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pezzie
Apr 11, 2003

everytime someone says a seasonal anime is GOAT

Just watch the best anime ever
Wow what a coincidence! I just bought a pair of Sony's floorstanding speakers and a receiver last weekend, and they all finally just arrived today too!

I actually went with the SS-F6000 instead of the 7000s. They ended up being $160 shipped for the pair for me, which makes me a little mad because about 3 weeks ago when I was looking at them they were $140 shipped from Amazon, but I guess Amazon ran out of stock since then and I had to buy from TigerDirect instead.

I also picked up the Onkyo TX-SR307 to go along with my new speakers.

All said, I spent $380 for my 2.0 stereo setup, and after listening to it all evening on music, movies, and games, I can certainly say that I'm extremely satisfied with it all. I'm going to keep this set up for a long time, even if someday I upgrade, I'm planning on moving these babies into my room. I don't even think I can really pick up a sub at this time. My apartment complex has really thin walls, and these things can kick up enough bass for my liking. I'll upgrade someday, I'm sure, but for right now I'm happy with just these. Until today, I've been using my old $30 Logitech computer speakers I bought back in 2004 for my movies, so this is a huge step up.

I can certainly say that I'm a huge fan of the Sony speakers now. I have certainly heard much, much better speakers from other setups before, but definitely not for as low of a price as I ended up with. Chalk me up as another extremely satisfied customer for Sony's cheap yet awesome floorstanding speakers.

EDIT: I don't think the difference between the 6000s and the 7000s is a single 8" woofer. I think the 6000s have dual 6.5" woofers, and the 5000 is the one with the single 8".

pezzie fucked around with this message at 07:56 on Dec 19, 2009

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OneZeroSix
Apr 5, 2009

Rodgers Shoryukening the Steelers FTW
Ok I'm not entirely sure if this question belongs here but it's definitely audio related so I'll give it a shot.

So when watching TV I usually have the volume on at a medium level and can't help but be incredibly annoyed when the show I'm watching cuts to commercial and all of a sudden the volume flares up to "holy poo poo I'm going to be deaf" levels. It usually happens when these cheapo local commercials come on but also happens in movies where the need to increase volume a lot to hear dialogue and whatnot is necessary.

My question is, how in the hell do offset this crap? I've been annoyed about it for a very long time now and wonder if anyone has a solution for it. IMO this crap should be regulated by the FCC where volume is normalized across the board for consistency and quite frankly I'd rather have seen commercial normalization be mandated than the required digital feed we have now. I don't know anything about audio so thanks for any replies.

Sniep
Mar 28, 2004

All I needed was that fatty blunt...



King of Breakfast

OneZeroSix posted:

Ok I'm not entirely sure if this question belongs here but it's definitely audio related so I'll give it a shot.

So when watching TV I usually have the volume on at a medium level and can't help but be incredibly annoyed when the show I'm watching cuts to commercial and all of a sudden the volume flares up to "holy poo poo I'm going to be deaf" levels. It usually happens when these cheapo local commercials come on but also happens in movies where the need to increase volume a lot to hear dialogue and whatnot is necessary.

My question is, how in the hell do offset this crap? I've been annoyed about it for a very long time now and wonder if anyone has a solution for it. IMO this crap should be regulated by the FCC where volume is normalized across the board for consistency and quite frankly I'd rather have seen commercial normalization be mandated than the required digital feed we have now. I don't know anything about audio so thanks for any replies.

TBQH and coming from a semi-broadcast perspective, the bars on the levels are not changing that much at all, simply the dynamic range. You have commercials that are peaking constantly, and programming that isn't, while, the programming has a wide dynamic range, the commercials just yell at you. It's not louder, it's just all normalized to 99% where the movie etc. may be sitting at like 30% during quiet dialogue scenes.

