Re: Making my own cables?

Hiya. I've just recently decided to purchase a receiver and speakers to create a home theatre for myself. I've done a fair bit of research, come up with the particular models I want, checked out the prices at Bay/Bloor Radio and Future Shop and Best Buy and 2001 Audio/Video and found that the prices are absolutely outrageous compared to the prices down in the States. The speakers I want (Yamaha NS555) are $900 at 2001 A/V, but I check out some of the online stores in America, and some come to around $400 Canadian (and that's with taxes, duty and S&H)! So to my fellow Torontonians, where are some good electronics stores to check out? I assume the stores up and down Yonge Street in the downtown area might have the speakers and the receiver (Yamaha RX-V750) I want, but are there any others I should check out? Thanks to all who can help out! vij

Hiya. I know that the centre speaker needs to be placed on top of the TV or just below it, but I have a TV (an old Sony Wega Trinitron KV-27FS12) with a top surface that isn't parallel to the ground. There's a gentle slope downward, just enough for me to worry about a speaker falling off if somebody bumps the TV. Also, that top surface is just under five inches deep, and the inch closest to the front has six function buttons (TV/video, channel up/down, volume up/down and power on/off) and I don't want to cover those up if I don't have to.

Behind that five inches, is a tiny cliff, then it slopes downward, so if I put the centre behind that five inch surface, it would be angled up at a small angle (I'm guessing it's maybe 15 degrees), and it would be resting against the wall (just over a foot behind the TV screen).

Placing the centre speaker below the screen is impractible; there's simply nowhere for it to sit.

I've considered mounting it to the wall behind the TV, but that's a good two feet behind the screen! Will that two foot distance make an audible difference?

Or can someone suggest a more practical solution?

many thanks to anyone who can help, vij

I read some information recently which said that as yet there are no easily available wireless projectors with the bandwidth to handle full motion video. It implied that 802.11g wasn't enough. Is this true? If not, can anyone suggest a model (I'm looking for > 3000 lumens).

David

Hi all. Just wondering if it's worth it to order receivers and speakers from the States. The prices certainly make it seem worth it. Does anyone have any experience with ordering stuff from the States? Problems at the border, cost of duties, damage, warranties, etc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone. vij

Can you control the volume of your center channel through your amp or receiver. If so, simply try to compensate for the distance by increasing the volume. The only other problem is rattling and vibration that you might get by placing it in the location you indicated. I have mine just below the screen and the sound is "transparent" as far as the source of the sound is concerned.

Greetings,

I am in the market for a 27 inch flat screen CRT for my bedroom. Audio quality is most important to me as I watch many rock concerts on DVD. I don't think I have sufficient space in my bedroom for a proper H/T set up. Therefore, I am looking for a set that can deliver exceptional video and outstanding Hi-Fi audio for musical performances. I am looking to spend in the neighborhood of $400-600.

I did make the foolish mistake of buying a Sony Trinitron FS24100 in September of 2003, and do not want to make that same mistake again. I do prefer a name brand, but I have learned that in 2005, Name Brands guarantee nothing in regards to quality.

Correct. A few examples:

Pioneer: SR

Sony: S-Link

JVC: Compu Link or AV Compu Link (I have a little experience with this.)

I think Onkyo and other brands probably have similar systems.

Agree.

Agree, but I think the main advantage of these connectors is that they keep the hardware in synch and operating as one system. For example, if all your JVC gear is connected to each other via JVC's AV Compu Link connections, when you put a DVD into your JVC DVD player and press "Play," your JVC receiver and TV will automatically power up and go to their correct input and output settings.

This is great if you like convenience and don't want to fuss with a lot of settings every time you want to enjoy DVD, VHS, TV, CD, FM, etc. It's also nice if you have a family or other people who want to use your gear and those folks don't want to mess with a lot of confusing settings.

However, none of these systems from any maker gets much advertising or attention in the US. Consumers who care about having home AV systems work together use universal remotes instead.

I have a Samsung TX-P3271H tv and a Pioneer VSX-D514-S receiver. The tv/sat analog audio in jacks and digital optical audio in on the Pioneer are both activated with the tv/sat button on the remote. When set to auto-sense the receiver auto detects whether its a getting a analog or digital signal and switches appropriately. I have the analog audio outs on my tv hooked to the tv/sat analog inputs on the receiver and the digital optical out from the tv to the digital optical jack on the receiver. When I am viewing a digital channel I get nice

5.1 Dolby Digital through my receiver but when I switch to a analog channel I get no sound and the receiver still lights up its Digital indicator. If I unplug the optical cable while watching digital or standard tv the receiver switches over into analog. Will this tv output analog sound over the analog outputs when viewing non-digital channels if a optical cable is hooked up ? If it wont this sucks because I have standard non-digital Comcast cable and I get my hd channels ota. I can always put the analog into another input on my receiver but then I have to switch inputs when go from analog channel to digital channel.

Thanks

Your amp will probably have distance settings for each speaker. That's the most common way to compensate.

