Dumb Questions (1 Viewer)

[ZachsHT]

Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum and pretty much new to home theater (other than connecting 20 speakers to a crappy stereo when I was a kid).

I recently bought a new AVR
(Sony str-dn1070) and a psw-108 Polk audio subwoofer.
Now I'm on the hunt for speakers.
My AVR has multi channel capabilities but I just want to use it as a single for my living room. I'd like to keep them all the same brand (besides the sub and AVR obviously). Hoping to pay around 150$-350 per speaker but will pay a little more if you think it's worth it and better for my set up.
That being said I have some noob questions.

1. What kind of cables do I need for my whole theater set up? the speaker wire (brand of quality), hook up for the subwoofer and everything you think I'll need. besides hdmi.

2. My AVR is a 7.2ch. Since I'm not using it for multi channel how many speakers do I need to utilize all channels?

3. My sub has outputs on it, what are they actually for? Can I run extra speakers off of it or just speakers included in how many channels I have?

4. My AVR has 2 sub out puts. With the sound of my living room being mid-sized. Would I be better off getting 2 smaller subs or one large one. (I prefer low carrying bass over accurate punchy bass).

These are just what's on my mind now, anything for a beginner you think I need to know for installing my HT myself would be much appreciated!

Thanks.

 

[Al.Anderson]

1. Since you didn't list any other devices, you'll probably just need that HDMI cable, a sub cable, and speaker wire. You don't have to go high-end for speaker wire, many of us use zip cord (basic power wire) from a hardware store. The major question is gauge, and that depends on your run length. For most of us 16g is fine, but you'll get folks going with 14g because, why not, and12 gauge because they really care. For the sub, just get a shielded RCA cable (an orange one).

2. When you calibrate your receiver it will turn off the channels you aren't using, so no issues with that. You can go down to as little as 2.0. For most receiver you have to add speakers in a certain order, for instance, you have to have surrounds before you add rears, but other than that there's nothing to consider; you can have 2.0, 2.1, 3.0, 3.1, 5.0, 5.1, 6.0, 6.1, 7.0, 7.1 (I left out the two sub configurations).

3. If you don't have a receiver that handles sub crossover you can go through your sub and it will handle it. Since you have a receiver you don't want to use that set-up, as the receiver will not be able to calibrate those speakers.

4. In general, one very good sub is better than two averages subs. But if you have a strangely shaped room, or unusual dead spots, sometimes 2 subs is better. You really can't know without working through it with a sub, so I suggest you start with one. Also, sometimes what is necessary for the 2nd sub is a mid-bass module and not a sub.

 

[ZachsHT]

1. Since you didn't list any other devices, you'll probably just need that HDMI cable, a sub cable, and speaker wire. You don't have to go high-end for speaker wire, many of us use zip cord (basic power wire) from a hardware store. The major question is gauge, and that depends on your run length. For most of us 16g is fine, but you'll get folks going with 14g because, why not, and12 gauge because they really care. For the sub, just get a shielded RCA cable (an orange one).

2. When you calibrate your receiver it will turn off the channels you aren't using, so no issues with that. You can go down to as little as 2.0. For most receiver you have to add speakers in a certain order, for instance, you have to have surrounds before you add rears, but other than that there's nothing to consider; you can have 2.0, 2.1, 3.0, 3.1, 5.0, 5.1, 6.0, 6.1, 7.0, 7.1 (I left out the two sub configurations).

3. If you don't have a receiver that handles sub crossover you can go through your sub and it will handle it. Since you have a receiver you don't want to use that set-up, as the receiver will not be able to calibrate those speakers.

4. In general, one very good sub is better than two averages subs. But if you have a strangely shaped room, or unusual dead spots, sometimes 2 subs is better. You really can't know without working through it with a sub, so I suggest you start with one. Also, sometimes what is necessary for the 2nd sub is a mid-bass module and not a sub.

Thanks for the info AI,
I have a cable box, PS4, PC, and 60" Vizio 4K smart tv.

Do you find that thicker gauge wire actually makes a sound difference?

So a 3.0 or 5.0 is just the speakers without the sub?

Also how do I know which "zones" are which? I.e. Zone 3 and 2 or will the reciever figure out where the speakers are with the mic calibration?

 

[ArmSC]

Do you find that thicker gauge wire actually makes a sound difference?
So a 3.0 or 5.0 is just the speakers without the sub?
Also how do I know which "zones" are which? I.e. Zone 3 and 2 or will the reciever figure out where the speakers are with the mic calibration?

Thicker wire is used for longer speaker runs for short runs it won't make a bit of difference. Don't get caught up in wire...the mod here has used everything from lamp cord to a cut extension cord for speakers.

A 3.0 is two mains and center a 5.0 is mains, center, and surrounds. The .1 is the sub or LFE channel in a surround format.

Zones are additional listening areas not part of the main system. If you wanted to add speakers to the back porch/desk that could be zone 2. If you wanted another room say an office that could be zone 3 you set them up. You can also assign unused channels on the AVR to a zone most of the time. If you have a 7.1 AVR and you only have a 5.1 setup you can assign the unused channels to zone 2. This allows you to run some speaker wire to the back deck and hook up some speakers without having another amplifier.

 

[Al.Anderson]

Regarding zones ... what Tony said. I'll just add that in some (most?) cases the receiver makes you choose whether you want to have separate zone, or a main listening pair of speakers. That may be what's driving your question for, say, zone3. Take a look at page 16 of the manual; that might clear it up.

 

[David Willow]

Here are a few links to Dolby's speaker setup guide to help you with the layout options. You will probably either want 5.1 or 7.1 (I suggest starting with 5.1 since the 2 extra rear speakers do not make a huge difference).

https://www.dolby.com/us/en/guide/surround-sound-speaker-setup/5-1-setup.html

https://www.dolby.com/us/en/guide/surround-sound-speaker-setup/7-1-setup.html

If you looking get decent sound at a decent price, check out Fluance. I can't say how they sound today, but when I had the cheaper ones 10+ years ago they were pretty good*. Also check around at local stores and see what you like that fits your budget.

*My idea of "pretty good" may be different than yours. Get speakers based on how they sound to you. No review can tell you how you will like them.