Commercials are annoying, but they aren't any louder than anything else, the entire feed is capped at 0db. If it wasn't there is a problem with the feed. It's just that the programming is often very quiet. Don't know what to tell ya' other than mute the commercials.

eddiewalker
Apr 28, 2004

Arrrr ye landlubber
That's sort of a question that I can answer as an expert. I make my living mixing audio for live sporting events on TV. 

Typically when an event is being aired on a multi-regional network, national commercial spots are played on location, and then we sit in black leaving a hole for individual affiliates to insert local ads. 

The "money reels" I have to deal with are -always- a pain. Dubs of dubs of spots from different production companies of various levels of professionalism.  

They show up on every recording format you can imagine, from digi beta to VHS, and someone at the network office organizes them into specific sets of breaks and dumps everything to one tape. 

As the audio guy, I try my best to make everything match the average loudness of my program audio, but it's really something that has to be done by ear; There's just no way around it. 

To a certain extent I can try to pick the loudest ad and the quietest, then set up a compressor (dynamic range, not data) to bring them closer together, but it's easy for that to get out of control and things start to sound squished. Sometimes there are even such wide variations between the left and right channels that I have yo just run all the ads in mono.

Believe me, I feel your pain. I wish I could take a 'break' during the breaks instead of chasing levels. 

On top of all that, local affiliates get their raw ads for Jerry's Muffler in even worse shape, then they just dump them into a computer to run automatically without a second thought.

I doubt your home theater has any sort of compressor/limiter option, but that's really your only solution. DBX makes a little plastic portable unit that can take unbalanced inputs, but it's not cheap.    

Agreed
Dec 30, 2003

The price of meat has just gone up, and your old lady has just gone down

I know that my dad's HTIAB receiver has dynamic range compression as an option. I don't think mine does. This could be a great opportunity for everyone to pick up their very own LA-2A though :v:

Edit: Mindfuck, the subwoofer came today. I have no idea how. I kept complaining to Amazon and I guess they pulled some strings. Also they gave me a $5 gift card for my troubles. Now I kind of feel like an rear end, because it came today instead of Monday. Should have been here yesterday, but this is a lot less of a big deal. Oh well :v:

Agreed fucked around with this message at 18:53 on Dec 19, 2009

qirex
Feb 15, 2001

It's really important to voice-match a center channel speaker, much more so than the surrounds.

Agreed
Dec 30, 2003

The price of meat has just gone up, and your old lady has just gone down

When I decide to expand the setup I will have to look into exactly what Sony has to offer in center channels that would suit the fronts, I guess. I've just heard that their centers are "alright," while their bookshelves/backs are pretty bad. Who knows, I'll just have to see. Setting up the subwoofer now.

illcendiary
Dec 4, 2005

Damn, this is good coffee.
Agreed, does this mean you don't have to reschedule your vacation now? :toot:

cannibustacap
Jul 7, 2003

Brrrruuuuuiinnssss
Am I missing out for not getting a receiver?

Here is my set up:
  • Samsung LN46B630
  • Yamaha YAS-71 (Virtual 7.1 surround sound bar)
  • Cable Box
  • Blue Ray (soon)
  • WD TV (soon, most likely)

What I (plan to) do is connect the Cable Box, Blue Ray, and WDTV direct to my TV via HDMI, and then from the TV I use an optical cable to connect directly to the Yamaha.

So, whenever I switch devises on the TV, the audio automatically switches too. When I turn the TV off, all the audio turns off too. Its pretty good.

But what is this receiver business? Am I really missing out, or do Samsungs have good audio output? Would it be "better" to connect the audio from my components directly to my Yamaha?

(Side question: does anyone know how much power I waste if I always keep my Yamaha on, even when everything else is off?---my drat universal remote doesn't work with it, so turning it off requires the other control)

Agreed
Dec 30, 2003

The price of meat has just gone up, and your old lady has just gone down

illcendiary posted:

Agreed, does this mean you don't have to reschedule your vacation now? :toot:

Yeah :) And it also means that our system sounds awesome. Great sound for not a lot of money. That sub has amazing extension, definitely hits low. Ported, not as tight as a sealed box perhaps but it sounds good with music and awesome with movies. More later, watching now!

