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How much do you want to spend?
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Jul 18, 2013 18:10
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Ah sorry, ~$1500 up to $2000 for this room. Nothing too crazy, I plan to build out the basement entertainment area after this which should end up having a quite nicer setup.
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Jul 18, 2013 19:13
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Since I didn't see an answer on the last page, can anyone recommend a quality soundbar up to around $400? I saw that the Sony soundbars have gotten pretty favorable reviews despite the odd design, so I'm learning toward that, but I really have no idea what I'm looking for. I want a minimum of fuss in setting up and just want to add some better sound to a small apartment living room.
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Jul 18, 2013 19:25
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Okay, so this isn't really home audio so much, but Im going to post here as someone in here might have an idea as to what I need. I just got a pair of studio monitors that I want to use for both my computer and my DJ equipment. I was wondering if there is any way to be able to toggle my speaker output between my computer and my mixer? The mixer's output is 2 RCA cables, and the computer output is a 1/8" connector (typical). The monitors are powered and are connected via RCA. I saw some switchers on the internet like this: http://www.walmart.com/ip/RCA-4-Way-AV-Switcher-With-S-Video/3312963 But I'm worried the sound quality won't be good, etc. Any suggestions so I dont need to keep switching my wires around?
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Jul 18, 2013 20:23
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Is there such a thing as a no-frills stereo amplifier under $100 with TOSlink these days? I'm just looking to get that + Andrew Jones bookshelf speakers for my plasma, and call it a day. I guess it would have to be 6ohm compatible too? I don't understand the resistance part at all. My TV is on an Ikea Lack bench, so any surround receiver (for expanding later) outside of Marantz, which has sub-6" tall receivers isn't an option; and I don't want to spend that much right now. Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 06:03 on Jul 20, 2013 |
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Jul 20, 2013 05:43
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Mister Macys posted:Is there such a thing as a no-frills stereo amplifier under $100 with TOSlink these days? Depending on where you live, there may be plenty of people trying to offload their old receivers for cheap on Craigslist for no other reason than they upgraded to one with HDMI switching. I should know, because I'm one of them. (I'm guessing you're not in Indianapolis, though)
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Jul 20, 2013 06:02
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And I'm in Canada, so Accessories4Less is out.  And I checked my local Kijiji (more popular here, no idea why). Nothing but expensive, very old, or both.
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Jul 20, 2013 06:04
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neogeo0823 posted:Why yes, that'll definitely help out a ton. Thanks again. Sort of curious how this turned out neogeo.
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Jul 20, 2013 07:26
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Newegg has klipsch f30s for $380/pair today, and the c20 for 150. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Combo...ombo1391689-LC1 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._-82780030-L07B Jumped on them - I was about to get the Andrew Jones, but for only $180 more for the set of 3 I think these are worth it (I hope?). Got a buddy to pick up and ship the pioneer sc1522k receiver from one of the last costcos that had them. And received the Klipsch RW12D sub already - the port tube was all loose and ratting around in the box, apparently its a common issue. There definitely wasn't near enough glue on it, looks like it was just a small smear of white stuff. AVS forums says its pretty easy to open it up and epoxy it back in really well. I'm kind of up in the air about it though, might just return and hope the 2nd one is good. So for now, feel like I got a really good 3.1 setup for about $1450. Massive overkill on the receiver, but gives me room to grow. Jonathon, you were talking about DIY speakers earlier in the thread - I'm kind of tempted to try DIY'ing these speakers at some point for the surrounds - http://www.diysoundgroup.com/os-speaker-kit.html The cabinets do look amazingly easy to put together, but I'm more worried about soldering all the electronics. Do you have any feel for that? I mean, this link looks non-trivial... http://techtalk.parts-express.com/showthread.php?223751-Overnight-Sensation-Build-Two-Sets&p=1724332#post1724332
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Jul 20, 2013 21:16
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What's the symptom of an Onkyo HDMI board going out? I had a PS3 video feed over HDMI to an Onkyo NR515 start flashing pure static occasionally, I'm starting a complete debug now but it's going to be tough to tell if its the PS3, receiver, or TV that's dying. All are within warranty, but still a pain to diagnose.
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Jul 21, 2013 03:41
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Baddog posted:DIY crossover If you've never soldered before, watch a few tutorials on youtube and practice a bit on some scrap wire before diving in. If you need to buy a soldering iron, spend a little extra money on one with an adjustable temperature control. It helps a lot. I say go for it if you're at all interested in the DIY route. Nothing about it is particularly difficult. You get great speakers for a lot less money than their retail equivalents, it's a really fun learning experience, and it's pretty satisfying when your friends come over and ask what brand those awesome sounding speakers are.
