As my harman/kardon AVR270 can’t really fulfill my requirements any more, I am looking for a new AVR.
I thought it would be a good idea to check on HiFi forums, but most people there seem to have no idea what things like a Computer, a LAN or a Chromecast speaker group are
So I hope people here can help me out. I am looking for an AVR that offers me the following:
Can be fully controlled through HA, best would be over network, at least it should be fully compatible to hdmi-cec. This is a KO criteria. My AVR270 is not reacting to all HDMI-CEC commands, at least not on all ports (i.e. power on…while the TV can power it on). In addition the network port becomes unavailable after a while in standby not allowing to power on that way.
Chromecast and Spotify integrated.
Should offer all common standards like Atmos and so on. Currently I am just using 5.1 with my Bose speakers but I want maximal compatibility for the next years.
Video capabilities are not most important as I mostly use it for Audio.
Number of HDMI Inputs is not very important, currently I only use 1 or 2 at a time. Max 3.
It should be of good quality, nice haptic and look and feel. Not cheap plastic-trash with cheap-feeling buttons like harman/kardon offers today Didnt like that at my AVR270.
I am happy for any input and recommendations, thanks.
P.S.: Chromecast built-in is not absolutely mandatory. If the whole device can be controlled through HA, it would be no problem for me to use a dongle and automate source selection etc. through HA.
I have a Denon AVR-X3600H at home, 9.2 outputs (or 7.2 with zone2 stereo setup like I have for our kitchen).
It’s fully compatible with HA, through the build-in Denon AVR integration.
Should have all the recent audio and video codecs that you want/need.
As for the streaming integrations, it has a lot of them, though not all. Spotify and Airplay2 are build in, as well as HEOS (the Denon multiroom speakers ecosystem).
I’m a big fan of Onkyo gear. They have plenty of models to fulfill your requirements including a HA Integration.
I’m still running my ~19 year old Onkyo which I made semi smart by adding a ChromeCast Audio, a Broadlink RM3 mini for IR blasting to it and a smart plug with power monitoring to determine if the unit is on or off. Everything then links back to HA to give me all the control I need. One day I’ll upgrade it, but only once it completely fails.
Integra has some nice offerings. Although there isn’t support in HA for dts play-fi and josh.ai, I’m sure there will be in time. They also support the typical streaming services.
Thanks for the input so far. Denon or Onkyo was the direction I was thinking of, too.
Integra - I never heard of it, but it is no option to me to wait for a not-yet-existing integration. However mikefila made me aware of josh.ai the first time. Very interesting
The integra can be added as a sonos / chromecast / airplay now. You mentioned future proof, dts play-fi is/will be a high end audio standard, imo, in the coming years.
The integra website really reads good and it even states
“This receiver includes system integration connectivity such as RS232 and IP control with support for 2-way communication with home automation systems. IR inputs/output make for a clean, reliable installation and allow pass-through to control other connected devices.”
I will at least have a deeper look at it.
Update: It does not seem that the Integra device is available anywhere in germany. The only hit I get is at Amazon and there it is out of stock.
So its coming back to the known players. I really tend to Denon or Onkyo.
Does anybody here have HA experiences with Yamah devices?
A pro a/v installer put me on to the brand. The one’s I’ve come across even had 12v triggers that it could use for automation cues. Normally this kind of functionality is only available in high end brands costing thousands more.
Also from here you can get the second recomendation for a Denon AVR. I do have the 3600H and use it with a lot of pleasure, fully integrated in HA. Feel free to fire some direct questions at me…
@HorizonKane
I recently got one of the new Yamahas (rx-v4a/ rx-v6a) and it does integrate easily into HA.
Does not have chromecast, but that’s really not necessary for me as it has Spotify et al.
What it does have is a faulty hdmi chip, meaning 4K@120hz does not work - same problem that almost all 2020 receivers have - luckily also not needed for me
For Denon/ Marantz there’s already a fix in the form of an external hdmi box :-)), but at least there is a fix, so if that’s important for you, get the Denon as there is no fix yet for Yamaha and probably there will not be one.
Anyway, just fiy - it is difficul to buy a receiver these days due to the pandemic … for example in my country (europe) dealers have very few models in stock and when the receivers finally come they get sold very quickly. I am pretty sure the same applies for Germany, so be prepared to wait.
Thank you all for the very valuable input. Thanks for making me aware of the 120Hz problem. My TV and / or console won’t support that anyways but for the future it would be nice to have it fixed, I tend to use such hardware as long as possible. I will research the topic further. External HDMI box also sounds awful, but at least its a fix.
The good thing is I am not in immediate need, I will check on the recommended devices and take my time to get one.
One more question about HA integration to all of you who integrated the device: Is it is possible to set an absolute volume through HA (set volume to 30 or 60 or whatever) or is only vol up / down possible (like on my current AVR)?
for Yamaha: yes, I am able to set the volume as a % of 100, so not 1:1 as the receiver’s scale, but easily convertible (eg -40dB on the receiver is the same as 50% volume or whatever)
We aren’t all in the USA and I think you will find that Onkyo will be fine. The article focusses on USA distribution, again, not the only country in the world.
In fact I’d be more likely to buy from them to help them out, as it states in the article you linked, they are still majority family owned.
When you check the availability on their European site https://eu.onkyo.com/ you’ll find that only 1 out of 24 receiver models is available. Just stating the facts. Everyone can draw their own conclusion.
I’d love to see them in a better position. They made some killer gear in the past. But if the products aren’t available then you can’t support them by buying…
Right now I am tending to the Denon as it has great reviews and I appreciate the fact that only they and Marrantz supplied a solution for the HDMI problem to their customers yet. Customer care is a number one criteria for me.
However I am not sure if I am willing to spend more than 1000eur, I will also have a look at their other models and how they differ.
After doing some more research I made a decision. Instead of going lower, I raise my budget and get the Denon X4700H for around 1500eur which seems to be unbeatable in features and performance for that price.
There is a saying in germany: If you buy cheap, you buy twice. And I experienced often enough how true that is. Read a lot of tests and this one has the set of features that is closest to or even above my needs.
Didnt like that at my AVR270.
