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RE: Can an AV receiver be used for 2 channel and...

Posted by David Aiken (A) on October 7, 2010 at 14:22:04

In Reply to: Can an AV receiver be used for 2 channel and... posted by HiOnFi on October 7, 2010 at 13:46:10:

1) Yes, it can be used for 2.0 or 2.1 channel setups only.

2) Quality of sound may actually be better in 2.0 or in 2.1 because you aren't using as many channels and aren't driving the receiver's power supply as hard as you would when using it for a surround setup. You may also be able to use two of the unused channels to biamp your speakers using their internal crossovers if the speakers have biwire connections (whether you can do this depends on the features of the receiver you use—not all receivers offer this). In addition some receivers offer automated setup and room EQ functions that may also be useful to you in 2.0 or 2.1 setups.

Whether the results will "sound good" to you will depend on the quality of the receiver and your own views of what sounds good but I've had very enjoyable results using an AVR for 2.0 and 2.1 sound in a system for HT purposes. Pick the right receiver and speakers and you may be very happy with the result. Pick the wrong ones and you won't. In principle there's no reason not to go this way.

You would probably get better results for the same money using a 2 channel receiver or integrated amp for the same price because you're buying fewer channels of amplification and less features and the cost of those extra channels and features can be used to deliver better quality results in a 2 channel device. Still, having said that, the room EQ functions in some receivers may actually help you get better results than you would with a stereo amp if your room and listening setup have some problems the EQ can correct. The question about value for money in using a multi-channel AVR for 2 channel setups with or without a sub is a different one to the question about whether it will sound good. If you've got the AVR or have access to a reasonable one at a good price, there's no reason not to consider it as an option.






David Aiken

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