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Jul 21, 2013 18:34
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Weinertron posted:What's the symptom of an Onkyo HDMI board going out? Additionally, I sometimes got a purple or greenish image where one of the RGB channels seemed disconnected or something. And, yes, static too.
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Jul 22, 2013 08:55
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DirtyTalk posted:I just got a pair of studio monitors that I want to use for both my computer and my DJ equipment. I was wondering if there is any way to be able to toggle my speaker output between my computer and my mixer? Don't worry about sound quality. Get one of those switches and live happily ever after. If you notice a difference after plugging in the switch, you got a faulty unit, return it. You wouldn't need the "V" in "AV Switcher", since you only want to switch audio, so if you find something even cheaper with only the red/white RCA connectors, that will work as well - and 4 inputs seems to be more than you need, right? You'd also need to get a Y cable from 1/8" male to stereo RCA male, or a switch that has both kinds of input.
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Jul 22, 2013 15:08
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a shameful boehner posted:Since I didn't see an answer on the last page, can anyone recommend a quality soundbar up to around $400? Yamaha soundbars generally speaking sound ok. Maybe look into those? I personally think the convenience of having a receiver is worth whatever extra hassle the wiring may cause, especially if you have several source devices. You'll only have to wire it once.
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Jul 22, 2013 21:02
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Mister Macys posted:Is there such a thing as a no-frills stereo amplifier under $100 with TOSlink these days? The problem is that in order to accept a TOSlink signal, it needs to be more than just an amplifier - it has to have a DAC as well. Hence the suggestions to get a receiver instead. But if you want something small and simple, you could maybe get this http://www.amazon.com/LP-2020A-Lepa...tereo+amplifier plus this http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Optic...plifier+optical
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Jul 23, 2013 19:52
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Baddog posted:Newegg has klipsch f30s for $380/pair today, and the c20 for 150. I don't like those overnight sensations for surrounds. I like them as bookshelf speakers on their own as a bookshelf system in a smaller room if you don't want a subwoofer. However, as surrounds which don't get any bass in movies, you're trading a lot of efficiency for bass extension which you don't need at all. Also, you're using horn tweeters for the front stage and a cheap conventional tweeter for the surrounds. For the price, ($130) + shipping plus tax, plus the extra supplies needed to finish them such as polyfill, vinyl veneer, and a soldering gun, you could get yourself a matching set of Klipsch Synergy S2 or S-20 speakers, or any of the bookshelf speakers for less than the total cost of those DIY on the used market. If you want a cheap DIY project to learn with, by all means get them. It's a $130 experiment and you could always use them in a bedroom or the garage or something. As a component of your already high end list of gear, I would pass. In regards to the Klipsch F30's. You will like them. The only real difference between them and the RF 82's is the tweeter and slightly better crossover network. They're a big step up from the Pioneers simply because of how much air they can displace. jonathan fucked around with this message at 22:28 on Jul 23, 2013 |
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Jul 23, 2013 22:25
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Need advice. I have a set of Klipsch Quintets and one of the satellites has a dead tweeter. Assuming I'm not able to get one tweeter/speaker replaced on a discontinued system, would it be a reasonable idea for me to grab a pair of tower speakers for the front right+left channels and use those with the existing center channel + surround speakers?
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Jul 25, 2013 23:50
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Robo-Pope posted:Need advice. I have a set of Klipsch Quintets and one of the satellites has a dead tweeter. Assuming I'm not able to get one tweeter/speaker replaced on a discontinued system, would it be a reasonable idea for me to grab a pair of tower speakers for the front right+left channels and use those with the existing center channel + surround speakers? Somebody on eBay is selling the tweeter you need for $28, but the listing photo shows what appears to be the part numbers, which are "160749" and "K-139". With that information, I found this listing on Amazon for what appears to be the same part for $20: http://www.amazon.com/KLIPSCH-139-TWEETER-Original-Part/dp/B001DHGEV8 These speakers have plastic enclosures, but it looks like they still come apart with little fuss once you remove four screws, so swapping them out should be an easy job to do. You'll want to verify that your part numbers match up with my findings before you order. Zorilla fucked around with this message at 00:34 on Jul 26, 2013 |
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Jul 26, 2013 00:28
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Robo-Pope posted:Need advice. I have a set of Klipsch Quintets and one of the satellites has a dead tweeter. Assuming I'm not able to get one tweeter/speaker replaced on a discontinued system, would it be a reasonable idea for me to grab a pair of tower speakers for the front right+left channels and use those with the existing center channel + surround speakers? you could use them as surrounds, but trying to match quintets with tower speakers will require handicapping the towers for level matching.
