What's new

Yet another newbie question (1 Viewer)

Bruce_ABAT

Auditioning
Joined
May 26, 2003
Messages
1
Howdy ALl! I've recently been introduced to this forum and have been enjoying reading through the archives. I've been asked by one of my buddies with assistance on his HT setup and was hoping to find some advice here.

The room where his setup will be is fairly large and open... it's ~ 20 ' X ~ 35' with ceilings that are ~ 20' high. The room is used for other things aside from movie/TV. Unfortunately, his wife is not all that excited about the possibility of spending a whole bunch o' money on HT gear. She likes the idea of having several speakers and a nice looking TV, just isn't wild about the initial expense. Bottom line: the budget for this task is somewhat limited.

TV: already purchased a Panasonic CT36HX42
Center channel: already has a decent Boston Accoustics center channel (sorry, forget the model number).

Was looking for suggestions for speakers, sub and receiver or amp/pre/tuner. Total budget for these pieces: ~$3,000.

Tough!

The room is large enough that it will likely need a fairly robust subwoofer and a decent amount of power from the amp/receiver. Am having a difficult time with balancing getting better speakers vs getting better quality receiver/amp.

Suggestions would be appreciated!

Thanks!
Bruce
 

Bob McElfresh

Senior HTF Member
Joined
May 22, 1999
Messages
5,182
Hi Bruce. Welcome to HTF!

We have to clear up a few mis-conceptions.

Large room does not mean large power needs.

With a 2-channel music system, both speakers pump sound all the time and the goal seems to be to fill the corners (and the next room) with sound.

But a HT system surrounds you with an array of speakers all pointing at a central seat. And with the possible exception of the center, the speakers are not all fireing all the time. Tons of power is not really needed.

Here is another 'rule': All speakers should tone-match.

This means you should get matching L/R for that Boston Center, or scrap it and get a set of 5 identical or designed-together speakers. It has been argued that 5 identical monitor-style speakers make for a superior HT system, and I have to agree.

There are LOTS of HT speaker sets and you just have to take a few favorite movies out and do local auditions. Speakers have 'taste'. This is why you cannot ask which speaker is "better" than another - it's a matter of taste.

Go hang out at the Speakers fourm to get familar with current names/models.

Good Luck.
 

Scott Sua

Auditioning
Joined
Jun 7, 2003
Messages
2
Hi, everybody. I’m a newbie and lately have a question that have been bugging me a lot. It’s better to buy a modern DVD player that can read many audio formats and to buy a quite simple amp with 6-channel inputs and then connect them analogically; OR better to buy a simple DVD player and a complex digital amp and then connect them digitally so audio digital data will be decorded inside the amp. If the 2nd variant is good, could you advise me some DVD player models that can output without downsampling the original digital data. Hope anyone could give me detailed explanation on the matter.
 

Yee-Ming

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2002
Messages
4,502
Location
"on a little street in Singapore"
Real Name
Yee Ming Lim
Scott:

Depends on what you mean by "many audio formats". If you're referring to "basic" Dolby Digital (DD) and Digital Theater Sound (DTS), just about all currently sold DVD players and receivers decode these, so it doesn't make any difference.

If you are referring to Dolby ProLogic 2, DTS Neo:6, Circle Surround, or something similar, these are processing modes that convert a 2-channel stereo output into a sort-of 5.1 output, to give a sort-of surround experience. Generally only receivers do this, DVD players do not. On that basis, a simple DVD player with a digital output would do fine, letting the receiver do the work of converting everything.

Having said that, a really cheap DVD player would also compromise video quality.

If you are referring to high resolution audio, i.e. SACD or DVD-Audio, with one exception, only DVD players, or more accurately universal players, can decode this, and you connect it via analog interconnects to the receiver or amp. The sole exception is Pioneer's range of high-end receivers, but they only accept digital output via a proprietary link that only high-end Pioneer DVD players have, so you'd have to get two pieces of high-end (and expensive) equipment anyway.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest Articles

Forum statistics

Threads
356,814
Messages
5,123,738
Members
144,184
Latest member
H-508
Recent bookmarks
0
Top