Home audio for clueless derps

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Johnny_P
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TV speakers are on their way out. Finally got a "TV stand" so I have some more shelf space for an A/V receiver. Here's what I want:
-2 speakers and a subwoofer
-Some sort of bluetooth or wireless connection ability
-Audio sources will be cable TV box, Apple TV or maybe Roku in future, and bluetooth/network play from a computer or phone. Maybe an xbox style thing in the future.

Don't need to be wireless speakers or sub, I can wire it up.
Don't want a sound bar.

Do you use the receiver as the brain of the system? So everything plugs into it and it only shoots the picture to the TV?

Will I have to switch the input or will it figure it out on its own? I'd rather not add yet another remote control to the mix. It's a pain in the ass as is to use the apple TV since you have the cable remote for audio and apple TV remote for selecting stuff. Yet another remote for audio and then having to switch to the right source seems like an antiquated way of doing this.

Finally, any suggestions on a receiver/brain and speakers? Bonus points for vintage-looking hipster approved silver faced receivers. Lisa's brother suggested Audioengine speakers, I'd need something bookshelf size not floor standing. All in I'd like to be under $1500. I don't need the absolute best but I'd prefer better than Vizio walmart stuff and don't mind dropping some :troywax:

:derp:
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I have a Marantz slimline NR1503 receiver (NR1603 is the current version) hooked up to two Pioneer Andrew Jones floor standing tower speakers. I've found using them gives me enough bass that I don't need a sub.

The receiver came with a microphone that sizes up the room and adjusts the audio as part of the setup, and can figure out if you have 2-7 speakers to fine tune it. I have everything wired into the receiver and then outputs to the TV. Newer TV's also have ARC which simplifies things, but I just control it all with a logitech Harmony remote and the apple tv is controlled from my phone.

Receiver was $300. Speakers $120 each, and $60 for the Harmony. All in for $600.

https://www.accessories4less.com/ - factory refurbs with good warranties. That's where I got mine.
Last edited by fledonfoot on Sun Aug 26, 2018 5:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Oh that’s solid info. Will look into it thanks Fled.
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Johnny_P wrote: Sun Aug 26, 2018 2:25 pm Oh that’s solid info. Will look into it thanks Fled.
You sound like you want something of substance. I would go here. www.emotiva.com. Basically high end audio outsourced to the far east to cut cost but take a look at the specs on this stuff, this shit is for real.

You can get a pair of monoblock amps to drive your main speakers, a sub and a processor for what I consider a very reasonable cost. Drive your speakers with real separates brah.
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Whatever you do, don't buy a set of speakers from anyone in a white van at a gas station who says they just installed a whole system for a customer but they over supplied and now they have extra that they don't wanna take home.
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Acid666 wrote: Sun Aug 26, 2018 3:51 pm Whatever you do, don't buy a set of speakers from anyone in a white van at a gas station who says they just installed a whole system for a customer but they over supplied and now they have extra that they don't wanna take home.
:lolol: don’t worry I know a guy
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Desertbreh wrote: Sun Aug 26, 2018 3:39 pm
Johnny_P wrote: Sun Aug 26, 2018 2:25 pm Oh that’s solid info. Will look into it thanks Fled.
You sound like you want something of substance. I would go here. www.emotiva.com. Basically high end audio outsourced to the far east to cut cost but take a look at the specs on this stuff, this shit is for real.

You can get a pair of monoblock amps to drive your main speakers, a sub and a processor for what I consider a very reasonable cost. Drive your speakers with real separates brah.
So you need the receiver brain and a separate amplifier? Seems rather intense. It’s only going to be a 2.1 system I think.
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Johnny_P wrote: Sun Aug 26, 2018 3:54 pm
Desertbreh wrote: Sun Aug 26, 2018 3:39 pm

You sound like you want something of substance. I would go here. www.emotiva.com. Basically high end audio outsourced to the far east to cut cost but take a look at the specs on this stuff, this shit is for real.

