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OppyDoppyDopp
Feb 17, 2012

Hob_Gadling posted:

:gizz: NEW RULE :gizz:

If you get a system based on what you learn in this thread and what is recommended here, pay it back. Tell us what you got and what your system sounds like when you set it up. We all are interested in what you think. Really.
In this spirit, I just put together my first audio system - an Onkyo TX-NR414 with a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 speakers and the accompanying SW150 sub. I decided a 2.1 system would be the best approach because of my awkwardly laid-out living room; there wasn't really anywhere for the surround speakers to go and the fronts are about 1.5m apart, so I doubted a centre would be of much benefit. I think this setup will give me a good basis for adding the other components later.

Anyway, I was very sceptical about the benefits of a dedicated audio system, but it sounds so much better than the TV speakers and the bass is amazing. Physically setting it up took less than 20 minutes and I had never seen or used a banana plug before, so I think it's safe to assume that anyone could do it. The only hitches (which took several hours to troubleshoot) were getting my Logitech Harmony to play nice with everything and a purple/pink hue on the image from the HTPC, which hadn't been a problem when it was plugged directly into the TV (tip: go into your ATI control panel and set the colour scheme to RGB). I haven't had any problems since.

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dupersaurus
Aug 1, 2012

Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'
Hey guys, just wanted to drop in for a quick sanity check.

My computer and monitor are the entirety of my a/v setup, but I'm looking to get a receiver on the cheap so that I could bring in some other devices (a console, AppleTV, whatever) and have better control of what comes out. I'm planning on keeping my existing speakers -- an old Creative 5.1 setup that still works fine, although I'll have to drop the subwoofer -- and connecting the computer through optical. After poking around Newegg I was thinking about going with this for the receiver and maybe getting a Polk PSW10 to replace the subwoofer. Does that sound like it'll fly? I'm open to other receiver suggestions, but as this is a pretty bare-bones setup I've got I don't want to spend all that much money.

For the speakers, I'm working on the assumption that I'll just have to cut off the connectors and figure out which ends are + and -, but do I have to worry about how much power the receiver sends to them?

skipdogg
Nov 29, 2004
Resident SRT-4 Expert

I'm comparing a few different receivers, looking for any feedback/recommendations anyone might have. Would love to stay around 300 to 350. 400 tops. Refurbs are fine, and the 2012 stuff seems to be going on clearance right now, so lots of deals to be had.


Yamaha RX-V673

Denon AVR-1913

Pioneer VSX-1022 or 1122

Onkyo TX-NR6xx (609 or 616).

I'll only be running 3.1 so 5.1vs 7.1 doesn't matter. No interested in a second zone or anything, but I do want a iOS app, some kind of room correction and Airplay would be nice which seems to push me into the higher end receivers anyway. 3 HDMI connections is all the connectivity I need. Up-scaling isn't an issue either as almost all content is HD.

Or am I going in the wrong direction and I should go cheaper with a Onkyo 414 or Yamaha 373 and spend a couple extra hundred on nicer speakers? Speakers are the Pioneer Andrew Jones towers and center, and I think I'll throw in a Polk 10" sub.

Vintersorg
Mar 3, 2004

President of
the Brendan Fraser
Fan Club



Would this be the place to ask about wire hiding? I just moved into an apartment and want to pick up some rear speaker stands. In my old place I had the wires along the boards and over the roof, totally out of sight. Can't really do that in the new place. I would like to run them across the floor but need a cable hider on hardwood.

Would this be the best course of action?

skipdogg
Nov 29, 2004
Resident SRT-4 Expert

There's no easy way to do it honestly. If you have a large area rug you could hide them that way, or maybe a very long trip around the walls/baseboards? You can find those cord covers you see in office buildings in woodgrain tones, but running wires across a room is going to cause a trip hazard even with a cord cover.

jonathan
Jul 3, 2005

by LITERALLY AN ADMIN
So many questions so little time. I'm traveling at the moment but once I have some downtime in a day or so I will go through the last few days of posts and offer some advice.

