I think NZ consumer protection is a red herring.

Many US companies offer far better consumer terms than we get - vis

1) The right to return things just because you don't like them

2) Lifetime warranty

3) Paid postal/courier returns

4) Immediate replacements for failed items

5) Immediate money refunds for returns, not store credit etc

and so on. To be honest I do not find NZ consumer protection particularly outstanding or easy to take advantage of. It's probably well overdue for modernisation in fact.

So I do not think you can really claim that the NZ consumer protection regime is so good that it adds heaps to the cost compared to the 'worse' US one.

sudo:

 

HDR is a video technology, why would it matter to a Audio receiver. The TX-NR656 supports HDMI2.0 so it should pass thru any 4K signal etc (with HDR etc). 

 

It also has 8 HDMI input ports and it supports HDCP2.2.

 

Because the receiver modifies the edid of the screen and may also prevent the correct metadata getting thru to the screen, meaning that it will be using the wrong colorspace even if the high bit depth makes it thru the processing in the receiver. It will also have to deal with the higher bandwidth of the HDR signal over a basic YUV 422 or similar low depth and resolution colour signal.

HDMI 2.0 has many features that are optional on it, not all devices support all of them. It is just a revision of a document of many different modes.

richms:

 

Crap like that will cost them a sale from me as I hate going instore to places to buy things.

 

Usually I agree with you, but audio and visual products like hi fi, TV etc require more than just reading reviews and that sort of thing.

Mind you, with hi fi it can be a recipe for drug addiction. I used to be a bit of an audiophile (by which we should understand that, like alcoholics, you're only ever one listen away from falling into the addiction again...!) but marriage, mortgages, relocation to NZ etc have at least temporarily cured that.

My dealer used to sell the gear from home, so you could visit and listen in a normal living room environment before deciding. The downside was that oftentimes you would go there and find a $150,000 system set up that made you weep with it's musical brilliance and physical wow factors, so much so that the $2000 budget that you had started with invariably ended up doubling or worse. Hi fi crack dealers are the worst!

richms:

 

 

 

My dealer used to sell the gear from home, so you could visit and listen in a normal living room environment before deciding. The downside was that oftentimes you would go there and find a $150,000 system set up that made you weep with it's musical brilliance and physical wow factors, so much so that the $2000 budget that you had started with invariably ended up doubling or worse. Hi fi crack dealers are the worst!

 

I'm curious, if you had $2K now, which setup would you go for?

Assuming you want a 5.1 type setup and have spent about $700 (of your $2K) on a new receiver.

... a vintage set of yesteryears (that were were part of a vintage musical brilliance, when new)

... a 3 year old set of $3K speakers

... or a discounted set of new ones (that haven't been damaged by unknown wear) 

sudo:

 

richms:

 

 

 

My dealer used to sell the gear from home, so you could visit and listen in a normal living room environment before deciding. The downside was that oftentimes you would go there and find a $150,000 system set up that made you weep with it's musical brilliance and physical wow factors, so much so that the $2000 budget that you had started with invariably ended up doubling or worse. Hi fi crack dealers are the worst!

 

 

I'm curious, if you had $2K now, which setup would you go for?

 

Assuming you want a 5.1 type setup and have spent about $700 (of your $2K) on a new receiver.

 

... a vintage set of yesteryears (that were were part of a vintage musical brilliance, when new)

 

... a 3 year old set of $3K speakers

 

... or a discounted set of new ones (that haven't been damaged by unknown wear) 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, it would depend on what the speakers sounded like.

I've never really bothered with more than stereo for my music listening so it's hard to say what I would do if I needed all the speakers for a 5.1 set up.

Firstly I would buy none of them sight unseen or unlistened to.

Vintage ones could be good (although unlikely to be a 5.1 set since that isn't a vintage thing) but if I could have some good Quad Electrostatics or Magna Planars then maybe those - or some of the older things like Tannoy Westminsters. You'd need to try them with your expected source material and amplification.

One of the nicest amps I had was a Sugden A21 pure class A integrated. It ran so hot I suspect you could have cooked eggs on it when it was working hard, but it sounded fabulous. Then I went to Roksan pre/power but regretted that. I suspect that, if I am ever allowed to do that sort of thing again, it would be Naim or Linn.

Geektastic:

 

 

 

Well, it would depend on what the speakers sounded like.

 

I've never really bothered with more than stereo for my music listening so it's hard to say what I would do if I needed all the speakers for a 5.1 set up.