You can get a pair of monoblock amps to drive your main speakers, a sub and a processor for what I consider a very reasonable cost. Drive your speakers with real separates brah.
So you need the receiver brain and a separate amplifier? Seems rather bad ass.
:dat:
Detroit wrote:Buy 911s instead of diamonds.
Johnny_P wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:21 pm Earn it and burn it, Val.
max225 wrote: Mon May 01, 2023 5:35 pm Yes it's a cool car. But prepare the lube/sawdust.
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Receiver technology comes and goes. Don't attach the part of your system that will never go out of style to the part that will always go out of style.
Detroit wrote:Buy 911s instead of diamonds.
Johnny_P wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:21 pm Earn it and burn it, Val.
max225 wrote: Mon May 01, 2023 5:35 pm Yes it's a cool car. But prepare the lube/sawdust.
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I’d take a look into JBL, I can’t speak much about it as far as tv/audio goes, but I’m biased on Jbl lol
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Desertbreh wrote: Sun Aug 26, 2018 4:09 pm Receiver technology comes and goes. Don't attach the part of your system that will never go out of style to the part that will always go out of style.
:dat: x10

honestly browse between crutchfield and amazon. I'd pay the crutchfield premium because they know their shit.
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dubshow wrote: Sun Aug 26, 2018 5:42 pm
Desertbreh wrote: Sun Aug 26, 2018 4:09 pm Receiver technology comes and goes. Don't attach the part of your system that will never go out of style to the part that will always go out of style.
:dat: x10

honestly browse between crutchfield and amazon. I'd pay the crutchfield premium because they know their shit.
I bought car audio from crutchfield before they were pretty great to deal with. Forgot they do home audio. Bonus is if I have a setup question I can prob just call and they’ll help me out :notbad:
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Johnny_P
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Desertbreh wrote: Sun Aug 26, 2018 4:09 pm Receiver technology comes and goes. Don't attach the part of your system that will never go out of style to the part that will always go out of style.
Solid advice. Will look into.
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Yeah, I've only used Crutchfield for car audio, but they're 5/7 as a company. Great documentation and service for a few more bucks, worth it, IMO.

As someone who was stupid enough to get a career in audio engineering, I will say that Breh is right that the separate amps will be better... the question is, how good do you want it to be?

I just have some powered studio monitors now and use a little audio mixer, I'm all :aintcare: about audio, the good shit is like $10k for a set of speakers.

A lot of sound quality comes from the DAC, so be aware of that when selecting where that will happen in your signal chain. For example, I have a BT reciever and music sounds noticeably better when going through that than going analog out of my phone because iTrudes have super shit DAC and headphone amps. Even though BT isn't that great, it's better than the terrible DAC.
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D Griff
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But any kind of reasonable receiver should be way better than a cell phone for that.
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I have a Yamaha receiver and Energy Classic 5.1 speakers. I only have three of the speakers hooked up, front R, front L, and center (plus the sub woofer) and it sounds fine to me, but I’m definitely not an audiophile by any means.
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Energy 5.1 Take Classic Home Theater System (Set of Six, Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001202C44/re ... HBbPB62SZB

Yamaha RX-V377 5.1-Channel A/V Home Theater Receiver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HZE2WW8/re ... HBb0R6FQ2F

Looks like the receiver is obsolete and has been replaced by a newer version.
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SAWCE wrote: Mon Aug 27, 2018 10:50 pm Energy 5.1 Take Classic Home Theater System (Set of Six, Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001202C44/re ... HBbPB62SZB

Yamaha RX-V377 5.1-Channel A/V Home Theater Receiver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HZE2WW8/re ... HBb0R6FQ2F

Looks like the receiver is obsolete and has been replaced by a newer version.
I have the model above this receiver, the RX-V471 (which has also been discontinued), with a 5.1 setup with Polk Audio front and center channel speakers, a Mirage subwoofer, and I forget what surround speakers I have.. It took a day or so to set it up right but it's been 5/7 for me. Got it about 6 and a half years ago. from Abt.
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This shit is so overwhelming for me.

I got some Aperion towers and a center channel and an Onkyo 805 about 10 years ago and it still sounds good to me.

Or you could go full Henry Rollins with his speakers
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I mean WTF? 700k a pair.

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Johnny_P wrote: Sun Aug 26, 2018 12:01 pm TV speakers are on their way out. Finally got a "TV stand" so I have some more shelf space for an A/V receiver. Here's what I want:
-2 speakers and a subwoofer
-Some sort of bluetooth or wireless connection ability
-Audio sources will be cable TV box, Apple TV or maybe Roku in future, and bluetooth/network play from a computer or phone. Maybe an xbox style thing in the future.

Don't need to be wireless speakers or sub, I can wire it up.
Don't want a sound bar.

Do you use the receiver as the brain of the system? So everything plugs into it and it only shoots the picture to the TV?

