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Hi everyone. I think I want to improve my home theatre audio setup, but would love some input first. Right now we're using a NAD receiver and some nice Paradigm floor speakers my wife bought almost 20 years ago. More and more we've been finding that dialogue is (a) too quiet and (b) kind of muddy/distorted sounding. Most of what we watch is either recorded off cable or streamed via Netflix on a Roku 3. Some Googling suggested that part of the problem is that we're listening to surround sound audio (5.1/7.1) in stereo, and that the first order of business is to get ourselves a proper center channel. Having paid zero attention to home theatre audio in the past 20 years, I started doing some reading and quickly became overwhelmed with choices that I wasn't sure I cared about, but wasn't sure I didn't care about either. Questions: 1. Our TV room isn't huge (maybe 16' x 16'?) with the TV on one wall and us sitting up against the other wall, so placing rear channel speakers is going to be a bit tricky. Is it a terrible idea to just do 3.1 audio? If so, what are the best options for compact wall-mount or ceiling-mount speakers? 2. I've read good things about the Elac Debut speakers, and was thinking of getting the Debut C5 center speaker and Debut S10EQ subwoofer. If I need them, I'd get the Debut F6 tower speakers, but figured I'd try out our current Paradigms as front speakers first. I saw a recommendation for the Debut B6 bookshelf speakers as rear speakers, but they look way too big for our room. I assume there's no issues mixing and matching speakers? 3. I have no idea what features I want or need in a receiver. Searching various audio websites and forums makes me think the Denon AVR-X3200W is a reasonable option, but I don't know if I'd be better off with more/less receiver than this. 4. Do I care about Atmos? (I'm only sort of clear on what it is.) Is there anything else I want that I don't know about? I'm more than happy to throw money at the problem if it's worth it in terms of quality, simplicity or future-proofing, but would like to avoid massive overkill if possible. It would be great to keep total costs under $3k, but I could go to $4k if needed.
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Oct 13, 2016 23:15
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I will say that 3.1 is completely fine, but make sure that the center speaker is timbre matched to the existing speakers.
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Oct 13, 2016 23:29
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In the interim you should be able to turn off the center channel in the receiver and improve the dialog.
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Oct 13, 2016 23:42
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Panty Saluter posted:In the interim you should be able to turn off the center channel in the receiver and improve the dialog.
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Oct 14, 2016 02:29
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Giraffe posted:Thank you for the tip, but I don't believe my receiver has a center channel. It's a NAD 712 Stereo Receiver. Did I mention we haven't ever owned modern audio hardware? That's weird because the center channel should be getting mixed down in your source then. Are you sure your tweeters are working? 
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Oct 14, 2016 02:43
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A lot of people have their center cranked up a few dB, and honestly the mixing on a lot of movies and TV is bad and no amount of equipment can fix it. Newer encoding formats like AC4 have a dedicated dialog track but we're not there yet. Plus a lot of content is mixed down to stereo anyway. Basically a center channel isn't going to completely solve the problem.
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Oct 14, 2016 03:50
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What do I need to keep in mind when buying speakers that will be mounted on the wall? I know Magnepans need space from the wall, for example, but I'm not sure if there's anything else I should be looking for in terms of construction or whatever.
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Oct 14, 2016 03:52
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Subjunctive posted:What do I need to keep in mind when buying speakers that will be mounted on the wall? I know Magnepans need space from the wall, for example, but I'm not sure if there's anything else I should be looking for in terms of construction or whatever. rear ports/vents. Speakers with them wont work
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Oct 14, 2016 04:54
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qirex posted:A lot of people have their center cranked up a few dB, and honestly the mixing on a lot of movies and TV is bad and no amount of equipment can fix it. Newer encoding formats like AC4 have a dedicated dialog track but we're not there yet. Plus a lot of content is mixed down to stereo anyway. Ain't this the drat truth. I have my Yamaha setup for +2.5 dB on the center in the speaker setup, and the dialog level option set to +3, and it's still sometimes not enough. The worst mixed things I've had to deal with are the signing portions of Disney Jr. shows and live music events like the CMA's. Doc McStuffins is an example, they all sing the I feel better song and the center channel just disappears. Music events like the CMA's and the dozen other shows like it are terribly mixed. Putting the Yamaha in 7ch stereo mode sort of gets around it but it still sounds like garbage. The only thing I don't have an issue with are Blu ray discs. I'll throw the receiver in Pure Direct mode for those and enjoy the movies the way the audio engineer mixed them unless they didn't do a good job. A center channel will help for probably 90% of it though, a receiver that can work around the other 10% with something like 5 or 7ch stereo mode where they blend everything together to go out all speakers will passably handle the lovely mixed stuff.
