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Paradigm stuff is really high quality. I see a Soundscape on facebook rn listed for $300. Up to you whether it’s worth the hassle.
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Jun 2, 2023 14:00
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...do they know it's not plugged in?
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Jun 2, 2023 20:46
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SweetMercifulCrap! posted:...do they know it's not plugged in? Haha yes, that's the problem. They got it from a friend, don't have a cable to connect it to their tv and just let it sit there unused for about 2 years. Don't ask me why, this is not even in the top 10 of weird things they do.
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Jun 2, 2023 21:28
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How big is it? I just wouldn’t bother if I had to fly, you can get a good soundbar for not much money This opinion is limited to the US
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Jun 3, 2023 00:06
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Sell that poo poo local for a quick dollar at least lol
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Jun 3, 2023 03:07
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Hell if its located in MA I’d buy it
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Jun 3, 2023 03:23
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KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD posted:Hell if its located in MA I’d buy it Singapore, sorry. If i can find a way to package it (no more box) I'm taking it with me to Europe, otherwise I'm selling
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Jun 3, 2023 05:38
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We tried to get into soundbars at one point and I felt that even the good ones were trash tier vs. a basic receiver-based speaker setup. The one you listed is also quite old and there have been tons of improvements in the space recently; they're still pretty bad though imo. Of course for some scenarios, you can't do speakers, and I respect that. I doubt that soundbar is particularly good though given its age. Speakers have staying power but soundbars rely on auditory shenanigans that only really came into their own in the past few years. e: btw kind of random but Apple Music has an entire library of albums that have been remixed or whatever to support 7.1 Dolby Atmos and I was very skeptical initially but honestly it's kind of blowing my mind. Anyone else get into this kinda stuff? Are there other recommended sources? Some tracks with Atmos are so amazing that it's like hearing the music again for the first time. Like being completely immersed in a John Coltrane jam and you're sitting on the stage, it's kind of unreal. There is of course poorly mixed stuff too, like anything. I figured it was just a gimmick, but nope. Taima fucked around with this message at 09:34 on Jun 3, 2023 |
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Jun 3, 2023 09:26
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The remixes big studios have been putting out are completely redone from the original multitrack sessions, so even the stereo downmix of the Atmos version can be a different experience.
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Jun 3, 2023 11:48
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Taima posted:We tried to get into soundbars at one point and I felt that even the good ones were trash tier vs. a basic receiver-based speaker setup. I retired my soundbar in favor of a Yamaha integrated amp and a couple of Micca RB42s a few weeks ago. Never going back. Should have done this forever ago. Also yeah, I know the Micca RB42s are small but they fit nicely in my current space and they still sound great. I'll deffo find some use for them if I move into a bigger space and need to upgrade. olives black fucked around with this message at 20:49 on Jun 3, 2023 |
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Jun 3, 2023 16:46
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Thanks to this thread I am piecing all my equipment together this weekend. I hope this isn't a dumb question but I'm stuck. I have my Rega P3 feeding through an iFi Zen Phono pre-amp to my Yamaha A-S701. Thing is, I am getting horrible sound when connecting to the A-S701's Phono input. Music sounds wonderful on the other inputs. Any thoughts on what the cause would be? I'm pretty new to all this.
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Jun 4, 2023 01:41
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Bunk Rogers posted:Thanks to this thread I am piecing all my equipment together this weekend. The A-S701’s phono input has a phono preamp in it, that’s why it’s called the phono input. Either take the iFi Zen out of the chain and use the A-S701’s built in phono stage, or use one of the line-level inputs if you prefer the sound of the iFi.
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Jun 4, 2023 01:46
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That makes total sense and serves me right for using ChatGPT to troubleshoot my poo poo.
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Jun 4, 2023 01:57
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Bunk Rogers posted:That makes total sense and serves me right for using ChatGPT to troubleshoot my poo poo. We were all ignorant of the conventions before we made the same mistake lol, it's all good. Definitely try the ifi on a line source and the Yamaha phono preamp back to back though. The ifi phono has very, very accurate RIAA spec equalization, but seems to have a somewhat higher noise floor. You'll only notice that if you have very sensitive speakers or a very quiet listening room though. If you don't care for the ifi or can't tell a difference, consider selling it on the US Audio mart or whatever!
