Anybody else get excited planning new home cinema and audio kit?

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When I upgraded to the Yamaha RX-V677 I was hoping it would last me a few years as it says that it can handle 4K, but unfortunately it can't pass through the 4K signal from the Sky Q box.
 
I love home cinema!

If anyone on here has a nakamichi AVP1 ( later version ) power amp for sale , drop me a message!
 
I figured out yesterday that my MacBook Pro's 3.5mm audio jack is also an optical output! Supports 24bit/192Khz. Just needed a TOSLINK to mini-TOS and could hook directly into my little DAC that feeds my Roksan amp.

The main benefit is that plugging a 3.5mm jack in, I want to be limited by distance, as it's analogue, I don't want a long cable. With an optical cable, I've bought a nice long one and it makes no difference, and can crank my flac output right up as my DAC supports 192khz.

Saw this red light while duel booting windows for some car diagnostic software, and thought "Wait a minute...". :cool:


 
When I upgraded to the Yamaha RX-V677 I was hoping it would last me a few years as it says that it can handle 4K, but unfortunately it can't pass through the 4K signal from the Sky Q box.

Yes, my 3067 certainly wouldn't pass the whole signal (audio and video) through. The guy in the Richer Sounds, though, thought I'd be able to fire up the 4K services that the TV offers and send the audio part down to the amp via ARC.

I'm not sure if I made it clear enough that that is was an older amp. He might just be assuming it's a newer one.

Next time I'm in I'll double check.
 
I figured out yesterday that my MacBook Pro's 3.5mm audio jack is also an optical output! Supports 24bit/192Khz. Just needed a TOSLINK to mini-TOS and could hook directly into my little DAC that feeds my Roksan amp.

The main benefit is that plugging a 3.5mm jack in, I want to be limited by distance, as it's analogue, I don't want a long cable. With an optical cable, I've bought a nice long one and it makes no difference, and can crank my flac output right up as my DAC supports 192khz.

Saw this red light while duel booting windows for some car diagnostic software, and thought "Wait a minute...". :cool:



Toslink only supports upto 2Mbps max. I am unsure what resolution your FLAC files are though
 
They vary in bitrate. Some aren't that high, and some are crazy high, but I was able to switch the optical output all the way up to 24bit/192khz, which is also the max my DAC supports and it worked a treat. Regardless of the bitrate of the files, the interface between the source and my DAC was as high as it can be, which is nice, at least I can be sure the interface isn't limiting the quality.

I've Mike Oldfield's entire back catalog in flac, which really lends itself to a lossless format, with so many bright, sparkly sounds that can easily be muffled into a cacophony with lower bitrate files.

A quick google says it was originally 3.1Mb/s, it's now 125Mb/s.
 
Just called Richer Sounds and my new soundbar is in the store.

I'm looking forward to picking it up and swapping out the old one. The new one has lots of HDMI in's so I'll FINALLY get off Bluetooth and back onto Chromecast Audi. I find Bluetooth really annoying as the last device to be connected often keeps the connection for ages and I can't just fire up music from my phone (the soundbar has to double up for TV and music in this particular set up). Also Bluetooth is a rubbish way to stream compared to CCA in terms of bitrate.

The old soundbar will then get shifted on to TV No 2 to replace the Bose Companions which can go back to where they belong on TV No 3.

It's all a bit lo-tech in the rental house. The big grunty amps and speakers are waiting in storage for the move back to my actual house once the builders are done in August/September.
 
Plugged in the soundbar yesterday and gave it a good listen this morning.

For some reason I couldn't get it to work wirelessly so cabled it and as the instructions suggest it's best to have it firing at you from the TV area anyway that's no bad thing.

FWIW it sounds a lot better that the previous one and so it should given the price (the previous one was a Panasonic SBX-N700 and listed at £250, this one is a Yamaha YSP 2700 and is now selling at £570 but was originally £900+).

I haven't found my audio Chromecast dongle yet so just tried Spotify Premium over Bluetooth. Listened to some Steely Dan and was happy with what it did. It's not hifi but it does a remarkable job given the size.

It's more impressive for TV soundtracks of course. I just watched an episode of Top Gear and there's tons more detail and width.
 
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Update - I finally got round to setting up and connecting my Chromecast Audio (CCA) dongle.

If you haven't come across the CCA it's a great way to stream music into an amp. It takes the music stream and sends it right to the dongle rather that going via your phone's Bluetooth. The dongle itself can connect via Optical which again helps the quality of the signal.

So the bitrate is way higher and it sounds much better.

And it works much better - if you walk out of the room with your phone, for example, you don't lose the connection.

And you don't have the infuriating Bluetooth thing when you can't connect because it still hooked to another phone but you don't know which one and'or you can't find.

My wife one set hers to auto connect which drove me mad for weeks until I spotted the setting.

Happy Easter Break :)
 
Update - I finally got round to setting up and connecting my Chromecast Audio (CCA) dongle.

I'm sure you have, but I just read this on What Hi-Fi;
Before you do any listening, we’d advise a quick dip into the settings. Activate the option for ‘high dynamic range’. Switched off by default, this stops the Chromecast Audio from really singing. If your set-up is half decent, it will really benefit from leaving it on.
Read more at Google Chromecast Audio review
 
Had a fight with the system last night. I've been enjoying McMafia but my OH hasn't seen any of it. It's no longer on BBC iPlayer so I needed to hook up Amazon streaming to that TV.