To the last question: go with the Andrew Jones pioneers. You aren't going to get better sound for a couple hundred more. Maybe better finish

Hob_Gadling
Jul 6, 2007

by Jeffrey of YOSPOS
Grimey Drawer

dupersaurus posted:

Does that sound like it'll fly?

I'd get new speakers with the new receiver even if that meant skimping a little more on the receiver. Either a Monoprice 5.1 speaker set or start building the complete thing from a 2.0 up. For the budget-conscious listener:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=300-652
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=109&cp_id=10906&cs_id=1090601&p_id=9774&seq=1&format=2


skipdogg posted:

I'm comparing a few different receivers, looking for any feedback/recommendations anyone might have.

If I had to get one for myself right now and had access to accessories4less.com:

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/DENAVR891/DENON-AVR-891-7.1-Channel-105W-A/V-1.4-3D-Ready-Receiver/1.html

Onkyo 709 is still $450, which is a hair over budget.

I don't think you can do better than Pioneers unless you bump speaker budget up considerably.

parasyte
Aug 13, 2003

Nobody wants to die except the suicides. They're no fun.

dupersaurus posted:

My computer and monitor are the entirety of my a/v setup, but I'm looking to get a receiver on the cheap so that I could bring in some other devices (a console, AppleTV, whatever) and have better control of what comes out. I'm planning on keeping my existing speakers [...] and connecting the computer through optical. Does that sound like it'll fly? I'm open to other receiver suggestions, but as this is a pretty bare-bones setup I've got I don't want to spend all that much money.

This is probably entirely the wrong way to go with your system. Computer speakers aren't great for HT speakers, and in addition it's not easy to know the characteristic impedance of your speakers (though they probably need next to no power). If your speaker system has an optical input right now you can look at something like this HDMI/Component switch to have multiple inputs for your system. If you have multiple optical ins then you can go even less expensive with something like this 4x1 switch. That should do what you want without needing a receiver or mutilating your current speakers.

Edit: but do see Hob_Gadling above if you do want to get a better-sounding system after all.

parasyte fucked around with this message at 18:38 on Apr 2, 2013

Tony Phillips
Feb 9, 2006

Hob_Gadling posted:

I don't think you can do better than Pioneers unless you bump speaker budget up considerably.

Just to point it out, but the Pioneer Andrew Jones speakers mentioned in the recommended setup post that jonathan put together are currently all on sale at Amazon. (Or at least for less than is mentioned in that post - not sure how long this has been the case.)

Mains - $87 each.
Center - $70.
Bookshelfs - $91. (Pair, I assume.)

All with free shipping.
The 100w sub is listed at $112, though not mentioned in jonathan's post. Can't really speak for it.

dupersaurus
Aug 1, 2012

Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

Hob_Gadling posted:

I'd get new speakers with the new receiver even if that meant skimping a little more on the receiver.

Any suggestions on where to go to go lower? It looks like the bottom-scraping options are that Yamaha or the refurbished Onkyo 414 from the OP. I'm pretty comfortable with $150-200, though. The price limit here isn't a hard "I have x to spend and no more" but more a "I don't need to overkill for a fancy or high-end setup".

parasyte posted:

This is probably entirely the wrong way to go with your system. Computer speakers aren't great for HT speakers, and in addition it's not easy to know the characteristic impedance of your speakers (though they probably need next to no power). If your speaker system has an optical input right now you can look at something like this HDMI/Component switch to have multiple inputs for your system. If you have multiple optical ins then you can go even less expensive with something like this 4x1 switch. That should do what you want without needing a receiver or mutilating your current speakers.

Edit: but do see Hob_Gadling above if you do want to get a better-sounding system after all.

Unfortunately, the system only takes in the old-fashioned three-jack PC speaker inputs.

Now that it appears I'm at the stage of starting from scratch, I had been looking at this Logitech 5.1 setup which does have some other inputs. But it'd be worth the extra $100-150 for the flexibility/quality in a receiver and standalone speakers, right?

parasyte
Aug 13, 2003

Nobody wants to die except the suicides. They're no fun.

dupersaurus posted:

Unfortunately, the system only takes in the old-fashioned three-jack PC speaker inputs.

