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I got a question about the wire for a car sub. I m currently running 16AWG to the sub, as that is all I had at the time. ( 2 days a go) . I am running the sub at 300RMS. A few places online recommend running 8 or 10 awg wire. Would this be overkill, or should I step up to the 8/10. I realize 16AWG is pushing it a little bit, but how bad?
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Nov 2, 2008 19:59
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Flyboy925 posted:I got a question about the wire for a car sub. I m currently running 16AWG to the sub, as that is all I had at the time. ( 2 days a go) . I am running the sub at 300RMS. A few places online recommend running 8 or 10 awg wire. Would this be overkill, or should I step up to the 8/10. I realize 16AWG is pushing it a little bit, but how bad? 16 AWG is rated (conservatively) for up to 22 amps. If your sub is 4 ohm, that'd be about 2 kilowatt, so you should be fine. You can always test by letting the thing run at full volume for a bit and checking if the wire feels warm to the touch.
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Nov 2, 2008 21:14
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The other day I bought a second-hand Sony STR-DE697 (which I bought in a place I could easily return it). It works, but the right channel is much quieter than the left. I reset the unit to the factory settings, made sure the balance wasn't set incorrectly, tried another speaker output on the unit, etc. However, no matter what I do, the left channel always comes out much louder than the right. I don't know a lot about stereo receivers... Should I return it? Also, could this unit be damaged? How so?
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Nov 3, 2008 12:46
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Frank Zappa posted:The other day I bought a second-hand Sony STR-DE697 (which I bought in a place I could easily return it). If you tried switching the speakers around (to rule them out), using another input and switching the left/right plugs for the input around (to rule out problems with the input and with the source), with all the things you'd already tried I'd say just return it. Sound like there's something wrong with the amplification stage - if returning wasn't so easy I'd say open it up and check fuses, caps and transistors for signs of breakage. As it is, I'd just return it and save yourself some searching.
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Nov 3, 2008 20:50
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I got a new TV in July and I've been wanting to get a nice sound system for it. I was originally thinking of just getting the receiver and two front channels because I wanted to get a quality setup, but I will only have the money over time. I was looking at the Onkyo 606 and the Pioneer 1018 for the receiver and didn't really have a clue about speakers. I was just catching up with the thread and I saw the Energy C-300 speakers were recommended along with a C-100 center channel. I went to eBay because I will be wanting the live.com discount and I saw that this deal which seems incredible: http://cgi.ebay.com/ENERGY-HOME-THE...id=p3286.c0.m14 Energy C-500 pair Energy C-C100 center Energy PR C-100 rears All for $599. I was expecting to spend around $350 for just two fronts, but this seems like a much better route. Any thoughts on this? (don't buy them all please!) edit: I guess I can ask about the receiver also. I have a Panasonic TH-50PZ80U, a non-HDMI 360, and a PS3 and potentially these speakers. I could also be hooking my ipod up to it or maybe some day an HTPC. Is there anything strikingly different that I would be missing from one receiver over the other? Is there any information I should provide? KingKapalone fucked around with this message at 00:25 on Nov 4, 2008 |
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Nov 4, 2008 00:14
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King, i have the c100 bookshelves and center as my fronts, I recommend those speakers, especially for that price. That is totally insane with free shipping!
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Nov 4, 2008 03:04
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Now I'm getting all excited about buying stuff and that makes me want a subwoofer also. I don't even know if that is feasible in my apartment. It is a new complex so the walls are probably thick enough so it wouldn't bother anyone. I would have to keep the windows shut and hope my roommate wouldn't bitch. I feel like so much of the WOW factor in a movie is the feel of the low end and I'm afraid I won't be as impressed by these Blu-Rays I want to watch without it. To make it simple I was looking at the Energy subs and which ones are on eBay. I see a used S10.3 for $250 + 90 shipped. Anyone have any opinions or other recommendations? Again, I'm trying to stick to eBay because I'm already spending all of my money being a 22 year old with a new job who's optimistic about the future.
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Nov 4, 2008 06:31
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The main person you need to worry about in an apartment is whoever is underneath you, they'll get the worst of it.
