How to Successfully Merge Home Theater With an Audiophile System

It wasn’t all that long ago when no self-respecting audiophile would listen to the same system for both stereo and their multi-channel home theater setups. Most thought that a purist two-channel audiophile system that was carefully set up could provide almost holographic imaging through a meticulous selection of components and carefully tweaked speaker positions. Dynamics could be so tight and powerful that you could skip a heartbeat. Conversely, a surround sound or AV system would be set up on a family room or theater room and play second fiddle to the more enthusiast audiophile system. At least, that is the way things used to be. 

Times have very much changed in the audiophile world. Decades ago, we started seeing Home Theater Bypass functions on high-end stereo preamplifiers, which made it much easier to integrate stereo and home theater systems using the same right and left front speakers. This AV design strategy can work surprisingly well and let an audiophile of any age enjoy both stereo and multi-channel in the same system. But do you really need a separate audiophile preamplifier to get great stereo sound? No. Furthermore, in some cases you may actually get better quality sound out of properly set-up multi-channel system electronics than you would with an old-school, purist stereo setup. I know it sounds crazy, but it can prove true. 

In recent years, there has been a push to install AV/entertainment systems that the whole family can easily enjoy. This has included both music and home theater sources of all types, from vinyl to a myriad of HD audio and/or video streaming services, and much more. Other than some of the more esoteric audiophile manufacturers, we are also seeing a big consumer electronics push towards ease of use for the whole family. At a minimum, this means a less intimidating system that has perhaps more intuitive controls.

Choosing AV Electronics Gear That Can Actually Hang in an Audiophile System

For the purposes of this discussion, I selected multi-channel separates, an AV processor and an amplifier driving capable and carefully set-up speakers. I selected Marantz’s AV10 ($7,000 – buy at Crutchfield), which is a 15.4-channel processor (aka: an AV preamp) with four independent subwoofer outputs, built-in HEOS streaming, separate power supplies, including a toroidal power supply for the analog section, and advanced bass management. The Marantz AV10 bass management includes directional bass management and the ability to re-route bass to full-range audiophile-gradefloorstanding speakers. I could see some users getting into trouble with this, but it provides advanced users and installers with more options to address unique and difficult setups. One the room correction front, the Marantz AV10 has Audyssey MultEQ XT 32 is included, but you can upgrade to Audyssey MultEQ-X or add Dirac. Other highly regarded AV preamps that can hang an audiophile-grade system are available from the likes of Trinnov, Storm Audio, Anthem, and others. 

Amplification in this case was provided by a Marantz AMP10 ($7,000 – buy at Crutchfield), 16-channel, 200 watts per channel, Class-D amplifier. Marantz partnered with ICE power to develop these custom power modules. If you do not need 16 channels, the modules are bridgeable. My front speakers consist of Revel F328BEs ($17,600 – buy at Crutchfield), flanking the massive Revel C426Be($4,950). I also did some listening with the RBH SVTR loudspeakers ($40,000 – read my review),which have their own equalization, active crossovers and amplification. My subwoofers are dual SVS PB-4000s ($2,299 each – buy here), soon to be replaced with SVS’ new PB-17-Ultra R subs. The sides and backs are Revel W-783s and the Atmos/height speakers are GoldenEar.

Why Would an Audiophile Want to Use an AV Preamp as the Heart of Their Music Playback System?

Traditional, purist, two-channel audio preamplifiers have a lot going for them when it comes to reproducing stereo signals. The whole purpose of the component is to let you select your source and volume without signal degradation, and to provide a robust output to drive a wide selection of power amplifiers. Product designers can go about this in a variety of ways, using different circuit designs and components to create products that measure and perform well. A spinoff of this concept would be some designs that welcome some modification of the signal, as is often found in some tubed products, particularly those with “warmer” or “lush” sound profiles. I am not passing judgment on which is better, just recognizing that there have long been different approaches to creating audiophile level sound. 

AV preamps, on the other hand, have an interesting mix of the HiFi mentality of “add nothing, do nothing to the purity of the signal” and “look at all of this cool multi-channel, object-based surround sound processing.” How can these two worlds coexist? In the traditional audiophile world, we rightfully see lots of attention spent on speaker placement and room treatment, whereas home theater systems proudly tout their equalization and/or room correction capabilities. Both philosophies work if you have the correct space and equipment. This is a big “if,” as in most situations, we do not have a room that is optimized for our audio gear, and there are often tradeoffs when selecting gear. This is where the AV preamp has its advantages.

Today’s higher-end AV preamps incorporate advanced room correction, equalization and bass management capabilities that can help the listener overcome obstacles in ways that were not available to the general public until recently. Yes, I understand that there are, and have been, professional and computer-based audio processors that can do much of what the newest AV preamps can do, but they were, and are, generally not accessible or user-friendly. 

Using Room Correction to Achieve Audiophile-Worthy Results? 

The various iterations of Audyssey and Dirac are two of the most well-known digital room correction options. There are other compelling options, such as Trinnov, Anthem’s ARC, but not too many others. I used Audyssey MultEQ Editor (app-based), MultEQ-X (PC-based) and Dirac with bass control in test application. I have more experience with Audyssey-enabled AV components, but am quickly learning Dirac as well, which is found in more and more audiophile products – NAD comes to mind. I have found all these well-known room correction solutions to be very capable in ways that would make an audiophile pay attention if they kept an open mind. Regardless of what you may have read in any of the marketing literature, it is still best to make actual physical adjustments to your room first. I use REW and a UMIK-1 microphone to document different configurations. Even something as simple as placing a pillow at a reflection point can make a big difference. It is hard to not come across as sounding a little silly, but I am not exaggerating the sonic benefits that small physical changes can make in your audiophile-grade surround sound system.