Now that it appears I'm at the stage of starting from scratch, I had been looking at this Logitech 5.1 setup which does have some other inputs. But it'd be worth the extra $100-150 for the flexibility/quality in a receiver and standalone speakers, right?

Absolutely. Standalone speakers will be substantially better quality. Even if you start with just a 2.0 system the improvement will be amazing. There's the convenience factor as well of having video switching with audio switching.

Funny thing about that Logitech setup - it claims '500W' which is quite clearly a lie as its power plug says it only draws 1A of power for ~100-120W of input.

upsciLLion
Feb 9, 2006

Bees?

Hob_Gadling posted:

I'd get new speakers with the new receiver even if that meant skimping a little more on the receiver. Either a Monoprice 5.1 speaker set or start building the complete thing from a 2.0 up. For the budget-conscious listener:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=300-652
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=109&cp_id=10906&cs_id=1090601&p_id=9774&seq=1&format=2


If I had to get one for myself right now and had access to accessories4less.com:

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/DENAVR891/DENON-AVR-891-7.1-Channel-105W-A/V-1.4-3D-Ready-Receiver/1.html

Onkyo 709 is still $450, which is a hair over budget.

I don't think you can do better than Pioneers unless you bump speaker budget up considerably.

The design of the 652s changed some time back and are probably no longer recommendable. Source.

Twerk from Home
Jan 17, 2009

This avatar brought to you by the 'save our dead gay forums' foundation.

Beatnik-Filmstar posted:

Just to point it out, but the Pioneer Andrew Jones speakers mentioned in the recommended setup post that jonathan put together are currently all on sale at Amazon. (Or at least for less than is mentioned in that post - not sure how long this has been the case.)

Mains - $87 each.
Center - $70.
Bookshelfs - $91. (Pair, I assume.)

All with free shipping.
The 100w sub is listed at $112, though not mentioned in jonathan's post. Can't really speak for it.

Is this an exceptional price? I'm moving in about 6 months, and will be getting a ~$1k 3.1 system for the new place. If this is saving $100+ I could be bothered with storing and moving these speakers, otherwise I'll just buy them after moving in.

Tony Phillips
Feb 9, 2006

Weinertron posted:

Is this an exceptional price? I'm moving in about 6 months, and will be getting a ~$1k 3.1 system for the new place. If this is saving $100+ I could be bothered with storing and moving these speakers, otherwise I'll just buy them after moving in.

Not entirely sure - someone else will have to weigh in on that. Been following the thread for a few weeks as I contemplate building a new system. (will be bothering the thread with that at another time.) When I first glanced at the thread a month or so ago, the prices in the second post were accurate on amazon though. $260 for a pair of the floor speakers and $90 for the center - so this is a decent chunk of change under that. Whether it's as low as it's likely to get I can't say.

Note - I wasn't paying attention. The bookshelf speakers I mentioned earlier aren't actually in the collection of recommended speakers for the middle tier build, though I assume they're more than decent for surround purposes.

Hob_Gadling
Jul 6, 2007

by Jeffrey of YOSPOS
Grimey Drawer

upsciLLion posted:

The design of the 652s changed some time back and are probably no longer recommendable. Source.

What a shame. For the price they were good little speakers. Good to know they're not quality stuff anymore, however.

Where does that leave us with the budget stuff? There's Sony SS-B1000 and Pioneer SP-BS22-LR, but those come with double the price tag.

skipdogg
Nov 29, 2004
Resident SRT-4 Expert

Weinertron posted:

Is this an exceptional price? I'm moving in about 6 months, and will be getting a ~$1k 3.1 system for the new place. If this is saving $100+ I could be bothered with storing and moving these speakers, otherwise I'll just buy them after moving in.

Frys Electronics had the towers on sale last week for 77 a piece and the bookshelves for 69 (I think). It's not the best deal ever, but for BestBuy/Amazon it's pretty good.