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Nov 4, 2008 16:39
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I've got a pretty extensive question here, but I'd hate to make my own thread for it. First let me say I'm not an audiophile by any means, at least not yet, but let me relay a quick story as to why a pretty poor college student such as myself is willing to spend upwards of $2000 on stereo equipment. I was visiting an old friend earlier this summer and we were watching football in the upstairs of his parents house on the HD tv. I had brought over some music to listen to, and after the game was done we popped it into his CD player. I've never heard such an amazing sound quality before in my life. I later popped on my Bose tri-port headphones, and I don't want to say I was disgusted, but I realized at that point I'm not going to be satisfied in my music listening until I get a great receiver and two big rear end speakers to blast classical music. So now that you can see where I'm coming from, I'm really someone with no knowledge in this area. I listen almost exclusively to classical music. I don't want to get a boxed surround sound system, I want to buy a receiver and some great speakers, but I really don't know whats good and whats not good. I have Bose speakers in my car, and those tri-port headphones, but thats pretty much just me going with the name brand Bose. Here's sort of the parameters of what my setup would ideally be: 50in Hitachi HD Xbox 360 Computer hooked up as well(this and the ipod hookup are not dealbreakers, as I can hook them up through the xbox 360) able to connect iPod Receiver two large speakers center channel and surround speakers At this point I have everything but the good receiver and speakers. I currently have some pretty crappy $200 HTIB Sony system hooked up right now, pretty much for watching sports and gaming. And I'm pretty much willing to go up to around $1500-$2000 to get great sound for listening to music. If I don't have to spend anywhere close to that much, it would be great. I know this is kind of a long post, and kind of a general question, but any recommendations would be much appreciated, because as I said I know little about this subject. Or if you could direct me to a thread where similar things are discussed, I'd be much obliged. TIA cereal eater fucked around with this message at 19:09 on Nov 5, 2008 |
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Nov 5, 2008 19:00
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qirex posted:The main person you need to worry about in an apartment is whoever is underneath you, they'll get the worst of it. I don't think anyone lives below me right now, but that could always change. Any more comments on these Energy speaker or the Onkyo 606 vs Pioneer 1018 question? I'm itching to buy, but I don't really know of quality places to find information on something so broad and subjective as speakers. edit: Also if it matters. The room size is 13x10 but it is essentially 13x19 with vaulted ceilings since I'm on the top floor. KingKapalone fucked around with this message at 20:02 on Nov 5, 2008 |
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Nov 5, 2008 19:48
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cereal eater posted:I have Bose speakers in my car, and those tri-port headphones, but thats pretty much just me going with the name brand Bose. Avoid Bose if you can - their products aren't all that good, and they are way, way overpriced. If you're mostly going to do music listening, you could think about getting a dedicated - stereo - music listening setup. It'll take a bit more planning and looking around on the internet (can't just buy an Onkyo and a set of Energy speakers), but you get so much more value for money for music listening. Ideally, you should find a local shop that carries a good selection of high end speakers (I'm in the UK so I don't really know much about specific brands, sorry) and get them to let you take some stuff you like home to demo for a few days. Do this with a few different speakers/amplifiers, so you know what their different sound signatures are. Internet-only speaker sellers will be cheaper, but take care that you can return the speakers if you don't like them without extra cost for you. What I'm trying to say (badly) is that you should ideally try to listen to a few different speakers and amplifiers before buying. $2000 will either buy you an amazing system, or something that sounds about as well as $500 worth of other brands. edit: Apart from that, non-lossless files on an Ipod is a bad choice for a source, especially with demanding music like classical. You lose so much detail it's not funny anymore. Lossless or well-encoded files (lame -v0 mp3s, for example) are fine. Using optical or coaxial digital output from your iPod to a seperate DAC will give the best results. pim01 fucked around with this message at 21:21 on Nov 5, 2008 |
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Nov 5, 2008 21:16
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I'm considering picking up a HTIB setup at Circuit City, since mine is one of the one's being shut down. I have an Onkyo receiver, so I don't need that part. Are there any suggested HTIB systems for around the $300 range?
Kengi fucked around with this message at 21:31 on Nov 5, 2008 |
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Nov 5, 2008 21:25
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Thanks a lot for the help. After posting I realized how much I have to research this, and how much I need to get out to the stores and listen to these things. Thanks a lot. I used to rip CD's with EAC (Exact audio copy), but that was time extensive and wasn't very good for space. Is the iPod lossless ripping really THAT bad? If that's the case... drat you apple. drat you. In the past 3 weeks or so I've ripped about 40 + gigs of music and spend countless hours doing so. Any tips on that front? I'm not too crazy about ripping them as .WAV with EAC, as thats kinda a pain in the rear end. But if you're right about the loss of quality then I'll start the process over again over the next few weeks. I don't plan on getting this soon, really, unless I can find some great deals before Christmas. Again thanks pim01.
