2. home-theater
  3. 161947-2847

how to set up good home theater sound (and picture)

I am very new to the latest home theater formats. I have a new 4k TV but I don't yet have any devices that will stream 4K. My fios box does TV and I do netflix, amazon, and disney through our PS4. I just got a Marantz AV 7702 processor. I used to run Theta digital equipment for DVDs but no one buys disc players anymore, right (even 4k disc players)? Oppo seems to have gone out of business. Is the new PS5 an audiophile quality player? Will a new FIOS box satisfy? I'm wondering why I even have a good processor but I definitely miss good quality sound for movies. It's only OK running the current equipment into the Marantz and nowhere near what I remember from a Theta DVD player and my old Sunfire processor. It should be much better with the new sound formats. One option for video would be to run the apps directly from the TV, which would optimize video, but then I'm running an HDMI cable from the TV to the Marantz, and I assume that would be poor sound quality? How do you get audiophile quality movie sound these days? Thanks all.
dbw1
erik_squires
16,262 posts
 
My two suggestions:

LG for the TV and Anthem for your AVR or processor.  LG will include apps for your most common streaming services:

Netflix
Amazon
Sling
Hulu

It will also do ARC - Audio Return Channel - Via HDMI. 

I find the sound quality of Anthem superior to Onkyo/Emotiva and Marantz by wide margins, though I have varying levels of experience with each of those brands.

Hook up any additional devices (DVD, PS5, etc) through it. Alternatively, you can use your TV as the switcher if it has enough inputs, and use the AVR as the processor/volume but not the switch.

I have also tried Roku by the way, and for unknown reasons, the LG video quality is consistently superior. This may be a settings thing though.


Best,

E
auxinput
2,920 posts
 
I actually have quite a bit of respect for Marantz processors.  They are the only "consumer level" processors that have a discrete analog output stage.  Excellent power supplies.  It provides a very refined and full sound with lots of impact.  That being said, the Marantz is voiced slightly warm and will have soft rolled of highs, but only in comparison to another processor.

So, if you want something with better high frequency response, the Anthem is the way to go if you want 4K and all the bells and whistles.  A step above this would be the Krell Foundation 4K, but we are getting expensive now.

I would agree on avoiding Emotiva/Onkyo/etc.

I don't have direct experience with Roku so I couldn't comment on Erik's experience, but my general assumption is "HDMI - audio return channel" is a decent feature but not necessarily as good quality as a with a direct source.
dbw1 OP
173 posts
 
Thanks all. I guess I was not clear on my question - what should I be using as the source? That is, what "box" should be connected to the Marantz to stream content and play discs? The PS4 and my FIOS cable box are not cutting it in terms of sound quality. I can upgrade from the Marantz to an Anthem processor, but will that do any good if I'm feeding the processor a signal from a playstation? 
dbw1 OP
173 posts
 
Also, does Audio Return Channel give a poor quality signal to the processor? I'm skeptical of running a high-fi audio system starting from a circuit within my television, but maybe that would be no worse than running a signal from the PS4 or Fios box?
soix
9,683 posts
 
If you’re running the HDMI out from your Fios box to the Marantz and then HDMI from the Marantz to your TV it should be fine.  I suspect you need to change some settings in both the Marantz and TV to get things looking and sounding better.  Also check your Fios cable box settings to make sure it’s sending out the highest quality signal.  If none of that works maybe you have a faulty or poor HDMI cable.  In any event, if you have a good TV and audio system things should be looking/sounding pretty good with what you have.  I’m only addressing the cable TV issue (not the PS4 streaming) to make sure that’s working right first.
More to discover