The irony of it...

It's funny you say that Nick as I was seriously thinking of going the other way - by getting an Onkyo box, why?

Well, ultimately, with most films I am happy watching in 1.1, ie centre channel and sub.

For music I mainly listen in stereo - using my main amps.

SO, I am housing an AV2, NAP140 & NAP250 - PLUS an upscalar to output the NS01 onto my TV.

The Onkyo would allow me to rationalise this, gain an HD audio decoder and give me a much neater HDMI switch.

So, why didn't I?

I don't think that for me anyone has produced a better decoder than the AV2, and lets face it, the HD audio formats are just slightly less compressed than DTS/AC3.

So I'm sticking for the moment, but I ALMOST went for it.

M

It is official. The NAD T753 is dead beyond any hopes of reviving it. The ONkyo TX-NR 5008 is expected to replace it in a couple of hours. Will still use the unity gain option on the 122x for the front two speakers. Will update you on ow things go.

Regards...

First impressions:

The thing is heavy! It is obvious that the transformers are of reasonable quality. Connection was a breeze and to top it off, The receiver identified all my speakers and inputs/outputs automatically. First impression is that the sound is big, thick and solid. It is very clear that this is a more capable receiver compared to the NAD in terms of amplification. Will do the speaker calibration tomorrow along with a firmware update. Will keep you all posted.

Regards...

Hello Nick,

Thanks for your interest in this thread. The reason I did not re-repurchase NAD is two fold. First, their distributor in Saudi Arabia - where I live - is no longer around. The second reason is that the NAD T753 was purchased to double as a music and movie amplifier when I started off. I decided to trade HDMI connectivity and OSD through component video in exchange of better stereo sound. The trade never worked out for me or else I wouldn't have purchased a bunch of black boxes from Naim.

When watching movies I use an AV receiver to power the subwoofer, center and surround channels while Naim takes care of my front two speakers so I can have the best of both worlds. Listening to music, I just use the Naim gear. Local AV brands available are Onkyo, Pioneer, Harman Kardon and Yamaha. The TX-NR5008 was being offered at 50% discount to clear the stock and import the TX-NR5009. That deal was very sweet and made the decision very obvious.

Now, I'm facing a slight problem. both my sony BDP-s470 and PS3 don't have the option to turn off audio through HDMI in order to exclusively transmit DTS/Dolby digital signals through toslink or coaxial. This translates into the Onkyo receiving both HDMI (downmixed PCM) and DTS master HD (via coaxial) at the same but instinctively favors the HDMI audio and runs with that. I can connect my bluray sources directly to the projector via HDMI and rely solely on coaxial and toslink connections to the onkyo but that means I will loose the OSD menu. ANy thoughts? I reckon an Oppo BDP 93 is on the way as I think it will give me the control I need regarding its output.

Regards..

Flame,

Can't you send the DD/DTS and HD formats to the Onkyo using HDMI?

Then connect HDMI outs to the TV and projector, or if only 1 output, into an HDMI switch.

M

Hello Mr. Underhill,

I have been doing some research and this is what I have found.

1- It is not possible from an electronical point of view to transmit the DTS HD master audio / Dolby HD unprocessed signal via toslink or coaxial due to bandwidth limitations of the cables.

2- The Sony BDP S470 is does not have the ability to decode DTS HD master audio / Dolby True HD

3- The Sony PS3 can decode those codecs internally and transmit the processed signal as PCM signal via HDMI

4- The PS3 can't send the unprocessed bitsream of those two codecs over HDMI

Interpretation and solution:

So, I have to use my PS3 as primary source (which I am already doing) and will have to rely on it to decode the audio internally. The fact that it is decoding internally is the reason that the Onkyo is not lighting up the DTS HD master on the LCD panel because it is receiving the sound after processing. This is not a big deal but I still assume that the Onkyo will do a better job decoding the audio than the PS3. I am looking at the Oppo BD-93U as a potential upgrade within the next year and it is capable of transmitting all unprocessed bitstreams via HDMI.

Regards...

Hi Flame,

The PS3 is a brilliant box, although I don't play games I got very close to buying one, if they had retained the SACD playing ability I think I may well have done it.

Shame it can't send the bitstreams. Frustrating.

I bought my Oppo 83 2nd hand - and it was a good purchase, impressive company; And, of course, if I manage to tempt you into an AV2 you'll have the onboard HiDef decoding and spdif outs!

M

Update:

Managed to get the BDP S470 to output DTS HD Master bistream over HDMI. It was a matter of selecting "Auto" in the HDMI audio setup options on the player. Now the Onkyo identifies the codec and processes it in splendid form. Impressive sound I must say. This means that purchasing the Oppo is going to be postponed much longer.

Mr Underhill;

The AV2 seems like a fascinating product, but I believe that the technology has surpassed it these days.

Regards...

Hi Flame,

The technology might have improved, but not the sound quality! The AV2 remains the best-sounding processor I've heard so far, and using my Oppo to decode the HD sound formats means I lose little in terms of functionality.

Tony,

I am sure that it sounds amazing. Unfortunately, it isn't for me, due to the fact that second hand items don't come around my part of the world and because my bluray sources don't have analog outputs. Maybe several years down the line I will upgrade to a dedicated AV processor connected to name monoblocks for serious multichannel amplification. Ahhhh, I keep dreaming.

Regards...