I'm Looking for a New Receiver for My Home Theater and Would Like Surround Sound, This Receiver Doesn't Have ARC. Can I Still Get Surround Sound? (1 Viewer)

[TechNerd]

Hello, I recently bought a new 65" Hisense TV. It has 3 HDMI ports (one with ARC). I'm looking at this receiver: https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Bluetooth-Home-Audio-Amplifier/dp/B01M9I1DO1/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=hdmi+Amplifier&qid=1621549450&sr=8-4 and this one which I like better: https://www.denon.com/en-us/product/special/avr-s540bt-r The Pyle receiver does not have ARC, so if I take an HDMI from the TV's ARC and plug it into the HDMI in on the receiver. Number one: will I get sound? And number two: will it be surround sound? I would prefer not to use an optical out as I would have to buy an adapter because I already have something plugged into it. I do not have RCA out either, so that's out of the picture. I'd really like to use ARC because that would by far be the easiest set up. Thanks

 

[JohnRice]

I can't tell what that Pyle "receiver" is, which indicates to me that it's not very useful. Also, despite their power claims, it uses a tiny little wall-wart power supply, which indicates it has very little power. The Denon is a much better choice.

Keep in mind that ARC is only for passing audio from the TV. So it's for using the TV's internal tuner and apps to get audio back to the receiver. ARC can be twitchy too. It doesn't always work properly. So it's not even needed unless the source of what you're watching comes from the TV. External devices like streamers, disc players and gaming devices plug into the receiver and don't use ARC.

 

[DaveF]

No one buys Pyle for home audio / video. It’s a car brand. That unit with the mounting flanges and 12V DC power and $85 price is meant for installation in an RV or conversion van or use of that sort. The fake image showing it in a living room is laughable.

For your home, a Denon or a Yamaha or a Sony or etc in that $300 range are great choices.

 

[TechNerd]

I can't tell what that Pyle "receiver" is, which indicates to me that it's not very useful. Also, despite their power claims, it uses a tiny little wall-wart power supply, which indicates it has very little power. The Denon is a much better choice.

Keep in mind that ARC is only for passing audio from the TV. So it's for using the TV's internal tuner and apps to get audio back to the receiver. ARC can be twitchy too. It doesn't always work properly. So it's not even needed unless the source of what you're watching comes from the TV. External devices like streamers, disc players and gaming devices plug into the receiver and don't use ARC.

So are you saying that the Pyle amplifier can output 100W, but can't because of its power supply?
Also, what's the difference between an amplifier and a receiver? A receiver just has more features right?

 

[Mark-P]

Notice it doesn’t say 100W per channel, which means it’s 100W total. If receivers that small could drive 100W X 5 channels then all receiver manufacturers would be making them that size.

 

[TechNerd]

Notice it doesn’t say 100W per channel, which means it’s 100W total. If receivers that small could drive 100W X 5 channels then all receiver manufacturers would be making them that size.

You keep on saying receiver. Just to clarify a receiver is an amplifier, just with added features (i.e., Bluetooth, radio, etc) right?

 

[Mark-P]

You keep on saying receiver. Just to clarify a receiver is an amplifier, just with added features (i.e., Bluetooth, radio, etc) right?

That's a mini-receiver because it can switch between various sources, but yes generally a receiver is a glorified amplifier.

 

[midvalleyguy]

<snip>......ARC can be twitchy too. It doesn't always work properly.....

I would also go with the Denon - if not a Yamaha or a Sony.

I purchased a Yamaha 5.1 receiver last week - a discontinued model RX-V485. Suits my budget and small room size. I've found the ARC setup to be very frustrating and confusing for someone who is not a rocket scientist The online-only 159 page manual is over the top and is a bit too technical for me at present, so I'm not really getting anywhere satisfactory at the moment, especially with the Blu Ray Lipsync adjustment .

I suspect I will forget about using ARC (maybe use optical), and keep the connections as simple as possible. Maybe in another week the correct and proper setup will all be very clear to me......

 

[Lord Dalek]

I would also go with the Denon - if not a Yamaha or a Sony.

I purchased a Yamaha 5.1 receiver last week - a discontinued model RX-V485. Suits my budget and small room size. I've found the ARC setup to be very frustrating and confusing for someone who is not a rocket scientist The online-only 159 page manual is over the top and is a bit too technical for me at present, so I'm not really getting anywhere satisfactory at the moment, especially with the Blu Ray Lipsync adjustment .

I suspect I will forget about using ARC (maybe use optical), and keep the connections as simple as possible. Maybe in another week the correct and proper setup will all be very clear to me......

Are you only using ARC? Any external boxes should be plugged directly into the Yamaha.

 

[midvalleyguy]

Are you only using ARC? Any external boxes should be plugged directly into the Yamaha.

Thank you Lord Dalek for the feedback. Well....a further week of studying the manual has helped. A mate has a similar Yamaha + LG TV so I took pics of his cable setup and have copied what he has done. Am now using ARC, and all external boxes are plugged directly into the Yamaha.

My only disappointment is that my previous 20 year old Yamaha receiver clearly showed the sound output on the front display when playing a Blu Ray (e.g. DTS or Dolby or ProLogic). All I get on the new receiver is 6 speaker icons - maybe I have to read the manual a bit more .

Also, when not using the Blu Ray player, and listening to FM, I get "Decoder Off" in large letters on the display. The FM station is shown in tiny letters.

Further, I have deduced that the LipSync issue is probably caused by my "new" LG 55 inch LCD LED 4K TV - I've fixed it by setting it to <200ms>. Anyway, basically it's all going well at the moment .

 

[Pupp]

Notice it doesn’t say 100W per channel, which means it’s 100W total. If receivers that small could drive 100W X 5 channels then all receiver manufacturers would be making them that size.

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