mal68 Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 Hey guys I'm looking to update my AVR and I'm after a bit of help. I don't have a massive budget (sorry), so I'm basically looking for the cheapest avr I can get that can serve my needs I have a 5.1 setup, with kef sattelite speakers and I don't see that changing anytime soon I would like the avr to support all current all current audio and video (pass through) formats. 4K, HDR, Dolby Vision, DTS-HD, Dolby Atmos etc. I gather with a 5.1 setup that things like Dolby Atmos may not work as designed, but do some still recognise this and convert it to a 5.1 signal? This would be what I am after I don't care for any of the online streaming, bluetooth music features that I see a lot of them have these days. These features will not get used at all. I only need it to be used with a tv for movies/gaming If anyone is familiar with this end of the market or has been in my situation, I'd appreciate some input Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mal68 Posted October 13, 2018 Author Share Posted October 13, 2018 I have found this Pioneer one https://www.amazon.com.au/Pioneer-VSX-932-Network-Receiver-Amplifier/dp/B0727VPTCC Does anyone have any experience with this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwt Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 2 hours ago, mal68 said: I have a 5.1 setup, with kef sattelite speakers and I don't see that changing anytime soon I would like the avr to support all current all current audio and video (pass through) formats. 4K, HDR, Dolby Vision, DTS-HD, Dolby Atmos etc. I gather with a 5.1 setup that things like Dolby Atmos may not work as designed, but do some still recognise this and convert it to a 5.1 signal? This would be what I am after Don't worry about dolby atmos mal ; its carried on the same lossless signal that your avr will decode to lossless dolby truehd or dts hdma .If the avr you pick doesn't have atmos decoders you still get lossless sound . If you buy the pioneer ;it does have atmos;dts-x decoders so you will get 7.1 dolby atmos ; its scalable from 2ch up to 24/10 for very large rooms. The pioneer is good value and its hdmi ports have the bandwidth for UHD signals ;HDR and dolby vision no problem .If you want to save some the amazon supplier has it direct from themselves https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Pioneer-VSX-932-7-2ch-130W-4K-Dolby-Atmos-DTS-HD-Network-AV-Receiver-Amplifier-/123124745193 Heres an intro to atmos for future reference ; https://www.cnet.com/news/dolby-atmos-why-its-cool-how-it-works-and-how-to-get-it/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen0804 Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 ive had a pioneer avr before and never had any issues with it very reliable, looks like a good option 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mal68 Posted October 13, 2018 Author Share Posted October 13, 2018 Thanks for the input guys, it is super helpful I'm really liking the look of this Pioneer for my needs cwt can you confirm my understanding that a dolby atmos signal also contains dolby truehd? so its not selecting a different audio from the 4k blu ray for instance, the avr receives the one signal (atmos) and from within that atmos signal picks what is appropriate for the speaker setup? atmos if 5.1.2 or dolby truehd if 5.1? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwt Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 Not quite.The atmos metadata is piggybacked on the dolby truehd bitstream mal . You will get the decoded lossless truehd sound but with object steered rather than older channel steered surround from the pioneer [which is better than an avr that doesn't have dolby atmos decoders] . In the later case you would only get the older channel based surround and straight dolby truehd . The sound mixers do a good job with atmos as they have a lot more flexibility ie they can make an effect larger or smaller ; steer it better etc They also have the option to "pin" an object to a speaker thus making it like a channel rather than using atmos steering if they think it sounds better when doing the master track The thing to remember with atmos is the more speakers you have the more precise can the object sound be steered ; the sound mixer can put a sound object wherever he feels it works best ; you can even get dolby atmos in a phone though its only 2ch .. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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