Worth mentioning again is this month is going to see the release of all the 2013 A/V stuff, so tons of 2012 models will be hitting sales/clearance.

Endless Mike
Aug 13, 2003



parasyte posted:

Absolutely. Standalone speakers will be substantially better quality. Even if you start with just a 2.0 system the improvement will be amazing. There's the convenience factor as well of having video switching with audio switching.

Funny thing about that Logitech setup - it claims '500W' which is quite clearly a lie as its power plug says it only draws 1A of power for ~100-120W of input.
Yeah, on my desk I currently have an old set of Logitech 5.1 computer speakers and also a 90s 2-channel receiver I got to play records on with the older model of the Pioneer Andrew Jones bookshelf speakers. I connected my PC to the receiver and it's immensely better sounding than the 5.1 speakers.

I just ordered a refurbished TX-NR515 which I'm excited to hear. I may snag those floor speakers after I move, though I may just stick with the bookshelf ones and add a center and subwoofer. The place I'm moving into is kind of small (or, rather, the living area is, since it's an unusually laid out studio) and I'm sure they're more than adequate for music, games, and movies.

parasyte
Aug 13, 2003

Nobody wants to die except the suicides. They're no fun.
I have a set of Pioneer FS51s and a C21 up front, while the rest of my system is cannbalized from an old Sony HTIB. I've got a SAWM-SP1 sub that sounds pretty good all things considered, and a pair of SS-MSP1 satellites for the surround channels. I'm most interested in upgrading the surrounds to something a bit nicer to match the fronts, but I'm a bit constrained; I have them wall-mounted a bit over 6' off the ground using these mounts from Monoprice.

What are some budget speakers (under $120/pair) that I can wall mount using the brackets I have, or other brackets if the brackets are cheap? Those B652s were looking nice but apparently the quality is terrible now.

Hob_Gadling
Jul 6, 2007

by Jeffrey of YOSPOS
Grimey Drawer

dupersaurus posted:

"I don't need to overkill for a fancy or high-end setup".

Before you buy anything at all, you really should go and listen to what the difference actually is. If you can't hear the difference, go with the cheaper setups or keep what you have. It's your ears the setup has to please after all.

One way to save a buck is getting a receiver packaged with speakers. While the speakers aren't usually high quality there are some passable setups. Here's an example:

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/DENDHT1312BA/DENON-DHT-1312BA-Home-Theater-System-w/Boston-Acoustics-Speakers/1.html

me your dad
Jul 25, 2006

I posted in the PC audio thread with my Lepai amp/Dayton speaker combo.

I'm thinking of adding a sub to the mix. From what I see on the sub inputs though, it looks like it will render the Lepai amp useless, right? I say this because the sub has an input and output for speakers.

The sub would be something basic, like this 10" Polk.

I may also employ the sub for use in my home stereo, which consists of a 103 watt 5.1 Yamaha amp driving 2 Cerwin Vega 12" floor speakers. Given that I'm running two 12" woofers, would the amp add anything to the sound?

parasyte
Aug 13, 2003

Nobody wants to die except the suicides. They're no fun.

me your dad posted:

I posted in the PC audio thread with my Lepai amp/Dayton speaker combo.

I'm thinking of adding a sub to the mix. From what I see on the sub inputs though, it looks like it will render the Lepai amp useless, right? I say this because the sub has an input and output for speakers.

The sub would be something basic, like this 10" Polk.

I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the speaker-level input and output on the Polk sub is there solely for when what you currently have has no separate LFE output or full-range preout, so it can be connected in series with your fronts. I don't think it will do its own speaker amplification, just pass through the power it receives from the speaker in to the speaker out. You'll still need your current amp to provide the amplified signal that the Polk passes through.