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Nov 5, 2008 21:25
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cereal eater posted:Thanks a lot for the help. After posting I realized how much I have to research this, and how much I need to get out to the stores and listen to these things. Thanks a lot. By lossless I'm assuming he means FLAC, which the ipod can't play.
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Nov 5, 2008 21:53
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cereal eater posted:Thanks a lot for the help. After posting I realized how much I have to research this, and how much I need to get out to the stores and listen to these things. Thanks a lot. Don't worry, any lossless (including Apple's) should be fine, since no information is lost in the encoding/decoding process. You could try ripping a track with EAC to FLAC and compare, but I bet you won't find much difference. I was afraid you'd have a big iTunes-downloaded 128kb collection, which would be disappointing on such a good system. edit: I wish I could point you to a good dedicated forum, but the only good ones I know are home-theater based (AVSForum) - which skews things away from music and towards subwoofers, 7.1 and other movie- and game-centric ground, and for headphones (head-fi). pim01 fucked around with this message at 22:05 on Nov 5, 2008 |
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Nov 5, 2008 22:00
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pim01 posted:If you tried switching the speakers around (to rule them out), using another input and switching the left/right plugs for the input around (to rule out problems with the input and with the source), with all the things you'd already tried I'd say just return it. Sound like there's something wrong with the amplification stage - if returning wasn't so easy I'd say open it up and check fuses, caps and transistors for signs of breakage. As it is, I'd just return it and save yourself some searching. Yup... that's what I did. Replaced it with a Pioneer amp, and it's working great!
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Nov 5, 2008 23:49
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Thanks again pim01 for the help. If anyone in the states has any advice on where to go to check out some audio equipment it'd be great. The selection and service at the major retail stores is lacking, while a lot of stores more geared towards audio stuff are mostly home theater related. I'm sure they can give me some help. Also, the more audio oriented stores are waaay out of my price range (e.g., 15000+). I'm local to the DC area if that helps, I'm not sure if there are any national 'chains' that offer great audio service.
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Nov 7, 2008 01:01
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I decided to buy the Onkyo HT-S3100, and being the overly excited person neglected to check the inputs the receiver could handle. It doesn't have any sort of HDMI input/output, so I'm wondering how to best use the 5.1. It does have an optical input, and my tv does have an optical output. I'm guessing this will allow me to do 5.1 with no problems? Also since I've retarded and have never seen an optical cable before, this is what I'm looking for yes? http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10229&cs_id=1022901&p_id=1419&seq=1&format=2
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Nov 7, 2008 09:33
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blahz posted:Also since I've retarded and have never seen an optical cable before, this is what I'm looking for yes? Yup, that's an optical cable  . Optical should carry 5.1 as far as I'm aware, so that should be fine.
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Nov 7, 2008 13:45
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On the PS3, when watching movies, I have the option of outputting audio via PCM or bitstream. I couldnt tell the difference between the two (But I was only watching a normal movie, not a blu-ray). Could someone give me a quick explanation of the differences?
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Nov 7, 2008 18:59
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The Pell posted:On the PS3, when watching movies, I have the option of outputting audio via PCM or bitstream. I couldnt tell the difference between the two (But I was only watching a normal movie, not a blu-ray). Could someone give me a quick explanation of the differences? PCM is uncompressed audio, basically what's on a CD - by setting the PS3 to output PCM, you're telling it to decode the audio for you and push that out to the receiver/amp. This means that the receiver doesn't have to decode anything, just do the conversion from digital to analog. Bitstream is just the data as is on the DVD/blu-ray. The PS3 doesn't decode anything and leaves all the decoding work up to the receiver.
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Nov 7, 2008 20:46
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Here's what I bought yesterday: Receiver: http://www.pioneerusa.com/PUSA/Products/HomeEntertainment/AV-Receivers/PioneerReceivers/ci.VSX-1018AH-K.Kuro Speakers: http://www.wwstereo.com/#/ecommerce/store/Speakers/33/144390// Sub: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=310097765948 Now I need to figure out what I get for cables. I'm going to need some long speaker wire for the rear since I'll need to run them along the wall.