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Jun 4, 2023 02:25
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Mederlock posted:We were all ignorant of the conventions before we made the same mistake lol, it's all good. Definitely try the ifi on a line source and the Yamaha phono preamp back to back though. The ifi phono has very, very accurate RIAA spec equalization, but seems to have a somewhat higher noise floor. You'll only notice that if you have very sensitive speakers or a very quiet listening room though. If you don't care for the ifi or can't tell a difference, consider selling it on the US Audio mart or whatever! It’s almost certainly not worth using the iFi over the built-in Yamaha and eating up a line input when you have a phono stage that can’t be used for anything else, but that’s just my 2c Comedy option is to get a second turntable going and switch between the two inputs in lieu of using a proper DJ mixer (don’t do this, spend the $400 on a decent mixer if you want to start cueing/etc)
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Jun 4, 2023 02:33
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aparmenideanmonad posted:SVS has an outlet sale going right now for memorial day - grab a PB1000 (if you have room, they are big) or SB1000 for $400: https://www.svsound.com/collections/outlet-specials all >$400 - ouch How much would I regret going with one of the Yamaha or Polk subwoofers at the beginning of this list? https://www.accessories4less.com/?type=&page=category&action=&id=spksubwoofer&mode=&search_query=&category=&thumb_sort=store_price.asc
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Jun 4, 2023 16:03
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I've had both the Polk 10 and 505. The 10 leaves a lot to be desired. It's cheap and it sounds cheap. I plugged the port and that helped a little but meh. The 505 can put out a decent amount of bass - I still use it in my office. You still get port noise and I've heard they have reliability issues (although I've had two for over a decade and haven't had any problems with mine), but they're "fine."
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Jun 4, 2023 16:22
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What's the best small, basic receiver these days? All I need is 5.1 surround. The top reviewed receivers are loving massive and have too many features & outputs.
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Jun 4, 2023 16:43
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smoobles posted:What's the best small, basic receiver these days? All I need is 5.1 surround. The top reviewed receivers are loving massive and have too many features & outputs. You can't go wrong with Denon's base model, the AVR-S760H . It's got all the latest specifications on inputs/etc., And if you only want 5.1 in your main room, you can use the Zone 2 later on to feed a second pair of speakers somewhere else in your home at some point to like your kitchen or bedroom or your patio/balcony/etc.
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Jun 4, 2023 16:54
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Thanks for the tip! Just ordered it. Any suggestions on an affordable set of speakers for a small (12 x 15 ft) home theater space?
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Jun 4, 2023 17:04
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smoobles posted:Thanks for the tip! Just ordered it. For the least expensive: RSL CG3M Micca RB42 Sony SSCS5 JBL A130 Around 300-400 USD: Kef Q150 when on sale, which is basically always JBL Studio 530 when on sale Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-600M - they are 377 now at crutchfield ELAC Debut 2.0 B5.2 or B6.2 I would definitely recommend getting something in the 300ish price range if you can. There will probably be a lot of stuff on sale too in a month for 4th of July 
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Jun 4, 2023 17:22
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300-400 is what Bowers and Wilkins 685 S2 go for used, and if you can find a pair you should definitely do it.
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Jun 4, 2023 17:28
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Should I search for the front/rear, center and sub individually, are there ideal brands for each? Any brands where I could grab a whole set? Sorry for so many questions, the thread OP is 12 years old!
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Jun 4, 2023 17:29
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It’s good to have your fronts and your center be the same brand, otherwise it can sound a little weird. Having different brand surround speakers and/or sub won’t make much of a difference.
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Jun 4, 2023 17:43
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smoobles posted:Should I search for the front/rear, center and sub individually, are there ideal brands for each? Any brands where I could grab a whole set? Sorry for so many questions, the thread OP is 12 years old! Fronts and centers: what has already been suggested is a good starting point. Ideally all 3 are from the same brand and product line, but it's not super important as long as they are all tonally similar ie: SVS speakers are V shaped with boosted treble and bass, while a center from Elac will be more neutral. Rears: doesn't really matter. Any speaker is basically good enough. Subs: Doesn't need to be from the same brand as your other speakers. SVS sb1000, pb1000 or RSL speedwoofer 10s are great if they are in your budget. Otherwise get the biggest sub you can. e: RSL sells complete packages using their CG3M and speedwoofer if you want to give them a try. No idea if it fits in your budget though. Can always get a 3.1 system and then add 2 more speakers as for rears later. CAPTAIN CAPSLOCK fucked around with this message at 17:55 on Jun 4, 2023 |
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Jun 4, 2023 17:43
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Or two subs!
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Jun 4, 2023 17:45
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So the rear speakers can just be anything? Any downside to seeking out small or slim rear speakers?