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Jul 26, 2013 04:10
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Is there a receiver with airplay, 3D, and can output component over HDMI that can be had for under 200? I'm fine with refurbished/used/eBay. Internet stuff would be nice but I don't need it as I have an HTPC for pandora et al. I don't care about remote apps. I'm currently using an older Yamaha receiver that has no HDMI and it's a pain in the rear end and I hate it so much
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Jul 27, 2013 01:47
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granpa yum posted:Is there a receiver with airplay, 3D, and can output component over HDMI that can be had for under 200? I'm fine with refurbished/used/eBay. Internet stuff would be nice but I don't need it as I have an HTPC for pandora et al. I don't care about remote apps. How many channels do you need? This list has most of the features you're looking for at your budget. Most of the offers in your budget are used, though. Wasabi the J fucked around with this message at 07:06 on Jul 27, 2013 |
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Jul 27, 2013 06:52
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5.1 for now but ability to expand is always good. I was fine with used gear though, is there a reason I shouldn't be?
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Jul 27, 2013 17:46
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granpa yum posted:5.1 for now but ability to expand is always good. I was fine with used gear though, is there a reason I shouldn't be? I don't know why purchasing advice threads like these have such an aversion to used items. I seem to run into more problems with brand new items than ones somebody else has broken in already. DOA just doesn't happen here. With the exception of food, just about everything I own was bought used or handed down, and I would definitely recommend looking at used receivers, as you can find one with a lot of features for much less than a stripped down would cost new. The only thing I'd be on the lookout for is people selling units with known reliability issues (i.e. Onkyos and HDMI boards) and confirm those problems aren't present at the time of sale. Zorilla fucked around with this message at 18:59 on Jul 27, 2013 |
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Jul 27, 2013 18:53
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granpa yum posted:5.1 for now but ability to expand is always good. I was fine with used gear though, is there a reason I shouldn't be? No. I just prefer new stuff with boxes and warranties so that I can find something wrong with it at the end of warranty and get a new one. I am a massive rear end in a top hat sometimes.
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Jul 28, 2013 07:19
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Finally got around to playing more with sub locations. Based on all the amazing information linked by Jonathan, I really should play with main speaker locations to deal with room resonances, but in my current room/layout I'm fairly restricted by furniture and room design (no side wall at all on the left side for example). Anyway, I ended up with one sub to the right of my right front main, about 3" from the wall firing parallel to it away from the center, and the other sub on the opposing 'corner', in the back of the room, firing parallel to the wall towards the center. Ended up with this sub-only curve:  Adding in the mains I got this (the subs were boosted 9db in the graph above just for a higher level to measure, hence the db difference):  And finally, did a full range sweep:  The roll off at 40hz is much much better now. Would like to do something about that dip at 400-500hz, but other than that, it's looking much better, and sounds pretty good. I'm quite sure now that I prefer 'more' bass, since I end up boosting the subs a bit after getting the graph as flat as possible, in order for most of my music to sound best to my ears. Overall, very happy, and thanks for all the good advice.
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Jul 28, 2013 20:26
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The Locator posted:Finally got around to playing more with sub locations. That last measurement, is that with audyessey on or off ? If on, is that with the Flat/Music curve, or the Movie curve ? Also, are you using Dynamic EQ ? If possible could you put your .mdat file into a drop box or google drive ? I'd like to view the measurements and waterfall. Edit: I still don't like that sub rolloff. I believe you're getting more bass down there than the measurements show. REW has a sign wave generator. Don't go crazy with the volume, but if you play a 25hz test signal and then a 45hz, do you get anything from the 25hz versus the 45 ? jonathan fucked around with this message at 20:36 on Jul 28, 2013 |
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Jul 28, 2013 20:33
