Basic AVR for 3.1 setup?

[SheepBeast]

Hi, I would like to build a 3.1 home cinema setup. I don't care about surround sound but I do want the centre channel so I can separately control the dialogue volume, as so much modern media is terribly mixed with loud action and quiet dialogue and I'm sick of having to enable subtitles all the time just to follow what people are saying.

I know that 3.1 AVRs are not a thing, so I'll need a 5.1 one. I need the speaker outputs, room correction, and two HDMI outs (as I have a projector and will be adding a TV too for daytime viewing). Other than that I don't care about extra features like atmos etc.

Something small and discreet would be great as I don't have much space.

Does anyone have any recommendations? Surely there is a product out there that fits these criteria? So far I've been unable to find one, and most of the AVRs I can see are many hundreds of pounds, which seems like horrible overkill given the basic featureset I'm after.

 

[hornetstinger]

Dual HDMI ouputs means a mid range AVR. ie Denon 2700. 1700 and below lacks dual HDMI out

AVR's won't be small as they will have 5+ amp channels, HDMI board etc

 

[RoyMi6]

Dual HDMI isn't 100% necessary to be included as part of the amp if you're happy with just an HDMI splitter - that gives you options like the Marantz low profile units: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/145834171761, and picking one up second hand makes sense if you want to cut costs.

The problem you're going to have is that any content that's mixed to 5.1, you're going to loose all the surround sounds entirely. Like when you downmix something to stereo you get the surround sounds coming from the front speakers - but by using just 3 speakers of a 5 channel surround setup, the sounds are going to be routed to speakers you don't have, so you'll get no sound at all for many sounds that are absolutely "part" of the movie - be it ambient sounds of a street or someone talking out of the frame of camera.

At the very least I would look at adding something like the a pair of Wharfdale Modus Cubes https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285918504065 that are small and could be positioned pretty inconspicuously. OR, if you really don't care about spatial positioning, perhaps even just have your surround speakers sitting at the front (can't believe I just wrote that )

 

[hornetstinger]

Dual HDMI isn't 100% necessary to be included as part of the amp if you're happy with just an HDMI splitter - that gives you options like the Marantz low profile units: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/145834171761, and picking one up second hand makes sense if you want to cut costs.

The problem you're going to have is that any content that's mixed to 5.1, you're going to loose all the surround sounds entirely. Like when you downmix something to stereo you get the surround sounds coming from the front speakers - but by using just 3 speakers of a 5 channel surround setup, the sounds are going to be routed to speakers you don't have, so you'll get no sound at all for many sounds that are absolutely "part" of the movie - be it ambient sounds of a street or someone talking out of the frame of camera.

At the very least I would look at adding something like the a pair of Wharfdale Modus Cubes https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285918504065 that are small and could be positioned pretty inconspicuously. OR, if you really don't care about spatial positioning, perhaps even just have your surround speakers sitting at the front (can't believe I just wrote that )

Dual hdmi allows avr connect to TV and projector.

Splitter will take two outputs and have one output. Unless you specifically find one with multiplexing ( two out)

Wrong about losing sounds, and surround fx to rears will be in the left/right

You need to read up

 

[RoyMi6]

Dual hdmi allows avr connect to TV and projector.

Splitter will take two outputs and have one output. Unless you specifically find one with multiplexing ( two out)

Sorry, what do you mean exactly? I've used one of these to take a single output from an AVR into a TV and projector... what's the problem?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Splitter-Cable%E3%80%90Just-Duplicate-Screens%E3%80%911x2-Amplifier-4K-30HZ/dp/B0732MD43P/

Wrong about losing sounds, and surround fx to rears will be in the left/right

You need to read up

So... when I disconnect my surrounds... my left and right speakers suddenly start playing the surround sounds? I've never seen (heard) this in my life...

I'm know there's some processors that are going to let you route different audio channels to the speakers of your choice, but not in the "low cost" bracket OP seems to be looking at.

 

[hornetstinger]

Sorry, what do you mean exactly? I've used one of these to take a single output from an AVR into a TV and projector... what's the problem?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Splitter-Cable%E3%80%90Just-Duplicate-Screens%E3%80%911x2-Amplifier-4K-30HZ/dp/B0732MD43P/

So... when I disconnect my surrounds... my left and right speakers suddenly start playing the surround sounds? I've never seen (heard) this in my life...

I'm know there's some processors that are going to let you route different audio channels to the speakers of your choice, but not in the "low cost" bracket OP seems to be looking at.

Rtm. Set rears to none job done

 

[RoyMi6]

Rtm. Set rears to none job done

Doh! Of course! Having never used it I'd forgotten all about that! You are correct.

 

[hornetstinger]

Doh! Of course! Having never used it I'd forgotten all about that! You are correct.

HDMI can be a bit funny also, with a splitter I'm not sure what the display device instructs the AVR it's capabilities, even if it's in standby.

Not like component, you can send progressive 720p even if the display itself isn't capable of that, or you have a mix of 1080i/720p displays, there is no interruptions of the signal.

As I understand it, when both displays are on, the lowest resolution display will instruct the source controller it's capabilities, so your 4K OLED will drop to 1080p, if you have a 1080p PJ.

Sort of thing need to experiment with, I've not had a dual HDMI display to play around with