Edit: That was so cool. The receiver is limited in its crossover calibration options, just "Small" or "Large" Front speaker settings which auto-crossover at some point it doesn't divulge (though contrary to my earlier statements it DOES have built-in dynamic range compression, with three sensitivities, though only with Dolby material). My options are limited to either setting the speaker size to "Small" for my fronts and dealing with a crossover that's in all likelihood 200hz+ (no thanks), or leaving them at Large, turning the Bass EQ down, and adjusting the sub to fit in as seamlessly as possible with them sans crossover. I took the second option, and after running a lot of familiar material through (including some tracks which have a smooth transition from higher midrange frequencies down to it I had it dialed in pretty well. It isn't as tight as my studio sub, but it is surprisingly tight for a ported, active sub that cost $140.

Adjustment options on the sub are effective but somewhat limited. There's an auto-off feature which sucks because it turns off too easily and wakes up too slowly, so you'll be listening to dialog and it'll kick off, then there's a rumble but you don't hear the first bit of it because the thing hasn't quite woken up yet. Luckily you can switch that feature off, which I did. For the money I'm not surprised that the phase adjustment is limited to Normal or Reverse; I've looked into how much it would cost to build a similarly spec'd box with a bolt-on amp that has full phase adjustment, and I'd be spending up to twice as much as this sub to get the same kind of sound performance out of it but better phase. Anyway, the phase adjustment, though lacking in precision, is pretty effective - because of the subwoofer's placement I get a fuller, better fitting sound with the phase reversed. It also has an adjustable frequency threshold knob with a range of 50hz to 200hz. There aren't any indicators along the way to tell you where you're at, which is unfortunate, but I think I've got it dialed close to 80hz, maybe as high as 90hz, but definitely not much higher.

Finally there's an adjustable power level, continually adjusting from "min" to "max." To match the volume of my receiver's output, I found a setting about 85% of its full range of motion best. Set up as described, it fills in the sub frequencies very well without too much doubling up in the range that the speakers can handle on their own, and there isn't any discrepancy as I raise or lower the volume on my receiver. It isn't placed near a wall or a corner so there isn't any resonance or artificial enhancement going on; I'm sure that if you set it in a corner or something you'd be able to use a lower output setting and get the same levels.

So the total cost of this budget HT setup (well, if you can call a 2.1 setup HT? I'm calling it that, drat it): $230 for the speakers, $200 for the receiver, $140 for the sub: $570 total. I feel confident that no HTIAB in the price range could come close to matching the sound quality; I am also glad that I went this route, as it ensures easy upgrading to a 5.1/7.1 setup if I choose to do so. I'm definitely a fan of Sony's affordable HT gear, now! If you just wanted a stereo and nothing but a stereo, you could buy the speakers that I got and the first receiver that I linked in the thread, the stereo-only version with analog inputs, and you would have a ~$300 stereo that would completely blow away any of the prepackaged "boom-box" things you can pick up. For non-HT applications, I highly doubt you would ever need more bass than they can put out on their own. Like I said earlier, before adding the sub I had the Bass EQ set to +4 and it gave a really solid low end. For music, you wouldn't need anything more than that. I'm glad I added the subwoofer for movies, though (and, yeah, it does enhance music listening as well, it's just not necessary to get a full range reproduction for the vast majority of recorded material).

Review complete.

Agreed fucked around with this message at 01:06 on Dec 20, 2009

Agreed
Dec 30, 2003

The price of meat has just gone up, and your old lady has just gone down

cannibustacap posted:

Am I missing out for not getting a receiver?

Here is my set up:
  • Samsung LN46B630
  • Yamaha YAS-71 (Virtual 7.1 surround sound bar)
  • Cable Box
  • Blue Ray (soon)
  • WD TV (soon, most likely)

What I (plan to) do is connect the Cable Box, Blue Ray, and WDTV direct to my TV via HDMI, and then from the TV I use an optical cable to connect directly to the Yamaha.

