full system, the upfiring speaker is considered last resort if you cant place speakers at the ceiling or high on the wall.
There was a study conducted by selecting some musicians who have good ears, but are not audiophiles. Let them listen blindly to soundbar and full system. All of tjem unanimously picked full system as having better sound quality. But when asked which one woukd they buy, they all wanted the soundbar, simply because of ease of set up and occupy less space. They were happy to not have a cinema at home.
But for people like me, not only i wont be happy with a soundbar, even with mediocre atmost 5.1.2 with the Yamaha RX-V6A, i had to upgrade to full 5.1.4, plus two humongous 15" subwoofer that rattles the whole room.
@Ademos: Its an open forum, we are allow to disagree, but I never forced people to accept mu opinion.
As I said, each to their own. Soundbar works for those with limited space, who wants to have no messy wires, and happy with the sound quality. There is nothing wrong with that, thats what soundbar is for.
The objective fact is that, dedicated system will always sound better than a soundbar (assuming use decent speakers and properly calibrated). I'm posting this deal saying that if cost is the only issue, with no space constraint and dont mind the wiring and conplexity of setting up, one can consider this with used speakers from FB and with roughly the same price of a soundbar, you can get something of a better quality sound.
As I said, each to their own.
Along with about 3000 words where you insist that "their own" is wrong, without caveat or acknowledgement of differing abilities at different price points,.
The objective fact is that, dedicated system will always sound better
It's not a fact. Please stop parroting this nonsense. One simple fact that has been pointed out to you again and again : Yes, a Q990 will offer a vastly better ATMOS experience than an entry level 5.1
Please. Stop.
@Ademos: Look who is stopping others to have an opinion.
Yes, I'll stop continue arguing with you. But I won't stop helping others who wants genuine advice.
@Ademos: I know I'm late to the party here, but you've entered a post about a dedicated audio receiver. What did you expect? If you're tired of 'audio elitists' and have no interest in this product, this really isn't the place for you. You'd do yourself a favour by avoiding posts of this ilk in future.
@Orion au: Yeah, no, I'm not abandoning the platform to the extremists. You do not negotiate with terrorists, lol.
I replaced an entry level 7.1 system with a q990 and the q990 wins comfortably for many reasons. It is far easier to setup and get right. No messy cabling, no cumbersome speakers and placement difficulties.
But the end result is sound that is superior with Atmos content.
I personally wouldn't recommend going down the separate AVR and speaker route unless you had a massive room and lots of money.
You would have to spend more than the $1200 the q990 costs to really end up with a better system.
I agree for space constraint and ease of set up, soundbar all the way.
But what you are comparing is from 7.1 to an atmos sound bar. A 7.1 system is only better than 5.1 if you have a large room, otherwose the rear surround really doesnt help that much. You should listen to a properly set up 5.1.2 with dedicted ceiling speakers and compare. Although, yes, it will be messy.
As for cost, if we are talking about comparing with sound bar, you dont need high end speakers, but some descent speakers. You can easily have a whole set of Sony speakers with subwoofer for $50 in FB market:
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/281131248093143/?m…
So total cost would be half that of the Samsung.
@Kaomichael: Are those sony muteki speakers? They will not sound better than the samsung
I can only assume you haven't heard the Samsung q990 soundbar. It's far better than you think it is.
@choofa: I have. I tried all kinds of high end sound bar in Singapore's AV centre (the one opposote Funan digital mall, with the whole building selling nothing but hifi stuff). They have dedicated sound proofed theatre rooms and I audtioned many soundbars. (Definiately better than noisy JB hifi).The sales person was even very proud of the system and said "it sounded great, didnt it?"
To me, deep within i just said "meh, my system sounded better". But outwardly I just replied, "Sure. Very nice. I'll think about it."
But I'm the minority. I have very sharp ear. I learned music when i was young so for most music i can reply the melodies and picked up the chords without looking at music notes.
I'm not saying those Muteki speakers will sound nice. But the Samsung would have utilized a lot of digital sound processing to create the atmos spund effect, which to my ears, is too artificial.