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Oct 14, 2016 05:42
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Giraffe posted:Hi everyone. I think I want to improve my home theatre audio setup, but would love some input first. Right now we're using a NAD receiver and some nice Paradigm floor speakers my wife bought almost 20 years ago. More and more we've been finding that dialogue is (a) too quiet and (b) kind of muddy/distorted sounding. Most of what we watch is either recorded off cable or streamed via Netflix on a Roku 3. Some Googling suggested that part of the problem is that we're listening to surround sound audio (5.1/7.1) in stereo, and that the first order of business is to get ourselves a proper center channel. Having paid zero attention to home theatre audio in the past 20 years, I started doing some reading and quickly became overwhelmed with choices that I wasn't sure I cared about, but wasn't sure I didn't care about either. As others have already covered, this is a very common problem. Sometimes you can change the downmix ratios in your source, after all you're putting 6 or 8 channels into 2 channels, so you have to pick and choose how much of each you want, without overloading the stereo signal. There are different guidelines for how much center/left/right/surround/sub to include, but in my opinion none of them include enough center channel for good dialogue. quote:Questions: "Rear" speakers in a 5.1 setup are actually more like "rear/side" speakers. From your position in the sofa, looking straight ahead, the rear speakers should be 110° to either side from straight ahead. This is mostly to the side, and slightly behind, so if you can place the speakers by the rear corners of the sofa and facing inwards, you're 80-90% of the way to proper positioning, according to standard placement. Since you're going to have them really close, you may want to turn down the level to the rear speakers a bit. OR you could just go for a 3.1 setup, which is perfectly acceptable. Nothing important gets put in the rear speakers anyway, they're mostly for ambiance. quote:2. I've read good things about the Elac Debut speakers, and was thinking of getting the Debut C5 center speaker and Debut S10EQ subwoofer. If I need them, I'd get the Debut F6 tower speakers, but figured I'd try out our current Paradigms as front speakers first. I saw a recommendation for the Debut B6 bookshelf speakers as rear speakers, but they look way too big for our room. I assume there's no issues mixing and matching speakers? The Elac Debut series is very highly regarded. I'm not sure how they're going to match with your current speakers, but the auto room correction in modern receivers can mostly smooth out minor tonal differences. The EQ app for the sub seems a bit gimmicky, I would just use the built-in auto room correction in whichever receiver you end up getting, since that will adjust all your speakers, and not just the sub. One thing I would recommend, depending on your room layout and whether you expect to have good low bass mostly at the listening position, or more evenly distributed across the room, is to consider two subwoofers instead of one. Subwoofer placement is always a bit tricky, and with more subs the possibilities rise exponentially. But it can really even out dips and peaks in the bass response of your room. quote:3. I have no idea what features I want or need in a receiver. Searching various audio websites and forums makes me think the Denon AVR-X3200W is a reasonable option, but I don't know if I'd be better off with more/less receiver than this. That Denon would be a fine choice. Generally you need to look at the number of inputs you need, sufficient power to drive your speakers, good room correction and whichever streaming etc. features you need/want (stuff like Spotify, Bluetooth, DLNA). The one you linked hits all of those points, very comfortably. Don't worry about Atmos or DTS:X. They add extra speaker channels (such as ceiling speakers) and a few other things that are really only applicable for very serious home cinema buffs. KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 09:06 on Oct 14, 2016 |
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Oct 14, 2016 09:04
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jonathan posted:rear ports/vents. Speakers with them wont work OK, that makes sense. Thanks.
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Oct 14, 2016 11:41
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It'll work, it just gets woofy as hell
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Oct 14, 2016 11:44
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So which receivers have the best UI? There are oddly very few actual videos of the GUIs at work, it's kinda mind boggling.
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Oct 14, 2016 15:05
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They all look like a like a loving BIOS screen (or UEFI I guess to be fair), unless there are some shockingly nice ones I've never seen.