Will I have to switch the input or will it figure it out on its own? I'd rather not add yet another remote control to the mix. It's a pain in the ass as is to use the apple TV since you have the cable remote for audio and apple TV remote for selecting stuff. Yet another remote for audio and then having to switch to the right source seems like an antiquated way of doing this.

Finally, any suggestions on a receiver/brain and speakers? Bonus points for vintage-looking hipster approved silver faced receivers. Lisa's brother suggested Audioengine speakers, I'd need something bookshelf size not floor standing. All in I'd like to be under $1500. I don't need the absolute best but I'd prefer better than Vizio walmart stuff and don't mind dropping some :troywax:

:derp:
What are you using now and what's the best system you've listened to? Do you use it more often for music or TV/movies? Everything's subjective but there are IMO serious diminishing returns past $1000 or so all-in for a 2.1 system in a small-ish room at reasonable volumes. Hell I can't really find fault with my stuff and it's more like $500 total, but I got both the sub and the bookshelf speakers used years ago.

Your source and your main speakers are the most important, the sub and DAC/amp stuff make less difference in most cases. I love my B&W bookshelf speakers and would suggest a midrange used pair of those every time, but I haven't explored higher end options. I'd grab something like these that you can use forever, whether they're your main speakers or the rear channels in a surround system or you move them to another room for a small stereo setup for a PC or whatever:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/B-W-Bowers-Wil ... Sw9GhbQ5ms

For a subwoofer, get a powered/active one so your receiver doesn't have to power it. For movies you'll want a bigger higher powered one, for music it doesn't matter as much unless you're into dubstep. The placement of the sub in the room also affects its sound - usually if you can put it in a corner it'll work more efficiently and you get more bass out of a smaller unit. I've never had a bad Yamaha product so I'm inclined to buy their subs and often their receivers. A sub like this is reasonably sized and should still kick some ass:

https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-Corporati ... B00009W8XH

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-YST-SW3 ... SwyD9bZG4O

For receivers/amps, get something with enough inputs/outputs for your use and get a good universal remote so you only need one remote - or probably two since Apple shit never plays nicely with anything else, I don't know anything about Apple TV but assume it's the same. That's harder to pick out and depends more on your specific desires. Some of the newer stuff has a ton of built-in shit. I went with a simple one that only has HDMI in/out and added an actual Windows PC next to it for the "smart" aspect of things, you might want to spend more on a fancier all-in-one type solution. This guy seems to have a lot of options for not a lot of money, including support for wireless surround speakers should you choose to add that in the future:

https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-RX-V485BL ... B07CF9H3KW

Most of the good receivers will also have some kind of auto-calibration program that you run by setting everything up and then placing an included microphone where you expect your ears to be while listening, then running the program and it'll automatically figure out ideal EQ settings for your room+speakers. Do that.

Also use good cables for most of this stuff - anything that passes an analog signal can be fucked by using crap cables. HDMI/USB doesn't matter, but speaker cables and the subwoofer signal cable do matter at least a little bit.
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D Griff wrote: Mon Aug 27, 2018 9:16 pm Yeah, I've only used Crutchfield for car audio, but they're 5/7 as a company. Great documentation and service for a few more bucks, worth it, IMO.

As someone who was stupid enough to get a career in audio engineering, I will say that Breh is right that the separate amps will be better... the question is, how good do you want it to be?

I just have some powered studio monitors now and use a little audio mixer, I'm all :aintcare: about audio, the good shit is like $10k for a set of speakers.

A lot of sound quality comes from the DAC, so be aware of that when selecting where that will happen in your signal chain. For example, I have a BT reciever and music sounds noticeably better when going through that than going analog out of my phone because iTrudes have super shit DAC and headphone amps. Even though BT isn't that great, it's better than the terrible DAC.
I think any computer/phone/itrudy will be playing over bluetooth unless it does apple air play or whatever. I mostly want it for movies and general TV watching. If I get a gaming system then it would be awesome for that too. My college setup was a 2.1 set of computer speakers plugged into the headphone jack on the old TV. That worked well :iono:

I also don't want it to take up too much space. I think separate amp and receiver are probably ngh but I'll still entertain the idea I guess, as long as they're both slim models and can stack on top of each other. I'm not a huge audiophile at all and don't really need to become one, but at the same time I don't want something that sounds like crap and is just loud.
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troyguitar wrote: Tue Aug 28, 2018 10:54 am
Johnny_P wrote: Sun Aug 26, 2018 12:01 pm TV speakers are on their way out. Finally got a "TV stand" so I have some more shelf space for an A/V receiver. Here's what I want:
-2 speakers and a subwoofer
-Some sort of bluetooth or wireless connection ability
-Audio sources will be cable TV box, Apple TV or maybe Roku in future, and bluetooth/network play from a computer or phone. Maybe an xbox style thing in the future.

