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I recently bought an Onkyo HT-S3200 receiver/speaker package and was pretty well satisfied with my purchase. A week or so after I bought it (which is about a month ago now anyway), I picked up Terminator: Salvation on BluRay. Now, say what you will about the quality of the film, but I picked it up more or less to put the new HT through its paces, as the movie struck me in theaters as having good audio. When I popped the BluRay in, I get pretty drat massive and distracting crackling noises from my front speakers. It didn't happen for the entirety of the movie, but was present whenever more than polite conversation was happening on screen. Note, I didn't have my system cranked in the slightest (I tend to keep the volume at 40 or below). Also, as many other FAQ's and the like have pointed out, my front speakers are set to "Small" in the advanced options of the receiver. I even went as far as upgrading my speaker cables from the stock, light gauge selecction, to 16 gauge monsters. Still crackling with this movie (and a few others, also, Rock Band has been rendered unplayable at any volume) persists. As far as a set up goes, I had enough cables and of the right sort to avoid HDMI passthrough use. I have my 360 and BluRay player hooked up to my TV via HDMI, then everything fed into the receiver via the TV's optical out. I'd break this down into smaller questions, but the big one seems to suffice; what do I need to do?
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Jan 12, 2010 00:13
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l3v3l4outbr3ak posted:I recently bought an Onkyo HT-S3200 receiver/speaker package and was pretty well satisfied with my purchase. A week or so after I bought it (which is about a month ago now anyway), I picked up Terminator: Salvation on BluRay. Now, say what you will about the quality of the film, but I picked it up more or less to put the new HT through its paces, as the movie struck me in theaters as having good audio. When I popped the BluRay in, I get pretty drat massive and distracting crackling noises from my front speakers. RMA that sucker, it's defective. Sorry you wasted money on Monster cables, dude.
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Jan 12, 2010 00:45
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Cicero posted:I accidentally bought an HDTV that has no analog out, it just has the digital toslink output. This is a problem, as I had planned on just using my old PC speakers with the TV. The short answer is "it depends" What are your sources that are hooked into your tv and how are they wired up? It's worth noting that your TV's toslink output might only be outputting audio from it's built-in cable/antenna tuner and may NOT be passing along any other audio. Check your manual first. So even if you did get a new set of speakers that take digital audio directly, or a digital-to-analog converter to use your existing speakers, you STILL might not be getting the audio from all of your sources. Are you looking to just do 2.0 or 2.1 sound, or full 5.1 or 7.1 surround? If you're going to make an investment, your best bet is to get a receiver that can handle everything at least from an audio perspective(analog, digital toslink, HDMI), and then build out your speakers starting with a good 2.0 setup and going up from there.
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Jan 12, 2010 01:32
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l3v3l4outbr3ak posted:Still crackling with this movie (and a few others, also, Rock Band has been rendered unplayable at any volume) persists. As far as a set up goes, I had enough cables and of the right sort to avoid HDMI passthrough use. I have my 360 and BluRay player hooked up to my TV via HDMI, then everything fed into the receiver via the TV's optical out. Definitely sounds like your receiver is faulty, no matter the source (digital or analog) you should not be getting noise/static like that. Also, as I mentioned in my previous post you should confirm that the way you have this wired up is actually passing along a digital signal to your receiver for surround sound, most TVs DON'T do this with their digital out port. So you may only be getting 2.0 LPCM passed down (e.g. the same as analog red/white connections) to the receiver rather than true 5.1
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Jan 12, 2010 01:36
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vanilla slimfast posted:Definitely sounds like your receiver is faulty, no matter the source (digital or analog) you should not be getting noise/static like that. So more or less hook up the Blu Ray using the HDMI passthru, routing audio with optical then? I really hope I don't have to RMA this fucker, we recycled the box and everything already 
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Jan 12, 2010 01:56
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l3v3l4outbr3ak posted:So more or less hook up the Blu Ray using the HDMI passthru, routing audio with optical then? I really hope I don't have to RMA this fucker, we recycled the box and everything already Ideally you'd be running the HDMI audio from the BluRay player straight into your receiver, but I don't think the model you have supports that (actually I'm almost positive it doesn't) The way you have it wired up now, does the DD or DTS indicator on the receiver come on? What is the make and model of your TV?
