Understanding Home Audio and Looking for a Receiver That Meets my Needs (1 Viewer)

[Autolycus]

Greetings all. I have a lot of questions; I'm very new to the current state of home audio and am trying to understand how things have changed and what is possible.

So the last time I bought a home audio system was approximately 15 years ago. They were called "Stereos" back then. It had a five CD changer, duel cassette decks, AM/FM radio, a set of RCA (Red/White) ports for accepting input from other devices, and two 14 inch speakers that connected with those annoying little +/- wires that had to be clamped in.

Up until last year, I had been using this as my main audio device. A little Composite switchbox I bought let me change between my various game systems and my PC (audio-only for the latter.) Though I was always interested in having surround sound, I never really found the push I needed to jump on that bandwagon. Until now.

Being that I wanted the highest quality video possible, I bought a new 32" 1080p television about a year ago (Sharp LC32GP3U) and since it has multiple inputs, I began connecting my consoles directly up to it (PS3 and DVR through HDMI, Wii and PS2 though Component.) The stereo now became dedicated to my PC's audio. For the most part, this was all fine.

However, one problem that I've noticed while watching movies is that the audio is completely unbalanced. The sound effects are incredibly loud, and the dialog is way too low. It makes watching movies with someone in the next room a hassle, because if I turn it up loud enough to hear what they're saying, the moment a sound effect happens, I get banging on the walls telling me to turn the television down. I'm tired of holding the remote in my hand and quickly trying to turn the volume up and down to adjust for whatever type of sound is currently active.

Attempting to find a solution on the web, I've found there are settings one can use to normalize the audio. However, they seem to be on Receivers only. I've fiddled around with both, and my television has no option to fix this, nor does my PS3 (which is what I use as my DVD/Blu-Ray device.) So now my hand is forced to finally pick up a new home audio system.

And it seems things have changed from 15 years ago. I've tried to do the research on how things are now, but most sites I've found assume you know something already about how current home audio is. This is what I've managed to gather: Apparently, Stereos are called "Receivers" now? And they don't come with CD players, radio tuners, tape decks, or even speakers. They're just an audio processing unit that interprets the signals from an input and sends them to an output?

Okay, here's what I'm trying to do. Hardware involved:

Television: Sharp LC32GP3U 32" 1080p
Cable (HDMI): High Def Digital Cable DRV
Console (HDMI): Playstation 3
Console (Component): Wii
Console (Component): Playstation 2
Console (Component): PSP-2001
Other (RCA): Computer (Audio only-Video is still sent to PC monitor.)

So if I understand this correctly: I hook up all the devices directly to the Receiver. The Receiver acts as switchbox, whichever device is selected will have it's audio sent to the speakers and it's video sent to the television? Does that mean if I have the HDMI going from the Receiver to the television, it will take the video from the Component Wii and send it through the HDMI to the television? Or will I have to still send each device to the television separately? Do the Receivers do any conversion or will it come out the exact same way it would if it were connected directly to the television?

So basically, all I really need to pick up is a Receiver that has enough inputs to accommodate all the devices, and the speakers to connect to the Receiver?

Now, I'm not really concerned with the loss of a tape deck (haven't used cassettes in over a decade) or a CD player (all the CDs I buy, I just rip to flac anyways so I'll have easier access to them without swapping discs.) Bummed about a loss of an FM tuner, though, but not a biggie.

Are there any Receivers that will play audio files from off a Hard Drive (perhaps connected externally via USB?) I would hate to have to turn on my PS3 or PC whenever I wanted to listen to music; it would be easier to just have a hard drive full of mp3s that can be selected from on the Receiver.

Are there Receivers that allow you to listen to two sources at the same time? Sometimes I'll like to listen to the sound or music from my PC while watching television. It would suck if I had to blank out my television everytime I wanted to listen to something from my computer.

And does it matter if a Receiver can decode certain type of audio if the source can already decode it? Like, I see a lot of Receiver touted as being able to decode DTS-HD MA. But since my PS3 can already decode that, it doesn't matter if the Receiver can or not, right?