Don't need to be wireless speakers or sub, I can wire it up.
Don't want a sound bar.

Do you use the receiver as the brain of the system? So everything plugs into it and it only shoots the picture to the TV?

Will I have to switch the input or will it figure it out on its own? I'd rather not add yet another remote control to the mix. It's a pain in the ass as is to use the apple TV since you have the cable remote for audio and apple TV remote for selecting stuff. Yet another remote for audio and then having to switch to the right source seems like an antiquated way of doing this.

Finally, any suggestions on a receiver/brain and speakers? Bonus points for vintage-looking hipster approved silver faced receivers. Lisa's brother suggested Audioengine speakers, I'd need something bookshelf size not floor standing. All in I'd like to be under $1500. I don't need the absolute best but I'd prefer better than Vizio walmart stuff and don't mind dropping some :troywax:

:derp:
What are you using now and what's the best system you've listened to? Do you use it more often for music or TV/movies? Everything's subjective but there are IMO serious diminishing returns past $1000 or so all-in for a 2.1 system in a small-ish room at reasonable volumes. Hell I can't really find fault with my stuff and it's more like $500 total, but I got both the sub and the bookshelf speakers used years ago.

Your source and your main speakers are the most important, the sub and DAC/amp stuff make less difference in most cases. I love my B&W bookshelf speakers and would suggest a midrange used pair of those every time, but I haven't explored higher end options. I'd grab something like these that you can use forever, whether they're your main speakers or the rear channels in a surround system or you move them to another room for a small stereo setup for a PC or whatever:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/B-W-Bowers-Wil ... Sw9GhbQ5ms

For a subwoofer, get a powered/active one so your receiver doesn't have to power it. For movies you'll want a bigger higher powered one, for music it doesn't matter as much unless you're into dubstep. The placement of the sub in the room also affects its sound - usually if you can put it in a corner it'll work more efficiently and you get more bass out of a smaller unit. I've never had a bad Yamaha product so I'm inclined to buy their subs and often their receivers. A sub like this is reasonably sized and should still kick some ass:

https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-Corporati ... B00009W8XH

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-YST-SW3 ... SwyD9bZG4O

For receivers/amps, get something with enough inputs/outputs for your use and get a good universal remote so you only need one remote - or probably two since Apple shit never plays nicely with anything else, I don't know anything about Apple TV but assume it's the same. That's harder to pick out and depends more on your specific desires. Some of the newer stuff has a ton of built-in shit. I went with a simple one that only has HDMI in/out and added an actual Windows PC next to it for the "smart" aspect of things, you might want to spend more on a fancier all-in-one type solution. This guy seems to have a lot of options for not a lot of money, including support for wireless surround speakers should you choose to add that in the future:

https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-RX-V485BL ... B07CF9H3KW

Most of the good receivers will also have some kind of auto-calibration program that you run by setting everything up and then placing an included microphone where you expect your ears to be while listening, then running the program and it'll automatically figure out ideal EQ settings for your room+speakers. Do that.

Also use good cables for most of this stuff - anything that passes an analog signal can be fucked by using crap cables. HDMI/USB doesn't matter, but speaker cables and the subwoofer signal cable do matter at least a little bit.
Mostly TV/movies. If audio quality is :mindblown: then I'll probably bluetooth it for general music / background noise instead of using my bluetooth Bose speaker thing.

Thanks for the input dude. That looks like a pretty solid system for not an assload of money. I was leanig towards powered sub, just seems to make more sense. Good note on the speakers, makes sense that you'd want those to be higher quality. Bookshelf size is about all I can do right now, don't have the space for floor standing monsters.
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just get a soundbar with a sub.
brain go brrrrrr
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Big Brain Bradley wrote: Tue Aug 28, 2018 1:13 pm just get a soundbar with a sub.
He said in his OP that he doesn't want a sound bar.
:wap: Where are these mangos?
Detroit wrote: Fri Apr 16, 2021 1:19 pm I don't understand anything anymore.
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