4K TV needs new friends - suggestions??

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"Cookie"
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#2362030 28-Nov-2019 09:17

@shinychrome , I know I said, but...

https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/onkyo-txrz730-9-2-channel-network-av-receiver-black/29101562

Black Friday $$999

I like the sound of Works with Sonos. I have a Connect AMP which is sitting with my existing receiver, but I did buy it originally to drive speakers in a different room. I could move it back there.

Is it only Onkyo that does Works with Sonos?

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ShinyChrome

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#2362073 28-Nov-2019 09:34

kiwifidget:

@shinychrome , I know I said, but...

https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/onkyo-txrz730-9-2-channel-network-av-receiver-black/29101562

Black Friday $$999

I like the sound of Works with Sonos. I have a Connect AMP which is sitting with my existing receiver, but I did buy it originally to drive speakers in a different room. I could move it back there.

Is it only Onkyo that does Works with Sonos?

Ha! Yeah, i saw that myself and was tempted. They also had the RZ830 for $1300 earlier in the year.

For that price, you could get that plus add a half decent amp or two. From what I have heard as well, AccuEQ Advance is quite a step up from the basic version, multi points etc.

From what I can see, it looks like it is mostly the Sound United Family (Onkyo/Integra/Pioneer) that seem to support it amongst the usual suspects.

kiwifidget

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#2362076 28-Nov-2019 09:37

@shinychrome , what do you mean "add a half decent amp or 2"?

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jonathan18

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#2362116 28-Nov-2019 09:58

I assume he's meaning not only if you wanted to expand to 7.2.4 but also to get over the limitations of an 'all-in-one' box receiver through providing higher-quality external amplification. Eg, could add a two-channel power amp for the two fronts or a three-channel one for those two and the centre.

@shinychrome: do you know if this Onkyo will do 7.2.2? I'm assuming it's got nine channels built in but it only discusses 5.2.4.

Personally, I'm not totally against getting another Onkyo - I've got a TX-NR515 from the dreaded days of HDMI failure being the standard, and thus far we've not had that problem. Sure, switching can be slow and has got slower over the years, but it's done fine. That said, the prices on Marantz receivers is so much more competitive these days, and a number of them come with nine channel amplification built in.

ShinyChrome

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#2362128 28-Nov-2019 10:10

kiwifidget:

@shinychrome , what do you mean "add a half decent amp or 2"?

One of the criticisms I have seen against Onkyo AVRs is the power section isn't as good/clean as others once you start demanding higher loads (channel counts/harder to drive speakers). But in reality if you have a decent set of high sensitivity speakers (>90dB/1w/1m) and don't listen at absurd levels, pretty much all modern AVRs are good enough.

I'm probably just projecting here, since it was only after I bought my AVR I discovered the world of pre-outs and external amps. Then I bought some real thirsty 4ohm Emotiva speakers. Ideally with a compatible AVR I would drive my L/C/R off of an external amp through the pre-outs and let the surrounds be driven off the on-board power section.

ShinyChrome

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#2362151 28-Nov-2019 10:21

jonathan18:

I assume he's meaning not only if you wanted to expand to 7.2.4 but also to get over the limitations of an 'all-in-one' box receiver through providing higher-quality external amplification. Eg, could add a two-channel power amp for the two fronts or a three-channel one for those two and the centre.

@shinychrome: do you know if this Onkyo will do 7.2.2? I'm assuming it's got nine channels built in but it only discusses 5.2.4.

Personally, I'm not totally against getting another Onkyo - I've got a TX-NR515 from the dreaded days of HDMI failure being the standard, and thus far we've not had that problem. Sure, switching can be slow and has got slower over the years, but it's done fine. That said, the prices on Marantz receivers is so much more competitive these days, and a number of them come with nine channel amplification built in.

Thats the ticket.

Yeah buddy, from memory its only the last two height channels in 7.1.4 that need to be driven off-board. Although I also remember seeing something about being able to assign channels to amp outputs, which would make sense for 5.1.4 to assign the extra height channels to the surround back amp outputs.

The manual shows support for 7.1.2 in any case, it's the default setting even haha.

Edit: Here you go @jonathan18:

sen8or

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#2362167 28-Nov-2019 10:29

onlinehifi have some great blackfriday deals on Marantz, 6013 @ $1499 and 5013 at $ 999 https://onlinehifi.co.nz/black-friday/

I'm rebuying a complete HT fitout over the next little while. Have been eyeing up the integra amps and Kef speaker range. There are new Onkyo / Integra receivers due out soon so just waiting on details before committing one way or the other

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kiwifidget

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#2362169 28-Nov-2019 10:29

I don't know if my setup requires anything too grunty.

I have the 5.1 speakers (Infinity Centre, and Bose in-ceiling for front back left right, and a Velodyne sub). I just use them as speakers for the TV (FTA, MySky, Netflix), PS3 for DVD/Bluray, a NUC, and an Nvidia Shield running Kodi). Then 2 speakers in the family room and 2 just outside the family room which I run together from the same source coz if they play different things at the same time it just does my head in. Currently that source is the Connect AMP, which is supposed to be connected to 2 other outside speakers round the other side of the house which terminate in a different location to all the other speakers (which terminate by the TV).

