General Home Theater Audio Thread

[pclstyle]

just discovered this thread today. moved my speakers around a bit following the placement guidelines and even my untrained ears bleed new levels of love.

thanks much!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: pclstyle
just discovered this thread today. moved my speakers around a bit following the placement guidelines and even my untrained ears bleed new levels of love.

thanks much!

bleed? :shocked:

 

[sdifox]

Yoyo, may I suggest you add the HD-A3 as a good standalone DVD Upscaler? I have it and I am so happy with its upconversion, I am not going to bother to buy HD-DVDs of movies I got already. All 1200 of them.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: sdifox
Yoyo, may I suggest you add the HD-A3 as a good standalone DVD Upscaler? I have it and I am so happy with its upconversion, I am not going to bother to buy HD-DVDs of movies I got already. All 1200 of them.

I forget if I put anything about upconverting sources in there... what section are you talking about?

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: sdifox
Yoyo, may I suggest you add the HD-A3 as a good standalone DVD Upscaler? I have it and I am so happy with its upconversion, I am not going to bother to buy HD-DVDs of movies I got already. All 1200 of them.

I forget if I put anything about upconverting sources in there... what section are you talking about?

The one you don't have

After I posted I checked your article again and it doesn't mention video sources

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: sdifox

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: sdifox
Yoyo, may I suggest you add the HD-A3 as a good standalone DVD Upscaler? I have it and I am so happy with its upconversion, I am not going to bother to buy HD-DVDs of movies I got already. All 1200 of them.

I forget if I put anything about upconverting sources in there... what section are you talking about?

The one you don't have

After I posted I checked your article again and it doesn't mention video sources

That's because someone else should do a general HT Video thread

 

[foghorn67]

How about a cable management mini section? Perhaps some links to conduits, wire wraps, etc?

 

[Jeff92677]

Thanks for the exceptional post - it was very helpful. I'm just getting into upgrading/replacing my 15 year old components and the options are unlimited. You brought a lot of information together in one place - thanks.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

AV123's new site is going to be launched soon, and I plan to add their subwoofer lineup to the list if they get the MFW-15 up there.

Looks like an incredible sub for the price based on initial assessments.

Craigsub gave it an overall score of 103
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb...?p=9164136&postcount=8

Clearly reducing it down to a single number is oversimplifying things, but that's a heck of a number for an overview of a $599 sub considering the $3500 JL F113 scored the same "53-50" HT/Music in his testing. I have a feeling the people who preordered 2-8 of these things are going to be very very happy

A taste of what BMF-1 might have in store as well

 

[Excelsior]

Craigsub.....seriously...is a joke. His "methodology" is a joke. Now when Ilkka in Finland gets a hold of one, it'll be truly interesting.

I don't need some sub testing "guru" to tell me that a Mark Seaton designed 15" ported sub is going to be very solid for the money. Thats just common sense.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Excelsior
Craigsub.....seriously...is a joke. His "methodology" is a joke. Now when Ilkka in Finland gets a hold of one, it'll be truly interesting.

I don't need some sub testing "guru" to tell me that a Mark Seaton designed 15" ported sub is going to be very solid for the money. Thats just common sense.

And here it is
http://av123.com/index.php?pag...m_virtuemart&Itemid=37

 

[Tiamat]

Yoyo, dunno if you want to add this or not:

Audioengine makes some powered speakers that are in the $200-$450 price regime that seem to be good performance for the buck. I think these speakers would be great for those who are trying to jump from Computer Speakers to "Real" Speakers. The A2 is very small, good alternative for desk speakers, and the A5 are larger, and may serve as decent monitors. They can charge a mp3 player through USB, they can take 2 sources as well. Perhaps this solution would be excellent for those who are not ready to get a receiver/int amp in addition to some bookshelf speakers.

Given their numerous features and ease of use out of the box, they may be excellent alternatives to m-audio's offerings, swan's media speakers, and others.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I was thinking about maybe making a subsection for people specifically where getting a step above computer speakers is the goal vs. a whole HT type setup.

 

[88NovaTwincam]

I achieved a seriously killer mid-phile grade system for budget prices by scouring E-Bay and doing copious amounts of research! It can be a bit risky, but I email/call the seller
first and everything has come in great condition! I'm now rocking 2 ascend 340-se mains an ascend 340 center and 2 ascend 170 rears, a new marantz zr6001 receiver
and a MiRAGE sub and all new cables from monoprice all for a combined investment of $900! Coming from my original high school system: a sony dolbyprologic receiver with no digital in's with 2 psb alphas, jvc center/rear and a generic 15" sub I am completely satisfied for at least another 20 years! My pride and joy are the 340se mains and the mirage sub!