Endless Mike
Aug 13, 2003



To go along with the "review your poo poo!" rule in the OP, here's mine. Today I my Onkyo TX-NR515 came, after I found it on accessories4less.com refurbished for less than the 414 model I had been intending to get since I don't really have any need for 7.2 (I don't intend to do anything more than 5.1, and in all reality, it'll probably just be 3.1). Anyway, they're paired to the set of Pioneer SP-BS21-LR bookshelf speakers (the predecessors to the current Andrew Jones line) I had on my two-channel setup for records and it sounds pretty good. Setup took awhile between connecting and renaming all my sources (three consoles, cable box, Apple TV), but everything seems to be working well. Some minor complaints with the receiver: it has an "InstaPrevue" function whereby you can see what is being shown on the other HDMI sources before switching, however, this only works for HDMI 1-4 of 7. Also, any sources that aren't named on the receiver (Cab/STL, BD/DVD, etc.) are similarly not named on the remote, meaning switching functions requires a couple extra buttons. Not a huge deal, but mildly annoying. Another annoyance is that I have an older model PS3 that doesn't have HDMI-CEC, so I have to use the controller to control it. I'm very strongly considering going out and buying a new one just to be able to control it from my remote (and have more hard drive space, I suppose). That said, those are minor gripes and I'm glad I read this thread, since I would have gotten a worse receiver for more money otherwise. I'm just waiting for my preamp to get here so I can make sure the turntable works with it.

Turnquiet
Oct 24, 2002

My friend is an eloquent speaker.

I just ordered the Onkyo TX-NR515 from the Onkyo outlet store, so thanks for the review. My previous Onkyo HTIB setup came from their refurb store and is still going strong 6 years later, so I look forward to using somethign more full featured now. Did you do the configuration with the mic?

Endless Mike
Aug 13, 2003



I did though I'm not sure how much it mattered with two speakers. Another small annoyance: analog inputs share source settings with digital inputs though it will automatically detect which to use at a given time. Still, it is strange for it to read "Xbox 360" while I'm listening to a record.

Hippie Hedgehog
Feb 19, 2007

Ever cuddled a hedgehog?

Endless Mike posted:

I did though I'm not sure how much it mattered with two speakers.

My Denon allows me to disable the Audyssey settings to do a side-by-side comparison. Does the Onkyo not have that? In my room, it noticeably decreases some mid-high frequencies when enabled.

Endless Mike
Aug 13, 2003



Hippie Hedgehog posted:

My Denon allows me to disable the Audyssey settings to do a side-by-side comparison. Does the Onkyo not have that? In my room, it noticeably decreases some mid-high frequencies when enabled.
Tonight I went through Audyssey again and I think I had actually cancelled it out last time. Afterward I was able to turn it on and off like you said. There's a definitely difference and it is much more bass-heavy with it off.

skipdogg
Nov 29, 2004
Resident SRT-4 Expert

I just finished building a 3.1 system on a budget, and am more than happy.

Parts breakdown:

Yamaha RX-V673 - $360.00 - onsale at Amazon (had 200 in gift cards)
2 x Pioneer SP-FS52 @ 87 ea - onsale at BestBuy
1 x Pioneer CS-22 @ 70 -onsale at BestBuy
1 x Polk PSW10 - @ 100 - pricematched Amazon at BestBuy

Throw in another 100 bucks to cover tax, shipping and misc cables and for for 804 dollars I have an amazing 3.1 system. I would probably have to spend 2500+ dollars to get something appreciably better.

I made a few compromises from Jonathan's very excellent recommendations. I had 200 in Amazon gift cards and really liked the feature set on the Yamaha receiver. (Standby HDMI switching was one of them) They also have a good reputation for reliability, so buying the RX-V673 at 360 (160 cash out of my pocket) was a no brainer. The Pioneer speakers were all on sale saving me roughly 100 bucks off list price.

Thoughts after purchasing

- I have a large living room (probably 16x20) that opens into a kitchen, the sub woofer isn't large enough to really 'fill' the room. It's plenty for my needs at this time though, for 100 bucks you can't really go wrong with the Polk. I couldn't justify the 300 dollar Klipsch when I was working on a budget. I also have a couple young kids (3 and 1) so opportunities to really crank the bass are few and far between. I'll keep an eye out for a sub deal I can't pass up, but for now it fills out the bottom nicely at normal volumes. Granted I'm not doing full HT and looking for those super low notes. I may custom build one later this year with some PartsExpress kit.