So, whenever I switch devises on the TV, the audio automatically switches too. When I turn the TV off, all the audio turns off too. Its pretty good.

But what is this receiver business? Am I really missing out, or do Samsungs have good audio output? Would it be "better" to connect the audio from my components directly to my Yamaha?

(Side question: does anyone know how much power I waste if I always keep my Yamaha on, even when everything else is off?---my drat universal remote doesn't work with it, so turning it off requires the other control)

I don't think in your circumstance you're missing out without a receiver. The neat thing about digital audio is that outside of a studio environment there's not much you have to worry about as far as "good outputs" goes, because digital for the most part either gets there or it doesn't. There was some discussion of jitter in the last page or two (or three, maybe), but it doesn't have much to do with fairly simple, linear home theater setups. Now, one thing I would be curious about is whether your Samsung's optical output carries an appropriate signal for the Yamaha bar's 7.1. I know that my Samsung's optical output only carries stereo information, but it's an LN40B500, which has some of the input/output stuff stripped down to save costs for the Black Friday special. But I also don't know anything about those virtual surround bars and their proper care and feeding (signal wise), consult your manual or someone who has experience with them for definite information there.

OneZeroSix
Apr 5, 2009

Rodgers Shoryukening the Steelers FTW

Sniep posted:

Words

eddiewalker posted:

More words


Thanks for the replies guys, makes sense that it's more dynamic range than actual volume. Kinda sucks I can't do anything about it, guess I'll just put up with it or maybe I'll try bitching at Comcast about it and see what happens.

Sniep
Mar 28, 2004

All I needed was that fatty blunt...



King of Breakfast

OneZeroSix posted:

Thanks for the replies guys, makes sense that it's more dynamic range than actual volume. Kinda sucks I can't do anything about it, guess I'll just put up with it or maybe I'll try bitching at Comcast about it and see what happens.

I come from also a source similar to but different than eddiewalker, I work in earshot and spitball range of (pretty much) the only big HD long-haul transport network, which is called vyvx, you may never have heard of them but its quite a staple of the media transport industry.

Just to reiterate, the commercials are not "louder" but they are often transposed upon the back-haul feeds received by local affiliates like eddiewalker said. It's not a game that many of us have any control over.

In our case, while you may be watching (x sporting event) when it goes to commercial break for you, we simply continue to see the playing field from a zoomed out view. That is from a back-haul perspective, though.

I guess this reply is mostly here just to say that any local tv station provider isn't going to be able to do much about it, unless their master control operator (which is probably being paid 2-3 bucks above minimum wage) is on the ball watching the levels and really working their rear end off.

Sniep fucked around with this message at 11:35 on Dec 20, 2009

eddiewalker
Apr 28, 2004

Arrrr ye landlubber
I actually use Vyvx all the time.

Sniep
Mar 28, 2004

All I needed was that fatty blunt...



King of Breakfast

eddiewalker posted:

I actually use Vyvx all the time.

Sweet :)

I know all the vyvx guys :)

Saukkis
May 16, 2003

Unless I'm on the inside curve pointing straight at oncoming traffic the high beams stay on and I laugh at your puny protest flashes.
I am Most Important Man. Most Important Man in the World.

Agreed posted:

When I decide to expand the setup I will have to look into exactly what Sony has to offer in center channels that would suit the fronts, I guess. I've just heard that their centers are "alright," while their bookshelves/backs are pretty bad. Who knows, I'll just have to see. Setting up the subwoofer now.
Could you use the same or sibling models raised behind the TV?