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Oct 14, 2016 23:09
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My txnr818 allows you to log in and gain root access. I don't know if anything has ever been done with that.
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Oct 15, 2016 00:14
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Does anyone have any recommendations for wifi streaming devices for a vintage hifi stereo setup? What I'm trying to do, ideally, is stream music from my desktop and/or phone wirelessly into my Marantz receiver and use my phone or tablet as a remote. I don't mean streaming services, I mean my own albums or podcasts or whatever. I can't seem to find anything that will do this online but maybe I'm not looking for the right thing. Anybody have something or know of something that will do this?
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Oct 15, 2016 01:44
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800peepee51doodoo posted:Does anyone have any recommendations for wifi streaming devices for a vintage hifi stereo setup? What I'm trying to do, ideally, is stream music from my desktop and/or phone wirelessly into my Marantz receiver and use my phone or tablet as a remote. I don't mean streaming services, I mean my own albums or podcasts or whatever. I can't seem to find anything that will do this online but maybe I'm not looking for the right thing. Anybody have something or know of something that will do this? A Chromecast audio can do that, you'll just need to upload your library to google music. Depending on distance you may be able to get away with a bluetooth receiver.
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Oct 15, 2016 03:00
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If you have apple, airport express is a good solution. Has a 3.5mm stereo/mini toslink jack.
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Oct 15, 2016 03:16
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My local library is on a Synology NAS and I use Synology apps to play it on Chromecast audio. Not using it all the time but seems to work great from both iPad and Android phone when I do use it. I'm pretty sure there are ways to cast your desktop audio to Chromecast also.
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Oct 15, 2016 05:24
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Full Circle posted:A Chromecast audio can do that, you'll just need to upload your library to google music. Depending on distance you may be able to get away with a bluetooth receiver. I hadn't thought about putting my stuff up to a cloud, thats actually worth thinking about. The chromecast audio seems like it might be kind of bad, though? Its meant to be plugged straight into powered speakers and I'm not sure that would do well running through the analog aux input on my receiver. I go through a DAC (which has a microUSB input) to make my phone sound decent, otherwise its way too weak. I feel like the chromecast might be the same given the way Google is advertising it. I don't use Apple, so no airport. I did find that Logitech used to make something called the Squeezebox that looks a lot like what I was picturing in my head but, of course, they discontinued it. I've got my eye on a few auctions for used ones. Anyone used one of these? There seems to be something of a cult following for them
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Oct 15, 2016 05:43
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800peepee51doodoo posted:I hadn't thought about putting my stuff up to a cloud, thats actually worth thinking about. The chromecast audio seems like it might be kind of bad, though? Its meant to be plugged straight into powered speakers and I'm not sure that would do well running through the analog aux input on my receiver. I go through a DAC (which has a microUSB input) to make my phone sound decent, otherwise its way too weak. I feel like the chromecast might be the same given the way Google is advertising it. I don't use Apple, so no airport. The input on a powered speaker is no different from the input on an amplifier or receiver. They're all line-level inputs. I don't know where you're getting your ideas about the Chromecast, but it's actually a really good little device., and it isn't exclusively meant to be plugged into any one kind of device, anything with an analog input (or digital optical input) is fine. It is true that it's set to a slightly lower output level by default, to avoid overloading common portable speaker systems, but you can change it to full-power output in the Chromecast app (soon to be the Google Home app). I have three Chromecast Audios, all hooked up to high-quality stereos. Well, two high-quality stereos and one stereo cobbled together from cheap late-80s/early-90s gear I got for almost free, but you get my point. Sound quality is great, indistinguishable from the audio I get straight from my PC or any other source. I use Google Play Music, which lets you upload 50,000 songs for free, and play them anywhere. But you can also stream from a DLNA server such as a NAS, using BubbleUPNP on an Android phone. It's not free, but it's inexpensive for an app that can basically stream from everything to everything. VLC has added Chromecast support in the latest versions, and there are options too if you want to stream all audio on your PC to a Chromecast. I use Pulseaudio-DLNA on Linux, and on Windows there is an equivalent called Chromecast Audio Stream: https://github.com/acidhax/chromecast-audio-stream
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Oct 15, 2016 08:10
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If you're willing to spend some cash a Sonos Connect will do that plus it's designed to play well with local/NAS storage instead of being an afterthought. Sonos supports all the major streaming services too.