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Jan 12, 2010 01:59
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vanilla slimfast posted:Ideally you'd be running the HDMI audio from the BluRay player straight into your receiver, but I don't think the model you have supports that (actually I'm almost positive it doesn't) I've got a "D" next to a dolby logo indicator when all surround speakers are enabled (speakers A and B turned on says the receiver), as well as a DTS indicator and an Audyssey indicator. All of them are always on. If this is a serious RTFM situation, a point in the right direction would be nice, as the manual reads like...well...stereo instructions. The thing that's puzzling me, is that most DVD's/BluRays/Games play just fine, even at high volume. For instance, the Watchmen Ultimate Cut on BluRay exhibits no crackling noise, even at high volume (50-55 range). As for TV, I've got an LG 37LG30.
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Jan 12, 2010 02:28
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I'm in the market for an LP player, finally, and right now my choices narrow down to a nicely used Technics 1210 Mk2, and a demo-used Nad C555i for approximately the same price. Which one should I go for? I've never bought my own vinyl player, but based on my own limited technical insight I'm inclined towards the 1210. I'll play a wide range of music on it, but I'll definitely enjoy it most if it works well with noisy music. Suggestions welcome! Edit: Seems like the Rega P1 is in the same price class, and I've had this recommended to me, but I didn't bring up the possibility of a 1210 during that discussion. Force de Fappe fucked around with this message at 19:54 on Jan 13, 2010 |
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Jan 13, 2010 19:50
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Sjurygg posted:I'm in the market for an LP player, finally, and right now my choices narrow down to a nicely used Technics 1210 Mk2, and a demo-used Nad C555i for approximately the same price. Which one should I go for? I've never bought my own vinyl player, but based on my own limited technical insight I'm inclined towards the 1210. I'll play a wide range of music on it, but I'll definitely enjoy it most if it works well with noisy music. Suggestions welcome! The Turntable/Vinyl/2-channel Stereo/Vintage thread is the place for you.
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Jan 13, 2010 20:49
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Sjurygg posted:I'm in the market for an LP player I don't have any personal experience with the Technics player, but the NAD C555 is a rebadged Rega P2 and comes with the RB250 tonearm. It is absolutely worth it to take the NAD over a similarly-priced Rega P1. The RB250 tonearm is so good, and easily upgraded, that I would probably take the NAD over the Technics as well.
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Jan 13, 2010 21:18
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FWIW the Technics 1200 has been the gold standard for DJs for 30+ years. Probably overkill for a home listening setup though unless you can get one used/cheap
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Jan 13, 2010 23:53
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vanilla slimfast posted:FWIW the Technics 1200 has been the gold standard for DJs for 30+ years. Probably overkill for a home listening setup though unless you can get one used/cheap The upside of being the gold standard for DJs is that there's tons of used ones out there. In fact, Technics designed it as an audiophile table; DJs picked it up since it is basically unkillable.
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Jan 15, 2010 02:22
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Can anyone recommend a set of amplified speakers suitable for use with a PC? I used to use my main amplifier but will now have that in a different room so won't be able to use regular unamped speakers anymore and can't justify buying a second amp just for this. I just bought a set of Altec Lansing 2.1 speakers but the crossover is appalling on them (it's way too low so music sounds incredibly tinny) so they're going back to the shop
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Jan 17, 2010 17:40
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Powerful Two-Hander posted:Can anyone recommend a set of amplified speakers suitable for use with a PC? I used to use my main amplifier but will now have that in a different room so won't be able to use regular unamped speakers anymore and can't justify buying a second amp just for this. I just bought a set of Altec Lansing 2.1 speakers but the crossover is appalling on them (it's way too low so music sounds incredibly tinny) so they're going back to the shop Any powered studio monitors would work. Like this, and these and this.
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Jan 18, 2010 00:04
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I started looking at studio monitors earlier (The Behringer MS40's seem reasonable for the price), is the whole "oh they're too accurate and don't colour the sound so everything will sound poo poo" argument I've seen popping up worth any weight or is this not really going to make any difference/just means the bass isn't amped up to satisfy the average gamers need for louder explosions?
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Jan 18, 2010 00:39
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So I got that Onkyo HT-S7200 home theater kit, and after setting it up, need longer wires to be able to wire the living room neatly. However the wires I currently have are 24AWG, and the smallest monoprice sells is 18 AWG. So the question is, does the gauge of the wire matter? Is bigger ok? I can also buy 500ft of 24 AWG wire from amazon for $35. What should I do.
