Monoprice HTP-1 AV Processor - Inhouse Review Part 1 - Overview 2K-5K Competitive Analysis

Monoprice HTP-1 AV Processor - Inhouse Review Part 1 - Overview 2K-5K Competitive Analysis vs. Arcam AV41, Anthem AVM 70 8K, Emotiva RMC-1, Emotiva RMC-1L, Emotiva XMC-2, Marantz AV7706. We provide this competitive analysis before unboxing the Monoprive HTP-1 AV Processor we have received. This start a multi-part series in which we will explore the capabilities of the HTP-1 along with its performance and user experience.
This year we have reviewed several other AV Processors and AV Receivers in-house. These include the:
Emotiva RMC-1: • Emotiva RMC-1
Marantz Cinema 50: • Marantz Cinema50
Marantz Cinema 40
Denon AVR-X4800H
Denon AVR-X3800H: • Denon Marantz 7.4.4 AV...
Anthem AVM 70 8K: • Anthem AVM 70 8K bette...
Onkyo TX-RZ50: • Onkyo TX-RZ50 7.1.4 AV...
Yamaha Aventage RX-A8A: • Yamaha Aventage RX-A8A...
#hometheater #Monoprice #avreceiver #ripewave

[@Edward135i]

Loving these reviews Jon, its so awesome your doing this for the community considering the financial investment that this is requiring from you personally. The AVR that I'm really interested in because basically nobody has done a actual review on it is the Denon A1H.

[@ripewave]

Thanks! - I would like to review the Denon AVR-A1H. However, I am currently focused on models under $5,000 as my cut off. Once I get through those, the A1H would be high on my list. -Jon

[@Edward135i]

@@ripewave Thanks Jon, I understand that I'm asking for a lot and Masimo isn't just sending you these units, witch makes the reviews all the better in my opinion. I really enjoyed your Marantz vs Denon shoot out, it was interesting that you didn't find a huge difference between the brands, but you did find that difference at the higher vs lower tier of the respective units, that kind of reinforced my opinion that Marantz is a badge engineered.

[@mikeortiz2139]

​@@Edward135ithe other day, I did see a post that mentioned sometype of support for D/M models, one being the A1H or the A10H. Maybe a lesser tier, but something to look out for before you buy. Cheers.

[@nodoubt1616]

Can’t wait to hear what you think about how it sounds

[@ripewave]

Coming soon - within the next week - Jon

[@chebrubin]

Thank you Jon. Great bell weather of the multichannel generation. Want to hear what you think of the sound, separation.

[@ripewave]

Coming within week is the video where I will speak to its sound quality vs Emotiva RMC-1 and AV41 from Arcam

[@ashreels]

You really need more views

[@ripewave]

Thanks for your support. I hope to get over 500 more subscribers in December to cross the 10K mark. I am staying to course. There are tricks for bumping up the numbers, but I prefer to focus on the content. -Jon

[@williamhicks2763]

Thanks!

[@ripewave]

So generous of you. Thanks so much. I hope I can provide the details you need to take some of the guess work out your selection. Let’s keep working together until we have a clear understanding of these units. -Jon

[@williamhicks2763]

