Recommendation For A Decent Sound System.

[Ely1 0]

Sure, the two different ways of doing it. I prefer distributed so have a central NAS with media player but have installed cat6 in all the bedrooms, living room, kitchen and study. One box with the media and backups and no multiple hard drives to put the latest movies on. We also have two mio TV installs and two XBox 360s so laying cable also helps with those.

Both methods are very valid. If you are going wireless then probably best sticking to a dedicated player for BluRay. Of course home plugs are another option.

RB

Ugh. My head hurts when it comes to putting them all together. Also have an xBox, 3 media players, 1 NAS, two TVs (for now), 4 laptops, 2 SCV boxes...

Agree on the dedicated player - I just really hate all the **** wires!

-Ely

[RimBlock 0]

Ugh. My head hurts when it comes to putting them all together. Also have an xBox, 3 media players, 1 NAS, two TVs (for now), 4 laptops, 2 SCV boxes...

Agree on the dedicated player - I just really hate all the **** wires!

-Ely

Put in a false floor and run them all underneath .

RB

[Ely1 0]

Put in a false floor and run them all underneath .

RB

Tiles already laid! Gah.

[RimBlock 0]

Tiles already laid! Gah.

, a bit too late to join the party. Bit earlier and it may have been an option.

RB

[Drexter 0]

Put in a false floor and run them all underneath .

RB

How to do that? Laminated flooring can?

[mars73 0]

Bro RB,

Understand you have the Yammy 667. Just curious, did you bi-amp your front L/R speakers? If so, how's the sound quality for music?

I read somewhere that AV Receivers of this price range can never match stereo amplifiers in terms of sterero music sound quality.

Thanks.

[RimBlock 0]

How to do that? Laminated flooring can?

Probably not cheap but back in the UK we would just lay some wooden joists and then cover with plywood and then lay the finishing (laminate, wood boards or carpet). I know wood is not so commonly used for construction here so it would be better to check with your ID.

Another option may be a channel in the cement screed when it is put down. Would need a hatch to access or would have to lay permanent cables and bury them, preferably in some sort of protection like piping or at least wrapped in plastic.

False floors may need sound proofing though as otherwise you may get a bit of noise walking on it. Bare feet will probably be ok.

RB

[RimBlock 0]

Bro RB,

Understand you have the Yammy 667. Just curious, did you bi-amp your front L/R speakers? If so, how's the sound quality for music?

I read somewhere that AV Receivers of this price range can never match stereo amplifiers in terms of sterero music sound quality.

Thanks.

Mix up of terms .

Bi-wire is one set of amp outputs to two sets of speaker inputs (split output from amp).

Bi-amp is two separate amps powering each set of terminals on the speaker.

Some speakers have more than one set of terminals and some have one set for each speaker cone or driver which is believed to give a cleaner signal.

If you did mean bi-amp then I was thinking of pairing a stereo amp and attaching to the second set of speaker terminals but keeping the linking plates at the back of the speakers connected so a signal coming from the av amp still goes to both terminals as well as the signal from the stereo amp also going to both terminals. My issue was checking any issues of having two amps connected to both terminals at the same time. This may be ok if one amp only was on at a time but if both were on there could be big issues and a mini fireworks display .... ohhh, ahhh, wow........ not really what I would like. Need to do a bit more research before considering that. Of course I could just have two sets of cables (av / music) and swap them but that is pretty labour intensive .

By and large good AV sounds and music have fairly different requirements and so AV amps concentrate on the movie effects side and try to compromise a little ont eh music side as well. As we have seen here when people are reporting back on the Denon AV amp, they liked the surround sound but the music was much better than the other AV amps at the same price point. Denon have probably tailored its amp a bit more for the music lover but the AV side will suffer a little.

A good stereo amp should blow away the same priced av amp for stereo music.

An entry stereo amp should be a requirement if you really love listening to music.

As long as you have a reasonable set of front left/right speakers they should be fine for both uses. Mini speakers + sub packages usually sold or give free with TVs etc are likely to be poor performers.

RB

[ngunadi 2]

Interestingly, many stereo amp does not have bi-wire output options. Although bi-wire output s'posedly gives better result for the speakers (assuming that the speakers support it). But why?

I ended bought 2nd hand AV Receiver that has options for bi-wire since my speakers can do bi-wire.

Edited March 15, 2011 by ngunadi

[RimBlock 0]

Interestingly, many stereo amp does not have bi-wire output options. Although bi-wire output s'posedly gives better result for the speakers (assuming that the speakers support it). But why?

I ended bought 2nd hand AV Receiver that has options for bi-wire since my speakers can do bi-wire.

Usually you just terminate two sets of speaker cables at one banana plug for the amp end but the amp must be able to cope with the two sets of cables.

Bi-wire amps have two sets of terminals as you know so it makes it easier.

I used to bi-wire my Cyrus II amp many years ago with my Ruark Sabre II speakers.