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Jan 18, 2010 02:12
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Deceptor101 posted:So I got that Onkyo HT-S7200 home theater kit, and after setting it up, need longer wires to be able to wire the living room neatly. However the wires I currently have are 24AWG, and the smallest monoprice sells is 18 AWG. So the question is, does the gauge of the wire matter? Is bigger ok? I can also buy 500ft of 24 AWG wire from amazon for $35. What should I do. Bigger is typically better for longer runs. Lower overall resistance per foot. I wire pretty much all my HT stuff with 16 AWG.
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Jan 18, 2010 02:14
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Schpyder posted:Bigger is typically better for longer runs. Lower overall resistance per foot. I wire pretty much all my HT stuff with 16 AWG. Is there a benefit to smaller wire? Should I rewire everything in 16? Or just the longer runs?
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Jan 18, 2010 03:25
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Deceptor101 posted:Is there a benefit to smaller wire? Should I rewire everything in 16? Or just the longer runs? I think you may be confused. 16 AWG is a lot BIGGER than 24 AWG. Lower numbers = bigger. e: Seems I probably interpreted your posts wrong. To answer your first question, with regards to sound quality, no. Use wire as big as the binding posts on your speakers and amp (or banana/spade plugs you cap the ends with) can handle. Pibborando San fucked around with this message at 06:44 on Jan 18, 2010 |
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Jan 18, 2010 06:41
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Pibborando San posted:I think you may be confused. 16 AWG is a lot BIGGER than 24 AWG. Lower numbers = bigger. Ok, thanks, that's good to know. One last question before I buy tons of feet of wire, What's the deal with the Oxygen-Free wire? I figure I might as well get good stuff if it'll make a difference, but it looks like it's not a huge price difference so I can't imagine it does.
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Jan 18, 2010 09:19
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Deceptor101 posted:Ok, thanks, that's good to know. One last question before I buy tons of feet of wire, What's the deal with the Oxygen-Free wire? I figure I might as well get good stuff if it'll make a difference, but it looks like it's not a huge price difference so I can't imagine it does. The processes used to remove oxygen from the copper just remove impurities that can raise the wire's resistance. The difference is so minor that I wouldn't waste my money if it cost any more, but I'm pretty happy with the roll of monoprice's 12AWG speaker wire that they happen to list as oxygen-free. eddiewalker fucked around with this message at 09:45 on Jan 18, 2010 |
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Jan 18, 2010 09:34
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There's not much of an oxygen impurity in any copper wire, that's really just gimmicky marketing to try and put a price premium on something to sell for suckers. Which places like Monoprice took advantage of after it became popular, because there's not really much of an oxygen impurity in any copper wire, so they can label it oxygen-free to within 99% or whatever the current audiophile-grade standard is and not be lying.
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Jan 18, 2010 16:46
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I use lamp cord for speaker wires to piss off people who get pissed off about that kind of stuff.
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Jan 18, 2010 19:21
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So long as it's marked for polarity.
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Jan 18, 2010 19:54
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Hopefully this makes sense as I know next to nothing about audio. After waffling a bit I have simply decided to take the plunge and get an Onkyo TX-SR607 or 707 receiver. I have inherited 2 old receivers (Technics SA-GX550 and Sony STR-K502P), 2 Technics speakers (SB-CR33), and a partial 5.1 Sony system (4 SS-MSP1 satellites, 1 SA-WMSP1 sub). 1st-would the above old speakers work with the newer Onkyo? I realize I should hook them up to the old receivers to see if they work, but would they work with the newer receiver? 2nd-if the above speakers work, are they "worth" it? I don't mind plunking down money for new speakers if these are going to be crummy. In fact, I do plan on getting new ones anyways, but if these are worthwhile to still use I will hold off for a bit before buying anything new. 3rd-if I should/need to get new speakers, whats a good 5.1 recommendation atm? Or at least a good center speaker since I seem to be wholly lacking that. 4th-for any of the old equipment that I won't be using, should I just toss/recycle it or is it possible to get any money for stuff that old? Thanks.