I just picked the Sony randomly. Otherwise, there are a lot of other options such as this Jamo set for $250:
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/669012142044400/?m…
BTW, out of interest, what did you do with the 7.1 system? Did you sell them on FB or Gumtree? There are quite a few people out there that have switched to sound bar, and sold their quality speakers cheaply. Thats how I benefitted in getting bargains. Speakers can last for decades as long as they are not abused. In fact they sounded better used than brand new as there is no need to run in.
My 3 front channels uses JBL Northbridge E80 bought for $250. Rear use Polk Audio C600i bought for $70. 4 ceiling channels I use Jamo E850 I bought 4 for $100. The subwoofers are the most expensive as I couldn't settle with the Yamaha NS-SW300 so went with 2 x 15" 750W RMS Velodyne, bought one at FB for $450, another demo in Todds for $1465. If I was happy with the Yamaha SW, which i bought at $399, the whole speakers would only costed me $820. Plus this receiver, which would roughly be the same price as the Samsung but it would sound much better.
My parents have the Q990 and to be honest it is quite good and I was impressed how it sounded.
But, it's still no match for a decent system, I've got a 5.1.2 setup with decent midrange speakers and it smashes the Q990.
I do get why people like sound bars though, cheaper, easy to setup and less room required.
I think most people that rave about a soundbars are people that have not heard a decent setup before.
@Jessie Ryder: A decent midrange system would cost at least $3k
The q990 can be had for around $1200
It's plug and play and will be easily as good as any entry level system for Atmos.
IMO the rule for audio is (or should be) - if it sounds good enough to you, then it's good enough. Chasing some audiophile wank grail setup is not good for you or the industry. I am also firmly of the belief that some of these companies selling nonsense audio products to middle aged men with middle aged cochlears are committing actual fraud and should be brought to task.
I've gone between 2/3/5.1 and good soundbars over the years (most recently a HT-A7000 from Sony) and I really just prefer the sound of separate speakers. A big thing for me is separate speakers are also more "weird room" friendly. That is you can position speakers physically where they're supposed to be (or near enough and then adjust) rather than rely on reflection for virtual placement. If you have an ideal room then I think a soundbar is more compelling. Also a decent speaker setup is (usually) more expensive as you also need an amp/receiver (but a good receiver has a number of other benefits that improve its value proposition a bit). Put it this way, I vastly prefer the audio separation and range (as a big movie watcher) I get from my $2500 Q Acoustics setup than I did Sony's ~$1500 flagship soundbar.
If you have the space the discrete system any day of the week. Mind you i have a 5.1 atmos soundbar and for the size and low intrusiveness its a great compromise.
Sound bars will never compete with speaker systems built around a receiver.
One has a finite cost, the other you can spend millions on.
Soundbars bar good sound.
I’m just waiting for some brave company to get rid of all those RCA jacks and reduce the size of these monsters…
Get rid of the archaic LED screens too
Just handle everything on App and why not?
Aluminium case like Apple while at it.
looks like this model doesn't have a lot of RCA inputs
https://online.videopro.com.au/content/2/7/f/2/27f299bf6bec5…
I like the idea of it being smaller but I would prefer having those things to be honest. You don’t need them until you do and they probably don’t add that much to the cost. There could be a market for that though
Yeah agreed, be nice to see more slimline receivers and move away from this old form factor that’s been around for 100 years.
Get rid of the archaic LED screens too
Just handle everything on App and why not?
This is a terrible idea. Once the app is end of life, then your hardware is useless.
I've got a Pioneer speaker with no display that's entirely app controlled. It's now useless because the app no longer runs on modern Android versions.
I've got some Parot headphones that are also app controlled - guess what, their app was end of lifed some years ago too.
Anything that relies on an app has a finite life.
How much of an upgrade would it be if i switched out my Onkyo TX-SR313 using the same 5.1 speakers would i notice a diff in sound quality?
its the same old shit
you're just buying this years toyota corolla while you have a 2017 toyota corolla
you're just getting new codecs which may or may not be important to you
For 5.1 won't be much of a difference.
But if you have 2 more speakers to mount on ceiling, the Dolby Atmos and DTS-X makes a huge difference.
Of course if budget allows, go for something with more power. Otherwise, for $495, its not bad to enter into the real Dolby Atmos expereince.
Mind you, its a scary hobby to get into. The upgrade never ends…….
What??