To be honest I think the benefits are likely better heard with high end equipment and I am personally not that much of an audiophile to notice much of a difference with what I have.

RB

[RimBlock 0]

Here we go.

Some info on bi-wiring here.

RB

[ngunadi 2]

That is one of the site I checked before I decided to bi-wire my speakers.

As what my fren told me, I am going to the path of no-return. I have start complaining that my setup is giving "light" sound, not enough "weight" or "punch".

His suggestion, change the speakers. And I just got the speakers less than 2 weeks ....

My setup is:

Hi-Media HD300B -(coaxial)->Yamaha RX-V450 -(bi-wire)->Whaferdale 9.1.

Cables are from belden, not using banana plug, and bought from SLT.

If I hunt speakers again, I think my wife would kill me for now ...

[RimBlock 0]

Here we go.

Some info on bi-wiring here.

RB

...and here is a great thread expalining how it really does not make any difference .

As always, if you fancy a go then try it and if you like it then keep it.

RB

[mars73 0]

Mix up of terms .

Bi-wire is one set of amp outputs to two sets of speaker inputs (split output from amp).

Bi-amp is two separate amps powering each set of terminals on the speaker.

Some speakers have more than one set of terminals and some have one set for each speaker cone or driver which is believed to give a cleaner signal.

If you did mean bi-amp then I was thinking of pairing a stereo amp and attaching to the second set of speaker terminals but keeping the linking plates at the back of the speakers connected so a signal coming from the av amp still goes to both terminals as well as the signal from the stereo amp also going to both terminals. My issue was checking any issues of having two amps connected to both terminals at the same time. This may be ok if one amp only was on at a time but if both were on there could be big issues and a mini fireworks display .... ohhh, ahhh, wow........ not really what I would like. Need to do a bit more research before considering that. Of course I could just have two sets of cables (av / music) and swap them but that is pretty labour intensive .

By and large good AV sounds and music have fairly different requirements and so AV amps concentrate on the movie effects side and try to compromise a little ont eh music side as well. As we have seen here when people are reporting back on the Denon AV amp, they liked the surround sound but the music was much better than the other AV amps at the same price point. Denon have probably tailored its amp a bit more for the music lover but the AV side will suffer a little.

A good stereo amp should blow away the same priced av amp for stereo music.

An entry stereo amp should be a requirement if you really love listening to music.

As long as you have a reasonable set of front left/right speakers they should be fine for both uses. Mini speakers + sub packages usually sold or give free with TVs etc are likely to be poor performers.

RB

Sorry, by bi-amping, I was actually referring to using the 'unused' channels of the Yammy 667 in a 5.1 set up (which would be the L/R surrounds) to feed the bass (LF) input terminals of the front L/R speakers. Essentially there will be 2 sets of cables running to each front speaker (1 each for the MF/tweeter and LF) in this arrangement. No intention to leave the linking plate at the back of the speakers connected. I read somewhere that the Yammy 667 has an in-built bi-amping function for this? Don't have one so I can't confirm.

I think your arrangement of leaving the linking plates at the back of the speakers connected while driving from both AVR and stereo amp might be abit dangerous IMHO , think I might have read somewhere that this is not really advisable - something along the lines of possibly killing your amplifiers. Fireworks, like you said...

One of the arrangements I read when using an additional stereo amp to perform bi-amping was to connect the Pre-Outs of the AVR to the Pre-In of the stereo amp (essentially using the stereo amp as a power amp), and connect the front L/R to the stereo amp. But this still uses the AVR as a pre-amp which is apparently less ideal.

Most comments seem to indicate that a direct feed from CD source to stereo integrated amp to speakers set up is the best for music. This set-up is beginning to interest me (using an entry level stereo amp like you said). But this would require a home theatre bypass feature for the stereo amp, if the same front speakers are also needed for 5.1 HT use. This feature is apparently only available in higher end (expensive) stereo amps.

What confuses me is this: Most stereo amps don't have a bi-amping feature, I think. Does that mean a non-bi-amped stereo amp is still superior to a bi-amped AVR for music? Not sure if I'm making sense...

[RimBlock 0]

That is one of the site I checked before I decided to bi-wire my speakers.

As what my fren told me, I am going to the path of no-return. I have start complaining that my setup is giving "light" sound, not enough "weight" or "punch".

His suggestion, change the speakers. And I just got the speakers less than 2 weeks ....

My setup is:

Hi-Media HD300B -(coaxial)->Yamaha RX-V450 -(bi-wire)->Whaferdale 9.1.

Cables are from belden, not using banana plug, and bought from SLT.

If I hunt speakers again, I think my wife would kill me for now ...

Stereo 9.1s or the AV package.

Remember that the Wharfedale 9.1 10.1 packages are entry levels and to an extent you get what you pay for. It also depends on what you are comparing against. I have a feeling my centre is now lacking and like you will not mention it to my wife just yet.

Welcome to the "Our wives are not amused" club

RB