Surround Master V1 Dedicated Setup vs. Integration into Main 5.1 listening system

[bookofsaturdays]

Hi everyone,

Received my first Surround Master a few weeks ago and am having issues with the way I’ve got it set up, hopefully some folks on here who know a lot more than me can help me out.

Since the receiver in my main 5.1 listening area, a Yamaha RX-V377 does not have MCH inputs, I purchased a very cheap mid 2000s Sony AV receiver from a pawn shop and decided to make a dedicated setup for the SM.

As this was a pawn shop purchase, it unfortunately came as is, with no remote, setup microphone, etc.

I believe the issue I’m having is that the speaker levels on the Sony receiver are not calibrated as what I’m hearing with the SM’s Involve mode engaged sounds like something that Dolby PLII would produce, certainly not what I was expecting from reading about what the SM has done for others on this forum.

My question is this:
Should I bother with trying to find a third party remote and setup mic for the Sony receiver or try and find a receiver to replace the one in my main 5.1 area that can do both? Last time I was in my local pawn shop I saw a pretty nice Marantz AV receiver that has both HDMI and MCH inputs which would solve my problem and I’d be able to integrate the SM into my main listening room, which sounds much better.

Apologies for the long-winded explanation, but any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[ProgRules]

I'd say go for the Marantz

 

[ar surround]

My question is this:
Should I bother with trying to find a third party remote and setup mic for the Sony receiver or try and find a receiver to replace the one in my main 5.1 area that can do both? Last time I was in my local pawn shop I saw a pretty nice Marantz AV receiver that has both HDMI and MCH inputs which would solve my problem and I’d be able to integrate the SM into my main listening room, which sounds much better.

I'd say go for the Marantz

Fair warning about the Marantz multichannel inputs. The AVR's tone controls and Audyssey do not work on those inputs. All you get is volume control. You don't really need Audyssey with the Surround Master, but you may find the need for tone controls.

However if you want tone controls, you might be able to do something since most of the Marantz units are multizone AVR's. You might be able to go out from the Marantz' Zone 2 stereo outputs to the Surround Master and then back into the Main Zone multichannel inputs. But it can be complicated. Set the Zone 2 input to your disc player and your Main Zone input to Aux (7.1 inputs.) Then you can use the Zone 2 setup menu to control the Zone 2 tone controls. Bloody PITA.

I have a different arrangement, a Parasound P7 multichannel preamp with two sets of 7.1 inputs.

 

[kap'n krunch]

Hi everyone,

Received my first Surround Master a few weeks ago and am having issues with the way I’ve got it set up, hopefully some folks on here who know a lot more than me can help me out.

Since the receiver in my main 5.1 listening area, a Yamaha RX-V377 does not have MCH inputs, I purchased a very cheap mid 2000s Sony AV receiver from a pawn shop and decided to make a dedicated setup for the SM.

As this was a pawn shop purchase, it unfortunately came as is, with no remote, setup microphone, etc.

I believe the issue I’m having is that the speaker levels on the Sony receiver are not calibrated as what I’m hearing with the SM’s Involve mode engaged sounds like something that Dolby PLII would produce, certainly not what I was expecting from reading about what the SM has done for others on this forum.

My question is this:
Should I bother with trying to find a third party remote and setup mic for the Sony receiver or try and find a receiver to replace the one in my main 5.1 area that can do both? Last time I was in my local pawn shop I saw a pretty nice Marantz AV receiver that has both HDMI and MCH inputs which would solve my problem and I’d be able to integrate the SM into my main listening room, which sounds much better.

Apologies for the long-winded explanation, but any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I may be along the minority here, along with @ar surround; AVOID Marantz, my SR7012 managed to die perfectly once the 3 year warranty ended and repairing it was almos as expensive as getting a new one.
I highly recommend this gear:
https://summithifiusa.com/collectio...-of-at-300-16-channel-processor-ad-7100-combo

 

[bookofsaturdays]

I'd say go for the Marantz

Fair warning about the Marantz multichannel inputs. The AVR's tone controls and Audyssey do not work on those inputs. All you get is volume control. You don't really need Audyssey with the Surround Master, but you may find the need for tone controls.

However if you want tone controls, you might be able to do something since most of the Marantz units are multizone AVR's. You might be able to go out from the Marantz' Zone 2 stereo outputs to the Surround Master and then back into the Main Zone multichannel inputs. But it can be complicated. Set the Zone 2 input to your disc player and your Main Zone input to Aux (7.1 inputs.) Then you can use the Zone 2 setup menu to control the Zone 2 tone controls. Bloody PITA.

I have a different arrangement, a Parasound P7 multichannel preamp with two sets of 7.1 inputs.

I may be along the minority here, along with @ar surround; AVOID Marantz, my SR7012 managed to die perfectly once the 3 year warranty ended and repairing it was almos as expensive as getting a new one.
I highly recommend this gear:
https://summithifiusa.com/collectio...-of-at-300-16-channel-processor-ad-7100-combo

Thanks all for the input, maybe I’ll wait until another receiver with HDMI and MCH inputs comes in to my local pawn shop, not looking to spend a fortune on a brand new receiver.

I’ll have to go back and check but I believe it was an SR8001, it’s just HDMI 1.4 so I’m thinking it’s probably from around 2010 or 2011. Seems to be in perfect working order, and the place does have a warranty program, might be worth taking the chance.
Decisions, decisions…