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jonathan posted:Just FYI Pacific Rims sound is pretty lacklustre. As is the new star trek. Really? I thought it sounded like the voice of God. But then, I thought my $99 Logitech speakers sounded great.
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Dec 27, 2013 03:24
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crossposting from the pc speakers thread: Bought the Promedia 2.1 speakers from Best Buy when it was on sale for 100 bucks, but I'm wary of the high failure rate it has. I'm using the BX 1121 Altec Lansing 2.1 PC speakers and I feel like its serviceable for the 25 dollars i got it for, but wanted to upgraded. Should I just say gently caress it and use the promedia speakers and deal with the problems as it comes, or should I return it and wait for my current speakers to blow before I upgrade? Note, I can't play loud music that much throughout the hours of the day cause of the thin walls in my house. thanks in advance
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Dec 27, 2013 07:26
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BreakAtmo posted:Really? I thought it sounded like the voice of God. But then, I thought my $99 Logitech speakers sounded great. Loud movie without dynamics, really drony monotone bass for footsteps etc without any sort of real impact, and they filtered the deep bass out. Everything under 30hz is cut. Apparently the imax and theatre tracks were great and then they dumbed it down for the home release. Its a shame because it was such a fun enjoyable movie and I was really excited to crank it loud on the home system, instead it was a fun cool enjoyable movie visually and dull sonically.
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Dec 27, 2013 07:26
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I want to thank this thread's advice wholeheartedly, the Andrew Jones Pioneer floorstanding towers & center, refurbished Onkyo NR-515, and Polk PSW10 are the best under $500 3.1 setup I've ever heard! Together with a 65" Mitsubishi 65638 I got on Craigslist I've built a $700 total home theater that blows me away.
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Dec 27, 2013 21:46
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So my Onkyo 609 is broken after a couple of years, no HDMI output. From what I've read Onkyo receivers are prone to that due to heat problems. I'm considering replacing it with a Denon X1000. Are there any known issues for that I should be looking out for? This would be for a 3.1 setup that I might upgrade to 5.1 that is mostly for movies.
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Dec 28, 2013 09:04
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Happy to report that I experienced my first home theater sale scam. I was in the Home Depot parking lot and some dude with a mustache in a beat up green panel van pulled up next to me and asked if I wanted an extra home theater. We just has two extra from a job, man!!! We gotta get rid of them. DID I JUST MISS OUT ON THE DEAL OF A LIFETIME!?
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Dec 28, 2013 14:38
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ShotgunWillie posted:Happy to report that I experienced my first home theater sale scam. Yes.
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Dec 28, 2013 18:08
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Wasabi the J posted:Yes. Oh god. Should I go back?
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Dec 28, 2013 18:34
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Weinertron posted:I want to thank this thread's advice wholeheartedly, the Andrew Jones Pioneer floorstanding towers & center, refurbished Onkyo NR-515, and Polk PSW10 are the best under $500 3.1 setup I've ever heard! Together with a 65" Mitsubishi 65638 I got on Craigslist I've built a $700 total home theater that blows me away. I'm really glad to hear this because that is almost the exact set up that I am looking to build too.
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Dec 28, 2013 18:44
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Weinertron posted:I want to thank this thread's advice wholeheartedly, the Andrew Jones Pioneer floorstanding towers & center, refurbished Onkyo NR-515, and Polk PSW10 are the best under $500 3.1 setup I've ever heard! Together with a 65" Mitsubishi 65638 I got on Craigslist I've built a $700 total home theater that blows me away. How'd you manage it for under $500? The speakers alone are $430 on Amazon, plus the receiver..
