"It's still a mystery to me how such a perfectionist group is so willing to accept imperfection when it comes to in room frequency response."
But isn't a part of this issue supposedly remediated by the use of an AVR and it's autocalibration/eq for driver distance and in room response?
If the OP has done this with his AVR and finds the experience still lacking - what will additional room treatment provide?
My own experience is much the same of the preponderance of recommendations that an AVR or a pre/pro with ext amp was the 'weak link' - just too many other compromises to fit all those features into a single unit to hit a target price point.
I don't believe, however, that there are generalizations, but rather each situation is dependent on the specific units in question in relation to the budget.
Could you get 'better' sq using an HT-centric AVR or pre-pro? I would say yes - but at what price point in comparision to say what I did - a dedicated audio 2-channel int amp with HT-bypass. For me, a marked step up in sq!
ymmv....
But isn't a part of this issue supposedly remediated by the use of an AVR and it's autocalibration/eq for driver distance and in room response?
If the OP has done this with his AVR and finds the experience still lacking - what will additional room treatment provide?
My own experience is much the same of the preponderance of recommendations that an AVR or a pre/pro with ext amp was the 'weak link' - just too many other compromises to fit all those features into a single unit to hit a target price point.
I don't believe, however, that there are generalizations, but rather each situation is dependent on the specific units in question in relation to the budget.
Could you get 'better' sq using an HT-centric AVR or pre-pro? I would say yes - but at what price point in comparision to say what I did - a dedicated audio 2-channel int amp with HT-bypass. For me, a marked step up in sq!
ymmv....