Surround Sound Advice

[EddieWalker]

I'm going to upgrade my old Sony Surround Sound with something new. The Sony was fine 15 years ago, but it's no longer functioning. I want to buy a new Receiver and 5.1 speaker system. I bought a new Samsung 55 inch LCD tv last month with a Samsung Bluray player. My room is 15' x 18' and I'm sorta tone deaf. I enjoy good base and good sound, but I could never tell the difference between high quality and just good. I can't even tell who can sing good on American Idol, and who is off pitch or any of the other things the judges bring up.

I've found these Energy speakers on Amazon and from what I've read, they sound like the best bang for the buck. The reviews are very good, and the price seems reasonable.

Amazon.com: Energy 5.1 Take Classic Home Theater System (Set of Six, Black): Electronics

As for the Receiver, I'm looking at a few different brands in the $200 to $400 range. Some of the features seem over the top, but then some of the reviews talk about the receivers cutting out when they are turned up while watching an action movie with a lot going on. I don't think I need a ton of power, but would like to have enough to "feel" the sound.

This Onkyo unit has 80 watts per channel at .7 THD. This seems decent to me, and one of the ones that I'm considering buying.

Amazon.com: Onkyo TX-NR509 5.1 Channel Network A/V Receiver: Electronics

I've also been reading reviews on CNET, but haven't come across a receiver that jumps out at me as being the one to buy from what I've seen so far. Does anybody have another website to read reviews on other then CNET and Amazon?

Thank you,
Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

I never heard of Dennon. Are they any good?

Amazon.com: Denon AVR590 5.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver with 1080p HDMI Connectivity: Home Audio & Theater

Eddie

 

[WM75Guy]

We bought the Bose 10 speaker set and love it. There are 2 speakers at each corner that adjust individually so you can cover the whole room better. I aimed one down the side wall and one to the center where we sit. There are no dead spots along the side walls. We got them at Best Buy in Tyler.

 

[brin]

Eddie, One thing you might want to consider is getting something that is compatible with Netflix and Hulu and the other on demand services that are cheap for unlimited watching of TV shows and movies...when ours needs replacing I am going to get something that is compatible....I am not sure if the receiver has anything to do with it ...it may be the DVD player that has to be compatible..

 

[massey990]

I never heard of Dennon. Are they any good?

According to many of the gurus on the audio newsgroups they make some of the best equipment that is not through the roof expense wise.

I think most of the new/current systems are actually 7.1 rather than 5.1.

my personal experiecnce, I suggest getting the biggest/best sub woofer you can, along with good satellites the quality of the sub woofer makes the most difference.

Also, most all new AV equipment comes with HDMI interfaces, for just audio a fiber optic connection is just as good as HDMI either one is much better than RCA or any other connections.

 

[wrath]

AVSforum has lots of information.

I've historically purchased refurbished Onkyo receivers:
http://www.shoponkyo.com/products_refurb.cfm?specials=1&group_id=1

And refurbished JBL speakers:
Harman Kardon, Infinity items in Harman Audio store on eBay!

I have a 7.2 system with two powered 400wrms 12" subwoofers.

If you're going to spend money, spend it on high quality 14 gauge wire and decent banana plugs. Then spend it on the receiver. Then spend it on your center channel. Then spend it on your subwoofer(s). Then the left and right front channel, then lastly the surrounds.

Receivers become obsolete quickly, much like a computer. The center speaker probably makes the biggest difference as far as movie watching.

 

[dmccarty]

We upgraded our TV and audio system last Christmas time. I ended up with Onkyo. Again. We now have three Onkyo receivers. They all work but they just got functionally obsolete over time. The oldest system is in the study hooked up to some huge honking speakers that sound awesome.

When we built the house we bought a package deal on speakers and a receiver. It is a 5.1 system and is all we can put into the room. It works and we are happy with it.

HDMI is the interface to use today and what has caused us to upgrade the receiver. We bought a new TV and a Blue Ray so the receiver needed to change for the HDMI support.

I should be able to hook my system up to the Internet for streaming but I have to play some games to get better connectivity to the receiver. Not sure how it will work anyway since we do not have very fast download speeds.

I think I bought mine via NewEgg. They had some of the best prices if not best price.

If you can wait another few months you might be able to get a better price during the Holiday sales. Last year I researched what we wanted/needed and waited for them to go on sale. In the past I waited until I saw something on sale, did the research and by the time I decided what to buy it was sold out.

Deciding what to buy before the sales worked out better. :laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[troutsqueezer]

Evaluating audio equipment is a very tricky thing to do. Why? Because you can't really tell how well something sounds by reading the specs. Most of the specs are meaningless.

Take the .7% THD spec (THD stands for Total Harmonic Distortion). If you play a 1Khz tone thru your system, you will get harmonics, i.e. 2KHz, 4KHz, and so on. Turns out, lots of 2KHz harmonic (we can call that a "low order harmonic) is not necessarily bad because it is very close to the 1KHz signal and will actually add warmth to the sound and you will perceive it as being better. Hence, the popularity of tube amps, they have lots of second order harmonic.

Transistor amps tend to have high order harmonics which are not close to the 1KHz signal and so your ear picks them out easily and they sound harsh.

The gist is: Without knowing where these harmonics lie, you can't judge sound quality by the spec alone. The Total Harmonic spec averages out all the harmonics, no matter where they lie in the spectrum and include some peaks which can be very high in amplitude relative to the original signal.

Hated to get into this kind of detail but this illustrates the problem with evaluating many other specifications for both amps and speakers. Power is another spec that is misunderstood by most people. 80 Watts is sufficient for 90% of us.

The Denon has been around for many years. It is a worthwhile brand.

-Trout

 

[schoolsout]

Denon is a very good brand, but is pricey compared to the Onkyo

Onkyo is the best buy for the money. Only complaint I've heard was they get hot...