Agreed
Dec 30, 2003

The price of meat has just gone up, and your old lady has just gone down

They're three and a half feet tall and weigh 35 pounds a piece. Their construction precludes them from being used well in a horizontal configuration. So the same model or any of the other towers/fronts in the line are a no-go. I'll end up getting a center, and it'll probably be a Sony center since otherwise it won't be well matched, and hopefully it will sound comparably good. These speakers have thoroughly impressed me despite a lot of people expressing the general opinion that Sony's speakers aren't very good; maybe the buzz about Sony's centers is off-base too.

abuimak
Sep 7, 2006
Hi I currently work in retail and our store has always had a problem getting clear radio due to the fact there is a lot of metal in the store and the radio itself is in the back, so I'm in the process of running new speaker wire to the front of the store so I can move our receiver there but the signal isn't much better there so far.

Would HD radio be a better alternative? Is there a way for me to get a better radio signal then with the crummy antenna that comes with my radio?

All we have is 2 speakers and an FM stereo.

All I'm looking for is a way to improve the FM sound, we don't have internet in this store.

Phrog
Aug 24, 2005

That damn green thing
Can anybody tell me what the scientific name and highly-specialized function of this piece of particle board that came out of my speaker is?


Click here for the full 800x600 image.


When my speakers, subwoofer, and receiver were delivered and I took one of my towers out of its box (Polk monitor 50) and heard something moving around inside of it. I put my hand through the hole towards the bottom of the speaker and pull this sensitive piece of equipment (read: wood with adhesive glue on it) out. Voila! Speaker works just fine!

Fast forward a whole week and I notice that the speaker is producing a rattle.


Click here for the full 800x600 image.


It turns out that the top woofer is barely moving, and whenever it does it just rattles and produces no sound. When music is playing the others are all vibrating and doing their thing but this woofer does jack poo poo. When I lightly press against it with two fingers I hear a scratching sound like it is rubbing against something, whereas the other woofers just slide in and out naturally.

Yeah, I know I didn't buy awesome totally rad bitchin-to-the-max speakers but is Polk really this lovely? Is this something I could theoretically repair (though I don't know how I would seeing how there is no visible way to take the case apart) or do I have to pay to have this thing delivered to Polk so they can repair it for me thanks to their warranty (and risk it getting hosed up in transit).

Well, the awesome sound honeymoon lasted an entire week. It was great while it lasted. :sigh:

Sniep
Mar 28, 2004

All I needed was that fatty blunt...



King of Breakfast

Phrog posted:

Well, the awesome sound honeymoon lasted an entire week. It was great while it lasted. :sigh:

Maybe there are two separate issues? Perhaps during shipping it got beat up really bad and that wave guide or whatever it is got disconnected as well as a lead going to that driver, and the pressure you feel on it is just coming from the internal pressure from the other driver? Don't know, but, their service is good from what I am aware, just ship that sucker back and get new product?

rakuen.now
Dec 23, 2009

OneZeroSix posted:

Thanks for the replies guys, makes sense that it's more dynamic range than actual volume. Kinda sucks I can't do anything about it, guess I'll just put up with it or maybe I'll try bitching at Comcast about it and see what happens.
You can, if you have a receiver with dynamic range compression, like Audyssey Dynamic Volume.

Pibborando San
Dec 11, 2004

oh yes. two kinds... of dances

rakuen.now posted:

You can, if you have a receiver with dynamic range compression, like Audyssey Dynamic Volume.

But that will just make the program louder, in the same way that the commercials already are. You might be ok with this though. I would, however, not sacrifice the quality of my programming when I could just hit mute when commercials come on.

Agreed
Dec 30, 2003

The price of meat has just gone up, and your old lady has just gone down

Maybe every Sony receiver has look-ahead dynamic range compression for Dolby material. Three settings: off, min, max. Watching at night, my wife and I have found the Max setting is actually really nice, keeping volume at a fairly consistent level without annoying compression artifacts/breathing or "pumping." It doesn't feel like there's a limiter on it, but dialogue is audible and explosions/rumbles retain their impact without being ungodly loud. Certainly saves money on buying a separate comp, provided you'll be using Dolby audio. For program material you might be stuck getting one of the aforementioned DBX units or something like it if the volume control isn't doing the trick.

