You running Acurus too? Muse or A4?
It’s the A4 i think
Hi wizard, i m using a4 20.
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Thank you for the offer. Excited. Will reach out to you after my vaccination & after the community cases comes down. Hopefully can visit in June.
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Sure thing! Safety first.
The movie “Saw” 2004 4k is worth your time to watch. Starting few mins, the ambient effect already gave my wife and myself goosebumps. Give it a shot this weekend bros 
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I’m currently running Yamaha CXA 5100 @5.1.2 and thinking of upgrading to two potential candidates:
NAD T778
Anthem MRX 740
Both are new models, I believe the Anthem has not landed yet.
Anyone has experience with the NAD?
Any views/perspectives on the above 2 choices are most welcome.
Suggestions on other options are welcome too…
Thus far, I’m not too impress with the Yamaha,…
Was previously using Marantz mainly, tried an entry level Denon once as well… The Yammy feels better with impacts,… the latest Atmos, not so much.
Would you be moving to 5.x.4, which I think should be the minimum if you like to experience Atmos more.
My setup is in a small HDB common room,… around 3x4m sqr,… not practical to squeeze that many speakers in.
One of the biggest unsolved issue is the overblown subwoofer response… 
I’ve cramped quite a bit of bass traps at corners,… maybe hv to reconfigure the room again… 
Get the Anthem if you have subwoofer standing wave issue. It is better in resolving this issue compared to other Brand’s imo.
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Sorry to hear that u have bass issues in your room. Bros here should be able to help u.
But, first, to help us so that we can help you better:
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could u elaborate more what this “overblown subwoofer response” is and what u are experiencing? Because it can mean many many things for bass.
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Do you run your YPAO calibration on your yammy AVR? If yes, how did it go?
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How do you level match your subs’ gain with your speakers?
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Are you using a house curve on your sub/ DSP to manage your sub’s bass frequency response?
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do u know what frequencies are giving u issues in your room? ie. bad dips or bad peaks. Do u have a freq response to show before and after YPAO calibration?
It will be great to attach a layout of your room with the speakers and sub placement
I am doing 5.2.4 now in my 3m x 4m room. Used to be 7.2.4 but I feel 5.2.4 is better.
If you are able to have the surrounds to the back of the room, and seating is around centre of room I will suggest you try a 4 atmos ceiling.
IMHO
Lol…am using CX 5200 and loving it over my previous Denon 8500.
IIRC CX-5200 is a pre-amp. What power amp do you pair with? I assume it is from the same series? When you say loving it better than your X8500H, care to elaborate what is better? Has the YPAO improve over the years? If not, did you use miniDSP to tame the bass region etc? Pls share your experience. It’s rather rare to have a Yamaha user in this forum or even in XP for that matter.
Yes, am using the MX 5200
My setup is “tuned” by the vendor, I am lazy.
Did not use EQ for both Denon and Yamaha, similarly for my previous setup. For some reasons, always prefer it off.
Guess due to Yamaha PEQ, it is easier to have it tune further by the vendor. Further there was quick measurements done on my ear sensitivity and bass prior to PEQ settings.
Lol…me not too technical. With only the change from 8500 to CX/MX and PEQ adjustments, I find musicality is much better, note that i typically play music in stereo mode.
For HT, while I find the bass does becomes less ooph, the gain in details, especially dialogue, out weigh that. Furthermore, I am not really a boom boom guy. Overall, I find the experience more pleasant.
Currently, my place is under reno which will then have acoustic panels in place, which I believe will enhance it further.
Hi Foodie,
- could u elaborate more what this “overblown subwoofer response” is and what u are experiencing? Because it can mean many many things for bass.
I believe it is due to the room resonance nodes. Some frequencies it just sound “boomy” and “muddied”, ie lacking clarity, control and “loose”.
- Do you run your YPAO calibration on your yammy AVR? If yes, how did it go?
I did that before 2-3 times. However as I changed speakers and other components, including moving stuff around, I got lazy to do it everytime. Furthermore, I could not really hear the improvements if any, thus I did not bother doing it subsequently.
- How do you level match your subs’ gain with your speakers?
I used a electronic decibel meter set at 80DB at listening position.
- Are you using a house curve on your sub/ DSP to manage your sub’s bass frequency response?
Have no idea how to do this. Not even aware this is possible with the Yammy.
- do u know what frequencies are giving u issues in your room? ie. bad dips or bad peaks. Do u have a freq response to show before and after YPAO calibration?
Nope, not so technical.
Also, I am into both Music and Movies.
I’ve a dedicated pre-power 2 channel that is integrated for HT via the HT bypass on the pre-amp.
As I get the same boominess in the music, my conclusion is that it is not so much an issue with the sub but an issue with the room standing waves.
wcseow,
Glad that your setup works - gives me some hope that there is a compromised solution for my situation. It is impossible setting my sitting position in the room center -
1st there’s a ceiling fan
2nd my stereo setup rather overkill, big floorstander driven by monoblocks (thus they require some distance from the back wall)
3rd another overkill - 120" screen with UST 
I know, the solution is a bigger room… just no $$ to move
Thanks for the inputs. This is good. Gives a good base of your problem statement, that bros here can use to give advice.
IMHO, if u would allow us to be frank & direct, it looks like the bass “issue” u face, is likely contributed by a few main causes, some of it being very FUNDAMENTAL.
You should try to address those areas to the best u can to deal with the inherent room issues, b4 changing to another AVR. Because if u just change AVR, w/o addressing those areas, u are likely to end up the same result.