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Jun 4, 2023 17:58
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smoobles posted:So the rear speakers can just be anything? Any downside to seeking out small or slim rear speakers? Not really beyond like visual aesthetics, unless they’re too small/slim (I wouldn’t try to repurpose some old PC speakers as surrounds) Also—if you go with KEF Q Series, a lot of goons recommend getting a single Q150 or Q350 (purchasable relatively easily online from places like A4L for ~$200 or less) laid on its side as a center channel, rather than spending $500-800 on a Q250c or 650c
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Jun 4, 2023 18:04
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The Elac DBR-62 is a very strong choice too, especially over the JBL 530 which costs the same but measures and sounds worse. Speakers are a good area where you can buy used or refurbished and save a ton of money and get better speakers for your money.
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Jun 4, 2023 18:05
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They're largely there for ambiance type sounds so they don't really need to be big and powerful and your sub will be handling all the low end which is non directional anyway. I have pretty large/expensive speakers for my front three but my surrounds (4 of them for 7.1 in this case) just have 1' tweeters and 4" woofers. They're still good quality speakers, but they're small.
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Jun 4, 2023 18:06
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Mederlock posted:You can't go wrong with Denon's base model, the AVR-S760H . Followup question... I use both a PS5 and the TV's native streaming apps. Should I use ARC for the PS5, and optical for the TV, or just use optical for both coming straight from the TV? Is it seamless enough to use both ARC and optical?
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Jun 5, 2023 20:23
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smoobles posted:Followup question... I use both a PS5 and the TV's native streaming apps. No optical at all. Connect the TV to the ARC port with HDMI, and the PS5 to any other port. Make sure that ARC and HDMI control is turned on on all the things.
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Jun 5, 2023 20:54
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evobatman posted:No optical at all. Connect the TV to the ARC port with HDMI, and the PS5 to any other port. Make sure that ARC and HDMI control is turned on on all the things. This ^ You won't be using any of the TV HDMI ports except for it's ARC HDMI input from the receiver going forward. Default to HDMI on the receiver for inputs unless your other sources don't use it, like an older CD/DVD player or older game console or something, then you would use the optical in or digital coax for that. HDMI supports many more surround sound formats than spdif does.
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Jun 5, 2023 21:45
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How do I watch the TV itself (native apps) with my sound system without optical? Does audio travel to the receiver via the ARC HDMI?
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Jun 5, 2023 23:24
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Exactly. ARC = Audio Return Channel
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Jun 5, 2023 23:40
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Oh, nice!
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Jun 5, 2023 23:41
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Denon question: when I use my PS5 it comes through in 5.1 and says "multi" on the display. When I use my TV (ARC) it says "Stereo" It's a Sony Bravia, and the TV settings say the speakers are set to "Audio System" which should be right. Any idea why it's coming thru in stereo? 
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Jun 9, 2023 15:35
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HDMI ARC can only send compressed 5.1 audio (Dolby Digital, DTS) or PCM stereo. On your AV LED display it shows it is receiving a PCM stereo signal. There might be some other setting to change the audio output signal in your TV settings. Look for "passthrough" or "bitstream" instead of PCM. Alternatively, it might just default to PCM stereo unless the content is in compressed surround.
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Jun 9, 2023 20:53
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SweetMercifulCrap! posted:HDMI ARC can only send compressed 5.1 audio (Dolby Digital, DTS) or PCM stereo. On your AV LED display it shows it is receiving a PCM stereo signal. There might be some other setting to change the audio output signal in your TV settings. Look for "passthrough" or "bitstream" instead of PCM. eARC can do uncompressed 7.1, Atmos, DTS:X, etc. so that shouldn't be a limitation unless the TV doesn't support eARC. Check the TV settings for an option to change the output format.
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Jun 9, 2023 21:49
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Also, make sure that the Denon receiver is set to the right output setting. Usually you'll have a 2.0, 2.1, "Direct"(ie. Is in 2.0, 5.1, 7.1, Atmos, etc. Depending on what it detects from the signal source), and a variety of choices of Dolby and DTS matrixing options. The matrixing takes a 2.0 signal, uses some audio wizardry, and splits up the audio to your speakers, and the good settings will also take the 5.1 source and play it accurately and matrix out only the extra speakers. Personally I find the Dolby Surround matrixing works best on my Onkyo receiver with my speakers for Dolby 5.1 and 2.0 sources, DTS Neural:X for DTS 5.1 sources, Direct for 7.1/Atmos/DTS HD-MA sources, and 2.1 stereo for music.
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Jun 9, 2023 22:03
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