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Jan 18, 2010 21:13
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tyraphoon posted:questions about old speakers 1) They'll work with your new receiver provided they work at all, as long as they have an 8 ohm impedance (this should be marked on them.) 2) Personally, I'd use the Technics speakers alone until I could get something better. 3) Budget? 4)Someone on Craigslist might want that stuff for the following reasons: The Sony has digital inputs, so you may get a decent amount for that along with the Sony speakers, like maybe $50-60. From what I could find out, that Sony set originally came with the receiver, sub and 5 of those speakers. On the other hand, the Technics has a phono input so maybe someone who just got a turntable would buy it. Maybe $40 or so for that with the speakers. In either case, ask for more and expect to get around that much.
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Jan 19, 2010 02:37
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I have a budget Onkyo HTIB system that is surprisingly not awful, but I'm interested in getting a new L/C/R and eventually a new sub, as I listen to a lot of stereo music. I'm thinking about the PSB Alpha B1's for the L/R and the C1 for the C, which seem to be an absurd deal and come in a beautiful sienna color. Are there any better deals out there?
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Jan 19, 2010 17:16
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Powerful Two-Hander posted:Can anyone recommend a set of amplified speakers suitable for use with a PC? I used to use my main amplifier but will now have that in a different room so won't be able to use regular unamped speakers anymore and can't justify buying a second amp just for this. I just bought a set of Altec Lansing 2.1 speakers but the crossover is appalling on them (it's way too low so music sounds incredibly tinny) so they're going back to the shop Why not buy a t-amp? They are cheap. Do you like your current speakers? T-amps are rather high sound quality, just not a lot of power. Perfect for a desktop setup.
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Jan 19, 2010 19:24
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I've got a bit of a conundrum that maybe someone here could help me with. I've got a receiver with 2 Toslink ports on it, and up to 5 devices using HDMI. My receiver doesn't have HDMI, so I have to use Toslink for audio. I was using one of these, but there were some issues such as a missing center channel sometimes on my PS3, and various HDCP handshake issues. I'm RMAing that for a refund because a lot of other people are having the same issues. As far as I can see it my options are: 1. An HDMI adapter that converts the audio out as Toslink, with no HDCP issues if it can retain a secure link or whatever it needs to have HDCP compatibility. 2. An automatic (though a remote would work okay I suppose if that's not possible) Toslink switch. If any of you have any solutions for me, that'd be great, but option 1 would be preferred so I can just get a larger HDMI switch if necessary. If you've got an idea for something else that would work effectively for this, let me know, I'm somewhat out of the loop when it comes to some of this stuff.
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Jan 19, 2010 19:41
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ShaneB posted:I have a budget Onkyo HTIB system that is surprisingly not awful, but I'm interested in getting a new L/C/R and eventually a new sub, as I listen to a lot of stereo music. I'm thinking about the PSB Alpha B1's for the L/R and the C1 for the C, which seem to be an absurd deal and come in a beautiful sienna color. Are there any better deals out there? Of the bookshelf speakers tested by Consumer Reports, the PSB Alpha B1's are tied with the more expensive Polk Audio RTiA1's for the highest rating. So, I think you've already picked the best deal out there. Well played.
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Jan 19, 2010 20:57
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Princess posted:Of the bookshelf speakers tested by Consumer Reports, the PSB Alpha B1's are tied with the more expensive Polk Audio RTiA1's for the highest rating. So, I think you've already picked the best deal out there. Well played. Consumer Reports.... my go-to audio guru publication.  I think the best bets I have are Paradigm Atom or PSB Alpha B1. Stereophile says head-to-head they are both amazing, but the B1 has a better low end and the Atoms a better high end. My local hi-fi store sells Paradigm so I might be able to audition them.
