New Old AVR
hackman55
Posts: 17
in Electronics
Recently my Yamaha rx-v685 met an untimely demise. I have purchased a used Integra 70.2 avr to replace it. I'm still new enough to the hobby that all of my avr experience has been with newer models.
The Integra is a big old ugly thing, but I do like the sound quality of it. While it may not have all the features my newer avr's have had, it has a bunch I have no experience with. If anyone has any experience with this Integra or similar models, I'd appreciate any advice or feedback. There isn't a whole lot of information out there about Integra avr's. I've read through the manual online but am not wholly confident I'm bright enough to grasp it completely.
The Integra has an option to bridge the fronts. Of course I've seen the thousands of arguments re: bi-amping and the conclusions that it offers little benefit, but have seen little about bridging. Is this feature any benefit?
Also new to me are pre-outs. Are all channels pre-outs always active? I see it has listed nine channels of amplification, but not how many channels processing. In theory, could it be used for eleven channels of processing (fronts, center, surrounds, rears, front heights, front wides) with the addition of an exterior amp?
Can the pre-outs be used to only amplify certain speakers, or would I have to use an outboard amp for all of the speakers? The binding posts for the front wides are broken, would I be able to use the pre-outs to another amp to power these?
Speaking of which, I have never used front wides; are they worth trying out? With the exception of my first five channel avr, all of my experience has been with atmos/neo:x. This has a ton of older audio formats I am unfamiliar with: audyssey dsx, thx, neural surround, pro logic pll-z, etc. Any thoughts on these and what speaker setups they use?
Thanks to anyone who slogged through this long post and any and all feedback is appreciated.
The Integra is a big old ugly thing, but I do like the sound quality of it. While it may not have all the features my newer avr's have had, it has a bunch I have no experience with. If anyone has any experience with this Integra or similar models, I'd appreciate any advice or feedback. There isn't a whole lot of information out there about Integra avr's. I've read through the manual online but am not wholly confident I'm bright enough to grasp it completely.
The Integra has an option to bridge the fronts. Of course I've seen the thousands of arguments re: bi-amping and the conclusions that it offers little benefit, but have seen little about bridging. Is this feature any benefit?
Also new to me are pre-outs. Are all channels pre-outs always active? I see it has listed nine channels of amplification, but not how many channels processing. In theory, could it be used for eleven channels of processing (fronts, center, surrounds, rears, front heights, front wides) with the addition of an exterior amp?
Can the pre-outs be used to only amplify certain speakers, or would I have to use an outboard amp for all of the speakers? The binding posts for the front wides are broken, would I be able to use the pre-outs to another amp to power these?
Speaking of which, I have never used front wides; are they worth trying out? With the exception of my first five channel avr, all of my experience has been with atmos/neo:x. This has a ton of older audio formats I am unfamiliar with: audyssey dsx, thx, neural surround, pro logic pll-z, etc. Any thoughts on these and what speaker setups they use?
Thanks to anyone who slogged through this long post and any and all feedback is appreciated.
Comments
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Not familiar with Yamahas, but I have an older Denon that at least has preouts so I can comment there.
As far as I know, you can use all of the preouts (which, in my limited electronic knowledge, send an unpowered signal to an amplifier), or as few as you have amplifiers to power those channels. In my past
HT setup I used only the L & R preouts, connected to a separate Adcom GFA555 to drive the mains only.
In my opinion, the use of preouts not only allows you to try different sounding amplifiers from different brands, but it relieves the [relatively small] power supply in the AVR from driving all the speakers. At moderate>loud volume, like watching a movie, the AVR ran much cooler once the separate amp was added.
As for the wide speakers, you would have to see which preouts are available - if there are preouts for wide speakers, then I would guess you could amplify them, though to me, amplifying wide/height speakers isn't critical, as I don't believe they get as much use even during a movie (though I run a
dinosaur 5.1 system, never used all the channels I have, so take that for what it's worth).
So, are you willing to put forth a little effort or are you happy sitting in your skeptical poo pile?
http://audiomilitia.proboards.com/