Depending on what room correction platform you are using, there will be differing levels of control available to you. For example, Audyssey MultEQ-X, Dirac with bass control, and Trinnov all provide very granular levels of control of your speakers, even of multiple subwoofers. However, your room or system may not need that level of granular control, so be sure to compare your options so that you are not overspending and buying functions that you cannot utilize. These room correction options have become incredibly full-featured and complex. Unfortunately, this can make the more advanced systems time-consuming and difficult to set up in a manner that gets the maximum performance from your system. I would strongly recommend reading or watching some of the tutorials on how to best implement whichever platform that you choose. 

Regardless of what room correction system you ultimately select, it should be able to alleviate issues caused by incorrect speaker positioning and some (but not all) anomalies caused by asymmetrical room shapes or other oddities. Depending on the system, there will be different levels of bass management and integration tools, which used to only be available through external processors, such as the vintage Velodyne SMS-1 or the more modern MiniDSP products. I bring this up as bass management/control is one of the things we get asked about the most. 

The incorporation of subwoofers into an otherwise traditional stereo system seems to be the gateway to utilizing an AV preamp or perhaps a Trinnov Amethyst if you want to keep your system purely audio. If your setup will benefit from a subwoofer, and most will, then properly integrating a subwoofer is key to getting good sound. Improper integration can leave you with anemic bass, bloated bass or even weird interactions at higher-frequency levels, depending on your setup. Of course, you can still properly integrate the subwoofer without any processing through careful placement and judicious use of the phase, volume and crossover controls found on most subwoofers, but this can take more time and knowledge than the room correction systems that can do this and more.

A big part of the “and more” is audiophile equalization. Purists eschew equalization, stating that properly designed speakers in a properly set-up room should not need it. They are correct. However, as good as speakers have become, most of us do not have the ideal room configurations to maximize their potential. With equalization, a little goes a long way. Do not expect equalization or room correction to fix all problems, which is why I recommend optimizing your setup before you start any room correction efforts. For example, if your speaker dispersion pattern is uneven, it will not matter how much you equalize it, as correcting it for one location will still leave the response different elsewhere in the room. This is not much of a problem if you listen alone, but can be a problem if you are trying to get good, even sound for you and your family. Equalization has come a long way, and many of the horrible sonic artifacts caused by earlier equalizers have been eliminated with modern designs. I would encourage you to play with multiple equalization curves. Just because something is flat or “reference” does not mean it’s right for you. All of our ears are different, especially as we age. Save your settings as a preset, and then play around a bit. If you do not like the results, simply go back to your last preset.

The advanced processing in the newer correction systems is particularly helpful with bass management. In many rooms, you may have great, even powerful tight bass in your main listening position, but a huge suck out just two feet over on the couch. These are called acoustic room modes, and are the result of interaction of certain wavelengths within the dimensions of your room. Multiple subwoofers can help even this out. The downside of multiple subwoofers, besides cost and taking up more room, is that integration becomes even more complex. This is where a system optimized for multiple subwoofers is extremely helpful. The more advanced systems can take multiple measurements throughout the listening area and compute the corrections, which will result in the smoothest response throughout that area. 

Why I Listen to Two-Channel Music in my Multi-Channel AV System

It sounds good and is engaging. I am fortunate enough to have an acoustically-treated reference listening room, and often have excellent gear on hand for review. Not everyone is as fortunate as I am. Even with my treated room and full-range audiophile speakers, there is room for improvement with careful subwoofer integration. The Marantz AV10 has different modes that lets the listener switch between the different room correction/EQ presets, as well as a Direct mode, which bypasses all processing. With the Pure Direct mode in place, the Marantz AV10 bypasses all processing and sounds very similar to a traditional high-quality preamplifier. Switching the processing on when I am using equalized active full-range speakers, such as the RBH SVTRs, does not help much in this instance, as the two-channel system is well-optimized.  However, when I use speakers that are not really full-range, and subwoofers are desired, the processing helps. A well-known speaker designer turned me on to up-mixing stereo signals to Auro-3D. The Marantz AV10 does a great job with this. The resulting audio can often have significantly better imaging, especially with recordings that do not start with a great soundstage.

In my living room, which I suspect is similar to far more listening rooms than my main listening room, there is much more audio processing to be done, and a much more noticeable improvement. The sound goes from decent but certainly not great without correction, to pretty good with correction. A/B-ing the living room system with and without correction makes a big difference with imaging and overall balance. 

As many who are new to the pursuit of sonic bliss are not likely to have rooms with good acoustics, room correction becomes even more important, and should be welcomed where appropriate. The vast improvement in both the overall quality of AV preamps and AV receivers, as well as their audio processing capabilities, means that you can now bring your audiophile listening habits out to your living room to enjoy with family and friends. I am not getting rid of my two-channel rig, but I certainly also enjoy listening to music through my multi-channel system as well. 

How do you feel about listening to music as an audiophile in a home theater or surround sound system? What is your rig like at home? Do you make multi-channel and two-channel audio coexist in the same system? Tell us about your system setup and we will quickly approve your moderated comments.