We've killed a Denon something or other (early 2000's model) by heat as well...Make sure you have adequate ventilation in the area your head units will be located.

 

[cdaigle430]

5.1 or 7.1, doesn't really matter, most of the titles are 5.1 or lower, the more expensive media being 7.1 or higher. Make sure you get one with at least 3 (cable/Dish box, Blueray Player and one extra) HDMI inputs and one HDMI out (TV). I have a Yamaha receiver and JBL 6.1 speakers and I love it.

Unless you buy BOSE speakers, I would get rid of the center channel speaker regardless of brand (Its mostly for character voice anyway) and get a really good one like the one I got from BOSE-the VCS-10. The JBL center channel speaker I stored in a closet.

 

[schoolsout]

One cool thing a friend of our family did was run a unit using DC power...it was custom built, but supposedly is the cat's meow for sound. Not sure what she paid, but she lives in Upper Westside Manhattan and this was in her beach house on LI, so I'm sure it wasn't cheap. Anyone ever heard of something like this?

 

[massey990]

I would get rid of the center channel speaker regardless of brand (Its mostly for character voice anyway)

I'm no AV expert but many recommend turning down (all the way) the inferrior TV's speakers and use the center channel

 

[nolefan]

If you like watching action movies, like I do:laughing:, make sure you invest in a decent subwoofer. I have a Klipsch and am very happy with it.

 

[deepNdirt]

Sony still makes a good reliable system at an affordable price,
I have a Sony DX-250 in our den with 6 way surround speakers, paid less than 400 for it,

Sony DAV DX250 - home theater system - 5.1 channel - Home Theater Systems - CNET Archive
...................................................................................................
also have a more expensive JVC XV-THD50 in our theater room Both are very good quality sound for the money, But I still like the Sony better, I'm sure more money could buy better than either of these two, but I like to save a little ching$ to actually buy movies to watch with

 

[EddieWalker]

Thank you everyone for your help and advice. I feel like I'm learning a new language trying to decypher what I need and what is extra that I will never even notice if I had it. There seems to be a breaking point of the really good stuff and the almost good stuff at $500. From what I read, the $300 receivers do everything that I want, but each brand that I read up on has it's issues in that price range. What I'm afraid of is buying one, it not working right, and my not knowing that it's defective instaed of not adjusted properly, or the other way around.

The reviews that I'm reading on AV Forums seem to be the most informative, but I have to open up Amazon to read those reviews and look at the receiver to see if it's what I'm interested in. Some of those guys are really into their systems, and buy new stuff a couple times a year!!!!!

I'm not realy in a rush. The speakers on my Samsung TV work just fine, but you don't get the experience of a good movie with them. My picture is just amazing, and I want the sound quality to be there too.

My birthday is in a few weeks, so that's kind of what is driving me. I also want it for movie nights with a friend, and rainy days of doing nothing.

Thank you,
Eddie

 

[EagleTDL]

Talking about stereo gear is like talking about tractors, cars or baseball teams, everyone has an opinion! :laughing: You might want to look in the yellow pages for your area and see if there are any "A/V Consultants" that you can touch base with. For $50-100, they will give you a couple of hours of their time and can show you what's what and who's who in the market. And, little known fact, alot of these guys are also distributors for a particular brand and may be able to get you some good deals. They've also been known to buy "last year's gear" from their high-end clients that upgrade on an annual basis and you can get some great deals that way!

 

[hizoot]

Eddie,
Talk with Ronnie at Stereo and Video Center,across from Best Buy on Broadway in Tyler . I've known and bought stuff from him since 1979.....a good guy that wont steer you wrong. They will be competetive on price too.

 

[troutsqueezer]

One cool thing a friend of our family did was run a unit using DC power...it was custom built, but supposedly is the cat's meow for sound. Not sure what she paid, but she lives in Upper Westside Manhattan and this was in her beach house on LI, so I'm sure it wasn't cheap. Anyone ever heard of something like this?

She's probably running a car amplifier, works off 12 volts. Sometimes, though, the 12V power supply to run it costs as much as the amp. People do it all the time.

 

[EddieWalker]

Eddie,
Talk with Ronnie at Stereo and Video Center,across from Best Buy on Broadway in Tyler . I've known and bought stuff from him since 1979.....a good guy that wont steer you wrong. They will be competetive on price too.

Thanks. I've never been in there, and had forgotten that it existed. I'll be in that part of Tyler next week, and maybe over the weekend. I'm going to make it a point to go in there and see what they have to say.

Eddie

 

[GGB]

Eddie,

Don't skimp out and go cheap-you may not be able to hear the difference, but Oscar will!!!

Sounds like your hearing is like a lot of us who probably should have been more careful when we were younger. In the 60's and 70's, no one I know took any precautions, and now am paying the price in addition to the normal hearing loss from getting older. I did get a little smarter as I got older, but not nearly soon enough.

My $.02-take the advice of some of the others who have suggested getting a good subwoofer. To me, that's what really drives the listening experience when watching action movies. For example, that's why going out to the movies is still so popular-most of the better theatres have great sound systems, and part of that is the bass range from good subwoofers. Also, like a lot of things, getting good advice from a pro you trust will really help you get comfortable with whatever you decide to get.

I'm enjoying this thread, as I'm getting ready to upgrade the older Sony system we're using in our lower level. It's served us well, but the room is really too large for the small subwoofer that came with this system. It worked well in our other home family room, but I had to leave the built in system with that house when we moved. FWIW, I had a Denon reciever with that system and loved it.

By the way, I didn't think you ever took any "downtime", judging by all you've built and are doing at your place. I enjoy seeing what all you've done and the craftsmanship, and following Oscar's story. Good luck!

GGB