.. how many Christmas drinks did you have? None of that made any sense.
No AirPlay, otherwise would jump on it.
I see removed from homepage. Apols videopro aa def nothing personal . Just my honest opinion whether like it or not - everyone different. Games going on tho maybe .
Hi all, complete Noobie here. I am in the middle of a home renovation and have had four JENSEN® ELITE-404 In-Ceiling Speakers installed in our TV area.
Two JENSEN® ELITE-404 In-Ceiling Speakers in our dining area and two JENSEN® ELITE-404 In-Ceiling in our outdoor entertaining area.
Is this a good option to run these off?
Also can anyone recommend a subwoofer to go with the speakers in the TV area or would a soundbar be sufficient if paired with the in ceiling speakers?
TIA
You might need a better receiver for you setup, most likely 5.1.4 and 3 zones.
I don't think a soundbar and height speakers will work.
Pop into your local AV centre and have a chat.
Rather than using the AV for zones, have a look at the bluetooth mini amps that you can tuck away somewhere and directly connect to. Less than $50.
https://www.amazon.com.au/Bluetooth-Amplifier-Wireless-Recei…
The AVs can have constraints on how zones work in-conjunction with its other general usage to consider.
I agree with 4 ceiling speakers already in place, yoid be better looking at a 5.1.4 system if you can afford it.
To run 2 more speaker in your dining area you need an amplifier with multizone.
The cheapest 9.1.2 AV receiver at the moment is the Onkyo TX-NR7100 for $1499 at audio junction.
https://audiojunction.com.au/onkyo-tx-nr7100-9-2-ch-8k-uhd-t…
But if you think you might need to upgrade later, then go for the Denon AVR-X3800H, or if you need more power, the Onkyo TX-RZ50 (both 20% off at Klapp AV).
https://klappav.com.au/collections/boxing-day-sale
The downside of having a full 5.1.4 system is you will need another 5.1 speakers. I wonder the reason that you have ceiling speakers installed in the first place is that you dont like the speakers to be visible, yes? Because if you are going to use the ceiling speakers as the front 2 ch and surround ch, then you can't have a Atmos/DTS-X system, unfortunately. In order to have them your main and surround speakers cant be in the ceiling, they have to be at the ear level to get the spatial difference in height (again, simple physics).
For subwoofer, it really depends on how big is your room, how low you want it to go, and your budget. I would stick to brands like SVS or Velodyne, those that specialize in subwoofers. I think you can still get the SVS SB1000 for $799.
Thanks everyone. Yes the reason for the in ceiling is to have the speakers as out of site as possible. Also figured Wired better than wireless. They and the TV HDMI all track back to a small cupboard off to the side.
All the advice is great.
I think I'll have to go into a AV store and get advice.
Ive been looking for something like this to replace an old receiver.. Wish it had 4k/120 pass thru would have been exactly what i need.
You would probably need something like Yamaha RX-V6A: https://www.zkelectronics.com/compare/onkyo-tx-sr494/north-a…
I want something at this price point with a network connection so I can use it with Home Assistant, added bonus for audio casting. Does that even exist?
Why dont you just get this and get a google cast device and plug it into one of the amps hdmi ports?
The issue is managing multiple input sources automatically from an external system (home assistant), and then all the automations that sit on top of that.
My current setup uses a 4k input switch to automatically send the display the stream that is currently in use (game, kodi, external Chromecast, or network audio) but the hardware switch isn't perfect so I'm looking for something better.
Trying to do something with a TV alone has always been super underwhelming using HDMI CEC, lots of TVs only have 3 inputs, and I don't want to have to replace my panel to get better TV features.
I tried moving from Kodi to Plex so I could just use Chromecast instead of a separate input and it wasn't what I wanted.
AFAIK the best option is a networked receiver with a reliable control and status interface to home assistant, but they all seem to cost much more than the $500 entry level units…
What are you actually trying to do with Home Assistant ?
If you buy a Receiver like this, it's already easy to automate with something like a Logitech Harmony. Just press "Play XBox" and the Harmony will automatically switch on your display, switch on your app, switch on your XBox, and set everything to the right input.
How does Home Assistant fit in ?