I plugged another Chromecast into the soundbar (a video one this time) and then spent an hour trying to cast Amazon content from first my Android phone and then from one of my iPads. With zero success.

Annoyed the wife, gave up and ordered a Roku stick.

The content wars between Amazon, Apple and Google are very boring. But at the end of the day I need access to some Amazon content whether it's originals or stuff no longer available elsewhere.
 
God...all this looking into streaming has made me think again about 4K.....I'll have a new (4K) TV connected to a non-4K amp in one room and a 4K soundbar connected to a non-4K TV in the other....and the ability to stream 4K content through the Roku and the newer TV.

So I've already worked out my next upgrade; if I get a decent bonus this year I reckon I'll go for a Yamaha RX-A870 (£850) to replace the RX-V1067 in the front room. So that room will have really good TV, amp, speakers and content.

The 1067 can than replace the 673 in the back room (as that's just on audio duties).

And maybe a new 4K-ready TV in the back room too (£500-ish?) to team up with the soundbar.

Or if I'm feeling really flush I can get an OLED for the front room (£1,300-£1,500) and swap the 4K TV to the back room.

I'm trying to keep my spending on this round to £2.2k and updgrade a number of key components.

But what I'd really like to do is spend nearer £5k and upgrade just about everything....
 
So I'm going to keep the Yamaha RXV 581, team it with my existing MA Radius/Tannoy 5.1 speakers and a buy a new 4K TV in the front room so I can watch some 4K in there (cost so far £220).

I'll keep the existing second TV (1080p) and stick the new Soundbar on it (cost £570).

I'll use the new-to-me Yamaha RXV 3067 with my existing MA speakers & sub as a audio amp in the open plan area (cost £350).

So I'm £1,340 in so far with another £800 to go for the new TV - so £2,140. Plus, say, another 10% for brackets and cabling so call it £2,350.

If I get a decent bonus at year end I might stick an OLED TV in the front room and replace the 1080p one with the 4k one (£1,300-£1,500).

And the only other think to think about at some point is a new receiver for the front room to do 4K upscaling instead of just pass through (£800).

No matter which way you cut it it's £2,500 cutting corners and £5,000 for the full experience.
 
One suggestion I would make is that there are some real bargains to be had in second-hand audio equipment.

Phil; thankyou!

My s/h Yamaha RX-V3067 arrived on Wednesday much to my wife's irritation - the box is HUGE.

Anyway, last night my wife went out. I quickly found a box of cables, a cheap DVD player, my MJA sub, a couple of Mordaunt Short speakers (all £100 worth) and fired up the amp.

Wow! Even with that set up the music sounded incredible. One of my kids came to complain about the noise and I could hardly make myself heard. Very powerful, controlled and clear.

The user interface is rubbish and it lacks a lot of modern features but I don't care. To my ears it sounds amazing and will fill my large open plan area with sound.

The only problem I now have is that it's tempting to convert one of the TV rooms into a TV AND music room which I was trying to avoid. I just know I could sit in a comfy chair in the "triangle" listening to album after album......
 
When I upgraded to the Yamaha RX-V677 I was hoping it would last me a few years as it says that it can handle 4K, but unfortunately it can't pass through the 4K signal from the Sky Q box.

I'd better check my RX-V581 then......4K is a bit confusing.

One thing I am going to do is to take Richer Sounds up on is their offer of free site survey. Now I've got a better idea of what I'm trying to achieve in the three areas and have three possible configurations it'll be really useful to get a pro round to dispense some advice.
 
I've just replaced my now dead Pioneer SC LX86 with a Yamaha RX-A 3070.

Nice. I think mine is the equivalent in the old range. I now see why the guys in the shops always steer me to the Aventage range.

Money no object is have a 3070. Will also keep an eye out for s/h bargains.
 
After I upgraded to Sky Q, my old Denon amp had to be replaced as it couldn't do 4K.
After speaking with Richer Sounds, I went for a Sony STR-DN1080 amp, as it added a few additional benefits because I have a Sony Bravia TV.
For example, switch on sky, and TV/amp automatically turn on, because the TV is more compatible with the Sony Amp, my Sky controller can control the volume of TV, which in turn controls the Amp volume which keeps my wife happy, as multiple remotes melts her head.

That's HDMI CEC in action, any modern kit regardless of manufacturer should do the same when it's connected and enabled, just manufacturers stick some silly name of their own on it as a marketing ploy. Excellent choice of amp regardless and what I'd go for if my trusty STR-DA2400ES packed up tomorrow :thumb:
 
That's HDMI CEC in action, any modern kit regardless of manufacturer should do the same when it's connected and enabled, just manufacturers stick some silly name of their own on it as a marketing ploy. Excellent choice of amp regardless and what I'd go for if my trusty STR-DA2400ES packed up tomorrow :thumb:
Fair enough, it is a great amp, i'm glad I choose it.
I looked up what you pointed out, and I see its called BRAVIA Sync on the TV
 

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