Usable surround receivers
Hi all.
I'm looking for a new accessible or usable advanced surround receiver, and I would like to start a topic here to open up any discussions about all the new possibilities, or a place to share experiences etc.
For quite a while, I have tried to avoid any menu based or graphical user interfaces, because I think it'll only make a lot of limits for me if those systems are not accessible or usable at any point.
I started out back in 2006 by a NAD 6.1 surround receiver, the only 6.1 receiver they have made. As far as I know, this was the beginning towards the graphical interfaces, which means the advanced settings needed to be done by hooking up a tv to the receiver, and then use the remote control to manage the advanced settings, which I found annoying and quite frustrating. But thankfully, , most of the receivers functions can be managed without using the graphical interface.
All the features I wanted can be managed by the buttons on the fron
t of the receiver and also by the remote control. I have pretty high needs regarding to the features, since I like to play around with sound settings and simular things. Most of this can be done without the graphical interface which is awesome.
Then, I bought a Yamaha receiver two or 3 years ago. This receiver have so many features which are not accessible. This have support for an app for IOS as well, which is not very accessible and usable, but I have found work arounds for most of the daily features which I'm using. All the features I'm using are done without using the graphical interface, but I wish I could use more of the receivers functions.
Receivers are being more and more advanced as the time goes, and we as blind people are left behind, if we don't find work arounds for those receivers or if the apps are not made accessible.
I have spent a lot of time making some research on what is accessible, what might be usable after some practise and wh
at is inaccessible and impossible to use.
I know that the Dennon receivers are very accessible and usable because of their very accessible app, where you can do most features, manage the settings, switch between the inputs etc. Seems really cool. But I think I want something bigger and more pro, but I'm not sure yet.
I have looked into the Bose systems as well, which have got me very interested. The new sound touch systems are not very accessible from what I hear regarding to the app, but that can change by contacting Bose and explain the situration to them. Bose have some speakers which are totally controlled by their sound tuch app, which I won't recommend at the moment, because this app is not totally accessible yet.
Bose surround receivers have got me interested, not because of the app yet, but because of their strait menu system which is a simple graphical menu system, which is not displayed on the big tv screen, but on a small display on the receiver i
tself. That properly means the menu is easier to navigate for us if we write down the menu structure to remember. That's what I have done with other products for years, which works great most of the time.
As I'm writing this post, I can't download the usersguide for the receiver which has got me interested, so there are a number of things which I can't check such as how to switch between the inputs, manage the settings and all the other features. A friend of mine who have a old Bose system have just told me that there is a button for each input on the remote control, which makes a huge difference for us, compared to if we had to choose between inputs from a menu or a graphical interface. The receiver does also have airplay, it connects to the router wirelessly and it comes with an external bluetooth receiver so you can connect almost everything to the receiver. This should also be usable at some point, even if Boses app is totally inaccessible, because you c
an just use Airplay instead, and then hope the sound touch app will be more accessible as the time goes.
I have also looked at Sonos, which I was very much against a while ago. I have followed Sonos since their first launched product here in europe, where their app wasn't accessible or usable. I have followed peoples fight with Sonos to make their app accessible, and I am so happy to see that Sonos now really care about accessibility, and the whole system is totally accessible from what I hear.
But, sadly, it seems like Sonos system doesn't fully meet my needs. I have a tv, a ps4, a ps3, two different computers, a Apple tv, some analog devices and properly other things which I need to hook up to some speakers. Not at once, and I don't mind changing cables etc. But it seems like if I choose Sonos, not the amplifire but the Sonos speakers or the soundbar for the tv, I won't get an actual receiver so I can hook up all what I need, change surround settings
etc. But I could be wrong.
At the moment I'm really excited for the new Sound touch system from Bose which includes both the receiver, speakers, sub and Bluetooth device.
What are your experiences with the different receivers, speaker and surround systems etc.? What are your needs? What do you find accessible and usable, and what do you not find accessible? How far would you go to make a not accessible but usable system accessible by remembering menu systems and graphical interfaces? How much would you rely on sighted assistance, and how much would you fight to do things on your own?
It would be really interesting to hear your thoughts regarding to all this.
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