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Yamaha RXV-1400 (1 Viewer)

WilliamRP

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So it's been a few years since I've had this Receiver and it continues to work well for me but I have some basic questions to help my address a few of my several issues.

When I first got this unit to set up my first surround sound home theater, this was the center piece. With this in mind, I hooked up my old Toshiba 27" tube TV, a NHT center channel speaker, a pair of old Polk Monitor 10 speakers on either side of my TV and a pair of old bookshelf speakers for rear surrounds. Most of the speakers are set up with monster cable (rear surrounds are 16 gauge and Sub woofer has dedicated sub cable) stripped, twisted and screwed down at either end. I then picked up a bargain 10" AR Sub woofer and thought I'd done pretty well.
By the way, this set up is for TV and movies pretty much exclusively.

This past summer we purchased a nice new television: Samsung LN52A650. Got the HD digital cable package from Comcast and again thinking I was doing pretty well. Surprise my receiver does not have HDMI. I hooked it up with component cable and digital optical for sound. Wife hates the large speakers and I'm wondering if I'm missing anything by not having HDMI.

Upstairs where the music is constantly playing, my older Yamaha HTR 5450, running through a Russound 6 channel speaker selector is struggling to power 3 zones (2 speakers living room, 2 speakers kitchen and 2 speakers deck) and it shuts off after about an hour with a message "check spkr. wires."

So, I've toyed with the idea of getting a 12 channel amp and pre-amp for my upstairs situation. Or bring the basement unit upstairs and hope it is powerful enough to drive my 3 zones and replace the basement unit with something HDMI compatible. Finally, am I selling myself and family short on theater sound quality by using a medley of speakers and wires without real plugs, etc.?

The heartbraking irony in all of this is that in college I was the kid that could help others hook up their equipment and computers, etc. Now 20 years later, I don't even know what all this stuff is or does. I've apparently turned into a dinosaur.

Some opinions and input might be helpful in allowing me to get the most out of my music and home theater watching. Thanks gang!

- Bill
 

Wayne A. Pflughaupt

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[FONT= 'Arial'] [/FONT]
Or bring the basement unit upstairs and hope it is powerful enough to drive my 3 zones and replace the basement unit with something HDMI compatible.
[FONT= 'Comic Sans MS']I assume the Yamaha 1400 is the “basement unit?”[/FONT]

[FONT= 'Comic Sans MS']Certainly wouldn’t hurt to get a newer receiver. HDMI is a one-plug connection for both audio and video, so in that regard things are simpler than they were when you were in college. While you’re at it, get a DVD player with an HDMI output, if yours doesn’t have one. [/FONT]
[FONT= 'Arial']Finally, am I selling myself and family short on theater sound quality by using a medley of speakers and wires without real plugs, etc.?[/FONT]
[FONT= 'Comic Sans MS']Not so much the “wires and real plugs,” but it's generally accepted that a matching set of speakers is the best way to go. Also, your biggest improvement would be to get a “real” subwoofer that digs down to 20 Hz or lower.[/FONT]

[FONT= 'Comic Sans MS']Regards,[/FONT]
[FONT= 'Comic Sans MS']Wayne A. Pflughaupt[/FONT]
 

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