I'm a noob at HT Audio

[Zapablast05]

Me again. I'm still working on making a good beginners Home Theater. My mount will be here on Monday and once I get that set up, all I'll need is a good audio system. I'm currently using a Fisher system for Home Theater. I don't want to use it anymore because the 2 front speakers are too loud and have too much bass and overlap the sounds of the 2 rear speakers.

Another reason why is because it's only Dolby Pro-logic I. There is no digital output either. So, what I'm asking for is if someone can configure a good/cheap home theater sound system for me since I'm not all that good at HTA/V. Maybe something within $200-$275 and if necessary, $300. I was wondering if I could just use some really good PC speakers that have digital output and DPLII/Dolby Digital/DTS. I found these speakers on newegg and found their tech specs on a different site and wondered if those would be good. Any help towards making my home theater experience better will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
-Zapa.

[Zapablast05]

Anybody? Come on, all these views and you don't reply?

[crainger]

There is a general rule not to reply to posts that have been signed...

Yours truly
-crainger

[Revs]

I think for that money the Z-5500 are gonna be the ones to go for. Most people rate them.

EDIT: This thread might be of use to you.

[bacon12]

For the money the Z-5550's are your best bet. I researched for over a month trying to find the best solution and I feel good about my decision.

I have it connected via optical and the sound in movies with my toshiba hdtv with direct tv is amazing. Especially when you consider I only have $250 in the sound system.

A good receiver will cost you more than that.

[Redeemed]

Why not keep your current speakers and purchase a new reciever? Most recievers allow you to designate which speakers are small/large/not present. So for the fronts, set them to "Large", the center and surrounds set to "Small" and just have the sub disabled. That way your fronts will out put all the bass without drowning out your rear speakers.

Well, that's what I'd do anyway. Here's a couple recievers I've been eyeing at newegg:

Pioneer VSX 818-V-K

Yamaha HTR 6130BL

Yamaha HTR 6140BL

You might check places like Circuit City, Best Buy, etc- for some good recievers. I'm betting your speakers are fine, you just need a good reciever to power 'em.

[Zapablast05]

Originally Posted by bacon12

For the money the Z-5550's are your best bet. I researched for over a month trying to find the best solution and I feel good about my decision.

I have it connected via optical and the sound in movies with my toshiba hdtv with direct tv is amazing. Especially when you consider I only have $250 in the sound system.

A good receiver will cost you more than that.

That's what I was thinking about. They seem like a good deal.

Originally Posted by Revs

I think for that money the Z-5500 are gonna be the ones to go for. Most people rate them.

EDIT: This thread might be of use to you.

I read that thread and Iduguay said that Z-5500's are crap for HT. I'm thinking about getting them though.

Originally Posted by Redeemed

Why not keep your current speakers and purchase a new reciever? Most recievers allow you to designate which speakers are small/large/not present. So for the fronts, set them to "Large", the center and surrounds set to "Small" and just have the sub disabled. That way your fronts will out put all the bass without drowning out your rear speakers.

Well, that's what I'd do anyway. Here's a couple recievers I've been eyeing at newegg:

Pioneer VSX 818-V-K

Yamaha HTR 6130BL

Yamaha HTR 6140BL

You might check places like Circuit City, Best Buy, etc- for some good recievers. I'm betting your speakers are fine, you just need a good reciever to power 'em.

Well, the front speakers have the subs built in, so I basically have 2 subs as front speakers. They're not really subs, they're just way louder and hit low frequencies and I can't hear the surround because they overpower everything else. I think they're like 100w and the surround speakers are 30w.

Is it better to buy a new receiver? I was taking a look at them and they look really complex from the back. If I'm gonna get a new receiver, I'd wanna get one with a CD player.

[Redeemed]

Originally Posted by Zapablast05

Well, the front speakers have the subs built in, so I basically have 2 subs as front speakers. They're not really subs, they're just way louder and hit low frequencies and I can't hear the surround because they overpower everything else. I think they're like 100w and the surround speakers are 30w.

Is it better to buy a new receiver? I was taking a look at them and they look really complex from the back. If I'm gonna get a new receiver, I'd wanna get one with a CD player.

You're right, they're not subs but "woofers" instead- though they'd essentially function the same way. Also, I'd bet your rear speakers can handle up to 100w. I'm betting your setup is 100w x5. The problem is it sounds, that your current reciever is focusing too much on the fronts. A proper reciever will allow you to balance the sound at.

See, with subs (or in your case, dual woofers) their placement isn't nearly as critical as with the rest of the speakers- bass isn't nearly as directional as the mid and higher frequencies. So what should happen is the two woofers would function as subs (so instead of "5.1" surround you'd have "5.2"... if you get my drift) but the rest of the speakers would be focused on mids and highs- just like your rear and center speakers. So the sound should be balanced (possibly with some minor adjusting).

