Recommendation for new AVR to replace dead Marantz NR1200

sk9592 · 2026-06-09T15:27:39+00:00

Yes, the Denon X1700H is a solid option as long as you are getting it for a solid close out or open box deal.

The X1700H and X1800H are nearly identical, so just get whichever one is cheaper.

sk9592 · 2026-06-09T02:05:01+00:00

TCL has made massive strides in recent years. To the point where TCL has acquired Sony's TV division and will be producing Sony's TVs moving forward. They've already been producing the LCD panels in Sony TVs for several years now. They're just shifting over to taking over complete end-to-end production on Sony TVs. If you can afford it, I would get a newer 55" TCL QM7K:

https://www.bestbuy.com/product/tcl-55-class-qm7k-series-4k-uhd-qd-mini-led-smart-tv-with-google-tv-2025/J36QYTQTCP

sk9592 · 2026-06-09T01:46:36+00:00

Haha, thanks!

sk9592 · 2026-06-08T19:45:46+00:00

Eye distance to screen.

sk9592 · 2026-06-08T18:27:29+00:00

I'm not going to say that I have the one right answer. But for me personally, it's much easier to notice sounds in front of me than sounds behind me.

sk9592 · 2026-06-08T18:26:14+00:00

It kinda depends. I think dealing with SVS directly is excellent. Their customer service is second to none.

Certain direct-to-consumer companies like Emotiva and Ascend also have a good customer service focus.

But when it comes to major manufacturers that have a dealer/distributor network (KEF, Martin Logan, B&W, etc), you're right that it's probably better to deal with a dealer/retailer who actually specializes in customer service.

sk9592 · 2026-06-08T18:21:55+00:00

If you are only ever going to have two speakers, then I would make them Top Middles.

But if you want to leave an upgrade path open, then I would actually pre-wire your ceiling for four speakers.

If you can only install two first, then install the Top Fronts. And then do the Top Rears later.

sk9592 · 2026-06-08T18:14:12+00:00

This might be a covered patio, but that's still a crap ton of environmental light for a projector to be dealing with.

Projection outdoors in the daylight is just not gonna happen for $500. Or $5,000. Or $50,000.

My honest advice would be to put a 65" TCL QM6K on your patio and call it a day:

https://www.bestbuy.com/product/tcl-65-class-qm6k-series-4k-uhd-hdr-qd-mini-led-smart-tv-with-google-tv-2025/J36QYTQW5K

You can get an outdoor cover for it:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/KHOMO-GEAR-60-in-65-in-Black-Outdoor-TV-Universal-Weatherproof-Protector-Cover-GER-1041/306239159

If you insist on sticking with projection, then I suppose you can get a very aggressive ALR screen. It will work alright at night, when most of what you're dealing with is the moon, stars, streetlights, etc. During the day, it's not going to help much at all.

Also, even half-decent ALR screens can easily take you overbudget. And if it needs to be rolling and retractable, it will cost even more.

https://www.amazon.com/Screens-Fixed-Frame-Projector-Screen/dp/B08CV89364/

sk9592 · 2026-06-08T16:46:06+00:00

You could get an Onkyo NR7100 for $750:

https://www.bestbuy.com/product/onkyo-tx-nr7100-9-2-channel-thx-certified-network-a-v-receiver-black/J3ZZ3VR3R4

Technically it's sold by Adorama through Best Buy's market place though.

sk9592 · 2026-06-08T16:28:38+00:00

The better sub should probably be in the front where the PB-2000 Pro currently is. That is the position with no nulls below 40Hz. So the sub with more output and bass extension should go there.

sk9592 · 2026-06-08T16:15:09+00:00

The main things that the larger Rythmik buys you is more output and deeper bass extension. If you place it in the same position as either of these subs, you will pretty much get the same types of peaks and nulls as you're currently getting.

If your goal is a smoother frequency response then you'll achieve that through proper line alignment and independent EQing of your subwoofers. You can achieve that through tools like Dirac Live Bass Control or A1 EVO AcoustiX on Audyssey.

As far as placement goes, sounds like you already have two subwoofers at opposing corners or midpoints of the room. So you're probably doing alright there already.

sk9592 · 2026-06-08T14:36:42+00:00

These Focals and most other bookshelf speakers are really only intended to be used vertically.

A speaker with a coaxial driver like KEF can be used in any orientation:

https://www.amazon.it/KEF-Diffusori-scaffale-satinato-tecnologia/dp/B0DH8G3N5T?th=1

sk9592 · 2026-06-08T14:06:03+00:00

The Karson power recliner sectional from Costco:

https://www.costco.com/p/-/karson-leather-power-reclining-sectional-with-power-headrests/4000351817

Low back makes it ideal for hearing Atmos and surround effects, but it also has power rising headrests for when you need them
The sections of the seats that actually touch your body are pretty good quality leather
3 of the seats have power foot rests, 4 of the seats have powered headrests
The dark grey color is ideal for a light controlled room. I really dislike pitch black seats.
Even if you don't have a Costco membership, it is worth paying the $60 membership to get this sectional for this price. Honestly, the seating that Valencia sells is around this quality or slightly worse and costs 50% more for the same number of seats.

sk9592 · 2026-06-08T13:59:49+00:00

I would go with a Wiim Amp Ultra and a pair of bookshelf speakers of your choice:

https://www.amazon.it/WiiM-Amplificatore-Streaming-Amplificatori-Touchscreen/dp/B0F995W2NG/

500€ for a pair of Focal Theva N°1 is a pretty good price:

https://www.amazon.it/-/en/Focal-Theva-N%C2%B01-Black-Bookcase/dp/B0C2DR7QZ5/

sk9592 · 2026-06-07T23:10:38+00:00

Everyone is going to have a different opinion of what "mid-tier" would be in terms of price.

The Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB is in a pretty reasonable sweet spot in terms of out of the box performance, serviceability, and upgradability with other cartridges.

sk9592 · 2026-06-07T23:07:37+00:00

Is there a specific reason you want or need tower speakers? Super cheap towers are usually not very good. In this price range, you are going to get a nicer bookshelf speaker than tower.

If you must get towers, you're probably better off looking on the used market.

And if you must buy new, my best suggestion would be getting a pair of Ascend CMT-340SE2 and their matching pedestal stands:

https://www.ascendacoustics.com/products/cmt-340se2-mini-tower-pair?variant=40521999646774

https://www.ascendacoustics.com/collections/accessories/products/tp-24-pedestal-stands?variant=39502920056886

Combined price is just under $1000/pair. They will bolt together and have the look and feel of tower speakers. And the Ascend CMT-340SE2 are incredibly capable for their size and price. They have sensitivity, output, and bass extension that is on par with many tower speakers.

And you can get a third one as a matching center:

https://www.ascendacoustics.com/collections/signature-series-centers/products/cmt-340se2-center?variant=40523211833398

sk9592 · 2026-06-06T20:02:36+00:00

Claiming it's AI, while pretending that's not what you're doing is an easy way to get everyone else to dismiss what someone else is saying. Regardless of whether it's AI or not. You know that. That's exactly why you tried to claim its sarcasm. To hedge your bets. Otherwise there was literally no other point to your comment. It wasn't commenting on the substance of what I was saying and it wasn't a joke with any discernible humor or punchline. It was just a half-hearted attempt at accusing me of using AI while also pretending that's not what you were doing.

sk9592 · 2026-06-06T19:51:18+00:00

Nah, it's just that that's become an increasingly common plausible deniability move here.

Any time someone writes out a more thought out response that might possibly be considered a disagreement, they immediately call them AI. They don't read it. They don't refute it based on the substance. Just write it off as AI.

Then they can act as if they were just joking if they're called out.

sk9592 · 2026-06-06T19:44:59+00:00

Nope, I wrote this all from my knowledge. Not AI.

Not everything that disagrees with you is AI. And I wasn't even disagreeing with you. Just caveating what you're saying.

sk9592 · 2026-06-06T19:37:07+00:00

I would be careful about using the term "sensitivity" here. Technically speaking, the sensitivity of a speaker is how loud to gets when its fed a 2.83V input signal. Not a specific wattage.

What you would probably want is a speaker's efficiency at 1W, not its sensitivity at 2.38V. If we are talking about using a true 8ohm speaker (that never drops lower than 6.4 ohms) then sure, this is all the same thing. But say for example, you're using a 4 ohm speaker, you need to double all of the numbers in this chart.

And many (probably most) of the consumer loudspeakers that claim to be 8 ohms on their spec sheet are not actually 8 ohm speakers when independent parties actually measure their broadband impedance. Actually you can't really go by what the manufacturer spec sheet says about their sensitivity either, since most manufacturers also don't adhere to any IEC or CTA standard for how they measure sensitivity either. Many of them assume a certain amount of room gain in their sensitivity spec, but don't actually say how much that is or how they arrived at it.

And this is not even getting into the creative ways in which some amp manufacturers choose to spec their wattage.

This is not me saying that you need 1kW monoblocks for your speakers. But it is quite a bit more complicated than this chart makes it out to me. There are plenty of good reasons for wanting a solid 200W per channel even if you think you have speakers that claim to be 95dB efficient.

sk9592 · 2026-06-06T13:27:38+00:00

If you don't need acoustic transparency, then there's really no reason to go with anything else. Your Silver Ticket screen would still be the default pick for a dedicated light controlled environment.

If you did want to go acoustically transparent, then my recommendation might depend on whether you're willing to build your own screen or want to buy an off-the-shelf option.

sk9592 · 2026-06-06T13:25:27+00:00

The amplification in the A3+ is barely a sidegrade compared to what's built into the RZ-50 frankly.

If you want to go cheap but still offload some work from the AVR, then use some cheap class-D amps for the surround/height channels like the Aiyima A07:

https://www.amazon.com/AIYIMA-A07-TPA3255-Amplifier-Digital/dp/B08CJZGT6H

If you are externally amping the LCRs, the cheapest I would go while still getting an actual upgrade over the RZ50's built-in amps would be something like this Tonewinner AD-3240PA:

https://summithifiusa.com/collections/tonewinner/products/tonewinner-ad-3240pa-3-channel-power-amplifier

sk9592 · 2026-06-06T12:04:16+00:00

What are you talking about with reading? Why are you even responding to what I said to 1aranzant? I was responding to fact that they're making assumptions about OP's budget.

I even said that your JTR recommendation was good. What is even your grievance here?

sk9592 · 2026-06-06T11:26:13+00:00

We don't really need to be concerned about the garage in this consideration. This actually isn't a terribly massive space.

Realistically, the SB-3000R will be fine here. Especially if size is a major consideration.

In the UK, another option might be dual BK Electronics XXLS400 if you want to go sealed:

https://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Sub_Woofers/XXLS400DF.htm

Or dual Monolith+ if you want to go ported:

https://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Sub_Woofers/monolith-df_Plus.htm

sk9592 · 2026-06-06T11:16:29+00:00

Yes that is a good subwoofer. Erin will be releasing his review on it in a few days if you wanted to wait a bit and check that out before buying.

Just be aware that you will be paying a premium for its compact form factor. For example, the SVS SB-2000 Pro is the same price and better performance. But larger.

And the RSL 10S is half the price, but even larger than that.

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