Russound has been developing whole-house audio products before the term smart home was even an inkling in everyone’s thought processes. Today, the company offers a wide selection of products that includes the subject of this review, the home-theater friendly AVA 3.1 compact multichannel amplifier.
Designed as an affordable amplifier that can be placed behind a TV; hidden in AV furniture or even wall mounted, the small-footprint amplifier offers homeowners a modern way to bring entertainment into rooms that may not have the space to support a full immersive audio system.
Some of the possible scenarios in which the AVA 3.1 could be used include bedroom and office AV systems, apartments and condos where space is at a premium, or any smaller AV system that doesn’t need a full complement of amplification channels.
Sending me the amp to try for myself, I set the amp up to meet the multimedia entertainment needs of my daughter who is in college.
CE Pro & Cons
Pros:
- The affordable AVA 3.1 is loaded with features
- The amplifier’s small footprint allows the unit to be placed in a variety of locations
- Russound’s new home theater friendly amp sounds good driving LCR soundbars
Cons:
- A little extra setup is required for use with Sony TVs
- Not a fan of Phoenix speaker connections
Russound AVA 3.1 Features
As I had noted the small footprint amp provides dealers with a solution that measures just 5.7 inches (W) x 1.6 inches (H) x 7.9 inches (D), and it weighs 1.95 pounds.
At an MSRP of $399, the AVA 3.1 delivers 25-watts per channel into an 8-ohm load and 50-watts per channel into a 4-ohm load. Inputs include HDMI with ARC, RCA line-in, optical, and wireless Bluetooth that’s said to have a range of 100 feet.
I will also point out the amp includes Phoenix speaker connections and an RCA subwoofer out connection. Its slim design allows for a variety of placement options, including wall mounting
Amplifier Setup
I will admit that I struggled to setup the AVA 3.1 with my 4K Sony television. After speaking with the team at Russound, the N.H.-based company found that some Sony TVs need to set the HDMI port to either eARC mode or ARC mode. Russound pointed out to me the AVA 3.1 can deliver PCM Stereo output over an HDMI cable and in some cases a Sony TV may not allow for a configuration in eARC mode. The AVA3.1 works by taking a digital PCM signal and using Russound’s own internal processing to create the center channel sound. To avoid these possible issues Russound suggested that I set the TV’s audio to the ARC mode.
Moving onto a non-Sony TV, I set the amplifier up with a Vizio 4K television. Connecting the amp to the Vizio took literally a few minutes. The TV recognized an external audio source and automatically switched to the amplifier.
To connect the AVA 3.1 to the Vizio TV I ran an HDMI cable from its ARC-enabled HDMI output to the Russound amp. I then connected 16/2 speaker cable to the Phoenix connector and banana plugs that were connected to an Atlantic Technology 3.1 HSB sound base soundbar. This system also included a 4K Roku stick, a Pioneer Blu-ray disc player that I connected to the Russound amp’s optical input, and a Victrola turntable that I connected to the amp’s RCA inputs.
I wrapped up the setup by connecting our iPhones to the amp via Bluetooth.
[related]
Sound & Performance
Once I got past the setup of the AVA 3.1 I was impressed with the ease of use and upgrade in sound quality the amp in tandem with the Atlantic Technology soundbar delivered.
Of course, Russound has its own three-channel soundbar: the Russound Cinema Bar 3.0 that serves as a companion component with the amplifier. However, in my case, I thought the AVA 3.1 paired well with the 3.1 soundbar I had, and it sounded good with video and music content.
Switching back-and-forth from the Vizio TV’s built-in speakers to the AVA 3.1 provided a night-and-day contrast of good sound to unlistenable audio. Using the amp’s supplied IR remote with an IR sensor I was able to easily select my sources and control power and volume.
Listening to both video and music, I thought the amplifier provided a warmer, fuller sound compared to the built-in TV speakers. The AVA 3.1 with the soundbar was also more dynamic, and because of the remote’s simple layout, switching sources from the disc player to TV content, to Bluetooth was easy.
Final Thoughts on Russound’s AVA 3.1
For a price of about $399 the Russound AVA 3.1 provides integrators with an affordable, versatile, and user-friendly amplifier that also happens to deliver a noticeable upgrade in sound quality. With its small size and flexibility, it’s one of those products that I think dealers could keep in their trucks and use it as a problem solver in the event a client’s amplifier goes down, as well as a nice mini-theater zone complement to Russound’s array of whole-house audio products, and as a simple amp to power a soundbar-based multichannel system.
