AudioControl receiver vs separates

mzkmzcv, I totally agree with you. For a while I chased used Proceed AVP2 units because people told me that a well setup 5.1 system is better than the newer 7.1 formats. Plus my budget was lower back then. The thing was it really wasn't better to my ears, the higher resolution master audio sounded miles better to me. It had nothing to do with 5.1 vs 7.1, it was just that the higher resolution source (lossless 24/192) was just better. The problem was you can only pass that stuff over HDMI as far as I know so I had to change everything.

For today's stuff, I'm not sure Atmos is better because I understand it to be more about speaker location than source quality. I haven't really heard a good Atmos theater so I'm just not sure. The reviews I read about 5.1 Master Audio vs 5.1.2 Atmos are mixed. Plus my theater only has one row of seats. But, the room correction is a big plus and I agree Dirac looks great (AudoControl has it also).

Thanks for the recommendation on the NAD T777 V3. I'll look into that because it seems to have a lot for the price.

audiotroy, that sounds like a great demo that let's you really compare differences. I knew there were units of different quality, but I thought I was comparing the upper end of HT when asking about Marantz separates.

So here's a really tough question for you. Have you compared the AudioControl AVR-9 (that's the top receiver right?) to the Anthem AVM 60 with Savoy you have right now? Where does it stand because now we're talking similar money and quality?

I haven't heard this comparison directly, but I would doubt the AaudioControl AVR9 could sound better or even the same as the AVM60 plus Savoy. The Savoy should be a better amp than what's in the AVR9 and the Anthem AVM60 should be at least as good sounding as the processor section of the AVR9. That's my reasoning, but as I said I haven't heard this comparison.