As for having a CD-Player, what about your current rack system? Does that not have a CD/DVD changer? If so, you might be able to use that with the new reciever. As for the back of the reciever being complicated- not really. If you can figure out how to put a computer together, wiring in a reciever will be a piece of caek! a

[Zapablast05]

Originally Posted by Redeemed

You're right, they're not subs but "woofers" instead- though they'd essentially function the same way. Also, I'd bet your rear speakers can handle up to 100w. I'm betting your setup is 100w x5. The problem is it sounds, that your current reciever is focusing too much on the fronts. A proper reciever will allow you to balance the sound at.

See, with subs (or in your case, dual woofers) their placement isn't nearly as critical as with the rest of the speakers- bass isn't nearly as directional as the mid and higher frequencies. So what should happen is the two woofers would function as subs (so instead of "5.1" surround you'd have "5.2"... if you get my drift) but the rest of the speakers would be focused on mids and highs- just like your rear and center speakers. So the sound should be balanced (possibly with some minor adjusting).

As for having a CD-Player, what about your current rack system? Does that not have a CD/DVD changer? If so, you might be able to use that with the new reciever. As for the back of the reciever being complicated- not really. If you can figure out how to put a computer together, wiring in a reciever will be a piece of caek! a

Well, there's this thing on the front of the receiver that says "Surround balance +-" and no matter which I press, + or -, there's no difference. I have the speakers set to "Surround Mode - Pro Logic, Center Mode- Wide."

Here are the specs of my system:

Built-in Decoders: Dolby Pro Logic
Output Power / Total: 330 Watt
Amplifier Output Details:
* 120 Watt - 8 Ohm - THD 0.9% - 2 channel(s) ( front )
* 30 Watt - 8 Ohm - THD 0.9% - 1 channel(s) ( center )
* 30 Watt - 8 Ohm - THD 0.9% - 2 channel(s) ( rear )

Speaker system
Speaker(s):
* 2 x right/left channel speaker - 3-way - external - 120 Watt - 8 Ohm - wired
* 1 x center channel speaker - 2-way - external - 30 Watt - 8 Ohm - wired
* 2 x right/left rear channel speaker - external - 30 Watt - 8 Ohm - wired
Driver Details: Right/left channel speaker : 1 x woofer driver - 15"

I think I might just buy a new receiver with a CD player. The rack I have doesn't have digital output and the CD player stopped working. It's cheaper than buying the Z-5500's.

[Redeemed]

Originally Posted by Zapablast05

Well, there's this thing on the front of the receiver that says "Surround balance +-" and no matter which I press, + or -, there's no difference. I have the speakers set to "Surround Mode - Pro Logic, Center Mode- Wide."

Here are the specs of my system:

Built-in Decoders: Dolby Pro Logic
Output Power / Total: 330 Watt
Amplifier Output Details:
* 120 Watt - 8 Ohm - THD 0.9% - 2 channel(s) ( front )
* 30 Watt - 8 Ohm - THD 0.9% - 1 channel(s) ( center )
* 30 Watt - 8 Ohm - THD 0.9% - 2 channel(s) ( rear )

Speaker system
Speaker(s):
* 2 x right/left channel speaker - 3-way - external - 120 Watt - 8 Ohm - wired
* 1 x center channel speaker - 2-way - external - 30 Watt - 8 Ohm - wired
* 2 x right/left rear channel speaker - external - 30 Watt - 8 Ohm - wired
Driver Details: Right/left channel speaker : 1 x woofer driver - 15"

I think I might just buy a new receiver with a CD player. The rack I have doesn't have digital output and the CD player stopped working. It's cheaper than buying the Z-5500's.

Hmm... if those ratings are indeed accurate, then your rear and center speakers are heavily under powered when paired with those fronts. A new reciever will definitely help, but I'm not sure if it will sound proper with that large a difference in wattage. Regardless, the wattage rating alone is not what determines how loud your speakers can go. I still encourage getting the A/V Reciever. You can always replace the rear and center speakers later if need be.

Here's what I'd recommend after purchasing your reciever: keep an eye out for local garage or estate sales. A lot of times you can find old yet awesome speakers for cheap. I'm not sure what kind of room you have though. If you're in a small apartment/studio then you might consider getting some bookshelf speakers to replace your current rear speakers. Try to keep the wattage rating right around 100Watts for the rear speakers. For the center, same thing. Bottom line is you don't need to worry about your rear or center speakers producing a lot of bass, leave that up to your 15" woofers.