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Dec 29, 2013 08:57
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Ranma posted:How'd you manage it for under $500? The speakers alone are $430 on Amazon, plus the receiver.. Lessee... PSW-10 $79 FS51 $179 for pair C21 $87 NR-515 $260 (could have sworn this was lower before NR-616 sold out) Total $605 Maybe there was a really good offer on the speakers during sale holidays? http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-10...keywords=psw+10 http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-SP-FS...83767335&sr=1-4 http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-SP-C21-Watt-2-Way-Speaker/dp/B004MF4S0M/ref=pd_sim_e_1 http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/ONKTXNR515/Onkyo-TX-NR515-7.2-Channel-Network-A/V-Receiver/1.html
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Dec 29, 2013 10:05
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Hob_Gadling posted:Lessee... Oh, I thought he meant the FS52s, which are 125 each
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Dec 29, 2013 21:26
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Can anyone recommend where I should begin in my search for good in-ceiling speaker brands? We are beginning a home remodel and I'll probably be wanting speakers in the living room, kitchen, and potentially as rear-channels in a 5.1 TV/Den setup? I might want to go smaller for the kitchen and living room and bigger for the den. I've looked at (but haven't auditioned) the paradigm signatures and they would probably be on the high end for the budget, maybe something I'd consider for the den for movies but probably not for the other rooms. I'm also going to plan on checking out the aperion in-ceiling speakers since I actually live a short drive from their showroom. http://www.aperionaudio.com/speakers/in-wall-and-in-ceiling-home-theater-speakers Any other good brands/models i should be looking at? Thanks in advance. MMD3 fucked around with this message at 05:44 on Jan 2, 2014 |
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Jan 2, 2014 05:38
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Just came in here mostly to wiggle my epeen but also to make a recommendation for budget guys. My 'home theatre/stereo' setup is just a cheap kenmore receiver and a pair of technics speakers (10" main driver). I know they are not pristine crystal clear audio and sound but they definitely bring a richness to my movies and loudness to my music. I've had these things for way too long but I bought them for $5 for the pair at a pawn shop and I think the receiver was $15? The outside speakers you see there are a pair of sansui's that I just picked up with 12" drivers, just plugged them into the amp to test it, I think the tweeter may be damaged or disconnected on the left one because I can't seem to hear it but they were $25 for the pair. They're going to be moved down to my art room/shop and probably be taken into the bush for party speakers. Next step for my system is to turn it into a 2.1 and find a subwoofer to get the real lows, these ones are decent but not quite punchy enough. If you live in a bigger city I am sure you can easily find stuff like this for just as cheap, everyone I know that has come by has enjoyed the sound system. It's not the best but they've always been enough to have a party or hear the booms. chemical_combat fucked around with this message at 06:19 on Jan 2, 2014 |
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Jan 2, 2014 06:15
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I think this is probably the best thread for this - I've been thinking of getting a receiver with HDMI as my Yamaha is about 10 years old and requires quite a bit of extra wiring. Best Buy has this Onkyo 910w 7.1 receiver for $150 today, listed as "normally $499". This seems like a pretty good deal - thoughts?
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Jan 2, 2014 14:34
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$499 is the MSRP, hardly anyone ever sells stuff at full price, but I figure that's still about a $150-$200 saving. Either way $150 is pretty cheap, even if it was only a stereo amp.
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Jan 2, 2014 14:47
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Medullah posted:This seems like a pretty good deal - thoughts? How many HDMI ports do you need? That's the one thing you don't want to skimp on. Otherwise you get what you pay for. It's an entry-level older receiver with no modern frills. If you have other things you'd like the receiver to be able to do now's a perfect time to list them all. Networking, better Audyssey, Airplay, other features? If none of those things interest you then go ahead.
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Jan 2, 2014 15:16
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Hob_Gadling posted:How many HDMI ports do you need? That's the one thing you don't want to skimp on. I originally thought Networking was a must have, but the more I thought about it the more I realized I had no need for it. I'm primarily just looking for something to hook my PS3 and Xbox to one source to reduce cable clutter. Airplay isn't needed either, so I think this is going to do what I want.
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Jan 2, 2014 15:21
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Medullah posted:something to hook my PS3 and Xbox to one source to reduce cable clutter If that's all you want and need, it's perfect. Especially for the price. Even if you find out later that you need to stream via AirPlay or DLNA to it, you can always buy those components separately. It won't be as slick as having them integrated, but it'll work just fine nonetheless.
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Jan 2, 2014 15:25
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Ranma posted:How'd you manage it for under $500? The speakers alone are $430 on Amazon, plus the receiver.. Pioneer FS-52: under $50 each with close friend's best buy discount  PSW-10: $70 from Amazon Pioneer C-22: $60 from Amazon NR-515: It was $220 from accessories4less when I got it! Camelcamelcamel is the poo poo, use it for price-tracking stuff when you want something but don't need it right now. You get an email that something you want is the cheapest it's ever been, and just buy it. http://camelcamelcamel.com/product/B008NCD2EI
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Jan 2, 2014 15:34
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I too went with a similar Andrew Jones-powered rig, mostly because everything seemed to be on sale. Onkyo NR-626 Pioneer SP-FS52 floorstanding speakers Pioneer SP-C22 center channel Pioneer SW-8MK2 subwoofer I still have a lot of tinkering to do. The Audyssey test kept failing due to some speaker connection error - I think it's trying to test a 5.1/5.2/7.2 setup, when I only have the 3.1 setup. Can't figure out how to get that to run. Having a center channel just for dialogue is pretty awesome. The subwoofer seems to be doing next to nothing, but when I adjust specific channel levels, it certainly makes noise. The remote is fine for the most part, but there is no dedicated button for the bluetooth receiver mode.