Audio does about 0.03s/m, but the amp will work with metres/feet, making it easy to adjust.

Gert

Hi all,

Well, I've done my research, and have decided on Athena speakers for my home theatre setup. (Those gorgeous looking Totems are a bit out of my price range!) The Audition range of Athena speakers are incredibly affordable, look good, and seem pretty good specs-wise. But still I've got some choices to make.

One -- for the front speakers, should I go for the AS-F1 or AS-F2? The AS-F1's got one 8-inch woofer, while the AS-F2 has two of them. The AS-F1 has a frequency response of 40 Hz to 20 kHz, while the AS-F2's is 35 Hz to

20 kHz. The AS-F1's power handling is 200 watts per channel, while the AS-F2's is 250. And the AS-F1's sensitivity is 92 dB, while the AS-F2's is 93 dB. Is it really worth an extra $200 (or $162 US) for these tiny improvements?

Two -- for the rear speakers, it's sorta the same thing: The AS-B1's woofer is 5.5 inches, while the AS-B2's is 6.5 inches. The AS-B1's frequency response is 60 Hz to 20 kHz, while the AS-B2's is 50 Hz to 20 kHz. The AS-B1's power handling is 125 watts per channel, while the AS-B2's is 150. And the AS-B1's sensitivity is 90 dB, while the AS-B2's is 91 dB. So is it worth the extra $100 (or $81 US) for these marginal improvements?

The receiver will almost definitely be a Yamaha RX-V750, and if I do go with Athena, then the centre speaker will likely be the Athena AS-C1. I haven't decided yet on a subwoofer, although it'll probably be an Athena AS-P400, just to keep everything uniform. I'm hoping to go down in a few days to my audio/video store and "audition" these speakers -- I have no idea if they'll actually set all of these up for me to listen. Anyway, assuming I like what I hear, do you think the extra cash ($200 more for the fronts, $100 more for the rears) is money well spent? Or is it money spent on improvements that make no discernible difference?

Thanks so much to anyone who can help me out! vij

Your test shows that it does, doesn't it. I don't think the optical output senses if a cable is connected or not. The problem is that the SPDIF output is still active (but muted) which override the analogue input in your audio amplifier.

At least you can do it by remote command ;)

(I have a similar problem to share "input " with certain units that leaves their SPDIF output active also when in standby.) /Jan

I just remembered that the receiver I'm planning on buying (Yamaha RX-V750) has a parametric room acoustic optimizer, and it measures the distances from where the listener is to each of the speakers, and adjusts everything automatically. So I think the idea of mounting it to the wall above the TV is probably the best option.

Thanks HTEnthusiast and Gert for your help!

vij

> It sets up the volumes using a mic and isn't too expensive. I'll let you

insult).

RX-V750 is

So far I'm very happy, but it's new and not so much time to use it. No regrets and the home theater sounds great. The reviews are positive. I think you'll be very happy. I need to try the microphone (set up). I have 7.1 theater with atlantic technology speakers.

Is it a bad idea to have dipole side speakers and directed rear speakers in a home theatre set-up? Or is it better to have both sides and rears be dipole? Or both be directed? Or the sides to be directed and the rears to be dipole?

I'm really confused.

I'm pretty sure I've settled on the Athena Audition series for all my speakers, and just noticed that Athena has the AS-R1, which is a dipole surround speaker. And I've read that dipoles are great for really diffuse sound. Might it be better to just have two dipoles as side speakers and forego the rears all together?

If anyone can help me out, I greatly appreciate it!

thanks, vij

The current issue of Consumer Reports magazine (US) includes reviews of high-def 27" CRT sets, as well as other sizes and types of TVs. I think CR liked a Sony the best, but I don't remember the model. Price was a little over $600, but because this is a high-def set, it should provide what you need for years to come. See CR at library, newsstand, or:

You may need an online membership to see all the reviews, or your library may have access and/or back issues. CR has also tested many TVs in the recent past, so you may want to look at the back issues and previous reviews.

For better sound, I suggest you add a good set of PC powered stereo speakers to the TV's audio outputs. The speakers in most TVs may not be adequate for your needs. Something like the Logitech Z-2300 speakers (around $100) might be worth a listen. Altec and other makers also make good powered PC speakers. PC speakers can be a great way to add better sound to a TV without the speakers taking up too much room.

I suggest you search on eBay, then bookmark that search and check it every week or so. Everything turns up on eBay eventually.

Also place "WTB" (want to buy) ads on newsgroups such as:

rec.audio.marketplace

alt.home-theater.marketplace

Also check those newsgroups every week or so. You can search newsgroups via Google.com, then bookmark your searches every week or so.

Also search for places like audiogon.com that have for sale ads.

Here are some eBay searches that might help you find what you want or something similar:

Oops! I meant bipole. The AS-R1s are bipole. Athena's website says so, anyway. It's more likely that Future Shop got it wrong. Anyway, bipoles.

thanks, vij