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Nov 7, 2008 21:11
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KingKapalone posted:Here's what I bought yesterday: Something like this 14 awg cable, $18 for 100 feet at monoprice will be perfectly fine (and overkill, but it looks nice and thick ). You can go down to 18 awg without a problem, especially for your surrounds($7 at monoprice). monoprice'll also have cheap, good cables for all your other cabling needs (sub cable etc, just search around).
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Nov 7, 2008 21:17
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pim01 posted:Something like this 14 awg cable, $18 for 100 feet at monoprice will be perfectly fine (and overkill, but it looks nice and thick So a bigger awg is a less expensive cable? I haven't checked yet, but will my speakers come with anything? If I just buy this spool, do I also need to buy the connectors to plug them into the receiver? Are there any tools I'll need? I thought the sub would come with something, but maybe not.
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Nov 7, 2008 21:39
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KingKapalone posted:So a bigger awg is a less expensive cable? I haven't checked yet, but will my speakers come with anything? If I just buy this spool, do I also need to buy the connectors to plug them into the receiver? Are there any tools I'll need? I thought the sub would come with something, but maybe not. About wire gauge... A smaller awg number is a thicker wire.  (stolen shamelessly from Wikipedia) Sniep fucked around with this message at 21:53 on Nov 7, 2008 |
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Nov 7, 2008 21:50
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I want to upgrade my computer speakers. Should I buy a receiver and a pair of studio speakers, or some dedicated computer speakers? I won't hook it up to a TV, since I listen to all my music and watch all my tv through my computer. After buying some somewhat nice headphones and a headphone amp, I would call myself a budding audiophile, but nowhere close to spending <$1000 on an audio system just yet as I cannot afford it. Also, is there a sound card people are swarming to nowadays? Newegg no longer sells the sound card in the Headphones thread, and all the other sound cards are marketed as "xtreme gamer cards".
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Nov 8, 2008 01:19
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I'm hoping to get some kind of surround sound set up for my television, but I've realised I have no idea whatsoever about how it works. Have I got it right in thinking you need a receiver hooked up to the TV, and then connect speakers to the receiver? It's mainly for the PS3/360 and it's an LCD if that changes anything. Also, is there anything in particular to look out for with a receiver, either something terrible to avoid or something that usually means it's a good one? Looking around it seems that power ratings don't mean much, lower distortion is better and higher signal to noise ratio is good? Thanks for any clarification anyone can give me.
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Nov 8, 2008 02:34
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KingKapalone posted:So a bigger awg is a less expensive cable? I haven't checked yet, but will my speakers come with anything? If I just buy this spool, do I also need to buy the connectors to plug them into the receiver? Are there any tools I'll need? I thought the sub would come with something, but maybe not. Like Sniep's chart up ther shows, higher AWG is smaller diameter. It's a weird American measure, normal people just use mm^2 or mm diameter. Speaker wire is easy, just cut to length, strip a centimer of insulation of the ends of the signal wire and ground wire, insert into screw terminal and screw the terminal down on it. Make sure to connect the coloured terminals correctly (red on speaker to red on receiver, etc). All speaker wire is double (ground wire and signal wire stuck together, basically) and one side of the speaker wire will have a marking or a different color, so that's easy to do. You only get cable with your speakers when you buy a crappy hometheater-in-a-box system or when the guy selling you the speakers is feeling generous. Cable is cheap, though, so don't worry about it. Your amp has an RCA subwoofer output on the back (right side, in the bit marked Pre-Out). Get a cable like this to connect your sub (which can take RCA input, it says on the ebay page).
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Nov 8, 2008 14:52
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I know I'll be ordering some speaker cabling from MonoPrice, but does anyone have anything to say about the refurbished systems Onkyo has on sale right now? http://www.shoponkyo.com/products.cfm?group_id=1&subcat=Systems And should I just go for the 14 gauge wire? e: I already have an Onkyo receiver thanks to an Amazon sale: Onkyo TX-SR805
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Nov 8, 2008 15:38
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Kengi posted:I know I'll be ordering some speaker cabling from MonoPrice, but does anyone have anything to say about the refurbished systems Onkyo has on sale right now? If you already have tx-sr805 you shouldn't buy another prepack systemm, unless i'm not understanding you correctly. The 805 is quite a bit nicer than my 605 and I love mine. 12 gauge is usually regarded as the best but i've used 14 gauge wire with success.