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Oct 15, 2016 08:14
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For 10 bucks, get a Bluetooth to 3.5I'm adapter like this: https://m.newegg.com/Product/index?...AQ&gclsrc=aw.ds Then, load the subsonic application onto the server that houses your music and subsonic app on your phone. Subsonic is amazing in it's own right. Been using it for years to stream music at home and away from home.
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Oct 15, 2016 14:38
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KozmoNaut posted:I don't know where you're getting your ideas about the Chromecast, but it's actually a really good little device., and it isn't exclusively meant to be plugged into any one kind of device, anything with an analog input (or digital optical input) is fine. It is true that it's set to a slightly lower output level by default, to avoid overloading common portable speaker systems, but you can change it to full-power output in the Chromecast app (soon to be the Google Home app). I'm basing my concerns on the output I get from my phone as a source. It's serviceable but much weaker than other sources like tape or phono. I imagine that the chromecast is the same and I wouldn't be able to run it through the DAC I have. On the other hand, uploading all my poo poo to Google Music seems like a really good idea. I'm not sure why it never occurred to me to try it before. I've been using Google Books and it's really convenient. I'll probably try the chrome cast because it's like $35 and maybe looking into another DAC.
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Oct 15, 2016 18:51
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Yeah, phones generally have weak outputs, way lower level than a normal line output. But the Chromecast Audio is not a phone, it's not limited by concerns about battery life  The Chromecast output is as loud as my CD player or DAC, when "Full Dynamic Range" is turned on in the settings. With the option turned off, the output is about the same level as from my phone, maybe a little louder.
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Oct 15, 2016 22:05
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Hi everyone, got a couple of dumb question(s): I currently have a Logitech Z680 which is currently hooked up to my TV in the living room. Since I live alone and all of my media/games are on my PC, it's seeing little to no use except for the occasional streaming through a WDTV live box. I also have a really, really old Technics SA-CH 655 'micro component' and its speakers. The speakers are SB-CH655Ds, some specs I could find, the manual is at my parents'. Without going into too much expense, what would be my best bet to hook the computer to? 1) The Z680 via optical out (DTS compatible, THX certified, etc), which I'd be using as a 2.1 since I can't really set up the 5.1 in the study. 2) The Technics speakers via its amp/sound processor. Downside here is the amp/processor 'modules' are bloody gigantic and the aux in on it is stereo RCA. 3) Buy a new receiver and run the Technics speakers through it. 4) None of the above, they're all a bit poo poo. Edmond Dantes fucked around with this message at 07:03 on Oct 26, 2016 |
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Oct 26, 2016 06:58
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KozmoNaut posted:The Elac Debut series is very highly regarded. I'm not sure how they're going to match with your current speakers, but the auto room correction in modern receivers can mostly smooth out minor tonal differences. Thanks to everyone for the help, I can update again if anyone wants to hear about the Orbs.
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Nov 1, 2016 22:49
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Speakers, particularly floorstanders are like brand new big TVs. At first you'll swear it's too big for the room but after a week you get used to it. As for the orbs, I've heard the original Anthony Gallo ones a fair bit which are the 'gold standard' of sphere speakers and they're ok but they'll fall to bits when you play music through them. They're acceptable but not great. Also the frequency range on them is fairly shite so the sub you put with them is basically doing the mids down which is a baaaaaaaaaaaad idea as where you'll need to place it for it to integrate with the speakers properly is front and centre of the orbs which I'm going to guess isn't a place where you can put it. Consider testing just the towers and kicking out the centre and sub if you want to save some space. You'll definitely notice a drop in low end without the sub but you'll notice more of a difference between the orbs and a set of proper speakers like the Elacs. Centre channels are whatever, personally I don't like them so mine is sat in storage and has been for years.