 

[fallenangel99]

Thanks very much. I finally unpacked my Z-5500 and took a while to figure out all this audio "terminology". Your guide helped me a lot.

On another note - what's a good website to keep uptodate on new hardware (PC, Home theatre, etc.) AVSForum and Tomshardware is all I know.

 

[A5]

Just got a Polk CSi3 (a black one, even) off eBay to go with my new pair of RTi 6's - pretty substantial upgrade from my Klipsch computer speakers for a total of $335. Thanks for all the help.

 

[A5]

And as I say that, the damn tweeter doesn't work - emailed Polk to ask for a new one, but I haven't heard anything back yet. Sigh

 

[3chordcharlie]

You must get this all the time, but I wish I had read this before I bought the first piece of my current setup.

I've started 'fixing' things in the right direction, but I'll have replaced everything by the time it's all said and done

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
You must get this all the time, but I wish I had read this before I bought the first piece of my current setup.

I've started 'fixing' things in the right direction, but I'll have replaced everything by the time it's all said and done

I wish I had read it too :laugh:

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
You must get this all the time, but I wish I had read this before I bought the first piece of my current setup.

I've started 'fixing' things in the right direction, but I'll have replaced everything by the time it's all said and done

I wish I had read it too :laugh:

That deserves a

*rimshot*

 

[xboxist]

Would anyone be willing to help me figure out a plan for my home theater? I've never had a "speaker system" before, and even after reading this great guide I have many questions. I'll try to lay out what I know:

goal: to simply have better sound than the stock sound that comes from my TV's speakers

Samsung 46" LCD HDTV
PS3 (Blu-ray movies)

--Would be for an elongated living room. Room is roughly 25' W x 14' D. Couch and TV are opposite each other sitting near the middle of their 25' walls. (viewing distance is roughly 11')
--Hardwood floors.
--standard drywall and finished ceiling
--I don't have access to the attic to be able to drop wires down into the walls.

Is there any conceivable way to set up surround sound without it looking all ghetto? Unless there's some cabling basics that I don't know of, I can't see how I can run wires from my TV to back around near my couch without laying them on the floor around the perimeter of the room.

So with that said, I'll assume that I'm not a candidate for a surround sound system. What then, should I look for in terms of a speaker setup that remains up front in the TV area? What speaker types would you recommend I try out? Just two floor speakers? That + a sub? Something else? Would this type of setup require a receiver, or would they hook directly into my TV?

edit -- budget is roughly $250-450

Thanks in advance for any of your thoughts!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: xboxist
Would anyone be willing to help me figure out a plan for my home theater? I've never had a "speaker system" before, and even after reading this great guide I have many questions. I'll try to lay out what I know:

goal: to simply have better sound than the stock sound that comes from my TV's speakers

Samsung 46" LCD HDTV
PS3 (Blu-ray movies)

--Would be for an elongated living room. Room is roughly 25' W x 14' D. Couch and TV are opposite each other sitting near the middle of their 25' walls. (viewing distance is roughly 11')
--Hardwood floors.
--standard drywall and finished ceiling
--I don't have access to the attic to be able to drop wires down into the walls.

Is there any conceivable way to set up surround sound without it looking all ghetto? Unless there's some cabling basics that I don't know of, I can't see how I can run wires from my TV to back around near my couch without laying them on the floor around the perimeter of the room.

So with that said, I'll assume that I'm not a candidate for a surround sound system. What then, should I look for in terms of a speaker setup that remains up front in the TV area? What speaker types would you recommend I try out? Just two floor speakers? That + a sub? Something else? Would this type of setup require a receiver, or would they hook directly into my TV?

edit -- budget is roughly $250-450

Thanks in advance for any of your thoughts!

Would you be able to put a rug down between the display and the seating area and run wires under that rug?

If so, you could get a reasonable HTIB system for the upper range of your budget.

Otherwise you'd probably want to concentrate on a 2.0 or 2.1 system to start. For almost any configuration, you're going to need a receiver.

 

[xboxist]

If I went with the rug plan... are speaker wires durable enough to be walked on several times a day?

What exactly does a 2.0 or 2.1 system consist of? Actually, n/m. Going to go Google it. Thank you

 

[BassBomb]

How are these JBL's on this site?

www.2001audiovideo.com Check the flyer Page 2/3

The Floor standing or the Bookshelf or the Sub

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: xboxist
If I went with the rug plan... are speaker wires durable enough to be walked on several times a day?

What exactly does a 2.0 or 2.1 system consist of? Actually, n/m. Going to go Google it. Thank you

Well I guess it depends what kind you get, but I've done the rug method without issues.

Depending on the thickness of the wires, the amount of insulation, and the shape of them, it may or may not work well for you.