New here and to home entertainment “questions” (1 Viewer)

[Blwnfive0]

Hello, I’m new here and am trying to get together a decent home entertainment system. I bought a RCA 5:1 system a few years ago and am not impressed by the sound. I was hoping I could build off the receiver and just replace the speakers. I have seen the Bose redline speakers on eBay for cheap. I was wondering if I could just replace the speakers with the Bose redline cubes. If this would help the sound? Any help is appreciated.

 

[Todd Erwin]

Sorry, but you likely have what many refer to as Home Theater In A Box, and are self-contained systems that are only meant to use the speakers that came with it and the speakers are only meant to work with the "receiver" they came with. Even if you could replace the speakers (doing so could damage your replacement speakers), it is likely both the speakers and receiver that is producing the quality of sound you are finding undesirable.

A decent starter system would be something like either of these:

Pioneer 5.1 Home Theater System HTP-074
Yamaha YHT-4930UBL

What is nice about either of these systems is that you can add on components (4 HDMI inputs) like a Blu-ray player or Roku, and can upgrade the speakers to pretty much any brand you like later on. The speakers are not the greatest, but will definitely sound better than the RCA 5.1 system.

 

[Blwnfive0]

Thanks for the reply. Is there a way to tell what receivers would work with the Bose redlines?

Would this one work?

https://www.shopmyexchange.com/yamaha-5-1-channel-4k-av-receiver/1548038

 

[Todd Erwin]

Any full-featured receiver, although many on here do not recommend Bose.

 

[Blwnfive0]

I’m sorry, I don’t know anything about receivers . What defines as full featured?

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Why so interested in the Bose cube speakers? You can find a lot better speakers. If you want something small and inexpensive via eBay, check out the JBL Northridge N24 speakers. I have four of these in my basement recreation room for a music-only application, and they sound great for the money. They are traditional speakers that will work with any standard receiver, and you can add a subwoofer later to the setup.

 

[Blwnfive0]

I have a few of them in storage from years ago and could order the remaining for cheap. I just need a receiver that would work for them. When my house was built they ran the speaker wires through the wall. So I’d like to just get a receiver that would work and plug the redlines in.

 

[Todd Erwin]

The Yamaha you referenced would work (I think it may actually be the same receiver as in the bundle I referenced).

 

[Blwnfive0]

Great, I ordered it. My speaker wires don’t have plug ins. They are just wire that clamp into the receiver. I know the more recent receivers have plug ins for speakers. I’m not sure if this unit does but I’m sure since it’s newer it does. Should I order some plug ins to splice into the speaker wires?

 

[JQuintana]

Thanks for the reply. Is there a way to tell what receivers would work with the Bose redlines?

Would this one work?

https://www.shopmyexchange.com/yamaha-5-1-channel-4k-av-receiver/1548038

Hope this isn't a spammer disguised as another "I'm new and need help" thread...

 

[Blwnfive0]

What ya mean? Because the link? It’s actually a military exchange site. Lol

 

[JQuintana]

Ahhhh. Ok. My apologies. I don't generally click on links I don't recognize, especially when new folks pop in.

Welcome !

 

[Blwnfive0]

No worries, I understand the skepticism.

Thank you

 

[Blwnfive0]

Does anyone have a good subwoofer recommendation? The receiver I purchased says wireless capabilities. Are the subs wireless or is it only the speakers?

 

[Todd Erwin]

They are wired. Here is a link to the manufacturer's page for this model:
https://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio_visual/av_receivers_amps/rx-v385_u/index.html

The only place I see wireless mentioned is the fact that the receiver has a built-in Bluetooth receiver for streaming audio from your smartphone to the receiver.

 

[Blwnfive0]

Thanks for the link. That clears things up. I will most likely stick with my rca one of possibly use the Sony one I have laying around. As far as tuning the system goes. Will I have to adjust anything with power output from the receiver? Or should I be able to hook up the receiver and speakers and just change things like sound output and intensity?

 

[Blwnfive0]

Well, I got the receiver in today and found out it has powered sub input. So I have to pick up a new sub. I looked through a few options. I like these two. Any opinions?

https://www.amazon.com/Polk-10-Inch...me+theater&dpPl=1&dpID=51JGYWW4N4L&ref=plSrch


https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-100W-...me+theater&dpPl=1&dpID=41TPl+ylwkL&ref=plSrch

 

[Todd Erwin]

How large is your room?

 

[Blwnfive0]

Kind of difficult to say, my house is an open floor plan. The living room and kitchen are both open with vaulted ceilings.

I would just run to Best Buy and pick one out but I browsed online and surprisingly it doesn’t look like they have anything in store.

 

[Todd Erwin]

Open floor plans are difficult for subwoofers - you almost need multiple subs, one on each corner, to get the bass response most are looking for. For that reason, I would not recommend either - although Amazon claims these are 100-watt subs, they are really 50-watt when you look at the specs on the mfr websites. If you're willing to spend around $200, I'd recommend either the Polk PSW108 at Best Buy or the Yamaha NS-SW100BL or the Pioneer SW-8MK2 at Amazon. These are more powerful, and will at least get you started with one. I'm afraid if you start out with a 50-watt sub, especially in an open floor plan, you will be disappointed.