Mughe
Mar 17, 2007

I'll tolerate you until I can replace you.
So I've been seriously looking at receivers as of late, I've been hesitant on pulling the trigger due to many factors. Small apartment, most likely will move soon, don't have the speaker system for a 5.1/7.1 set up, etc.

However, if I can find a good enough receiver that will last me multiple years (and multiple moves/upgrades to better speakers) then I'll go ahead and buy it.

Which brings me to the following: I found a deal on a TX-SR607B, which is the Onkyo 7.2 receiver, for $349.000 with a free ipod dock. Has anyone dealt with the 607 and/or Onkyo in general? I've heard good things (Onkyo makes great receivers, good upscaling, yada yada yada), but I've also heard some scary things (overheating, awful customer service, can be finicky with remotes, difficult to integrate). The main thing I'm looking for is upconversion, but I also want to be able to use it in 5-10 years and not be behind the times or out of date. I also don't have a 7.1 let alone 5.1 system right now. I'll be buying speakers for a 3.1 and a sub in the upcoming month or two, I just don't have it now.

So is it worth it?

Edit: I'm gonna buy it. Hope for the best. We'll see

I also just noticed that it's rated at 6 Ohms. Would it be a problem if I had 4 ohm speakers hooked up? I don't see my amp blowing my speakers, if they were 4, but what do I know?

On second thought, I should be able to find 6+ Ohm Speakers that are decent enough.

Mughe fucked around with this message at 22:37 on Dec 23, 2009

rakuen.now
Dec 23, 2009

Pibborando San posted:

But that will just make the program louder, in the same way that the commercials already are. You might be ok with this though. I would, however, not sacrifice the quality of my programming when I could just hit mute when commercials come on.
No, it wouldn't. It would allow you to set a volume you are comfortable with, and it would make the program louder up to that extent, but it would also lower the commercial volume. I like quality; TV audio isn't that dynamic to begin with.

Pibborando San
Dec 11, 2004

oh yes. two kinds... of dances

rakuen.now posted:

it would also lower the commercial volume.

How does it do this? I mean, how does it know when a commercial comes on? I've never heard of this capability and it sounds neat if it works as you say.

proton
Dec 23, 2005
fuck if your leg broke bitch, hop up on your good foot
I just bought A Fistful of Dollars on DVD, and it clearly says Dolby Digital 5.1 on the back, but it aint workin. Zero problems on every other DVD and BluRay I own. The Dolby Digital symbol appears on the corner of the receivers screen, but not the main part of the receiver. I assume this means its receiving 2 channel DD, not 5.1.

I realize its an old title and wasn't recorded with 5 channels in mind, just kinda pissed the DVD says it has 5.1 when it clearly doesn't, or I'm just a retard.

Anyone have a similar experience ? Any way to remedy this ?

OneZeroSix
Apr 5, 2009

Rodgers Shoryukening the Steelers FTW
It's pretty funny a couple days after I start complaining about the lack of consistency in commercials and program volume and how the FCC should be doing something about it the FCC decides to end the disparity once and for all:


http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/s...fdigestallnews+


HighDefDigest posted:


The disparity between the audio output of television shows and commercials is soon to be cleared up, if the bill is able to pass through the US Senate.

Television commercials are an accepted nuisance. We pay for the cable, and then pay for the content by watching advertising. Advertisers are eager to grab and keep your attention though, and that means resorting to the usual bag of tricks: sexy people, huge crane shots, and by being louder than everything else.

While certainly there have been measures taken to limit the loudness of commercials, the problem really isn’t how loud the commercials are. The problem is that regardless of the limitations set up, commercials are often louder than the TV show they’re advertising on. Viewers have to turn down their volume, mute their set – as the FCC suggests – or simply skip commercials using a DVR.

