Help a newbie find his way please (1 Viewer)

[Cass M]

Hi! I am trying to find some info on the basics of receivers/speakers. A guide would be nice. But if there isn't one around, these are a few of the questions I was looking to have answered. I found the formula for dBw[ log(Watts)*10 ]. But is louder always going to be better? Are there different qualities of sound from different receivers with the same dBw?

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Hi Cass. Welcome to HTF!

Our Pimer FAQ has a lot of good startup information:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...d.php?t=107252

Some Advice about power:

In the 60's and 70's it took tons of power to make music and people tried to make it sound loud in the next room.

But a HT system is different. You surround yourself with an array of 5 speakers all pointing at a few seats. You dont need megawatts of power, just good, clean 80-150 wpc RMS.

It gets better. The real power-hungry speaker is the subwoofer. You can get many good self-powered subwoofers which usually leaves lots of power for the other speakers even with a modest reciever.

My favorite starter system recomendation is this:

- Get a name-brand reciever (Yamaha, Dennon, Kenwood are my favorites) with about 80-100 watts per channel.

- Get a matched set of small, monitor style speakers.

- Get a better-than-average subwoofer (www.svswoofers.com are a local favorite)

And this can give you a outstanding HT experience without costing too much.

SPEAKER AUDITIONS:

This is a fun thing to do. Take a favorite DVD and a favorite CD with you to stores and listen. Most speakers will sound good with the DVD, so use the CD to pick your favorite speakers.

Speakers can run 300 to $5,000. The difference is usually 'Accuracy'. This is highly prized for serious music listening.

Music speakers and sound is very different from HT for the following reasons:

- HT sound is highly compressed compared to a CD.

- HT sound is largely artificial. Highly accurate speakers dont really help.

- HT sound does not tend to drive all 5 speakers all the time unlike music so it's kind of a waste to buy highly accurate rear speakers for 20% of a movie.

So dont snear at sets of small, less-expensive speakers. Many people have put together HT systems for $300-$800 and have great sounding systems.

Then - ask your questions here or in the Recievers or speakers fourm.

One caution: newbies always ask: "Which of these 2 speakers AAA or BBB are better?". Try to avoid this. You see - speakers have 'flavor' just like brands of beer or ice-cream. If I lined these up in "best->worst" order, my order would be different than everybody elses. And nobody would really be 'right'. It's a matter of taste. Do your own auditions with a Movie and Music you are familar with. This will give you the best chance towards HT happiness.

Hope this helps and enjoy your visit!

 

[JawhnM]

Shop, and demo within your budget. It can be very Anti-Inspiring to listen to "GOOD" inexpensive (within your budget) speakers, after listening to "GREAT" (definitely NOT in your budget ) $10,000 Martin Logan's at a speciality store.

If you don't want to spend beyond your budget, don't shop beyond it.

Having said that, I love to listen (and DREAM)!