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Jan 19, 2010 21:47
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I wanted a cheap upgrade to my televisions crappy built-in sound, so I bought $50 remote-controlled speakers to save money and avoid buying a reciever. http://www.amazon.com/Eagle-Tech-AR504LR-BK-Soundstage-Subwoofer/dp/B0029Z9UNW Now I have decent remote-controlled sound for $50 total, but the remote is pretty terrible and our stack of remotes is adding up. There is no remote 'power off' to help search for the code with a universal remote, just volume. If I buy a learning remote would I be able to program that to control the infrared speaker volume? http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=learning+remote&x=0&y=0 Summary: My remote-controlled speaker manufacturer will not provide a universal setup code. I'm wondering if an affordable learning remote could work for volume control and reduce my pile of remote controls. Fishmasher fucked around with this message at 00:30 on Jan 20, 2010 |
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Jan 20, 2010 00:25
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BattleHork posted:
2 budget points. 1st)$1000 (pre-tax and shipping). If I can get a good 5.1 setup for this I would be very happy. 2nd)$2000. I've decided that my sound system will be my major fun purchase this year (instead of going halfsies on a sound system and new pc) so if it will make a noticeable difference I could go up to 2 grand. I still need to drop a couple hundred on a tv stand/media center so I would prefer lower if possible. If it helps, I intend to use the system (in descending order of importance): movies, games, music. Also, my current living room probably isn't the most well suited for a nice 5.1 setup, but I don't plan on being here forever.
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Jan 20, 2010 00:57
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Long shot question: has anyone ever ordered cable or adapters from https://www.pulsartech.net I tempted by their $30 25" 8 channel XLR snake, but also a little suspicious of the quality. That's way cheaper than I can make it myself.
eddiewalker fucked around with this message at 01:06 on Jan 23, 2010 |
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Jan 20, 2010 04:15
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ShaneB posted:I think the best bets I have are Paradigm Atom or PSB Alpha B1. Stereophile says head-to-head they are both amazing, but the B1 has a better low end and the Atoms a better high end. My local hi-fi store sells Paradigm so I might be able to audition them. Both of these are very well-designed speakers, and you'd do well to buy either. For a long time the Atom was the default budget bookshelf speaker that you could recommend to anyone, but then just kind of fell out of favor. If you can hear them locally and like them, go for it.
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Jan 20, 2010 05:40
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TheMadMilkman posted:Both of these are very well-designed speakers, and you'd do well to buy either. For a long time the Atom was the default budget bookshelf speaker that you could recommend to anyone, but then just kind of fell out of favor. If you can hear them locally and like them, go for it. I don't think the Atom is any worse than it was, there's just so many more great speakers in that range and they got a little more expensive probably because of the exchange rate. qirex fucked around with this message at 08:49 on Jan 20, 2010 |
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Jan 20, 2010 05:45
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Yeah, they have always been a good value, and you're right, it's a very crowded price point. Although the number of truly great speakers at the price range has decreased, in my estimation, over the past few years.
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Jan 20, 2010 08:22
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TheMadMilkman posted:Yeah, they have always been a good value, and you're right, it's a very crowded price point. Although the number of truly great speakers at the price range has decreased, in my estimation, over the past few years. Suggestions for others? The gods are testing me, they have a set of small used Paradigm towers at the shop that someone just traded in, for $400. Since my stands currently suck, this would be a better deal and probably better sound for the cost.
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Jan 20, 2010 18:57
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ShaneB posted:Suggestions for others? The only other inexpensive bookshelf that pops into my mind is the Monitor Audio Bronze 1, which I believe go for about $300 a pair. Polk and Infinity both used to produce good speakers in that price range, but Polk's quality has gone to crap and Infinity has all but abandoned traditional box speakers. Out of curiosity, what gear are you going to be using with the speakers, and in what kind of a room?
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Jan 21, 2010 08:45
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TheMadMilkman posted:The only other inexpensive bookshelf that pops into my mind is the Monitor Audio Bronze 1, which I believe go for about $300 a pair. Polk and Infinity both used to produce good speakers in that price range, but Polk's quality has gone to crap and Infinity has all but abandoned traditional box speakers. I used to have more of a budget audiophile 2-channel setup of all NAD gear with B&W DM302 speakers, but I sold it all and got an Onkyo HTIB because I didn't have a dedicated listening room and surround sound in the living room made more sense. The Onkyo is surprisingly not bad at all, even the speakers. I'm working to replace the speakers, though, fronts first, then sub, then rears (maybe). My source is a NAD 533 turntable (Rega Planar 2 clone) with a Rega Bias 2 cart, and sometimes VBR MP3 streamed from my media server. The room is not ideal at all for dedicated listening, but for my budget I don't care. It's an assymetrical setup with a big window (with curtains) on one side and a bunch of open space on the other, and a LCD tv sitting on a teak media center in between the fronts. I'm also about 5 feet from each speaker so it's an intimate little space.
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Jan 21, 2010 15:19
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