Those areas are:
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1) Placement of speakers, sub, MLP
Could u share a photo & a top view layout, showing your speakers, sub, and MLP placement? So that bros here can help determine if there are any issues caused due to placement.
U mentioned u have big floorstanders in that space. That can be a potential problem as big floorstanders need enough space to breathe & sound well.
2) Room EQ Calibration
Thx for sharing that a proper full calibration was not done with your new gear. Of course it will not sound good bro (in most cases). Because, the speakers’ timing to your mlp is likely wrong, eq result is not matching w your new gear, bass peak issues not resolved, and the sub’s integration/time alignment with speakers is likely bad etc.
I’m not saying, the HT system is not able to sound well w/o room EQ. If u have the technical know-how, tools & expertise to make it sound very good w/o room EQ software, it is possible.
But if not, room EQ calibration is FUNDAMENTAL to any HT system to solve room issues to a basic extent. I owned yammy AVR before. If you do a proper room EQ calibration on YPAO, it can bring the HT experience up by quite a lot.
U said u did not hear improvements after YPAO room EQ. Well, this can be due to many reasons, so don’t jump the gun & assume it’s not good. 1st, I would want to determine or rule out if this is caused by an incorrect calibration process and also the know-how to do the fine-tuning after room EQ to optimise the sound to one’s liking.
Suggest you ask someone who is good with room EQ calibration process, bass House curve and speakers placement, to help u do a full calibration and fine tuning. Or read up online video tutorials resources. An easy one to refer to is HT guru (episodes 1-10 will do). B4 u really decide that room EQ does not have any difference.
A proper room EQ calibration with good speaker placement, can bring your HT experience up by many notches.
But for music listening, better to turn off ypao.
3) Go for a dual identical sub setup
This is CRITICAL because it will help to solve your room issues to a BIG extent. It minimises dips & smoothen your bass in the room, bringing your entire bass experience to a different level if u set it up well.
If space/size to place it is an issue, u can get 2 smaller subs. 2 smaller subs, is always better than 1 very good sub in 99% of the cases. This money will be better spent than putting your monies into a new AVR.
4) Get a easy-to-use DSP to manage your bass
Then, get this to manage your dual subs, to time align your subs and tame the peaks in your room.
From what u mentioned that u are not a “tech person”, my guess is u want something that is fuss free to manage and deploy. Get a Antimode DSP to manage your bass for you. It is idiot-proof. Just 1 button and it will do everything for u. It is that wonderful. Basic model only cost u about $200+, but the improvements u will get is many many times more.
I started off with the antimode SII when I was new in this hobby, it is darn easy to use. 
For music, if your subs are on, it could be beneficial to keep the DSP engaged on your subs with YPAO turned off as u would want the DSP to remove bass peaks issues caused by the room.
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Spend time to look into these 4 areas thoroughly, and properly. And many bros here, can guarantee that it will bring u a BIG smile.
A much cheaper HT system with the above 4 areas done well, can sound much better than a HT system that is 5-10 times the price. Don’t waste your monies on the new AVR yet. Do this 4 areas WELL 1st.
Bro Foodie,
Thanks for the inputs.
I’ve very little play in terms of speaker placements… in any case, the approximate layout of the room is as
My main speakers are quite bulky as are the amplifiers powering them.
The sub is MK Sound X12, which is a big box squeezed in btw the components, they are literally 1-2cm nx to each other. There is little play width wise.
Length wise, my screen is actually in front of the speakers, a floor rising one from Vividstorm. I had wanted an “In-your-face” kinda granduer and putting the screen behind the speakers kinda limit the size as the speakers would block the view. Therefore, there is only so much space I can shift towards the sitting area before it gets “too near”…
I started the journey with Music as priority, but in recent times I do not listen ‘critically’ as much as I used to. Partially, the interest in a new AVR was due to the shift to more streaming services vs local sources.
I have moved from Nvidia Shield to now Apple TV - I just discovered that Apple messes with the audio ie, it does not passthru bitstream other than Atmos - I’m looking to get an xbox as next replacement. It does support KODI based on articles on the web - currently I run KODI off a HTPC that I hope to discard as it is over 5yrs old.
I liked the NAD for the BlueOS better streaming functionality. Bass management would be something to look at - not sure if this can be deployed for stereo setup as well…
So as you can see, there are many criterias at play and the challenge is finding the middle ground on the compromise.
nice. Possible to post a photo to show your front and back of room? 
What speaker model are u using and what % of use is movie: music
Hi ricky101
Hope you don’t mind, as I am just coming from an angle that you will like to have an improvement of HT sound, maybe better ATMOS experience?
The Yamaha processor u have and those you mention are, IMHO, pretty capable . I am just afraid that not much might be gain from HT/ATMOS sound experience sound perspective by swopping in another AVR/Processor.
Typically, from my experience, for a 5.x.x setup, the surrounds are best located behind the MLP as opposed to side directly. Since it is 2 Atmos speaker, I will guess the location of the atmos wrt to the surrounds are quite important to get a good enveloping experience.
I just have the feeling that if you are able to place the speakers in another positions, there might be a significant gain in HT sound with your existing setup.
Not sure whether you will consider doing some experiment like
a. If your surrounds are floor standing, try moving it to behind your seat, assuming the ATMOS is directly above the seat. Temporary just to have a sense of the change.
b. If your surrounds are wall mounted, maybe move your seat forward, if possible.
Hope it helps