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Jan 2, 2014 16:51
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hedgecore posted:The remote is fine for the most part, but there is no dedicated button for the bluetooth receiver mode. Not sure what BT device you're using as a source. I'm using an Android phone and when I go into the Bluetooth menu of the phone and connect to the 626, the receiver automatically switches to bluetooth mode.
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Jan 2, 2014 18:51
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Pedialyte posted:This thread has been really helpful in getting me off the ground in my search for a decent home-theater system. I am getting close to nailing down what I will be picking up and wanted to ask for final advice and make sure I am not making any mistakes - my knowledge level for home-audio is quite limited at this point. Sorry to quote myself but I cannot find an answer online in regards to my question in the last paragraph. This is the one thing holding me back from purchasing. Is there any way to get discrete 5.1 without using optical which (I believe) will downgrade the audio from my PC to the receiver?
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Jan 3, 2014 21:46
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Crossposting from the quick audio questions thread (I think I may have better luck here): I'm having an issue with my Harman AVR 1650 receiver where the audio will drop out whenever the sound output from my PS3 goes completely quiet. The audio output type isn't changing in between loading screens and I get a noticeable ~1 second delay whenever the audio comes back on. Is there some kind of setting I need to configure to stop this from happening? I realize that there is sometimes audio delay when switching from an analogue to digital signal while watching TV, but I can't for the life of me figure out why the audio would duck out even though the audio output doesn't change in game.
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Jan 4, 2014 00:11
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Pedialyte posted:Sorry to quote myself but I cannot find an answer online in regards to my question in the last paragraph. This is the one thing holding me back from purchasing. Is there any way to get discrete 5.1 without using optical which (I believe) will downgrade the audio from my PC to the receiver? There isn't any downgrading of DTS and DD 5.1 over optical audio. It's the same quality as HDMI. The thing that optical can't do is TrueHD audio but I'm guessing you aren't worried about that.
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Jan 4, 2014 00:37
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I'm looking for a compact 3.1 system or soundbar to go with a PS4. Nothing crazy as this is not a primary set-up. Any suggestions for a solid lower end product that has clear sound for dialogue? I've heard muffled dialogue can be an issue with cheaper set-ups.
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Jan 4, 2014 16:31
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Does it have to be 3.1/soundbar? Can it be 2.0/2.1? I feel like a lot of the people looking for these sorts of setups for a bedroom/secondary small-space TV deal would be way better off with a pair of good, compact self-powered speakers or something of that sort- with maybe a small powered subwoofer added on for extra bass. Like, if the goal is to just get way better audio than what the TV's built-in speakers can provide (and maybe also play some music out of it) then something like a pair of Audioengine A2 or A2+ or A5+ is going to give you way more bang for the buck than a cheap soundbar will. If you've got the sort of space constraints that would make you go with a 3.1 setup over real surround sound (5.1+) then a good stereo/2.1 setup will be just as capable, if not better. I've honestly never understood the logic behind 3-speaker. Hell, as far as I'm aware most input devices don't even have an option for it. trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 23:59 on Jan 4, 2014 |
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Jan 4, 2014 23:53
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Just make sure to fix Your PS4's audio output if you go two channel. Sometimes the ps4 will output multi-channel audio only and the center channel will be lost. It's easy enough to fix but is still annoying.
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Jan 5, 2014 00:00
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Scrapez posted:Not sure what BT device you're using as a source. I'm using an Android phone and when I go into the Bluetooth menu of the phone and connect to the 626, the receiver automatically switches to bluetooth mode. Yeah, this totally works for me. As soon as I start outputting to the receiver via BT it switches over. Thanks! Still not sure why I can't get much life out of my subwoofer, and the menu buttons on the remote decide to stop working half the time. I know it's in sight, because the input button works, and I know the menu should come up, because it works from the phone app. Pretty annoying, but not a dealbreaker.