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Nov 2, 2016 11:35
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800peepee51doodoo posted:Does anyone have any recommendations for wifi streaming devices for a vintage hifi stereo setup? What I'm trying to do, ideally, is stream music from my desktop and/or phone wirelessly into my Marantz receiver and use my phone or tablet as a remote. I don't mean streaming services, I mean my own albums or podcasts or whatever. I can't seem to find anything that will do this online but maybe I'm not looking for the right thing. Anybody have something or know of something that will do this? Are you thinking about something like a Sonos Connect or Connect Amp? You can hook the device up to your system and have it run wireless Sonos speakers. Or your own wired speakers connected to the Connect Amp. You can play pretty much from any device you have on your wifi. http://www.sonos.com/en-us/shop/connectamp.html Currently accumulating the parts to do just this. I have a Connect, 2 Play-3s and Sonos Sub. Going to hook it all to my stereo system and enjoy both that as well as streaming content. The nice part is for house parties and such I will have the option to take each play-3 and put them in separate locations and have a choice to play the same music on both or different on each. All controlled via app on either my phone or ipad. Cartouche fucked around with this message at 03:42 on Nov 3, 2016 |
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Nov 3, 2016 03:32
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All wireless systems I have, have ran into problems with lip synch if there is visual associated with audio.
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Nov 3, 2016 05:00
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I've got a very entry level system, with a Denon AVR-S720W AVR, Polk CS10 center, Polk T15 bookshelves for FR FL RR RL, and a PSW505 sub. It's not clear to me what timbre-matched (or close enough) bookshelves a could buy two of to replace FR and FL. They state "All Polk Audio loudspeakers are timbre-matched within their series," but the series demarc is fuzzy to me. I bought the CS10 center because a Polk rep in their forums said it was timbre-matched to the T15s. My assumption is that I want a pair of Polk Audio TSi100 bookshelves, so can anyone give me reason not to? (I'd put the extra T16s as channels 6 and 7.)
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Nov 6, 2016 22:45
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Denon AVR-S510BT 5.2 Channel Full 4K Ultra HD AV Receiver with Bluetooth https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YAO43YG/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_mj2iyb539GKQ1 Flash sale, $50 off.
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Nov 9, 2016 18:55
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Tapedump posted:I've got a very entry level system, with a Denon AVR-S720W AVR, Polk CS10 center, Polk T15 bookshelves for FR FL RR RL, and a PSW505 sub. If your receiver has a decent auto-EQ, it will bandaid timbre matching anyways.
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Nov 9, 2016 20:57
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Dogen posted:They all look like a like a loving BIOS screen (or UEFI I guess to be fair), unless there are some shockingly nice ones I've never seen. The Sony one is actually pretty nice.
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Nov 14, 2016 05:16
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Post online deals for Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal if you find any. I need a speaker setup for my apartment. 75/25 tv and music use.
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Nov 19, 2016 06:02
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Got my 2 Play-3s from company 2016 xmas gift, have sonos sub. Trying to decide long term if I should get a playbar or 2 play-1s. Do you HAVE to have the playbar as part of a 5 surround, or do the Play-3s, 1s and sub figure out who should be doing what?
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Nov 20, 2016 15:45
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Newegg is running a Polk promotion and Amazon is silently price-matching it. You can get the entry-level T-series Polk stuff at historic lows. I've been watching the cheaper speaker lines on Amazon for awhile and using Camelcamel or w/e to compare. for amazon at least Floorstanding $75 Bookshelves $50 Center channel $65 The set's matching subwoofer is not a great price right now, it was $80 last week. frest fucked around with this message at 17:49 on Nov 21, 2016 |
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Nov 21, 2016 17:35
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frest posted:Newegg is running a Polk promotion and Amazon is silently price-matching it. You can get the entry-level T-series Polk stuff at historic lows. I've been watching the cheaper speaker lines on Amazon for awhile and using Camelcamel or w/e to compare. So I'm looking at about $270+ a subwoofer? As tempting as that is I think I can stick with a soundbar for my small aparment. Any thread recommendations for up to $150? goodness fucked around with this message at 20:21 on Nov 21, 2016 |
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Nov 21, 2016 19:40
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frest posted:Newegg is running a Polk promotion and Amazon is silently price-matching it. You can get the entry-level T-series Polk stuff at historic lows. I've been watching the cheaper speaker lines on Amazon for awhile and using Camelcamel or w/e to compare. How dumb would it be to use the floor standing ones as rear left and right with the bookshelves as the front? Mainly thinking from a shelving/location perspective.
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Nov 21, 2016 22:19
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Really dumb.
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Nov 21, 2016 22:21
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