AV+Music which way to go?

hi zorba,

I had a Denon 3805 AVR which I replaced by an AV2, Nap 175. The latter combo is clearly superior, the sound is really amazing, though, at first glance, the Denon sounds more impressive. However, voices and surround sounds via Naim sound much more realistic.
Should Naim ever 8which I doubt) develop a "HD"pre amp for multi-channel applications, this should be my choice.
The AV2 is pretty good also in stereo and, though not having made a direct comparison, I would believe it won't be less good than a Nait XS (but you should do a side by side comparison).

Apart from the electronics, regarding multi-channel, you should also consider that in order to show the qualities of the AV2 you need adequate speakers as well.

Regarding HD sound, the AV2 is only able to accept it via multi-channel in, so you need a high quality source with internal decoding to not compromise the remaining chain...

I ran an AV2/!75/150 for a while and it was fantastic all round solution, also gives you the flexibility of having an internal dac of sufficient quality to experiment with streaming sources should you wish.

There are some fantastic used deals out there too, I have seen BOTH an av2 and 175 for less than a nait xs....

Thanks, I am hoping to hear from you that own or did own an AV2 and get feed back on its stereo performance.

In my case coming from a system that is too embarrassing to mention on here, whichever way I go above would be music and surround sound in a different solar system to what I have. The only components I will be keeping are my castle inversion 50's which I know are still not good enough for here but it would be a shame not to feed them a decent signal once in their lifetime and really here them + a REL Q50 sub.

I was the ideal customer for an N-Vi but by the time I made up my mind (an eternity) hd sound was on the menu and I thought it would be a shame to spend the money and not get more than 2.1 hd sound, hence looking at the used AV2 option.

1st reason sound quality
2nd reason matching components
3rd reason one volume knob

option 2

Regards...

Thanks for your replies.

Due to a number of reasons I will not be going through with option 1. I have another option and would very much like to go for it if at all possible. It definitely goes against the post title but a decision that I can live with.

Is there a 1 box all in one 5.1 or 7.1 bluray home cinema system that allows me to route the front channels through the unity gain feature on my coming Nait?

I've looked everywhere and through manuals but quite can't work out if the L+R analogue outs on what's available makes it at all possible.

If these L+R analogue outs can't work as pre-outs is it possible to take the amplified signal from such an all in one to the unity gain of the Nait?

I've been looking at all in one systems such as the pioneer LX01BD and LX03BD.

Unfortunately the L+R audio outs are just line out and as far as I know would not work with the unity gain feature.

Back to the drawing board YET again. As big as the home cinema market is the manufacturers seem to think that if a customer did not want a mega size box receiver the size of eiffel tower, with tea making facilities, millions of features you may never use that just get in the way plus a matching source that customers opting for a slim line, space saving home style all in one system would not want the same audio quality and important features offered in the full size range such as at least front pre outs to integrate or upgrade performance with existing set ups.

I would still go with your option 1

1. exdem or used AV2 + nap175 to run 3.1 for a while then add the 150x when funds allow.

I think this setup can be had at a bargain price right now and adding a 7.1 bluray player has all your needs sorted.

Regarding a bluray player I ran out of patience and bought a pioneer bdp-51fd.

It seems in this case bigger is better and separates is the way to go. Unless, who knows? We may get a multi channel din input or even a hdmi upgrade option on the N-vi in 2010. Yep, I know, I'll post on the other thread.

All options are on again I will be setting up a demo when next in England.

Does the AV2 have lip sync adjustment?

zorba,

I think the unity gain route is a good way to go. Firstly one already has the 2 front channel speakers. I have no experience with Naim AV stuff so can't comment here. A bit more expensive I believe, especially for the centre, surround speakers and subwoofer.

I added AV to my stereo system recently with the AV receiver that you mention in your option 2 mainly because I got a very good deal on the Marantz SR-6003. In addition it was necessary to add a BluRay player and centre, surround speakers and subwoofer. I was tempted to use very cheap and cheerful speakers but then increased my budget to add some decent speakers as well.

After a few teething problems, I get a result that I am pleased with. No earth loops. Good mains circuits + earthing (separate spurs) plays an important role here of course. As well as the grounding plug on the cable TV input. Images are startling on the Samsung 7000 series LED. Still learning, but there appears to be lip sync problems when using the source direct options on the AV receiver. I have not tried lip sync so it may cure this. I would also say that it is well worth to go HDMI as much as possible. i.e. avoid optical and coax interconnects.

Of course and I don't mean to disappoint, but the Marantz SR-6003 does not make the tea . It also does not have DIN sockets. Don't really understand your comments about the functionality unless you assume that functionality is proportional to the number of I/O options on the back of the receiver. Just go HDMI as far as possible and you will use the best that the receiver has to offer. Less so if you use optical or coax.

Regarding the BluRay players. The panasonic DMP-BD-80 player is very good for the price. So is the Sony BDP-S760 apparently. Both of these with lots of useful features. In the end I got the Marantz BD-5004 which is a bit noisy and more expensive than the previous players that I mentioned, but it's still pretty good and it also matches the receiver. I will wait to see what happens here before investing further. The more expensive universal players are probably a waste of money if you have a good CD player. I do wonder about SACD though as I have many Hybrid discs where I heard the promising playback results of this layer on the disc.

In any case very happy with what I have so far and so is the rest of the family

Beautiful looking system and I bet it sounds great too. Nice to hear the whole family are happy too. Enjoy!

Hope you sort out the lip sync problem.

I may be going for a pioneer av receiver in option 2 to match my bluray player.

I was just being sarcastic about the amount of features and I/O options available on the bigger receivers and that some of the more important ones do not trickle down to the slim line receivers. Also quite a few feature duplications in all components such as media players. It would be nice to see some newer versions of eg. yamaha E800 which was produced to be added to existing stereo systems being produced by yamaha, pioneer, denon etc. I suppose the demand was not there.

The din sockets were aimed at Naim in the nicest way to get rid of some legacy features on the N-vi and replace the space with Din audio multi inputs then offer it as an upgrade to existing units