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Beginner Home Theater Audio Help (1 Viewer)

Zaspera

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Kyle
Ok cool. Few more questions. With the TV plugged into the amp via headphone cable, will the sound still come from the TV as well as the 2 speakers or just the speakers? You kind of confused me about the amp and speaker wire. So I just twist the black and red things on the amp and insert the speaker wire?
 

schan1269

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I would "assume" you can pick the analog audio output or the internal speakers "on the fly". The manual tells you what happens when you plug the cable in. It doesn't say it is headphones, as headphones would interrupt the internal speakers. Get the amp. Look at it...it will make sense.
 

Zaspera

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Oh I'm grabbing the amp. It's going to be a present for myself when we move out later this month. Those "frequently bought with the amp" speakers look decent enough to be an upgrade from the stock TV speakers?
 

schan1269

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For a starter system to learn what you are doing...those are fine. One day when you decide you want some "real speakers"...graduate to a pair of these... http://www.zuaudio.com/#omen-bookshelf-loudspeaker.php
 

Zaspera

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$1200 for a pair. Oh god. Those better make me pizzas when I watch TV. For future speaker searches, are there certain specs that I should be looking at? I see frequency, ohms, hz, watts, etc.
 

schan1269

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Watts... An irrelevant spec. Ohm load... Just have to make sure the amp is ok driving 6 or 4 ohm. IF you never buy 6 or 4, you never have anything to worry about. Frequency response... A relatively useful tool. But just because you see a flat response...doesn't mean you'll like it. There is no replacement for just listening. Efficiency... The higher the DB...the less power the speakers need to achieve the same volume. (if you notice, the speakers you are buying are 87 and those Zu are 98. Those Zu will rock the house on 5 watts. You can't feed those Dayton enough power, before they'd fall apart, to match what those Zu are doing on 5) Frame of reference... watts....Dayton....Zu 1 watt...87db........98db 2............90............101 4............93.............104 8............96.............107 16..........99.............110 32..........102...........113 (what this amp has to offer your Dayton on 32 watts isn't even the same volume as the Zu on 4)
 

Zaspera

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Well we live in an apartment, so it's not about the volume so much for me. I'm just hoping to get a clearer more realistic sound.
 
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Brett
As already mentioned the cheapest "HTIBs" arent really upgradable. If you spend 2-300 buck you can get the better "HTIB" setups like the onkyo ones that have an actual receiver and speakers and sub. Get one with a powered sub if you can. That way you have an actual setup that you can actually upgrade if you want.. I started with one of these and it sounded great. I got the fever and ended up upgrading to a little better setup later on but the HTIB completely blows away any factory speakers inside any tv...
 

schan1269

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He's referring to the Onkyo HTS series. 3500 uses a passive subwoofer(avoid this one) The 5500 has a powered sub and comes with a decent receiver(day to day the prices at Accessories4less and Amazon fluctuate for which is more cost effective) The 6500 adds (I think) networking and HDMI upconversion(I know it has this). The 8409 was today's Woot deal. $500 I think it was. The main disadvantage with a "pre-package" is the speakers aren't that great. HTiB and "pre-package" are terms that are often crossed up(even by the manufacturers). HTiB(on this and most forums) includes the "all in one" systems that the "control unit" contains a DVD/BD player. Almost always these systems use a proprietary "speaker jack" and the entire thing gets thrown away when any part of it fails. "Pre-package" refers to a real AVR paired with speakers that are passable for the short term. The Denon DHT1312BA is an example where the speakers "aren't that bad".
 

Zaspera

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Thanks for the info again. This want of mine is turning out to be a huge moneysink. I can't decide what to get.
 

schan1269

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Tell you why "pre-package speaker suck". Earlier in the thread I showed why efficiency matters between the Dayton speaker you chose at 87db and those Zu at 98db. The 8409(which has "the best" speakers of the Onkyo HTS series) main speakers are 79db (in)efficient.(Tell you how bad 79db efficiency is...that is less efficient than a Magnepan SMGA. The SMGA is a planar speaker which has a flat frequency curve. "Flat frequency curve" is the holy grail of speakers. So you can forgive a Magnepan for being that innefficient. A "cone speaker" that efficient is a crime against humanity...) What that translates to(no I'm not doing the actual math, cause I'm on my phone)... That Daytong DTA100 pushing on those Dayton is probably louder than the 8409's AVR(whatever it is) pushing on the speakers it comes with. So if you "eventually" bought those Dayton to replace the speakers the 8409 came with, you'd be ahead. Then you could give the 8409 speakers to somebody you hated...
 

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