Spec me surround sound setup.

bignev72 · 6 Oct 2020 at 09:39

I've recently moved house and got myself a Samsung Q70T. Now I need a surround sound system to go with it.

I've been looking at Sony STRDN1080 receiver and Wharfedale DX2 speakers which both seem to get good reviews. However I wondered if anyone had any better alternatives? I noticed that the STRDN1080 doesn't support HDMI 2.1 which would be nice so that I can get 4k@120fps but I'm guessing receivers in this bracket are much more expensive?

Budget is £800ish.

Radox-0 · 7 Oct 2020 at 09:54

Can't comment on the Wharfedales as sadly not heard them.

In regards to the STRDN1080, you are correct it does not support HDMI 2.1. only feature of HDMI 2.1 it does support is eARC.

There are HDMI 2.1 receivers on the market now but as you say they are slightly more expensive and usually only a couple of ports are HDMI 2.1, which is usually not an issue. From Denon the 2700H around the £600 mark usually is there lowest end model with HDMI 2.1. There are some AVRs coming out from Yamaha which start at a lower base price, there Yamaha RX-V4A and RX-V6A, but the firmware to allow 4k@120hz pass through is coming out at a later date to support VRR, 4k @ 120hz passthrough etc.

The method I use with the same Sony AVR is to leverage eARC and HDMI 2.1 ports on the TV. So in my case with an LG OLED I will connect my 120hz 4k devices into the TV directly with its HDMI 2.1 ports. I will then eARC out to the AVR receiver. Benefit of this, get all the benefit of 5.1, Atmos etc but also 120hz @ 4k. In theory this should work with your TV which has both HDMI 2.1 and eARC. I would suggest however checking in and confirming how eARC plays out with your TV as implementation seems to be patchy.

bignev72 · 7 Oct 2020 at 10:14

Hi Radox

The 2700H looks good actually. I could stretch to that if I wanted

Will look into eARC first as I think that is a viable option. I currently using one of those Blu-Ray players with 5.1 sound package and that works via eARC so I think that approach would work with the 1080. Are there any downsides to using eARC? Do you have any speaker recommendations?

Radox-0 · 7 Oct 2020 at 14:13

bignev72 said:
Hi Radox

The 2700H looks good actually. I could stretch to that if I wanted Will look into eARC first as I think that is a viable option. I currently using one of those Blu-Ray players with 5.1 sound package and that works via eARC so I think that approach would work with the 1080. Are there any downsides to using eARC? Do you have any speaker recommendations?

downsides with eARC can be that its patchy in terms of support on the devices it seems. So not sure if your TV will behave with everything so worth checking the forums. On my OLED for example only a recent firmware update LG made meant when using eARC, LCPM signals which consoles and PC's used could passthrough properly which for me at least was the crux point.

Sadly not too sure on what compares to the speakers your looking at so do not want to lead your astray with recommendations. When I looked around was looking mostly at floorstanders so most my audition and hands on knowledge is from that sort of area with speakers.

Steedie · 7 Oct 2020 at 14:35

I've just picked up a 2700H and blown away with it. My first Denon, having always had Yamaha. The Denos is replacing an RV685, which was pretty good but obviously now lacking the features required to match my CX and the PS5 coming shortly.

The sound is definitely punchier and a bit more lively than the Yamaha, I did the Audessey setup which is a lot more thorough than Yamaha's YPAO, and by default it put Dynamic EQ on, which I'm trying to work out if I like it better with it on or off. It's definitely more bassey with it on but I feel that the vocals are clearer with it off. For the money, it's a great bit of kit with an impressive spec, and best of all, all HDMI inputs are HDCP2.3/HDMI2.1, whereas Yamaha tend to give you 2-3 fully functioning ones and the rest just bog standard HDMI. You have to go to the higher end models for more than 3-4.

bignev72 · 7 Oct 2020 at 20:25

Hey Steedie. Yeah I saw that you bought one in the items purchased thread. I've read a couple of reviews today and think I'm leaning towards to the 2700H now. Thanks guys.

aoaaron · 10 Oct 2020 at 14:42

Steedie said:
I've just picked up a 2700H and blown away with it. My first Denon, having always had Yamaha. The Denos is replacing an RV685, which was pretty good but obviously now lacking the features required to match my CX and the PS5 coming shortly.

The sound is definitely punchier and a bit more lively than the Yamaha, I did the Audessey setup which is a lot more thorough than Yamaha's YPAO, and by default it put Dynamic EQ on, which I'm trying to work out if I like it better with it on or off. It's definitely more bassey with it on but I feel that the vocals are clearer with it off. For the money, it's a great bit of kit with an impressive spec, and best of all, all HDMI inputs are HDCP2.3/HDMI2.1, whereas Yamaha tend to give you 2-3 fully functioning ones and the rest just bog standard HDMI. You have to go to the higher end models for more than 3-4.

Turn off all dynamic rubbish except for the MultiEQ32 which should be on at reference for films (I just keep it on for music too) or flat if that suits your room better.

The dynamic stuff is good for night time watching but it just compresses the sound which isn't what u want.