Thanks a ton Jon! I can say that after many calibration sessions I have my HTP-1 sounding much better and more detailed and resolving that my initial, very disappointing sound quality impressions. I’m still on the fence about sending it back. There is a lot to like about this unit and made in the USA is important to me. I can only stream movies to my TV right now and it supports HDR and the rest but I haven’t tested that with a video streaming source passed through the unit. I can’t wait to see how you think the sound compares to your RMC 1 and the Arcam. I feel like I could live with the sound I’m getting now, just not the leap forward I was hoping for but your experience with calibration is far ahead of mine. The Anthem fan is a nonstarter so the Arcam or just waiting are my other options. Three issues I’ve had some trouble with is that I cannot get Bluetooth to connect to my iPad. The iPad wants the unit to display a code which I haven’t figured out how to do. The couple of times I got the HTP-1 to display a code but the iPad doesn’t have a place to enter that code. There is also a lot of rebooting of both the HTP-1 and my iPad to get the IPad to see the unit, from two feet away. I’m sure there is a way to get them connected, I just haven’t found it yet and spent 4 hours trying. The second issue is that the browser page looses connectivity with the unit a lot. Not sure why that is because I have a wired connection and a static IP. I find the iPad is easier to use than the remote, except when it cuts out. One nice feature is I can use my TV remote to control the volume so I haven’t needed the supplied remote very much. The third issue is that sometimes the unit just shuts off. I saw on the latest firmware that something to do with that was supposed to be fixed but that isn’t my experience. Although this has only happened while calibrating and when it’s just sitting there. It hasn’t shut off while playing music, TV, or movies so not a big deal. I might add the touch screen doesn’t work for me. I’m told you have to press it very firmly but I push it pretty firmly and am afraid if I push it too hard I might break something and since I’m keeping my options open about sending it back I don’t want to break it. The web browser interface is my preferred method of changing inputs and other preferences. I like the style and size and this unit checks so many boxes for me but I’m not blown away by the two channel sound still. I have a Rythmik 15” sub arriving tomorrow and I have people checking on what’s the hold up with my center and rear speakers. Hopefully, all that will be here before the clock runs out on my RMA request. Thank you so much! To answer a couple of questions, the remote does not backlight and the firmware does update very easily over the network.

[@williamhicks2763]

Added a Rythmic subwoofer yesterday and still adjusting calibration. The sound is getting better and better. I’ve been calibrating with a Surface laptop and I think my next step is to get a separate audio interface to insure the Surface sound card isn’t a problem. Plan on recalibrating DIRAC again this evening. Right now, I’m leaning toward keeping it. The DACs are better than I first thought.

[@ripewave]

Thanks for your details on multiple topics. I will try to run through each of your use cases to determine if I am having the same experience. I started the unit up for the first time this weekend with my 7.2.4 system and the initial out-of-the-box was very underwhelming. It seemed as though some of the speaker channels where not active, but even with 2-channel sources I wasn’t impressed. I am hoping that some calibration will help. Good news is the Arcam AV41 came in on Saturday so the direct comparison is going to happen! Jon

[@williamhicks2763]

@@ripewave Can’t thank you enough. I definitely had the same underwhelming experience out of the box. I have improved things a lot. Mostly calibration changes but I also swapped out my interconnects but can’t say if that made a difference or not. The connectivity issue may be limited to my iPad. It almost always losses connectivity switching between my browser and the WiiM streamer app but often it doesn’t matter if I switch over to another app or just have the page up. I’ve tried multiple browsers and all have the same problem. However, I’m not having any problems staying connected while on the Surface laptop. Even switching over and running calibrations doesn’t loose the connection. So, it could just be some issue with my iPad or the WiiM app. I installed the beta Windows version of the WiiM app on the Surface and it didn’t effect the connection to the HTP-1 web page. I did get another reboot last night in the middle of calibration which is a little scary when it happens. Checked all the connections and can find no reason for the shutdown. Can’t wait for your review! I really want to know what it can do in the hands of an experienced calibrator in a surround sound system.

[@ripewave]

Odd issue you are having with iPad connectivity. I hope you can resolve.

[@williamhicks2763]

@@ripewave I ran out of time and had to make the call to return it. I’m hoping the refund process goes smoothly. I need to take a little break now and get some other projects done that I was putting off while testing the HTP-1. I may need to reevaluate the processor approach and either wait for updated models or go the receiver route. One option I’m considering is going as inexpensive as I can for 5.2 or 7.2 and focus on improving my 2 channel system for now. Anyway, a lot of ways to go but I’m going to take some time and wait on your findings before proceeding.

[@mikeortiz2139]

On paper the HTP-1 checks nearly all of the boxes for me. I really want to know about the customization with speaker placement. I know they are or plan to support DTS:X Pro soon. Given that most atmos mixes are going to be mixed in 7.x.4 would i would really like to set up a 9.x.6 with center height and top surround using the HTP-1. Doing so I could run 9.x.4 Atmos / DTS:X Pro 9.x.6 /and Auro-3D 13.1 I believe you mentioned the voice of God is missing from Auro-3D playback, but maybe its something theyll add down the road.

