Anyone know when do they replace the current line up of AV Receivers?

[Raymond Lin]

I've been wanting to get a new AV now but notice that the last time Denon and co refreshed it was last summer…are we due another one?

I also notice that Sony hasn't done anything to their STR-DN1080 for 3 years! Do manufacturer refresh with a new one annually? Sony clearly doesn't.

It's not that the current line up don't meet my requirement, it's just that they normally go on sale when the new one comes out, so I am looking for that mainly.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Massive slow down in the AVR market. I believe supply and soundbars are mostly to blame.

Where Sony is concerned, they've not really needed to do anything else from the STR-DN 1080 (which is 4 years old now!) except release something with HDMI 2.1, whch has been a mess to implement for many other manufactureres so I wouldn't be surpised if they were taking their time with it.

I was waiting for something new but ended up going to an STR-DN 1080 as I had the 1040 before and was really impressed. No regrets, but I don't have any requirement for HDMI 2.1 for the foreseable so it was an easy decision.

I have the 1040 currently and it makes sense to get the 1080 but i do want HDMI 2.1, I have a new Xbox and I want to future proof as much as possible.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Providing it's possible with your TV connections and you don't mind the extra cable, you could hook the XBox up direct to the TV via HDMI 2.1 and use eARC back to the AVR. It's not ideal, but it's a potential option.

Otherwise it's either wait for Sony to do something or try out Yamaha or Denon offerings, not sure where they got to with solving the HDMI 2.1 though.

The Sony is being weird actually as well. You know how it self detects inputs when you switch on a console? It does that but sometimes it will go back to the old signal (still on, like my Fire Stick). It will do it a few times so I keep pressing the new input on the remote.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Sounds like some whacky CEC conflict. Try disabling CEC on the Firestick and see if the problem still exists. Though, you'll probably want it on, it's worth trying just to see where the source of the problem is.

It can be Sky TV or console or whatever. It goes back to the last thing. Not always the Fire Stick.

 

[Raymond Lin]

If I were to get a new Av Receiver this weekend...up to say £1k, what would you guys get?

 

[Raymond Lin]

There's a bit of a gap between £600 and £1000.
If going new i'd see if you can find a Denon AVC-X3700H or Marantz SR6015 on deal or stretch the budget. But depends how big you want/need to go.

Open to looking at second hand? If so then eBay will likely have a multitude of options.

Worth pinging @lucid *ping!*

My shortlist currently are

Yamaha RX-A2A

https://petertyson.co.uk/yamaha-rx-a2a-av-receiver?___SID=U

Denon 3700 (I swear this was £50 cheaper last night)

https://petertyson.co.uk/denon-avc-x3700h-amplifier?___SID=U

Marantz 6015

https://petertyson.co.uk/marantz-sr6015-7-2ch-8k-av-amplifier?___SID=U

I need it to have

Dolby Vision/HDR
6 inputs MINIMUM, 7 preferable. I have Switch, PS5, PS4, Series X, Sky, Amazon Fire Stick to plug in.
Must do 4k/60
HDMI 2.1, I think the Yamaha does HDMI 2.3? So that wins for future proofing.
7.2 channels, I only have 5.1 but again, future proofing.
Bluetooth and Airplay would be good.
DLNA would be good

 

[Raymond Lin]

Actually the 2700H fits the bill, I don't need 9.2.

 

[Raymond Lin]

You can ask Denon/marantz to send you a converter box to cure any hdmi 2.1 issues on the current lineup. It’s another box though, and needs it own power source

Have they not fixed that with firmware? Sounds like they can't.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Looks like the Yamaha is fine then.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Well it’s still reliant on an unreleased firmware so don’t hold your breath lol

yaayuh’s eArc workaround further up this thread should do the trick on the current models though.

You mean plug the xBox to the TV?

That's fine for the Xbox but I have a PS5 coming, and then my Fire 4k as well and I don't have that many HDMI ports on the TV so it's not really a solution I want to stick to for more than 1 off.

 

[Raymond Lin]

This sounds like the absolute worst time to get a new AV. I can wait but the itch is strong.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Well it’s still reliant on an unreleased firmware so don’t hold your breath lol

yaayuh’s eArc workaround further up this thread should do the trick on the current models though.

Actually, my OLED can only do 4k/60 not 120fps...can the current Yamaha and Denon do that without the external box and future firmware?

 

[Raymond Lin]

C8 or below?

It’s a Philips 55OLED754

 

[Raymond Lin]

I am just torn between waiting for a new model from Denon/Marantz or Sony that seemingly never coming and just settle.

The wise thing is to wait, but with world wide silicon shortage this may be a while.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Any advice for me? I just want the cheapest AVR that does 5.1, 4k/60 and EARC. Prepared to go second hand. I don't really need HDMI 2.1 right now on the AVR. I would also like to have one ideally that can adjust the lip sync to go to minus numbers rather than only being able to add further delay. I've had issues with that before and it's really annoyed me that you can't dial it back and am led to believe that on some you can.

The Sony 1080 does that i think. It's about £450, not sure if there are cheaper ones though.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Cheapest? Probably look for a 2nd hand Yamaha RX-V583 or V585. Update either to the latest firmware which adds eARC. I've seen the V583 recently going for less than £250 through now due to seeming shortages of many AVR's then approx £300 maybe more typical.
You'll pay near £500 for the Sony 1080 which is holding its price amazingly well due to the fact it is still the 'current' model.

@Raymond Lin I would advise you to get a 9.2 receiver to future proof yourself if you ever wanted to try Atmos 5.1.4.

I would compare Atmos (for your hearing) to OLED (for your vision) in that once you tried it's hard to go back.

Make sense. The ones I have been looking at are all 9.2 anyway as they are all Atmos so that's not a problem there. My issue is the dodgy chip from last year and the lack of stock.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Did you make any decisions yet? I think I'm going to wait for the upcoming Onkyo/Pioneer which look to promise HDMI 2.1 on multiple ins. I'm keen on the Onkyo NR6100 or possibly Pioneer VSX-105. I'm not interested in Dirac really.
https://www.avnirvana.com/threads/onkyo-pioneer-elite-and-integra-deep-dive-a-fresh-look-at-the-brands’-latest-av-receivers.8292/

I want to get one this weekend if i could but i am going to wait. I've waited this long. Really don't want to use an external box or wait for Yamaha updates which might never come.

 

[Raymond Lin]

I would agree with your sentiments. I was going to wait until around November myself when prices and supply should have normalised but I luckily picked up a Denon X4400H which has the main things I needed in, eARC and Atmos 5.1.4. It does also sound excellent.

I found a Marantz 7012 on AV Forum for about £700, that was a £1500 amp. I could get that but that is quite old now, it's about 3 or 4 generation old so I gave that a pass.

 

[Raymond Lin]

So I saw the news that Denon and Marantz have fixed their HDMI 2.1 bug for units made after May 2021. Called RS up to see if they have any stock, none...but there are 200+ people signed up for the next delivery in the Cheltenham store for their September batch already!

 

[Raymond Lin]

Update - Sevenoaks currently has stock of the Denon 2700, with the updated chip I have now ordered one, picking up after work today.

Who knows how long these chip shortages will lasts, it's coming up 2 years since I've had my OLED so need to get that 4K goodness from my media!