Is old Carver receiver worth using for now? (1 Viewer)

[Robert*V]

Setting up a 1st time home theater.

I have a 1993 Carver receiver and amp from my brother-in-law that has Dolby 5.1 capability. It has a spot for S-video in and out connections (for a laser disk according to the manual)but otherwise just composite(?) jacks.

I have a Pioneer 533 HDTV on the way and plan on a Denon 1600 DVD player and Polk speakers.

If 5.1 is OK for me right now, will this receiver provide decent results? Just trying to save some $ where I can right now.

Thanks!

 

[Jerome Grate]

Sounds like to me that you would need to have a DVD player or a seperate decoder with 5.1 channel output to go into this receiver. Now I don't know if your DVD player has 5.1 channel outputs, and if it does, will pass through any 5.1 material other than DVD-Audio. My guess is that it would and if that's the case then go ahead use it. I haven't mastered the information about DVD-Audio, and I believe there are some DTS audio out there that utilizes DVD-Audio, but the same concern still holds true, does it allow to pass audio from a video disc thru the 5.1 channel outputs. If it don't then, the only thing you can use this Carver receiver is for a possible 6.1 or 7.1 setup depending on what receiver you get.

 

[Robert*V]

Thanks Jerome,

I think I will try it and see what I get.

 

[Jerome Grate]

Let us know what happens.

 

[DanielGM]

I think the amp is good but you will probably need a new preamp for dolby capability, i think the receiver only does pro logic, not Dolby Digital, and not DTS

 

[Robert*V]

So, since I'm such a newbie, what happens when I use a receiver that only does Pro Logic with a Denon DVD-1600?

Thanks.

 

[Craig Robertson]

what happens when I use a receiver that only does Pro Logic with a Denon DVD-1600?

you'll only be able to listen to the audio in Pro Logic. you'll have to hook up the 2ch analog audio out from the dvd player to the rcvr, and i imagine that you'll have to manually select Pro Logic on the rcvr.
when playing a dvd, go into the audio select menu and if it has one, select the 2ch audio track. don't worry if it doesn't have a 2ch track, tho, dvd players create one "on the fly" from the multi-channel track and send that to the analog out. but in doing so they throw away a good portion of the bass.

 

[gregD]

Just to expand on that a little... am not familiar with your receiver, but it sounds like the Carver does not have Dolby Digital 5.1 processing, but rather Dolby ProLogic processing, despite your description... please correct me if I'm wrong.

Simply put, Dolby ProLogic takes a 2-channel audio input and processes an artificial surround for the additional speakers in your setup.

Dolby Digital 5.1 (and the similarly-performing DTS 5.1) take six (5.1) discrete, intentionally-mixed channels (fronts, center, rears -- the sub is the .1) from the DVD disc for distribution to your 5 speakers + sub... the surround effect is much more robust than DPL (though DPL works rather well).

DD5.1 & DTS are the basic processing technologies found on all AV receivers at this point... again, if I've misunderstood your Carver, the above is needless info... otherwise, your DVD player and incoming TV are modern enough to justify buying a newer receiver to get the most out of your movies.

 

[Robert*V]

I dug up some more details:

Carver CT-27v Preamp/Tuner with Dolby Pro logic surround decoder + Carver AV-405 5-channel power amp.

Thanks for the input, it sounds like I will want a receiver upgrade to get full surround effects.

What resonable receiver would you recommend? I don't need all the bells buzzers and whistles, just good movie sound and dependability. H/K 125 used with carver amp?