As for the "CD Player"... are you wanting one that'll play DVDs as well? Not sure what you're after there. Regardless, CD/DVD changers can be had for cheap. Are you going to have your computer hooked up to this A/V Reciever? If so you might consider skipping the CD/DVD changer and just using your computer.

[Zapablast05]

Originally Posted by Redeemed

Hmm... if those ratings are indeed accurate, then your rear and center speakers are heavily under powered when paired with those fronts. A new reciever will definitely help, but I'm not sure if it will sound proper with that large a difference in wattage. Regardless, the wattage rating alone is not what determines how loud your speakers can go. I still encourage getting the A/V Reciever. You can always replace the rear and center speakers later if need be.

Here's what I'd recommend after purchasing your reciever: keep an eye out for local garage or estate sales. A lot of times you can find old yet awesome speakers for cheap. I'm not sure what kind of room you have though. If you're in a small apartment/studio then you might consider getting some bookshelf speakers to replace your current rear speakers. Try to keep the wattage rating right around 100Watts for the rear speakers. For the center, same thing. Bottom line is you don't need to worry about your rear or center speakers producing a lot of bass, leave that up to your 15" woofers.

As for the "CD Player"... are you wanting one that'll play DVDs as well? Not sure what you're after there. Regardless, CD/DVD changers can be had for cheap. Are you going to have your computer hooked up to this A/V Reciever? If so you might consider skipping the CD/DVD changer and just using your computer.

The rear speakers are probably 10"l x 6"w x 6"h, probably the size of your average modem and as tall as 3 of them. They are really weak, I have to be within "whisper" earshot range to hear them. I gotta be really, really, close for them to be audible. They're basically bookshelf speakers because....well I have them in book shelves, lol. The living room is probably your average 20' x 20' room. I don't want my PC hooked up to it. I'll most likely have a Blu-Ray player hooked up to it (probably a PS3) and my cable receiver.

The reason why I want a CD changer on it is because the system was originally a home stereo system, so it came with a 24 CD changer and a dual tape deck. I'm gonna be the one buying it, so if my mom sees that I bought a new receiver without any AM/FM/CD changer built in, she would probably not want it to be used. I want to double the A/V system as a music player, too. There has to be some kind of low priced receiver with AM/FM/CD playback. If not, I'll just get something that's good and cheap with DPL, DPL, DTS, Dolby Digital via optical S/PDIF.

[Redeemed]

Originally Posted by Zapablast05

The rear speakers are probably 10"l x 6"w x 6"h, probably the size of your average modem and as tall as 3 of them. They are really weak, I have to be within "whisper" earshot range to hear them. I gotta be really, really, close for them to be audible. They're basically bookshelf speakers because....well I have them in book shelves, lol. The living room is probably your average 20' x 20' room. I don't want my PC hooked up to it. I'll most likely have a Blu-Ray player hooked up to it (probably a PS3) and my cable receiver.

The reason why I want a CD changer on it is because the system was originally a home stereo system, so it came with a 24 CD changer and a dual tape deck. I'm gonna be the one buying it, so if my mom sees that I bought a new receiver without any AM/FM/CD changer built in, she would probably not want it to be used. I want to double the A/V system as a music player, too. There has to be some kind of low priced receiver with AM/FM/CD playback. If not, I'll just get something that's good and cheap with DPL, DPL, DTS, Dolby Digital via optical S/PDIF.

You can easily find recievers that have built in DVD/CD Changers... but as for the tape deck... more than likely that'd have to be a seperate component. The recievers with built in CD/DVD Changers are usually referred to as "Home-Theater-In-A-Box", and if quality is anything you're concerned with I'd recommend staying away from such a unit (we have one in our living room and it works well, it's just for the same price I could have gotten something quite a bit better).

I'd encourage you to get a seperate reciever, seperate CD/DVD Changer, and seperate tape deck. The only units that have all three as one would be your bookshelf systems. Just do some research on the components. You could pair something together for quite cheap:

Sherwood RD6500 Not the best reciever out there, but it'd do the trick. $69.95

Sony 5-Disc CD/DVD Changer w/ 1080i up-conversion. Again, not the best but it'd work for what you're after. $109.95

And finally the cassette deck. This will be the most expensive unit, probably due to them being more rare. Anyhow, take your pick. I'd go for the one that'll convert the cassette to MP3 for your PC.

Altogether you're looking at right about $330.00 for a complete new setup that'd smoke any pc-speakers while adding greater functionality (5-disc CD/DVD changer and dual cassette deck). Then, when you have the cash, replace those surround speakers with some proper bookshelf speakers- like these. You'd then have a rockin' setup. And if ever needed, replace you're current center speaker with something along the lines of this. Again, none of this is top-of-the-line equipment. There's definitely significantly better components out there... but it'd work for what you're after.