-This system has caused me to notice how lovely much of my MP3 collection is. Those 192K rips that sound fine in the car now sound like poo poo on the stereo. I've had good luck with FLAC and 320K MP3 rips. The most amazing thing I've listened to so far on the system is a FLAC rip of Heart's greatest hit's album. That album was mastered wonderfully and I can hear things in the music I never heard before. Just amazing.

- Good sound is becoming an addiction. My headphones are garbage now and I need new ones, my MP3 collection is crap and needs to be reripped. Building this was just a slippery slope to be honest. It's amazing though, I have a BB King concert BluRay and it sounds like I'm at one of his concerts... scratch that, it sounds better than being live at one of his concerts. I'm ordering the Joe Bonamassa Live at the Vienna Opera House BluRay and expect amazing things. This is one of those things that once you experience a nice sound system everything else is crap.

- Unexpected benefit of the receiver is the up-scaling and video processing. I have U-Verse at home, and everyone knows U-Verse compresses the poo poo out of their HD. My wife was watching a concert on Palladia, which is usually macro blocked all to hell and the picture looked amazing. Almost all the macro blocking was removed and it looked really smooth, but not that 120/240hz soap opera smoothing that TV's do that I hate, just cleaned up. Huge improvement and I love it. The only negative I have about the receiver is the GUI is straight out of a mid 90's VCR. It's functional, just looks terrible.

- So far I don't really care for many of the DSP sound features. I have a pretty straightforward room so YPAO helped me set the distances, but right now I have the speakers manually configured and it sounds great to me. I've found I enjoy the 'pure direct' mode when watching HD content with HD tracks. Sounds the cleanest to me. Pure Direct doesn't do anything to the video though, so I usually stick to the 'Straight' setting for the surround sound decoding when watching anything other than BR content and it works well. The iOS app is really nice as well. I can pop it open and increase the dialogue level, or increase/decrease the sub woofer trim without interfering with the picture on the screen.

Overall I'm super happy. I would post a picture, but to be honest everything is placed behind baby gates to keep the kids away from it and there's not much to see except for the two floor standing speakers.

skipdogg fucked around with this message at 18:05 on Apr 10, 2013

Endless Mike
Aug 13, 2003



Oh wow, that's a great deal on those speakers. I've been looking to get a set, and I'm going to have to start following Best Buy for deals.

Turnquiet
Oct 24, 2002

My friend is an eloquent speaker.

I am going to be pairing an Onkyo TX-NR515 to a Polk PSW10 this afternoon. Do I need a splitter to connect the RCA sub out on the receiver to both the RCA L/R in on the subwoofer? Reading through this discussion on other home theater forums is a safari of stupidity, so there are 5000 opinions on the subject- sub out to either L/R input since they "join" in the sub, splitter to get both L/R effects in the sub, ONLY use your stereo L/R out from the receiver into the sub and back out to the respective stereo channels (wtf? why even have a sub out if that is the case).

I am thinking that the receiver will only send low frequency tones from ALL 5 channels to the woofer via the dedicate subwoofer out, so either L/R in on the sub would be fine. Could someone confirm?

jonathan
Jul 3, 2005

by LITERALLY AN ADMIN
Run a single rca connection from a single sub out on the receiver to one of the rca inputs on the sub.

The Polk manual for that sub MAY want you to run the connection to one of the rca inputs on the sub in order to disable the subs built in crossover settings. Not sure with this exact sub.

If it doesn't, turn the crossover up to the max setting. May be called a low pass filter or lpf. Thus allows the receiver to handle crossover duties.

Once hooked up, rerun the full audyssey setup from the beginning.

jonathan
Jul 3, 2005

by LITERALLY AN ADMIN
The myriad of different connection options are because many people only run 2 channel amps without a sub output. Also, some people like running their main speakers with a sub helping that channels low content.

