Questions on AV Receiver

Squink · 27 Mar 2017 at 19:55

I pop up here every now and then to ask questions about AV Receivers and then I never seem to end up buying one. However, I am in a position once more where I hope to purchase one and would like some input on a couple of bits I'm not sure on.

My budget is between £300-£400, with the latter being something of a push. I am looking for an amplifier that will be my 'all in one' streaming and music solution, with the movies part actually being secondary.

I quite like the look of this Denon X1300W at £300, BUT I notice that it has no Chromecast built-in option.

Then there is this Pioneer VSX 1131 which promises Chromecast compatibility at £350. I know I can buy a chromecast for £30 or whatever, but I'd rather have all-in-one, but I don't really know if I even need it.

To add further to my confusion, my eye has been drawn to the Amazon Echo Dot, simply because it looks like quite a good gadget. I could plug it in to the AV amp, but will it bring anything good to the table? I just don't know and would like to hear opinions.

TJM · 27 Mar 2017 at 21:13

My preference is always to use separate devices for tasks such as streaming since your AVR should outlive any single service or gadget (or the service will acquire new features long after your AVR manufacturer has abandoned support for it).

If £400 is your maximum, the Denon X2300W is the best in the price range.

hornetstinger · 27 Mar 2017 at 21:15

yup same here, always use an external device for audio/video streaming. That way just replace the source, if the AVR has crappy streaming features then you're stuck. Bit foolish to replace AVR just to get updated streaming features.

Use a Squeezebox 3 for audio and Sumvision Micro 4 for video.

Squink · 28 Mar 2017 at 08:13

I'm not questioning the logic of adding external devices so that they can be chopped and changed, but I've noticed that the way of things with AV receivers is that they are now piling in every sort of connectivity imaginable, all of which is just as likely to be superseded as built-in chromecast.

I'll admit that the X2300W has caught my eye, but it's going to be really hard to justify to my wife. On the other hand, a 1300W (which is almost the same bar a few less connections and a little bit of internal tweaking) with an Amazon dot is going to look like something a bit more interesting than just a big, black box. I'm also under the impression that AV Receivers in my price range generally have similar overall sound quality (though not the same characteristics), which is why I was looking at adding in the features so that I never try to do something and then think 'oh damn, I didn't realise that when I bought the product'.

I'll have to brew on it some more I think

varkanoid · 28 Mar 2017 at 10:48

I take it you have also thought about speakers too. I have the Denon 2300 and it is beautiful. It just works.

I wasnt impressed with the Chromacast. Too much lag.

Squink · 28 Mar 2017 at 11:24

I have a set of TDL RTL 3 speakers, which have gone criminally unused for a few years.

I am intrigued by this mention of Chromecast lag, though admittedly the Sky Q box I have does all the Google stuff I need (but I don't necessarily want to rely on it in case I want to ditch Sky). I would definitely prefer to get the 2300W over the 1300W, but Amazon is my main source of music and I'd prefer to have a Dot play it from the cloud, rather than having to stream from my phone. I suppose I can always add a Dot Mk 5 in the future at some point.

whiskycycle · 28 Mar 2017 at 15:47

The instruction manual isn't that clear, and I could be wrong, but it looks like the integrated Google Cast on the VSX 1131 appears to be of the audio-only variety.

Anyone able to confirm either way?

Personally, I run a normal Chromecast v2 straight off one of the HDMI sockets on my Sony receiver, but integrated has a use case for one of my rooms.

Bluecube · 28 Mar 2017 at 16:50

If you use your amp with an Amazon Dot then your amp will need to be on all the time and on the correct input for the Dot to make itself heard. I could be wrong of course, but I don't think the combination will work well.

Squink · 28 Mar 2017 at 17:30

Bluecube said:
If you use your amp with an Amazon Dot then your amp will need to be on all the time and on the correct input for the Dot to make itself heard. I could be wrong of course, but I don't think the combination will work well.

Yeah this is really cack. There are workarounds that involve plugging the dot into both a Bluetooth speaker and a wired one, and telling it to connect or disconnect Bluetooth every time you want to swap, but I don't see this method being something that will work for me.

Squink · 29 Mar 2017 at 09:19

I spoke to my wife about it last night and told her what I was thinking about ordering. She quite fancied getting a Dot, since someone else she knows has one and keeps saying how good it is. The Dot threw out the 2300W as an option owing to budget, the Pioneer looks like it might be a bit flaky and Chromecast still hasn't been enabled on it (which makes me a bit worried that it's not ready several months after the product's release). I've ordered a Denon 1300W and an Amazon Dot, due tomorrow. I'm sure it'll be fine for my modest needs.

varkanoid · 29 Mar 2017 at 13:26

Just checked to see what the Dot was and it is the device my friend bought her husband for Christmas and she says its okay but a bit expensive for what it is. Biggest problem is it keeps going off at random. Quite a few times its suddenly just started talking or doing really random things and one night they could hear voices downstairs and thought it was burglars but somehow it had turned on a radio station with a play on.