So I do need 2 zones, but other than that I think I'm fairly straight-forward.

The current Onkyo (TX-NR708) has been repaired 3 times for HDMI issues (the last time I had to pay) and apart from not being 4K capable is starting to show signs of being faulty again. It turns off randomly and doesnt always respond to the remote. I'm ready to say goodbye to it.

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ShinyChrome

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#2362241 28-Nov-2019 11:18

kiwifidget:

I don't know if my setup requires anything too grunty.

I have the 5.1 speakers (Infinity Centre, and Bose in-ceiling for front back left right, and a Velodyne sub). I just use them as speakers for the TV (FTA, MySky, Netflix), PS3 for DVD/Bluray, a NUC, and an Nvidia Shield running Kodi). Then 2 speakers in the family room and 2 just outside the family room which I run together from the same source coz if they play different things at the same time it just does my head in. Currently that source is the Connect AMP, which is supposed to be connected to 2 other outside speakers round the other side of the house which terminate in a different location to all the other speakers (which terminate by the TV).

So I do need 2 zones, but other than that I think I'm fairly straight-forward.

The current Onkyo (TX-NR708) has been repaired 3 times for HDMI issues (the last time I had to pay) and apart from not being 4K capable is starting to show signs of being faulty again. It turns off randomly and doesnt always respond to the remote. I'm ready to say goodbye to it.

Not at all, it should run all that easy. But if you do need an "11" in future, the option is there.

It looks like it can do 3 zones with an external amp as well if you really needed.

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#2362259 28-Nov-2019 11:44

hmmm.... do you think saving $500 (the Marantz at Heathcotes is $1499) is worth the risk??

The Onkyo TXRZ730 does not have 4K upscaling?? Does this matter?

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ShinyChrome

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#2362310 28-Nov-2019 13:15

kiwifidget:

hmmm.... do you think saving $500 (the Marantz at Heathcotes is $1499) is worth the risk??

The Onkyo TXRZ730 does not have 4K upscaling?? Does this matter?

I think the SR6013 is nicer, but I don't think it's $500 nicer. If price were equal I would take the Marantz. I don't think there is really any killer feature that separates these two either.

Some other things to consider:

Audyssey's MultiEQ XT32 is pretty advanced and quite well-rated, but unless you need things like subEQ etc, I think AccuEQ Advance would do a good enough job
The Marantz also gets an update for eARC if that is something your Samsung has, but personally I intend to route everything through my AVR and keep my TV as a dumb display
There is also some talk from owners about how hot Denon/Marantz AVRs run and needing to buy a external fan for tight cabinets, but I certainly don't think it's an issue on the scale of Onkyo's previous HDMI issues
in the power section, the Marantz apparently uses an amp per channel arrangement, whereas Onkyo seems to be a shared amongst all channels deal, so that may make differences in how they sound/dynamics and power-per-channel distribution.

Ideally I would say head somewhere and compare both on the same speakers/material, but that is probably not possible. Ultimately it is up to you though; if you feel that you would have greater piece-of-mind with the Marantz, then any dollars saved with the Onkyo isn't gonna make a difference to that.

4k upscaling is not a value-add feature at all for me, any modern TV is gonna do a much better job. I would probably even take source upscaling (your Shield, that Panasonic blu-ray player etc) over AVR upscaling.

kiwifidget

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#2362311 28-Nov-2019 13:19

@shinychrome , thanks, I appreciate your help. Now to do some thinking and soul searching :)

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sen8or

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#2362335 28-Nov-2019 14:32

I can attest to the heat of the Denon. I run it in a cabinet and even after an hour or 2, its pretty warm (not too hot to touch, but certainly a lot hotter than I would expect). My 6012 also has issues with its wifi dropping out and has even tripped shut off (I assume due to heat), so I only use wired for it now.

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#2362361 28-Nov-2019 16:11

kiwifidget:

@shinychrome , thanks, I appreciate your help. Now to do some thinking and soul searching :)

No problem, always happy to give an opinion and I try my best to make sure they aren't crappy ones.

sen8or:

I can attest to the heat of the Denon. I run it in a cabinet and even after an hour or 2, its pretty warm (not too hot to touch, but certainly a lot hotter than I would expect). My 6012 also has issues with its wifi dropping out and has even tripped shut off (I assume due to heat), so I only use wired for it now.

Geez, it sounds like the stories were true. US forums make it sound like they should come stock with an A/C Infinity.

That is one thing Onkyo seems to do well, my NR-676 is barely warm after a 2 hour movie in a enclosed TV unit.

robbon44

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#2362367 28-Nov-2019 16:38

I have the Marantz SR5013 and that does run hot in my AV cupboard and especially in summer, so I put an AC unit on it and never had any issue.

Got the infinity unit off Amazon a year or so ago. Works perfectly.

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