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jonathan posted:That last measurement, is that with audyessey on or off ? If on, is that with the Flat/Music curve, or the Movie curve ? Also, are you using Dynamic EQ ? If possible could you put your .mdat file into a drop box or google drive ? I'd like to view the measurements and waterfall. Audyssey on (but not re-run yet after moving the subs). Music curve, Dynamic EQ on (but measurements at reference). .mdat file - right-click save-as should work on this link - http://www.magetower.com/pics/rew/Jul 28 12_00_05.mdat jonathan posted:Edit: I still don't like that sub rolloff. I believe you're getting more bass down there than the measurements show. REW has a sign wave generator. Don't go crazy with the volume, but if you play a 25hz test signal and then a 45hz, do you get anything from the 25hz versus the 45 ? I'm not sure what you mean but 'get anything'. The speakers are definitely working at 25hz, but other than my cell phone and the audyssey mic, I don't have anything to measure it with. As an experiment I put my phone in SPL mode 3' in front of one of the subs on the floor. At 45hz it was reading 104db, and at 25hz it was reading 89db. But we keep coming back to how well do my mic/phone read the frequencies below 40hz? I can hear the 25hz sine wave, but it's not nearly as loud to my ears as the 45hz. Some of that is probably frequency, and some of that is no doubt my age.  Some day I may get a real SPL meter and a calibrated mic, but for now it seems like too much money to justify just to get a better looking graph, since I'm not going to replace these subs/speakers anytime soon. Edit: Looked at the waterfall. I have no idea what it means! Edit2: I may have some sort of resonance or equipment problem that is causing the 40hz peak. I tried a bunch of different random things, shut the subs off and switched the mains to full range, left mains at full range and turned on double bass, moved the mic around, etc. In all cases I have a big spike at 40hz, with the exact same peak db reading.  So I appear to be trying to adjust everything else around the 40hz spike. The Locator fucked around with this message at 22:25 on Jul 28, 2013 |
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Jul 28, 2013 21:21
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I'm buying a new-build house that will have pre-wiring for surround sound in the main room, a 5.1 setup. All 5 speakers are pre-wired to the ceiling, so 3 in the front, 2 in the back...are ceiling speakers ok for the front sound or should I look into getting speakers that actually are facing the people watching/listening?
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Jul 28, 2013 21:33
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JPrime posted:I'm buying a new-build house that will have pre-wiring for surround sound in the main room, a 5.1 setup. All 5 speakers are pre-wired to the ceiling, so 3 in the front, 2 in the back...are ceiling speakers ok for the front sound or should I look into getting speakers that actually are facing the people watching/listening? The latter. Ceiling speakers just aren't that great. Get the contractor to pull the runs down towards the floor if you can. If you want, leave the surrounds in the ceiling if you don't want them in the way, but for the front 3, go with traditional speakers or in walls. I don't like ceiling speakers because you're always listening to them very far off axis, and they're nowhere near the screen. You also can't use auto-calibration systems with them, as the Mic is designed for measurements taken from a source off axis from the mic, not a source pointing down directly at the mic. If you must go with ceiling speakers, consider using the wiring to run a traditional speaker mounted up at the ceiling, with a mount that lets you point it directly at the listening position.
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Jul 28, 2013 23:43
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The Locator posted:Audyssey on (but not re-run yet after moving the subs). Music curve, Dynamic EQ on (but measurements at reference). Perhaps the room just doesn't give much gain, so the bass falls off instead of holding flat. I'm not sure why, but your older measurements were up around 85db, and your new ones are much lower. I can give you some info very the waterfall graph, but the volume is too low so the normal room noise (noise floor) is hiding detail. Can you get a measurement up around 85db ? I leave the receiver at 0db master volume, and adjust the signal strength via REW.
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Jul 28, 2013 23:47
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Quick advice- Looking to spend about $3-500, lower the better, on some new speakers for a living room in a college house. Also, our current speakers really suck and are busted, so we're easy to please. -2 better speakers + receiver -2 speakers, subwoofer, receiver -what do you think? The sole use of this will be to play music from a 1/8th cord to an ipod or laptop. Any suggestions on where to put our money from anyone who recently purchased in this price range?
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Jul 29, 2013 00:23
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LedZergling posted:Quick advice- Amplifier: http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/ONKTX8255/Onkyo-TX-8255-50-watts-2-channel-Stereo-Receiver/1.html Or check out the used market in your area. If you only want to drive 2 speakers + subwoofer, stick with a 2 channel amp instead of a surround receiver. Speakers: http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/Speakers/Home+Theater+Speakers/SP-FS52 Subwoofer: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290130&Tpk=polk%20505 That will be a good 2.1 setup. You could go better, but not for the money new. You could also consider the used market. Where are you located?
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Jul 29, 2013 00:54
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jonathan posted:The latter. Ceiling speakers just aren't that great. Get the contractor to pull the runs down towards the floor if you can. If you want, leave the surrounds in the ceiling if you don't want them in the way, but for the front 3, go with traditional speakers or in walls. I don't know that I'll have the option to pull down the runs...could whoever I get after the fact to put in the actual speakers/sub use/move the existing wires? Also, are ceiling speakers ok for the rear channels?
