dms
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Since I set up my active speakers (F/L/R) my Yamaha RX-A 3070 has been bothering me for two reasons. Firstly I'm using RCA->XLR adaptors (obviously unbalanced) over a run up to 15m which is far beyond the manufacturer's recommendation and secondly the room correction on the Yamaha is... primitive and doesn't adjust the bass at all.
I should probably say I'm very happy with the sound of my system and films with decent sound tracks do sound absolutely great... so not having heard differently it may be the case what I have is absolutely fine and I've just suffering the dreaded AV itch! The only evidence I have of anything being amiss is that if the speakers are on and the receiver is off then there is a lot of noise produced by the speakers which goes instantly when the receiver is turned on even with no actual output. If there is no XLR cable in the speaker it doesn't make this noise. As I don't know better I assume that is some form of interference.
For the room correction I used the YPAO and then did the bass and very high frequency myself (simply adjusted down a bit), I could try harder with REW but I find it frustrating frankly and the limitations of the PEQ on the Yamaha are all too obvious. Then again as I say it does sound great to me ;-)
Looking at "affordable" processors the Anthem AVM60 stands out in that is appears to have truely balanced XLR. I say that because Anthem say so on their website ;-) but also because I have seen other processors in this price bracket either criticised in reviews for not being truely balanced and not outputting pro levels (e.g. homecinema review of Arcam AV860 ) ; or because processors I've passed my uncle has been criticised for the same reasons when he's checked the specs (e.g. Yamaha CX-A 5200). Also the Anthem's ARC seems well regarded.
In theory I could move my receiver or new processor to be near my speakers and use a very short RCA->XLR run. In that case I'd have to run getting on a 20m HDMI cable through trunking with 90 degree turns with cables for the rear speakers (standard speaker wire) of 20M and roughly 25m. I'm not sure that is a better option. Also I don't like the idea of converting the unbalanced RCA->XLR output of the Yamaha to balanced using another bit of kit, I'd prefer to keep the number of units down.
Obviously I'm happy for any guidance but I'm aware the AVM60 is an older (2015/2016) model than my Yamaha (2017/2018) and so I'm a bit worried about "missing out" on any features I already have especially in regards of any HDMI performance or handshaking issues. I pretty much use nothing from the Yamaha apart from input select, standard straight DSP, and very occasionally streaming music from my PC via Windows "send to". I'm using an Xbox, Panasonic 820, PC and a Sony 760 4k projector (so HDR10, no double vision). I don't care for 8k for >60fps because I don't play the lottery and don't want to replace the projector unless it's forced on me!
I don't know anything about Anthem but the avsforums owners thread's recent posts are all people having HDCP handshake issues or worse (DoA units), I know if you google any product you'll find people with problems but it's a bad sign. Also it's interesting seeing comments by people who went from a Yamaha to an Anthem (random reviews on resellers websites) with both positive and negative opinions based on the "Yamaha sound".
Also I've seen one large AV firm offers a 2 week try-at-home service for £100 for this Anthem model which seems a very sensible proposition but given I'm in Hertfordshire I should probably look around for a local firm which may offer a more personal service.
Also given Blackfriday is on the horizon and it's an old model I'm certainly not jumping out to pay full RRP right now! I've seen one shop offering it £700 below others but I've not made contact with them.
I should probably say I'm very happy with the sound of my system and films with decent sound tracks do sound absolutely great... so not having heard differently it may be the case what I have is absolutely fine and I've just suffering the dreaded AV itch! The only evidence I have of anything being amiss is that if the speakers are on and the receiver is off then there is a lot of noise produced by the speakers which goes instantly when the receiver is turned on even with no actual output. If there is no XLR cable in the speaker it doesn't make this noise. As I don't know better I assume that is some form of interference.
For the room correction I used the YPAO and then did the bass and very high frequency myself (simply adjusted down a bit), I could try harder with REW but I find it frustrating frankly and the limitations of the PEQ on the Yamaha are all too obvious. Then again as I say it does sound great to me ;-)
Looking at "affordable" processors the Anthem AVM60 stands out in that is appears to have truely balanced XLR. I say that because Anthem say so on their website ;-) but also because I have seen other processors in this price bracket either criticised in reviews for not being truely balanced and not outputting pro levels (e.g. homecinema review of Arcam AV860 ) ; or because processors I've passed my uncle has been criticised for the same reasons when he's checked the specs (e.g. Yamaha CX-A 5200). Also the Anthem's ARC seems well regarded.
In theory I could move my receiver or new processor to be near my speakers and use a very short RCA->XLR run. In that case I'd have to run getting on a 20m HDMI cable through trunking with 90 degree turns with cables for the rear speakers (standard speaker wire) of 20M and roughly 25m. I'm not sure that is a better option. Also I don't like the idea of converting the unbalanced RCA->XLR output of the Yamaha to balanced using another bit of kit, I'd prefer to keep the number of units down.
Obviously I'm happy for any guidance but I'm aware the AVM60 is an older (2015/2016) model than my Yamaha (2017/2018) and so I'm a bit worried about "missing out" on any features I already have especially in regards of any HDMI performance or handshaking issues. I pretty much use nothing from the Yamaha apart from input select, standard straight DSP, and very occasionally streaming music from my PC via Windows "send to". I'm using an Xbox, Panasonic 820, PC and a Sony 760 4k projector (so HDR10, no double vision). I don't care for 8k for >60fps because I don't play the lottery and don't want to replace the projector unless it's forced on me!
I don't know anything about Anthem but the avsforums owners thread's recent posts are all people having HDCP handshake issues or worse (DoA units), I know if you google any product you'll find people with problems but it's a bad sign. Also it's interesting seeing comments by people who went from a Yamaha to an Anthem (random reviews on resellers websites) with both positive and negative opinions based on the "Yamaha sound".
Also I've seen one large AV firm offers a 2 week try-at-home service for £100 for this Anthem model which seems a very sensible proposition but given I'm in Hertfordshire I should probably look around for a local firm which may offer a more personal service.
Also given Blackfriday is on the horizon and it's an old model I'm certainly not jumping out to pay full RRP right now! I've seen one shop offering it £700 below others but I've not made contact with them.