[@ripewave]

While I have heard directly from Monoprice that DTS:X Pro is coming, I haven’t heard anything from them or others that Auro 13.1 support with top and height center channels is coming. -Jon

[@dan_hitchman007]

@@ripewave Doesn't the VOG channel (if the track has one) come out of both Top Middle speakers if you are setup for a Dolby Atmos speaker configuration? The Front and Rear Height channels would come out of the Front and Rear Tops.

[@jasoncoward7947]

VOG channel is mono. When in a track it is sent from both top middles in Auro 3D.

[@xray111xxx]

Wow Jon you got the Monoprice HTP-1. The stock has been flakey. Curious how it does.

[@ripewave]

Lots of good to say overall. Sound quality feedback coming within the week. -Jon

[@robcohen]

Dirac is better room correction technology than ARC, and ARC has no comparable multi-sub optimization. Monoprice has also promised Dirac ART support for the HTP-1. Built-in BEQ support is also a huge deal. VOG can be forgotten now that Atmos has won the format wars.

[@ripewave]

I too heard rumors of Dirac ART being supported in future HTP-1 releases, but the source was just a forum comment. Did you hear from Monoprice or some other reliable source? I hope they do. So far Dirac only lists StormAudio as being available now. I suspect that more will support in 2024. How is BEQ difference from standard PEQ? This is new to me with this model. I understand the “B” is for bass and there is a tool which generates these settings. But could you manually generate similar via REW? I agree that there is no format war currently. Atmos owns by large margins both physical disk and streaming content. However, there is a large camp of Auro-Matic fans that insist of having that capability. Albeit, Upmixing won’t require VOG. -Jon

[@robcohen]

@@ripewave Hobie from Monoprice, who is the head of the Monolith division most recently said that the HTP-1 DART work is operating internally and being tweaked and tested. He expects it in a firmware update by the end of the year, although they have a rocky history when it comes to dates. He said the same thing about DTS-X Pro support, but in the latest update he said that the DART fw update will be released before DTS-X Pro. Storm currently has a 6 month exclusivity deal with Dirac on DART. Bass EQ is a community databass of PEQ settings that restores bass that has been neutered in home releases. Since flatscreen TVs have such limited bass in often inadequate internal filtering, it has unfortunately become the industry norm for studios to prefilter bass, so it will sound better for 99% of viewers. BEQDesigner is a tool that can analyze releases and help author new BEQ filters. There are thousands of community created filters, and they are typically immediately available for popular new releases. BEQ makes a huge difference for high end home theater setups with subsonic capable subs and/or tactile transducers. For more typical setups, it doesn't make much difference. The HTP-1 has a community created custom UI that makes it easy to browse and load BEQ filters into the HTP-1's PEQ. Alternately, many people use PEQ in a MiniDSP for BEQ and ezBEQ, a tool for browsing and loading BEQ filters. The HTP-1 maps VOG to the closest top speakers. IMO, VOG is a reasonable thing to include on a feature list for people who care about it. I just wouldn't recommend that anyone uses a speaker, processor channel, and amp channel on that. It made more sense before the format war outcome was known. A more important issue, IMO, is whether processors support newer versions of the Dolby Surround Upmixer with wide support. The HTP-1, unfortunately, has the older version. It has a wide synth feature to make up for it, but the new DSU would be nice.

[@ripewave]

What a great report - thanks so much for sharing. Lots of up to the minute details within. I hope they are successful and we should t complain too much if we have to wait a little for the feature we want if they are well executed. -Jon

[@dan_hitchman007]

@@ripewave According to Hobie, Dirac ART is about ready for Beta testing. He said once they have that hammered out, they will add DTS: X Pro.

[@psyphonyxaudio]

ohhh.. that's a rare one. =)

[@ripewave]

Yes - considering that it has been out of stock for so long. -Jon

[@a1racer441]

Mono price promised nearly 3 years ago to have the 8k chips installed that is all that holds me back from buying one. Don’t promise something and not deliver on a 4K product when anthem is covering all you have and then some.