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Jul 29, 2013 01:24
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jonathan posted:Perhaps the room just doesn't give much gain, so the bass falls off instead of holding flat. I'm not sure why, but your older measurements were up around 85db, and your new ones are much lower. I can give you some info very the waterfall graph, but the volume is too low so the normal room noise (noise floor) is hiding detail. Can you get a measurement up around 85db ? I leave the receiver at 0db master volume, and adjust the signal strength via REW. Because I forgot to re-adjust the input level on the mic. For some reason the lap top resets that every time it boots, even though the outputs stay where they were set. It looks a lot uglier with higher levels. Welp.  Here is the re-measure .mdat file at higher db. http://www.magetower.com/pics/rew/Jul 28 18_32_38.mdat JPrime posted:I don't know that I'll have the option to pull down the runs...could whoever I get after the fact to put in the actual speakers/sub use/move the existing wires? Also, are ceiling speakers ok for the rear channels? For the front and center speakers, your receiver is typically up front also, so it is normally easier to just run direct wires to the speakers from the receivers and ignore the pre-wire in the ceiling. Just leave it there for future use or as a 'feature' if you ever sell the house. Unless you have a really odd layout where your speakers will be vs. your receiver, no need to change that existing cabling. The Locator fucked around with this message at 02:45 on Jul 29, 2013 |
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Jul 29, 2013 02:43
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jonathan posted:Amplifier: I have similar needs, but I'm thinking a 2.0 setup would be better for now as I live in an apartment. Would this setup without the sub be appropriate?
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Jul 29, 2013 10:39
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jonathan posted:Amplifier: Great looking out man! I think this is where we will start looking at out then. We are located in the Columbus, OH area next to THE Ohio State University, is there anything we should keep an eye out for in terms of craigslist or anything, and also as the above poster mentioned, how would this fair without a Sub if we were looking to save a few bucks? (Not gonna lie I kinda wanna get the sub though).
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Jul 29, 2013 13:24
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I have a roughly 5 year old Onkyo reciever, which works well for what it does. However, it only does HDMI passthrough, which I guess is fine if you're using it as an HDMI hub. But what is the point of HDMI carrying audio signals if I just have to run additional audio cables to my receiver? So I now have a device that only has HDMI output, and this results in me only being able to listen to stereo output from this device. Are there any inexpensive receivers that will decode and play the HDMI audio directly? Or is there a reasonably cheap addon device that will split out the digital audio from HDMI?
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Jul 29, 2013 15:59
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FogHelmut posted:So I now have a device that only has HDMI output, and this results in me only being able to listen to stereo output from this device. Are there any inexpensive receivers that will decode and play the HDMI audio directly? Or is there a reasonably cheap addon device that will split out the digital audio from HDMI?
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Jul 29, 2013 17:35
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LedZergling posted:Great looking out man! I think this is where we will start looking at out then. We are located in the Columbus, OH area next to THE Ohio State University, is there anything we should keep an eye out for in terms of craigslist or anything, and also as the above poster mentioned, how would this fair without a Sub if we were looking to save a few bucks? (Not gonna lie I kinda wanna get the sub though). Yes to both posts. You can use the setup without a sub. I have to head into work so I don't have time to check craigslist in your area bit I'll take a look later.
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Jul 29, 2013 19:32
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I'm looking into setting up a home cinema, or at least improving my living room audio experience a bit. Used to have a Tannoy SFX 5.1 system and that served me fine at the time, but now I would like to step up my game a little. I currently live in the UK and my budget is around 1,000 GBP. I have some limitations that I can't easily get around. First of all, the front & center speakers will be placed on top of a TV bench (I'm planning to wall-mount the TV above them), so floor-standing speakers are not really an option. It will also be very difficult to find a space for most subwoofers, because the TV wall is pretty much all furniture apart from one corner that faces a big bookshelf. To fit in the remaining corner, the subwoofer would have to be about 10" wide, tops. I've been looking at bundles on http://www.exceptional-av.co.uk/ and had my eyes on the Yamaha RX-V673 + Dali Zensor 1 deal, but the E-12F sub is just too inconvenient size-wise. Then I had a look at Q Acoustic's 2000i speaker set, which has a subwoofer I might actually be able to fit in here. I'm just worried that the set as a whole might not be as good or retain its value as well as the Dalis. Is it plausible to build a 3.0 system with bookshelf-size speakers? Is the stuff I've been looking at so far on the right track? Should I just either rearrange the place to fit a proper surround system (that will be a hard sell) or save my money and keep listening to the TV sound? I hope these questions haven't been covered many times over, but it's a long thread and I couldn't really find the answers in the OP (which could do with an update; lots of the links are dead).
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Jul 29, 2013 22:43
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