hybrid system - is this possible? (1 Viewer)

[shredhead1260]

I just got an 82 inch TV and would like to investigate how to get some decent sound to go with it.

The room has windows and a fireplace on one side and is partially open on the other side and also open in the rear where the kitchen is. So it's not a fancy home theatre system that I'm after, just some decent sound that one could hear in the kitchen if they happened to be cooking or sitting at the table.

I am hoping to be able to leverage existing built into the wall rear speakers. These are wired to the wall where the TV is. In my research thus far it seems like using those speakers in conjunction with one of the various sound bar packages out there will not happen. I currently have the rear speakers powered by a Carver amp / pre-amp tuner which is from the 1990s. I used a converter to get the optical cable to RCA's, then to the back of the preamp - to me it sounds good. But that's not surround sound, that's just stereo sound behind your head.

I'm not against ditching the Carver stuff and getting a new modern receiver, then new front speakers (left,center,right) and a sub. I was just hoping there might be some easier way. Due to the acoustics of the room, spending big money would not make sense. I have not seen anything yet that seems to fit the bill, but perhaps I have not been looking in the right places yet.

 

[Dave Upton]

Hi Jason and welcome to the HTF,

You could buy an "LCR" soundbar, and connect that to a receiver, while connecting the rear in walls to the surround channels quite easily.

To do this, I'd pick up something like this receiver:

See on Amazon

The LCR soundbar you'd want is something like this:

See on Amazon

or if budget is a concern, like this:

See on Amazon

You would simply run 3 sets of speaker wire from the LCR on the reciver to this speaker bar, and then connect the two in wall speakers to the Surround Left and Surround Right posts on the back of the receiver. The receiver could then run a single HDMI to your new TV, and all your sources will use the HDMI inputs.

I hope this makes sense. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[shredhead1260]

Aren't those sound bars usually amplified? I realize you changed the order of hookup. Normally it would be TV -> sound bar, in this case it's TV->receiver->soundbar and also receiver->other speakers.

 

[Wayne_j]

Aren't those sound bars usually amplified? I realize you changed the order of hookup. Normally it would be TV -> sound bar, in this case it's TV->receiver->soundbar and also receiver->other speakers.

The soundbars linked to above are not amplified.

 

[Dave Upton]

Aren't those sound bars usually amplified? I realize you changed the order of hookup. Normally it would be TV -> sound bar, in this case it's TV->receiver->soundbar and also receiver->other speakers.

Soundbars are usually amplified - speaker bars are not. This is basically using a speakerbar in the place of a soundbar so that you get the full functionality of a receiver which will also switch your sources (video and audio) and manage volume etc. This is the correct way to accomplish what you are asking for.