The CALM bill, which has now passed the House of Representatives and is on to the Senate, aims to end the problem once and for all. "This problem has existed for more than 50 years, but no one has properly addressed it," said Carolina’s Representative Anna Eshoo. "Under the CALM Act, consumers will no longer have to dive for the mute button."

The bill was introduced into the Senate by Sheldon Whitehouse (with a name like Whitehouse, going into politics seems the only logical choice) on December 8th, and if passed, will allow advertisers a year to adjust to the new regulations.



Apparently though the FCC already had regulations for this sort of thing but it had loopholes in it, and this bill will end it once and for all.

This is awesome, no more loud and annoying TV commercials for the rest of our lives!!

Dunno if this is thread worthy but if it is someone else is more than welcome to make one.

DONT THREAD ON ME
Oct 1, 2002

by Nyc_Tattoo
Floss Finder
I'm trying to find a good quality receiver in the $100-200 price range. To achieve this, I'm trying to find something used and not state of the art. It's for my parents. They are not audiophiles, but my dad enjoys music and they have an HDTV and I figure it is time they had a decent system nice speakers.


HDMI is not at all required, I figure a Digital 5.1 that will get the most out of their bluray/hdtv (without being HDMI) and has a USB plug for their Ipods/phones.

Anyhow, it's really hard to shop around on ebay/amazon without knowing a whole lot about this stuff. So first of all: Is this price point possible? And if so, can anyone throw out some models that might fit my criteria?

Finally, I found this on ebay and it looks too good to be true. Is it?
also this. Are refurbs a lot shittier than I thought? Either way, I'd rather spend the same amount of money on a higher quality receiver that doesn't do HDMI.

DONT THREAD ON ME fucked around with this message at 23:17 on Dec 24, 2009

Agreed
Dec 30, 2003

The price of meat has just gone up, and your old lady has just gone down

If you're serious about your budget range, this unit I've found to be really exceptional for the price:

Sony STR-DH700

Yes, it does have HDMI. No, it isn't making sacrifices to incorporate it. Frankly the HDMI thing isn't that big of a deal, all the three-input one output HDMI receivers are using the same not too expensive chip to accomplish the passthrough and it works fine and isn't taking much away from the bottom line. However, this thing is powerful and has great connectivity for video and audio - multiple analog RCA digital audio inputs, optical and SPDIF. Yeah, it's a 7.1 receiver, but no one's making you use eight channels. It is happily A.F.D. Auto detecting my stereo fronts and subwoofer and providing me with great 2.1 sound right now for everything from music to movies to games. It has an iPod input, and a DSP mode called "Portable" specifically meant for getting a solid sound out of the iPod's audio out.

It has an automatic calibration function which takes guesswork out of optimizing the channel levels for your listening position, and look-ahead dynamic range compression for any variety of Dolby-encoded material to keep a consistent volume for dialog and action, especially handy at night.

Anyway, it's in your budget, if only just, and I thought I'd bring it to your attention since I'm loving it. It isn't potentially shady like the Yamaha ebay deal (see edit), and it has a lot more power than the HK refurb which will matter whether your parents are audiophiles or not. Underpowering a speaker to the point of distortion can be just as damaging to equipment as overpowering.

Edit: Wait, what exactly is wrong with that Yamaha receiver? They make good stuff in my experience, and it seems to pretty much have what you're looking for. The seller is rated extremely well, I really doubt there's any risk there. However I can't tell - and this could just be my unfamiliarity with eBay - whether it's new or not. I prefer a new product to a used one, though Yamaha isn't exactly fly-by-night and I'm sure their stuff will hold up well. Still, I'd at least consider the Sony I recommended. My wife's using it right now to play Rock Band 2 and it's kicking rear end.

Agreed fucked around with this message at 04:49 on Dec 25, 2009

eddiewalker
Apr 28, 2004

Arrrr ye landlubber
productwiki says the Yamaha in that ebay link is more commonly known as the RX-V465. The HTR model number may be what they call it when it comes as part of a HTIB, but I'm not sure.