This thread leans toward the THX recommended settings. Which is more or less how I told you to set it up. Its the most fool proof.

skipdogg
Nov 29, 2004
Resident SRT-4 Expert

I have a PSW10 and just run the Subwoofer Out from my receiver to the Left RCA input on the subwoofer. It seems fine. I was going to get a RCA Y cable because it was like 2 bucks, but it probably isn't necessary. The user manual says you can use either or, or a y cable for both. Doesn't really matter.

The PSW10 doesn't have a LFE input, but the receiver handles the crossover duties. I just ran the RCA and turned the crossover all the way up.

Kristneder
Jul 21, 2006

:siren:This is my first post.:siren:
I've been thinking of upgrading my current amp (Harman/Kardon AVR 330) to this one: Harman/Kardon AVR 370. Or should I look at other brands? I can't seem to find any reviews of this reciever though.

If it's any help, this is my setup:

Front: Audiovector M3 Signature
Back: Audiovector Mi3
Center: Audiovector AV3Ci
Sub: Audiovector Mi Sub Super SE

Kristneder fucked around with this message at 12:08 on Apr 15, 2013

Trillest Parrot
Jul 9, 2006

trill parrots don't die
My dad is super hard of hearing. We just got him a new Samsung LED TV, but the speakers face towards the rear, and the TV is mounted in a corner, so the sound doesn't reflect off the wall and forward. He's asking about sound bar systems. He doesn't want a fancy surround system, so it sounds reasonable. Any suggestions for SIMPLE sound bar setups? Or would a little 3.1 be better? I want to be able to set it and forget it. He can't even figure out the giant red NETFLIX button on a remote. Also, it needs to project without being loud. (I imagine any speaker system that's set up properly will do this, but just sayin'.) Also, I'm going to be buying it for him, so I don't want to spend a lot of money :c00lbert: Anyone have any experience with the partial deaf? Is clarity more important than volume?

Twerk from Home
Jan 17, 2009

This avatar brought to you by the 'save our dead gay forums' foundation.

Trillest Parrot posted:

My dad is super hard of hearing. We just got him a new Samsung LED TV, but the speakers face towards the rear, and the TV is mounted in a corner, so the sound doesn't reflect off the wall and forward. He's asking about sound bar systems. He doesn't want a fancy surround system, so it sounds reasonable. Any suggestions for SIMPLE sound bar setups? Or would a little 3.1 be better? I want to be able to set it and forget it. He can't even figure out the giant red NETFLIX button on a remote. Also, it needs to project without being loud. (I imagine any speaker system that's set up properly will do this, but just sayin'.) Also, I'm going to be buying it for him, so I don't want to spend a lot of money :c00lbert: Anyone have any experience with the partial deaf? Is clarity more important than volume?

The best bang for your buck by far will be a reasonable 3.1 or maybe even a 3.0 if there is room for floorstanding speakers. By far the best way to make dialogue more intelligible without having other stuff blasting is a decent center channel, in my experience. In your "set it and forget it" you could even make it a little louder than the other channels.

What exactly is the budget? Is he willing to do floorstanding speakers, or is there not enough room? An entry level receiver and maybe some Polk Monitor 50 floorstanding speakers with whatever center channel is in the same series would do the trick for sure.

If the budget is really low, then your best options are going to be either a really entry level, possibly stereo receiver and two floorstanding speakers, or the soundbar. Most entry level soundbars aren't great and are basically just stereos in a box.

Twerk from Home fucked around with this message at 15:56 on Apr 15, 2013

jonathan
Jul 3, 2005

by LITERALLY AN ADMIN
If its just to get sound louder than the lovely muffled TV speakers, a sound bar should be fine. Get the brand that matches your TV.

fozzy fosbourne
Apr 21, 2010

I'm trying to pair a receiver with JBL L890s. Where does one need to start with receivers to get adequate power for these?

I'm having a hard time deciphering the power requirements and output and the specs for these devices. I'll eventually have 2 L890s an LC2 center, and a powered sub. Thanks.

jonathan
Jul 3, 2005

by LITERALLY AN ADMIN

fozzy fosbourne posted:

I'm trying to pair a receiver with JBL L890s. Where does one need to start with receivers to get adequate power for these?