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Jan 5, 2014 03:41
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havenwaters posted:Just make sure to fix Your PS4's audio output if you go two channel. Oh! I've had this happen many times and I always thought it was ps3mediaserver! Thank you!
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Jan 5, 2014 19:24
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Tactical Lesbian posted:Oh! I've had this happen many times and I always thought it was ps3mediaserver! Thank you! Nah, sony's just being dumb (and yeah it sometimes happens in the ps3 as well)
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Jan 5, 2014 19:39
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Electric Bugaloo posted:Does it have to be 3.1/soundbar? Can it be 2.0/2.1? I have been mulling buying a center channel for my stereo setup. The reason being that not all movies have a stereo track so dialogue can at times be drowned out by other sounds. Using dynamic range compression works but I have found it works on Dolby formats and not so much on DTS/PCM.
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Jan 5, 2014 21:18
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serebralassazin posted:I have been mulling buying a center channel for my stereo setup. The reason being that not all movies have a stereo track so dialogue can at times be drowned out by other sounds. Huh. I stand corrected then. Still doesn't seem worth it for a second setup to me.
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Jan 5, 2014 21:46
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Ya for a second set up I agree with you. I would stick with stereo speakers/sound bar.
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Jan 5, 2014 23:16
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Electric Bugaloo posted:Does it have to be 3.1/soundbar? Can it be 2.0/2.1? I think this is about the amount of money I want to spend to upgrade my TV's built in audio, those Audioengine's seem fine. My only question is what is the best way to convert digitial optical audio to whatever works best in those speakers? I see lots of cheap digital->analog converters on Amazon, will any of them and some speaker wire be sufficient?
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Jan 9, 2014 21:32
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Does the output have to be optical/digital, doesn't your TV have analog outputs? On most TVs, there are stereo RCA outputs, those will connect directly to the inputs on a set of Audioengine speakers with normal signal leads (or "interconnects" if you want to be fancy). If your TV doesn't have analog outputs, what you need is a digital-analog converter as you mention (or DAC for short). The Audioengine D1 will do nicely, but it costs $170. Just about any DAC with an optical input should work just fine, it's not a terribly complicated piece of hardware when it comes down to it. The FiiO D3 is a good option, you should be able to get one for a lot less than the Audioengine D1. KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 22:56 on Jan 9, 2014 |
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Jan 9, 2014 22:51
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I really like this DAC for optical stuff. DACs can be dirt cheap when you get rid of the USB compatibility and this one can be left plugged in pretty much indefinitely, so there's no annoying extra switching that you'd have to do. Just make sure you get the D03K "Taishan" model and not one of the earlier versions of D3. Apparently the production of those had a lot of issues.
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Jan 9, 2014 22:57
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Electric Bugaloo posted:I really like this DAC for optical stuff. DACs can be dirt cheap when you get rid of the USB compatibility and this one can be left plugged in pretty much indefinitely, so there's no annoying extra switching that you'd have to do. ahhh this could be good for me then, so assuming my onboard PC soundcard has optical out I can use one of these for headphones & pc speakers rather than a USB DAC?
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Jan 9, 2014 23:21
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MMD3 posted:ahhh this could be good for me then, so assuming my onboard PC soundcard has optical out I can use one of these for headphones & pc speakers rather than a USB DAC? Sure, but I'm not sure if you'll wanna plug your headphones right into this. Ideally you'll want this to go into an amplifier of some kind. Same for speakers. If you're talking about the sort of PC speakers that you run right from the headphone out of your computer, you're probably not gonna see an appreciable benefit from using a DAC unless they're something good like Audioengine.
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Jan 9, 2014 23:46
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Hey guys, I'm happy with my current old Panasonic surround sound but I have a question that the nice gentlemen at Best Buy couldn't answer. I recently hooked up my computer to the TV and the TV's surround sound. Works great but I have to switch back to the TV surround sound audio cords when I want to watch TV. Instead of constantly plugging/unplugging the cords, is there a good adapter that will solve this? I mean, should I just get two 1 male/2 females jacks? Attached are the cords I'm working with from the computer and they look the same as the TV's. I basically just don't have enough holes to make it convenient. I don't know a lot and would appreciate your help, thanks.
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Jan 9, 2014 23:47
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