Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater What iOS-controlled receiver should I get?

My Sherwood Newcastle receiver suffered an early death (switches itself to standby if the volume is set to audible levels). I'd like to replace it with a receiver I can fully control from an iPhone.

I have an Apple TV, so not sure I need a receiver with its own AirPlay capabilities, though that might be useful.

Anyone have experience with iOS-controlled receivers to share?

(I assume these use Bluetooth to communicate from iOS to receiver since most of them don't seem to come with built-in WiFi. I'd imagine that would allow control of a receiver in a closed cabinet.)

Also, any general brand recommendations would be appreciated. I want something high quality and reliable with a very straightforward user interface. I don't need a ton of power for my relatively small space nor do I need auto-equalization and the like. Really just need 3.1 at the moment but might go to 5.1 at some point.

Thanks for any advice.

Bill

I can't help, but I'm also interested in your question.

Are you sure you don't just have a stray strand of speaker wire on either the receiver side or the speaker side of your current installation?

tomtuttle, you are a gentleman and a scholar. Of course you were right about a crossed wire. I should have known since the speakers were disconnected for interior painting. Once of the connections hadn't been redone properly and both wires were touching the same terminal. The Sherwood Newcastle works great now. I was cursing it, but actually it saved itself. Thanks!

I'm still interested in advice about iOS-controlled receivers, as that's the direction I'd like to go, though with much less urgency now.

Holey Moley! I don't remember actually ever helping anyone before. So glad you found a free fix for today!

Bill,

I can’t exactly speak to the ISO integration. But, I did recently buy a new processor; a Marantz AV 8801 and I really like it a lot. The setup was the easiest of any receiver/processor I have ever owned. Also, there is a considerable amount of controls as well.


I would guess that that ISO integration would be really good as well.


Over the holidays I may see how the airplay works ect… I don’t have the receiver connected to my network at the house yet.. I may do that as well, and get back to you in a week or so.

Yes, as Tom perceptively pointed out, past experience here has taught us that the first thing to check when a receiver shuts down is a short in the wiring. Although there are occasions where overheating has required a shutdown because of playing too long at too loud a level for the capabilities of the receiver, all too often it's imagined that there's an inherent inadequacy in the receiver, particularly if the speakers happen to carry a 4 ohm rating.

I have an Onkyo 809 that has an IOS remote control app. It's not exactly world shattering, and it does work over the network rather than bluetooth. You can get a wifi adapter for the Onks at a certain level (I think they have to have 2 usb ports or something)

Ken, does the iOS app allow you to stream network music content? How is the UI?

It does, but if Apple doesn't like that band, it removes it from your playlist.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

I don't think it does. The UI is pretty rudimentary. I think I uninstalled it...

Let me reinstall it and find out...

I have a Pioneer SC-55( a couple of years old). I have an Apple Base Station near my gear so I run a LAN cable to it and another LAN cable to my Pioneer Blu Ray player.


The Pioneer apps are cool but did not seem very stable and I needed a different Pioneer App for both the receiver and the blu ray player. That drove me nuts.

I spent the money on an app called Roomie. I think it was 30 bucks. I love that app. I can configure it just about any way I want. Running those devices from my iPad mini is heaven. The same app on my iPhone was only ok.

I can't way for the day when I have a compatible TV.

Tick tock, Ken.

Chris, that sounds interesting. Does Roomie send signals to the receiver via the network connection?

Yes. That is how I do it.

It will control the receiver for streaming from DLNA sources, but it does not stream the iDevice's contents to the receiver.

The remote functions are pretty basic, but it does look like it's probably faster for changing the center and sub levels than using the regular remote.

Careful. You're going to put Mark out of business, or worse yet, force him to be useful again.

There was a point where I was helpful?

I cannot exactly talk with the ISO incorporation. But, I did lately buy a new processor; a Marantz AV 8801 and I really like it a lot. The installation was the most convenient of any receiver/processor I have ever possessed. Also, there is a lot of manages as well.

Michael,

An AV8801 from Marantz as a preamp/processor is the machine of my dream ! Tell us more about it if you don't mind !