Agreed
Dec 30, 2003

The price of meat has just gone up, and your old lady has just gone down

Well, in any case, look at that Sony I'm cheering about and report back what you think about it. It's a lot more price-friendly than the Yamaha is new, and I question whether that eBay auction for $130 less than everyone else is selling it means it comes without a warranty or what.

Mughe
Mar 17, 2007

I'll tolerate you until I can replace you.
Alright, second question. Does putting the speakers behind the TV detract at all from the sound?

I have two options at the moment.



It's an apartment, and I'd rather not put the TV above the fireplace as it's awkward to look at. First option would be put the speakers on the mantle of the fire place, and either put the center speaker on the tv stand or just in between the L/R speakers on the mantle. (Green circles)

Second option would be to buy speaker stands and put it on either side of the TV. They wouldn't be against the wall. I'd then just put the center speaker on the tv stand. (Orange option)

In either case, the sub would be on the floor. So back to the question, would putting the L/R speakers behind the TV look awful/detract from the audio effect. And would putting the center speaker in front of the left and right also detract?

coolskillrex remix
Jan 1, 2007

gorsh

Mughe posted:

Alright, second question. Does putting the speakers behind the TV detract at all from the sound?

I have two options at the moment.



It's an apartment, and I'd rather not put the TV above the fireplace as it's awkward to look at. First option would be put the speakers on the mantle of the fire place, and either put the center speaker on the tv stand or just in between the L/R speakers on the mantle. (Green circles)

Second option would be to buy speaker stands and put it on either side of the TV. They wouldn't be against the wall. I'd then just put the center speaker on the tv stand. (Orange option)

In either case, the sub would be on the floor. So back to the question, would putting the L/R speakers behind the TV look awful/detract from the audio effect. And would putting the center speaker in front of the left and right also detract?

you should probably take a picture of your setup because right now i dont think anyone understands exactly how your tvs going to be setup. for one thing definitely DO NOT put speakers behind the tv, get really tiny ones or something but do not put speakers behind the tv.

Pibborando San
Dec 11, 2004

oh yes. two kinds... of dances

Mughe posted:

Alright, second question. Does putting the speakers behind the TV detract at all from the sound?

Wait, what? Like completely behind the screen, being blocked completely? You might as well ask "Will putting my TV in another room detract from the picture quality?"

The answer is yes.

Mughe
Mar 17, 2007

I'll tolerate you until I can replace you.

Pibborando San posted:

Wait, what? Like completely behind the screen, being blocked completely? You might as well ask "Will putting my TV in another room detract from the picture quality?"

The answer is yes.

By behind, I mean slightly above and a foot or two back. I'll take a picture and report the question in a few days when I'm back in my own apartment.

Pibborando San
Dec 11, 2004

oh yes. two kinds... of dances

Mughe posted:

By behind, I mean slightly above and a foot or two back. I'll take a picture and report the question in a few days when I'm back in my own apartment.

Oh. As long as you've got a line of sight to the speakers, you're good.

Saukkis
May 16, 2003

Unless I'm on the inside curve pointing straight at oncoming traffic the high beams stay on and I laugh at your puny protest flashes.
I am Most Important Man. Most Important Man in the World.

Mughe posted:

By behind, I mean slightly above and a foot or two back. I'll take a picture and report the question in a few days when I'm back in my own apartment.
That shouldn't be a problem, but it would probably be beneficial if the speakers were set wider apart.

Pibborando San
Dec 11, 2004

oh yes. two kinds... of dances

Saukkis posted:

That shouldn't be a problem, but it would probably be beneficial if the speakers were set wider apart.

This is true. Stands will allow you the best placement.

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Mughe
Mar 17, 2007

I'll tolerate you until I can replace you.

Saukkis posted:

That shouldn't be a problem, but it would probably be beneficial if the speakers were set wider apart.

Pibborando San posted:

This is true. Stands will allow you the best placement.

Alright, thanks for the advice.

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