I'm having a hard time deciphering the power requirements and output and the specs for these devices. I'll eventually have 2 L890s an LC2 center, and a powered sub. Thanks.

the important factors are the sensitivity and to a lesser extent the power handling.
The sensitivity spec says they will do 91db from 1 watt measured at 1 meter, outside. Not the best rating, but given that they reach down to 28hz, this is a good balance. Often you trade sensitivity for low bass.

You can get by with any receiver and get loud volumes out of these. If you want to go loud loud, you will want a receiver with a good amp, or a receiver with amp pre outs to run a separate amp.

Those specs say 250 watts per channel is the upper limit. If you sustain 500 watts they will either overheat and melt, or reach maximum mechanical travel and hit metal on metal.

Consider the Onkyo 709 refurb, the Onkyo 818, or one of the pioneer elite models with the THX rating.

The pioneers have class D amps and are really nice and use less power from the wall. The calibration software is lacking though.

If you primarily listen to music, you won't really need a subwoofer to enjoy those speakers.

If you listen to movies, you will need a good sub, because typical cheap subs will probably not outperform the speakers well enough to justify the cost. So either spend the money for multiple good subs, or go the DIY route, or don't bother with subs.

I would set up and position your speakers first, and then decide on subs after letting the system rip. You may find that subs aren't needed.

Trillest Parrot
Jul 9, 2006

trill parrots don't die

Weinertron posted:

The best bang for your buck by far will be a reasonable 3.1 or maybe even a 3.0 if there is room for floorstanding speakers. By far the best way to make dialogue more intelligible without having other stuff blasting is a decent center channel, in my experience. In your "set it and forget it" you could even make it a little louder than the other channels.

What exactly is the budget? Is he willing to do floorstanding speakers, or is there not enough room? An entry level receiver and maybe some Polk Monitor 50 floorstanding speakers with whatever center channel is in the same series would do the trick for sure.

If the budget is really low, then your best options are going to be either a really entry level, possibly stereo receiver and two floorstanding speakers, or the soundbar. Most entry level soundbars aren't great and are basically just stereos in a box.

There's definitely room for floor speakers. Would I get the same level clarity from a higher end sound bar? 3 Polk speakers and a receiver would run about $600 on Amazon, and that's doable, but if I can get near that quality for less, I'd prefer it. Are Sonys okay? They're less than $200 a pair.

He definitely doesn't need a subwoofer (and that would probably just interfere with his hosed up hearing, he can hear lows just fine but high end, female range voices are really hard), so 3.0 sounds attractive.

jonathan posted:

If its just to get sound louder than the lovely muffled TV speakers, a sound bar should be fine. Get the brand that matches your TV.
Unfortunately, we don't want it to just be loud because it would drive my mother crazy. I bet we'd get a better result than the TV speakers, so it wouldn't have to be as loud, but I can't imagine those little sound bar speakers are too much better.

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jonathan
Jul 3, 2005

by LITERALLY AN ADMIN

Trillest Parrot posted:

There's definitely room for floor speakers. Would I get the same level clarity from a higher end sound bar? 3 Polk speakers and a receiver would run about $600 on Amazon, and that's doable, but if I can get near that quality for less, I'd prefer it. Are Sonys okay? They're less than $200 a pair.

He definitely doesn't need a subwoofer (and that would probably just interfere with his hosed up hearing, he can hear lows just fine but high end, female range voices are really hard), so 3.0 sounds attractive.

Unfortunately, we don't want it to just be loud because it would drive my mother crazy. I bet we'd get a better result than the TV speakers, so it wouldn't have to be as loud, but I can't imagine those little sound bar speakers are too much better.

A sound bar matching the brand of the TV will be the simplest easy to use setup. The sound will be much better than the TV speakers.

You will want one that comes with a subwoofer.

You could also spend a bit more and get something from klipsch. They make a few higher end sound bars.

Or you could go the receiver and speakers route. It will be better, but you said your father has issues figure out the big red Netflix button. A receiver is significantly more complicated than a sound bar.

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