 

Firstly I would buy none of them sight unseen or unlistened to.

 

Vintage ones could be good (although unlikely to be a 5.1 set since that isn't a vintage thing) but if I could have some good Quad Electrostatics or Magna Planars then maybe those - or some of the older things like Tannoy Westminsters. You'd need to try them with your expected source material and amplification.

 

One of the nicest amps I had was a Sugden A21 pure class A integrated. It ran so hot I suspect you could have cooked eggs on it when it was working hard, but it sounded fabulous. Then I went to Roksan pre/power but regretted that. I suspect that, if I am ever allowed to do that sort of thing again, it would be Naim or Linn.

 

Actually I didn't think of the angle of what the listener expectation is.

My driver for 5.1 is surround sound.

Listening to a 4 speaker setup as a teen (back in the 80s) enjoyed the fullness of the sound without turning the volume up. Watching movies with a 5.1 type setup (as opposed to a couple large speakers or sound bar, in front) reminded me of that

Music-wise I don't have peculiar or pedantic tastes. I just like a variety of music that sounds good without needing to crank up the dial.

I'm tending towards a modern receiver (I don't have any inclination to go vintage on an amp since it needs to interface with digital sources). My question was more focused on speakers.

The surrounds on old speakers go. Getting them redone is expensive, particually on some of the long travel woofers that need specific surrounds. If they just use any random thing on them, it will change the response of them massivly. When a friends cerwin vegas went they couldnt even find ones in the right red to replace them.

sudo:

 

richms:

 

 

 

My dealer used to sell the gear from home, so you could visit and listen in a normal living room environment before deciding. The downside was that oftentimes you would go there and find a $150,000 system set up that made you weep with it's musical brilliance and physical wow factors, so much so that the $2000 budget that you had started with invariably ended up doubling or worse. Hi fi crack dealers are the worst!

 

 

I'm curious, if you had $2K now, which setup would you go for?

 

Assuming you want a 5.1 type setup and have spent about $700 (of your $2K) on a new receiver.

 

... a vintage set of yesteryears (that were were part of a vintage musical brilliance, when new)

 

... a 3 year old set of $3K speakers

 

... or a discounted set of new ones (that haven't been damaged by unknown wear) 

 

 

No 1 - Listen to them - if they suit your taste / budget - buy them.

eg 1. I purchased a set of $3k speakers marked down to $1.25k (yes they were never really worth $3k - probably $2k would have been fair) - but they are all good for the HT set up.

eg. 2 Around the same time purchased 15 year old NZ made Image speakers for $320 - drivers had been replaced a couple of years back (and were worth more than I paid) - and they are great in the stereo set up in the family room.

sudo:

 

Geektastic:

 

 

 

Well, it would depend on what the speakers sounded like.

 

I've never really bothered with more than stereo for my music listening so it's hard to say what I would do if I needed all the speakers for a 5.1 set up.

 

Firstly I would buy none of them sight unseen or unlistened to.

 

Vintage ones could be good (although unlikely to be a 5.1 set since that isn't a vintage thing) but if I could have some good Quad Electrostatics or Magna Planars then maybe those - or some of the older things like Tannoy Westminsters. You'd need to try them with your expected source material and amplification.

 

One of the nicest amps I had was a Sugden A21 pure class A integrated. It ran so hot I suspect you could have cooked eggs on it when it was working hard, but it sounded fabulous. Then I went to Roksan pre/power but regretted that. I suspect that, if I am ever allowed to do that sort of thing again, it would be Naim or Linn.

 

 

Actually I didn't think of the angle of what the listener expectation is.

 

My driver for 5.1 is surround sound.

 

Listening to a 4 speaker setup as a teen (back in the 80s) enjoyed the fullness of the sound without turning the volume up. Watching movies with a 5.1 type setup (as opposed to a couple large speakers or sound bar, in front) reminded me of that

 

Music-wise I don't have peculiar or pedantic tastes. I just like a variety of music that sounds good without needing to crank up the dial.

 

I'm tending towards a modern receiver (I don't have any inclination to go vintage on an amp since it needs to interface with digital sources). My question was more focused on speakers.

 

Only the Sugden in that list is an amp - the rest are speakers.

I find it is as much a question of space as anything else - in order to get good surround you need space behind your seating position  and often people have the sofa or whatever against the wall, so it isn't really possible to get the full effect of the rears.