![]() In this set-up, the AV receiver will no longer amplify the front left/right channels and delegate it to a separate power amp. Assuming your AV Receiver has pre-out connections, at least for the front left/right channels, you can connect a separate stereo power amp to drive these stereo channels. The next simplest point in the signal path to improve is the power amplification stage. Either way, this option is definitely worth experimenting with and costs nothing. This is because these circuits can cause interference to the analogue components, often manifesting itself as a slightly higher noise floor or slight hiss in the background. Both of these options can slightly improve sound quality. Others have the option to disable the graphical LCD display on the front of the case. Some AV receivers have the option to disable the video circuitry or turn it off completely. Unfortunately, this means only one source can benefit from a clean signal path through the receiver. In which case, connecting the stereo source to the front left/right channels of this input will work fine, the surround channel inputs will be left unused. Some AV receivers/processors only provide true analogue bypass on the 5.1/7.1 analogue inputs, for example, the popular Audiolab 8000AP processor. This will simply send the stereo signal straight through the amp, unadulterated and with least colouration. Of course, this will mean no DSP can be performed, no matrixing stereo up to surround, no room EQ etc. It will give a cleaner signal with lower noise. This should be the first thing to experiment with. This is usually labelled ‘Pure’, ‘Direct’ or ‘Bypass’ depending on the brand. Many AV receivers have the option to bypass the first few steps in this path, ADC – DSP – DAC. This gives you a choice on how you connect them, which will be covered later. Often these devices can output both analogue and digital signals, with the former using their own internal DAC chip. CD Player, Music streaming devices etc, then the first step, ADC, within the AVR is bypassed. If you have sources, that can output a digital signal e.g. Of course, for good quality surround sound, the front centre speaker should match your front left/right.īefore we consider options to improve stereo performance, it is beneficial to consider the signal path a stereo source has to go through when using an AV receiver. Cheaper speakers for the rear channels will be far less noticeable than cheaper speakers at the front. As such these should be the best speakers you can afford. For many receivers, all circuitry and amplification channels are powered using a single PSU (see photo below, #6), which can struggle at high loads and may not be able to provide the cleanest power to each component when everything is at full tilt.įor top-notch stereo playback, your front left/right speakers will be doing all the work. There simply isn’t the room to separate them out. One box mentality with everything in a one-box AV receiver, all the digital electronics crammed in can cause interference with the analogue circuitry.Essentially for stereo usage, you’re listening to the equivalent of a £100-200 amp! No wonder it can’t come close to a £1000 stereo amp. With an AV receiver at £1000, that’s split between the digital processor, video processor/switching, and 5 or 7 channels of amplification. Economics if you spend £1000 on a stereo amp, that’s £500 per channel of amplification.All of which degrades and colours the sound. ![]() Digital processing many surround AV receivers will digitize incoming signals by default, then process them, be it bass management, DSP modes, or matrixing them up to multi-channel surround sound (using Dolby ProLogic for example).So why do surround sound systems have such poor stereo performance compared to a stereo system? In this article, I’m going to address why a surround sound system can’t compete with a dedicated stereo system and discuss some solutions to improve your stereo performance by combining AV receiver with existing stereo amp for surround sound. For films, games and TV this can provide an enjoyable listening experience, but most of us still listen to a lot of music, 95% of which is still in 2 channel stereo. In both cases, people have fallen for the marketing hype that more channels is better, 5.1, 7.1, z height channels etc. Others have started out with a surround sound system, but underestimated how much music they play and now find their system lacking in this department. Some are people who sold their old stereo setup, jumped on the surround sound bandwagon, and now miss the musical qualities of their previous system. I hear and read numerous reports from people with surround sound systems, that are not performing as well as desired for stereo music playback.
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