So I guess what I'm looking for is a good quality 5.1 Receiver (my bedroom isn't big enough to warrant a 7.1 system) that accepts a minimum of two HDMI ports, minimum or three component ports, and atleast one composite port. Can play from two sources at once, and hopefully play music off a Hard Drive or other external USB device. And it needs to have the normalization function I need to stop the sound effects from being way too loud and the dialog from being way too low (is there an official name for the feature?)

Oh, and I'd need good 5.1 speakers, of course. Is there such a system that does this? And preferably not too expensive, I can't fathom spending upwards to $1,000 on audio. I'm still trying to swallow the idea of spending more than $500 on it.

Anything anyone can recommend that might meet my needs?

 

[Ed Moxley]

Yes, but that was done mainly for people with older systems already, so they wouldn't have to upgrade right away. Since you're basically starting from scratch, get the one that decodes now, and you'll be more future proof, with the newest technology. Don't buy the older technology. But, that's just my opinion............

BTW.......
A tape deck will still hook up to an A/V receiver.
Once setup, the speakers need to be calibrated. Volume of each speaker can be adjusted, so center speaker can be adjusted to be a little louder. The auto calibration feature in some of the new receivers, does a very good job. But you can still turn up the center a little, if you want to.

Don't spend a couple of thousand on HDtv, ps3, Wii, HD cable, etc., and then get a POS audio system............IMHO.
Good luck!

 

[Stephen Tu]

Yes, but probably not in your price range if you need to get speakers also. I'd recommend using your PS3.

 

[Autolycus]

Thanks for the input, guys. So far, it's looking like the TX-SR607 might be the way to go as far as the Receiver goes. I guess I can live without the Hard Drive/USB support.

I'm guessing the "Audyssey Dynamic Volume" is what's going to give me the normalization I'm looking for?

And this model is one of the ones that'll let me listen to two sources at once? How does the Receiver do that, does it send the television's audio to two speakers and the computer's audio to a different set of two speakers, or does it combine the sound so both sources come from the same speakers?

I notice it's a 7.2 system. I've heard of 7.1 systems before, but not a 7.2 system. What is that extra .1 for?

If I want to only hook up a 5.1 speaker setup, will the system act like it's a 5.1 and distribute the audio correctly, or will I be missing audio that should have come out of those two missing speakers?

Apparently, NewEgg's giving away a free Polk Audio PSW10 Subwoofer with purchase of the TX-SR607. You seem to have a lot of Polk Audio equipment, Ed, do you know how good of a Subwoofer that is?

I checked out the speakers at that SVSound site and I have to admit to being a bit confused at first glance. The $899 package says "5.1 compact surround system with SBS-01 mains and PB10-NSD - Black." With no mention of the center speaker. Though, down at the bottom, it does state "*All 5.1 channel systems include two pair SBS-01 bookshelf speakers, SCS-01 center channel and subwoofer of choice."

But still, $900 for the 5.1 speakers, and yet another $97 for shipping is going to take my total expenditures close to $1500 for Receiver and Speakers. I was hoping to find a cheaper price and maybe free shipping at Amazon or NewEgg or something, but it looks like the only place you can get these are to order them directly from SVSound themselves?

I'm not sure about the speakers, though, I looked up some reviews, and while they said they're great for movies, they don't perform very well for music or in small rooms. My room is only 10 feet by 13 feet, so yeah...

One thing I did notice from reading on that page, and looking at the back of the Receivers is the connectors look like these red/black knobby things. What kind of connectors are those? And are the cables attached to the speakers or do you have to buy them separately as well? My Stereo system used those two little +/- wires that needed to be clamped, and they were permanently attached to the back of the speakers, so this is another little jump in technology I wasn't aware of until now.

Thanks.

 

[Ed Moxley]

Those are made that way to accept banana plugs. You still can unscrew them a ways, to access a small hole in the screw shaft, where you can insert the wire, and tighten the screw down on the wire. It's just not the spring loaded clips you're probably used to. Some of the cheaper receivers still use the spring loaded clips. I use banana plugs myself.
Have fun!

 

[Stephen Tu]

No jump in technology, these haven't changed in decades. The only thing different is there are now 7 channels to deal with rather than just 2. Your old system was just a cheapie.

 

[Autolycus]

Definitely, compared to today's prices. My system was a Sharp that I got for Christmas as a teenager. Probably cost about $250.