[@ripewave]

I have the Arcam AV41 in house right now and will be directly comparing to the Monoprice HTP-1. It too matches a lot of the features plus 8K - like the Anthem does. I brought in the AVM 70 8K earlier this year, so I will be able to provide comparative insight between all three. -Jon

[@a1racer441]

@@ripewave nice I like the comparison videos. the monoprice was really high on my list but the whole doesn't support 4k 120fps is a killer for me as i play games mostly so i need that extra fps not to mention the 4k 60fps older chipset is limited in the color ranges and settings you can't get the 10-12-bit color options. can't wait for the arcam coverage so many options in the 5k or less price range.

[@ripewave]

My first Arcam video posts tomorrow. Albeit, the comparison is on that one is only a “as documented” comparison. The live test comparison will come after more bench time. -Jon

[@dan_hitchman007]

It's been difficult for every manufacturer to come up with a full 7 to 8 input HDMI 2.1 board. Even a company with Denon/Marantz's resources has said recently that chip availability has been a real problem. Plus, there was an issue with adequate power and cooling for the new chips. There are rumors that once Monoprice has a board ready to go, they will also need to upgrade the power supply in the HTP-1 to handle it.

[@a1racer441]

@@dan_hitchman007 interesting so maybe they are waiting and then will just do a 2024 next gen model with new inputs power supply and few other features.

[@blueflame0003]

Thats right us made...

[@Roof_Pizza]

lolz.

[@ripewave]

Thanks for the confirmation

[@billybobby7607]

Getting a bit old, not enough channels, no DTS pro? Expensive also hasn't gone down in price

[@gufiaito69able]

16 is enough, Dts pro is coming and Dirac ART this monoprice is real good.

[@ripewave]

What speaker layouts are you looking to support? I feel that premium models should now be aiming for 19 channels 9.4.6 as with the Anthem AVM90. However, your “too expensive” comment certainly applies. There is something really odd going on with the market and support for DTS:X Pro. Anthem claimed support at launch of their AVM70 and AVM 90 processors, so did Emotiva with RMC-1 and now no mention from either - but I hear will be back with the RMC-1+. Monoprice said it was running in-house last year and they just needed to finish the User Interface. Still nothing. I think only models over $5,000 currently support DTS:x Pro (need to check my database when I get home). -Jon

[@billybobby7607]

@@ripewave I'd say 9.4.6 would be end game, if I was spending thousands of want that. DTS X pro and auro3d as well

[@ripewave]

Then that aligns with my thought - a 19 channel processor is current end game with 9.4.6 support. -Jon

[@dan_hitchman007]

If you want all that the Denon and Marantz flagships are hovering around $7,000. But they also do 9.1.6 immersive processing like the HTP-1. Any further sub outs are simply bass management derived. You would need to move up to a Trinnov or Storm or similar processor for even more discrete channel outputs and those are big bucks.

[@SunnySkiesInAZ]

I would buy this processor if it supported hdmi 2.1. It needs a revision.

[@ripewave]

I understand why you would hold off for HDMI 2.1. The standard message out there is the 8K content is not there so you don’t need it. However, my feeling is these are expensive products which I purchase as a long-term addition to my system and want it to be able to support technologies for the next decade. The other reason is that HDMI is more than just about 8K. Features like quick media switching and auto low latency mode and fast frame transport are useful with 4K content as well. EARC is also an HDMI 2.1 feature. So I want to ensure I have the best 4K solution and that requires HDMI 2.1. Lots of positioning by manufacturers to sell us what they have by underplaying the need for HDMI 2.1. -Jon

[@gufiaito69able]

I have the htp-1 you don't need 2.1 trust me

[@dan_hitchman007]

It would be cheaper to just get a third party external HDMI 2.1 breakout box if you absolutely need 4k 120 Hz or 8k. Unless you are a heavy gamer, neither is necessary for the foreseeable future.

[@SunnySkiesInAZ]

I ended up finding a great deal on the Marantz AV10. I’m set for the foreseeable future.

[@gufiaito69able]

@@SunnySkiesInAZ awesome but has soon has you can get a processor do it believe me it a game changer.

[@johndaddabbo9383]

Thanks!

[@ripewave]

Much appreciated. Sorry for the late response - just getting caught up. Your donation help me continue this work. -Jon