In my particular case, I set the receiver to "through" and utilized the processing in my other components for superior performance. Both sounded fantastic, but the subtle edge went to the AVR's decoding. The soundstage had slightly more depth and clarity. This was in no way a scientific approach—double-blind tests would be the proper way to conduct such a comparison—so take my findings as anecdotal.
Search form Search. AV Receiver Reviews. Log in or register to post comments. Related Latest Reviews News. Yamaha RX-V6A 7. Marantz SR 9. Onkyo TX-NR 9. New Gear for the New Year. Discovering YouTube. Beethoven, Regolith, and You. Frankly, we were surprised by the improvements the Audyssey 2EQ provided, the Aperion system is quite nice au natural, yet the Audyssey 2EQ sweetened the treble and smoothed the transition between sub and satellites. That made for improved midbass fullness, apparent dynamic range and impact.
The TX-SR is a 7. Like essentially every other receiver available, it offers a full selection of standard Dolby and DTS surround processing modes. The TX-SR includes onboard decoding for both of those soundtrack formats, but it's somewhat less of an important feature as more manufacturers have begun to include this feature at lower price points.
Additionally, more and more Blu-ray players including the PS3 are including onboard decoding, which lessens the importance of having the decoders in the player. That being said, having onboard decoding is a nice way to future-proof your receiver in case other devices come out that output the soundtracks in bit stream undecoded format.
For analog video, we were disappointed that the TX-SR only has two component video connections--three is the usual--but, in fairness, component video-only devices are becoming rare. A lot of video connectivity is important, but every receiver is ultimately limited by how many input labels is has.
In other words, just because the TX-SR has six total high-definition inputs four HDMI, two component video inputs doesn't necessarily mean you can use six high-definition components simultaneously. Those seven labels can also be assigned with standard-definition sources as well. Additionally, the TX-SR is capable of scaling these signals from their original i format up to i.
However, in the real world, we were pretty disappointed by the video quality of the TX-SR's upconversion, making this feature significantly less useful--more on this in the performance section.
For audio, the HDMI inputs can deliver 7. Analog audio is supported by a set of 7. Vinyl enthusiasts will bemoan the lack of a phono input, but you can still add a turntable with a separate preamp. For late night listening, there's also a headphone jack on the front panel. The rest of the connectivity is rounded out by a Sirius jack, so you'll only need to connect the Sirius SCH1 Sirius Connect for Sirius service--with a subscription, of course.
There's no equivalent XM jack, but if the two satellite services end up completing their merger, that should be a moot point. The TX-SR also has very basic multiroom functionality, allowing you sending line level audio signals to another room where you'll need another amp.
There's no built-in digital or network audio features, but those who are interested in that will be better served with a dedicated device anyway. Compared with other receivers, the TX-SR is still a relatively good value, but it's definitely has more competition in this price range than last year's TX-SR Audio performance First up, we spun the Master and Commander Blu-ray.
The DTS-HD Master Audio sound of those early below decks scenes with the ship's creaking wood, wind and outside, the churning ocean were all exceptionally realistic. We also noted that our five speakers created an unusually seamless surround experience. When the cannons fired, the ka-boom sounds were more abrupt and therefore more realistic. And when the cannon balls came crashing through the wood ships' sides, the impacts were terrifyingly violent. We could hear the spent balls rolling over the wooden planks.
As the band rolled through "Welcome to the Good Times," accompanied by a soulful brass section, the sound was clear. Live concert sound can sometimes be overblown, but here the sound felt like an above average stage mix. It then adjusts the channel-level and time-delay settings for each speaker. The Audyssey 2EQ circuit measures acoustical output for up to three different positions and provides an EQ setting that is optimized for the room, not just a specific seat.
You can also make manual adjustments to tailor the speaker configuration, levels, and distance. Most auto-calibration systems designate my speakers as large, which sends them full-bandwidth audio.
In my room, full-bandwidth audio to the main speakers and a subwoofer is overwhelming. The system sounds smoother when the subwoofer picks up the bulk of the LFE and other low-frequency information.
This sends the LFE information and frequencies below the crossover points of the small channels to the sub. Moreover, it provides a range of crossovers from 40 hertz to Hz. The Faroudja DCDi Edge deinterlacing circuit eliminates jaggies that can be introduced to diagonal edges during deinterlacing. If you are upconverting other analog video sources, set it to Auto or a specific resolution like p, p, or i.
The receiver worked very well. The TX-SR really sold me with how well it performed with simple two-channel music. Many lower-priced AVRs seem to get by with movie soundtracks, but all the flaws come out with two-channel sources.
Will I go so far as to say the TX-SR is on par with high-end audio components that sell for two to three times the price? Absolutely not. However, this little AVR holds its own sonically and performed very well with all of my sources.
0コメント