@Nom: Home assistant sees Kodi, Chromecast, game PC or music start, then does stuff like turn on TV and sub, pick the right input, close blinds to reduce glare, turn off lights in the room, pause all the other sources, etc.
At the moment I just open yt or Netflix or whatever on my phone, start a movie, show or video and everything just happens. When the video ends everything gets restored to how it was (av turns off, lights and blinds go back to how they were). In the future I want to use voice commands to say "continue watching <whatever series I am part way through>" and have it pick up where I left off.
I want to escape IR blasters. Line of sight, 1 more device in the chain that can fail, etc. I also don't want to push any more buttons or switches than necessary. Currently using Broadlink devices and they're fine, but it's just 1 more thing to worry about.
It's also important to me that the system is reliant on as few specific devices as possible. Like I want to avoid writing automations that rely on something that a specific TV OS can do that might disappear with firmware revisions or become unavailable when I replace the TV. By comparison an AV receiver that I can control remotely via API provides simple control (or source selection).
@Mentok: Have you used a Harmony ? You can trivially set up an Activity to do all of that.
You just walk into the room and single press the activity you want. There's no APIs or device specific requirements, it doesn't matter what your devices or firmware revisions are.
Home Assistant is just adding a whole bunch of complexity to something very simple.
Except that Harmony is end of life now, so you'll need to find something else that can do programmable activities for AV gear.
I use a Pioneer amp and there is a list of commands you can send it somewhere. If you also use node red I have a flow that gives me control there too.
I have an onkyo tx-sr605, yep ancient but still going strong hooked to a 5.0 set up. Except for the 4k pass through would I benefit sound wise from something like this? Haven't really looked into HT for about 10yrs.
I price matched Harvey Norman last week to get this exact model down from $995 to $679.. Thought id scored a bargain until now. Tch!!
Anyway, its a great unit and the Atmos adds an incredible dimension to movie watching.. i kept my old Sony mu-te-ki 7.2 speakers and they've never sounded so good.
Oh and usb port on the back can power Fire stick or chrome.
If you're in the market for a Cinema Room receiver, this is definitely a solid choice.
If its just last week you might be able to get HN to refund the difference. I know JB will.
HN Online support just agreed to a price match of the Videopro price, pending confirmation from the local store. So, thanks for suggesting that, an extra $184 coming back to me. :)
👍There is your Xmas present!
Surprised (and disappointed) this doesn't have eARC. Not future proof at all.
Just a heads up Onkyo went bankrupt in 2022, i have a onkyo ht r993 which the HDMI card has failed i think as it just cycles on and off, it has been awesome for 10 years or so but now cant get parts for it.
This receiver looks like it has less features then my old one but i think ill go for it still.
Sub should still work ok yeah?
Will this work well for PS5 and tv out to the amp etc?
The NR575 is one generation older. But in terms of how it is positioned, NR is higher than SR. However, as technology involved, a newer entry level may be on par with older mid range.
Its not hard to google amd compare the 2. In terms of amplifier, both are the same at 80W/ch, but 494 can handle peak of 100W. So in that regard, can say 494 is slightly better. Also in terms of later technology, 494 offers virtual height channel so you can kinda experience 5.1.2 without ceiling speakers, but not the 575.
But 575 has much better inputs, eARC and has streaming function. 494 you'll depend on external devices to do that.
The 575 on that deal was certainly a bargain. I think that was the time JB is clearing their AV receivers as they dont stock them anymore. Unfortunately we are unlikely to see it again. The next one that might stop stocking them would be HN I guess. Otherwise, most lf the majoe chains have stopped stocking AVR. Only dedicated hifi shops have them.
Thanks for the insight @Kaomichael. I have the Onkho receiver from the last deal, and yes I could have Googled but it probably would not make too much sense to me as I am not well versed in audio equipment.
Oh no, plz dont misunderstand me. When i said simple google i didnt mean you could've done it yourself. I meant I didnt know myself and had to google. So the answer may not be "professional". But this is my hobby since year 9 so i enjoy it.
I ended up buying it as we mainly just need good sound, am less concerned with straeaming and 120 vs 60.
Will be intresting any warranty issues as Onkyo have shut down, but my last one lasted 10 years.
Thank you OP for this deal
👍
slam6000 on 26/12/2023 - 01:17 Comment score below threshold.
