Finally installed Apple TV 4K

[swakyaby]

I have a matched subwoofer with my soundbar. There’s no issue with bass response.

 

[mpeirce]

Yes, there is a lot to untangle when it comes to understanding the various formats and their compatibility with components.

The key to clearer dialog is the quality of the center speaker. About 75% of the dialog in surround sound mode is sent to the center speaker.

As I said, I've got a 3.1 setup and everything works. I have no immediate plans to add Atmos Speakers. If you don't have Atmos speakers the Yamaha will not even try to decode it. So if your Apple 4K is sending Dolby Atmos encoded audio to your AVR it shouldn't have problems with it.

This complexity is why I simplified my TV/Surround setup when I moved to the lake house.

I made the Apple TV the center of it all. The TV is strictly used as a video display and is turned on/off by the Apple TV. Likewise, the audio all goes to our HomePods. All streaming is done on the Apple TV and OTR comes in via a Tablo which streams to the Apple TV. I have a single Apple remote control driving this whole setup.

Before we moved I did a live comparison between our older, but excellent 5.1 system, and the HomePods sounded just as good to my ears - though I do admit the subwoofer in the 5.1 setup shook the floors more. Still, The HomePods have excellent bass. The Apple TV + HomePods also support Atmos well. It’s only two boxes, but the array of speakers in the HomePods project sound all over the room.

And as to dialog, again, with HomePods it’s more intelligible than my old 5.1 speaker setup which had a center speaker.

It’s not for everyone, but for someone who’s all in on the Apple ecosystem it’s really awesome.

 

[swakyaby]

Sounds like HomePods are another good option for what the OP is looking for.

 

[eytonxav]

This complexity is why I simplified my TV/Surround setup when I moved to the lake house.

I made the Apple TV the center of it all. The TV is strictly used as a video display and is turned on/off by the Apple TV. Likewise, the audio all goes to our HomePods. All streaming is done on the Apple TV and OTR comes in via a Tablo which streams to the Apple TV. I have a single Apple remote control driving this whole setup.

Before we moved I did a live comparison between our older, but excellent 5.1 system, and the HomePods sounded just as good to my ears - though I do admit the subwoofer in the 5.1 setup shook the floors more. Still, The HomePods have excellent bass. The Apple TV + HomePods also support Atmos well. It’s only two boxes, but the array of speakers in the HomePods project sound all over the room.

And as to dialog, again, with HomePods it’s more intelligible than my old 5.1 speaker setup which had a center speaker.

It’s not for everyone, but for someone who’s all in on the Apple ecosystem it’s really awesome.

Sounds like HomePods are another good option for what the OP is looking for.

yep, another good suggestion and option. Will try to visit our local Apple store and check these out.

 

[eytonxav]

Well it looks like Apple discontinued the HomePod and now there is only a mini version which does not look like it would be enough for my situation.

 

[tulak]

I have a matched subwoofer with my soundbar. There’s no issue with bass response.

Same. I BTD on a Sonos Subwoofer and the entire setup sounds great.

 

[eytonxav]

I am going to test my old Denon for a few days to see if the signal conflicts pop up again. It's a Denon AVR-2309CI and is connected to my Samsung One Connect TV box via an optical cable. The sound and voice clarity is way above the TV's speakers. Now I just need to see if I can get it to turn on and off when the TV is turned on and off and if the volume can also be controlled. It is housed behind a cabinet door, so currently to turn it on and off and adjust volume I need to open the cabinet door. The manual that comes with this older Denon is a challenge to navigate and understand, but need to see if there is a CEC capability when driving thru the optical connection. If I can make this work, it would be great until I can upgrade to a more modern AVR and TV with ARC/eARC.

 

[mpeirce]

Well it looks like Apple discontinued the HomePod and now there is only a mini version which does not look like it would be enough for my situation.

HomePods are still available from a variety of sources, but I do understand not wanting to buy a discontinued product.

There is a pretty good chance that Apple will introduce a replacement product later this year.

I own three full sized HomePods - two in the living room used with the Apple TV and one I use in another room. I also view the third one as a hot spare if I have any problems with the two in the living room.

And yeah, the HomePod mini isn’t really good for room-filling sound, though I do use a stereo pair in my office to listen to music there and they are excellent.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I am going to test my old Denon for a few days to see if the signal conflicts pop up again. It's a Denon AVR-2309CI and is connected to my Samsung One Connect TV box via an optical cable. The sound and voice clarity is way above the TV's speakers. Now I just need to see if I can get it to turn on and off when the TV is turned on and off and if the volume can also be controlled.

I see via the spec sheet for this Denon, it does not have ARC HDMI, so I doubt you will be able to get the Denon to turn off/on with the TV remote.

It is housed behind a cabinet door, so currently to turn it on and off and adjust volume I need to open the cabinet door.

What happened to the Denon remote control?

The manual that comes with this older Denon is a challenge to navigate and understand, but need to see if there is a CEC capability when driving thru the optical connection. If I can make this work, it would be great until I can upgrade to a more modern AVR and TV with ARC/eARC.

If you've got a couple of days, you might find this interesting:

https://www.avsforum.com/threads/official-denon-avr-2309ci-889-thread.1054182/

 

[eytonxav]

I see via the spec sheet for this Denon, it does not have ARC HDMI, so I doubt you will be able to get the Denon to turn off/on with the TV remote.



What happened to the Denon remote control?



If you've got a couple of days, you might find this interesting:

https://www.avsforum.com/threads/official-denon-avr-2309ci-889-thread.1054182/

I did some further reading in the manual and cannot get it to turn on and off with the TV or with Apple TV. An IR blaster would be the best solution, and until I can deploy one of those will just crack open the cabinet door and get close to it with the remote, but that is still a pain.

 

[eytonxav]

HomePods are still available from a variety of sources, but I do understand not wanting to buy a discontinued product.

There is a pretty good chance that Apple will introduce a replacement product later this year.

I own three full sized HomePods - two in the living room used with the Apple TV and one I use in another room. I also view the third one as a hot spare if I have any problems with the two in the living room.

And yeah, the HomePod mini isn’t really good for room-filling sound, though I do use a stereo pair in my office to listen to music there and they are excellent.

This article is forecasting the big HomePod to return late in 2022 or early 2023:
https://9to5mac.com/2022/05/21/new-homepod-launch-what-to-expect/