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Nov 9, 2008 01:45
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Hollis Brown posted:If you already have tx-sr805 you shouldn't buy another prepack systemm, unless i'm not understanding you correctly. The 805 is quite a bit nicer than my 605 and I love mine. 12 gauge is usually regarded as the best but i've used 14 gauge wire with success. I asked before what would be a good speaker set to get, but no one's answered that question. You are understanding me correctly, in that I'm currently using my 805 as a input switcher and nothing more. A waste, until I get speakers. I'll get the 12 then, just to be sure. It's a whole 3 bucks more for 100 feet than the 14 gauge. I know I want a good sound system, saw the 805, and jumped at the chance. I know nothing of AV equipment, since I've only ever had 2 channels of sound.
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Nov 9, 2008 02:14
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If you're using normal speakers with impedance in the 6-8 ohm area you don't really need anything thicker than 14awg. There's a good table and more information than you ever wanted here.
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Nov 9, 2008 05:53
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pim01 posted:Like Sniep's chart up ther shows, higher AWG is smaller diameter. It's a weird American measure, normal people just use mm^2 or mm diameter. Will I need any cables to hook my TV into the receiver? I have the component cables for my 360, an HDMI cable for my PS3, a coax cable from my HD antenna to the TV, and eventually these speaker wires and RCA cable. edit: I guess I would just need an HDMI cable to go from the TV to the receiver. KingKapalone fucked around with this message at 04:04 on Nov 10, 2008 |
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Nov 10, 2008 00:16
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I'm adding a Klipsch Academy and two Heresies to my Fortes. Does anyone have any recommendations for a sub?
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Nov 10, 2008 00:24
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KingKapalone posted:Here's what I bought yesterday: Why did you end up going with the Pioneer over the Onkyo? I have been looking into both receivers as they are price very competitively on Amazon, but I don't really have a convincing argument to go with one over the other.
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Nov 10, 2008 05:28
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Falco posted:Why did you end up going with the Pioneer over the Onkyo? I have been looking into both receivers as they are price very competitively on Amazon, but I don't really have a convincing argument to go with one over the other. I read up on some more stuff at AVS forum and saw that there had been some issues with popping with the Onkyo. I also liked that the Pioneer has USB to control and iPod. It also has a pre-out to connect to an amp if I ever need to at some point. The Pioneer is on eBay for the live.com deal and was in my budget. I'm trying to decide if I should put my center channel on the shelf below my TV or mount it above my TV. I also need to decide if wall mounting my rear speakers at about the same height as the mirror on both sides is a good plan.   Any advice? KingKapalone fucked around with this message at 05:49 on Nov 10, 2008 |
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Nov 10, 2008 05:44
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KingKapalone posted:..I'm trying to decide if I should put my center channel on the shelf below my TV or mount it above my TV.. Personally, I'd put it beneath the TV, but that's just my opinion. I think there is some psychological reason it's more pleasing to have the voice channels ahead of and under the picture vs. speaking from above you.
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Nov 10, 2008 07:49
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KingKapalone posted:edit: I guess I would just need an HDMI cable to go from the TV to the receiver. If it's just for getting the sound from your TV to your receiver you can also use an optical cable, to save an HDMI slot for something else. Sniep posted:Personally, I'd put it beneath the TV, but that's just my opinion. I think there is some psychological reason it's more pleasing to have the voice channels ahead of and under the picture vs. speaking from above you. Yeah, underneath the TV would be best - rule of thumb is to always keep your speakers at about ear level to your listening position. Sounds more natural, and you get the best sound from your speakers that way. pim01 fucked around with this message at 11:07 on Nov 10, 2008 |
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Nov 10, 2008 10:54
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So I have my speaker cable coming (100ft, 12 gauge), and my coworker dropped off 2 of his older speakers that he just replaced so I can mess with them. I want to know if there's a place where I can get a good 5.1 speaker set without the receiver. I don't know anything about AV equipment, which is what's holding me back right now.
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Nov 10, 2008 13:55
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I'm thinking about replacing my 85w per channel Yamaha RX-V457 with a 65w Harman/Kardon AVR 355. The H/K brand apparently matches other brands with double their wattage, so it might be like a 130w Yamaha. If both receivers are set to 0db volume with the speakers, source and settings exactly the same, will they be the same loudness? Will the extra watts just improve the quality at extremely high volumes? I read that turning the volume above 0 decibels is bad. I want to know if this new amp/receiver will be any louder without having to go above 0db.
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Nov 10, 2008 15:27
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